My youngest son’s favorite lovey is his Snoedel, even now after his second birthday. Originally, when my oldest son was born, he had to stay in the NICU for 5 days. This was where we received our first Snoedel to help with the bonding process between myself and him since I was not able to hold him and cuddle with him the way I wanted to. I was told to hold the Snoedel close to me so that it could capture my “scent” and that he could become closer to me while he lay in his NICU bed. Three years later that original Snoedel is still with us, having been adopted by my youngest son as his absolute favorite lovey, that he has affectionately named “Buddy”. We even went so far as to order a second “Buddy” since he is now attending daycare and needed a second one to snuggle with during naptime at daycare. His Snoedel now go with us wherever we travel and he always sleeps with them at night and naptimes. We would truly be lost without these wonderful loveys - they have been the one and only thing to keep him happy and comforted when he sleeps and when he’s at daycare.

From the website : “Snoedel is the original sleeping and bonding aid for babies completely handcrafted in the United States by moms, grandmothers, and female college students under “newborn-safe” conditions (environments free of tobacco and perfumes.) It is comprised of 100% natural fibers and has been safe for use with all babies including newborns, premature infants, and other babies in Neonatal Intensive Care units.”

Snoedels are a soft cotton flannel doll, which is designed to absorb a parent’s scent. The premise of the Snoedel is that a babies sense of smell is the first thing that bonds the child to the parent. Not only is the Snoedel wonderful for initial bonding, it can serve as a security blanket or lovey later in life, as it has with my 2 year old. The Snoedel is completely safe for machine washing and drying and is able to be sterilized in a hospital environment.

Popularity: 22% [?]

A new obsession has swept my house, and that is Disney Pixar’s Wall-E. Wall-E is an adorable little robot with the huge task of cleaning up Earth after it becomes covered in garbage. He is the last robot left of the “Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class” robots that were assigned 700 years ago to clean up the environmental mess left by man-kind. Even though Wall-E doesn’t say anything in the first 25 minutes of the movie, he has captured my son’s heart and we’ve watched the movie it at least a dozen times.

My son now wants to wear his Wall-E shirt to preschool, and also wants to take his plush to show-and-tell. He sleeps with his plush and carries him around the house, talking to him as if he were his best buddy. Disney has done a great job in marketing this new Pixar movie, by having a huge amount of Wall-E merchandise. You can get a Wall-E lunchbox, backpack, blanket, sheet set - the list goes on and on. And he is just so darn cute that it’s hard to resist!

So, if you and your kids haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. But just be aware that they may be asking for a bunch of Wall-E stuff for Christmas or their birthdays!

Popularity: 24% [?]

My boys are the proud owners of a Fisher-Price Ford F150 Ultimate Terrain Power Wheel, and provided the weather cooperates they drive it daily! My son got this amazing gift on his 3rd birthday and was so excited to have a truck that looked just like “daddy’s truck”. He’s been driving that thing around ever since that day, with his 1 year old brother happily coming along for the ride.

Designed for children ages three to about six (65-pound maximum weight per passenger), the Power Wheels F150 is a two-seat life-like truck that steers, stops, and goes in reverse like the real thing. We really like the Power Wheels that Fisher-Price designed with the new Monster Traction system. Also called “Ultimate Terrain Traction”, this is a high-performance drive system that takes on the toughest backyard driving conditions. We live on 2 acres of land, mostly grass, and have a gravel driveway, and this Power Wheel commands it all. The truck drives in two speeds, 2.5 mph and 5 mph, with a safety lock-out for beginners so that they drive only at the slower speed until they become more experienced to drive at the higher speed. The truck also has several cool features, such as a real-working FM radio, lift-and-lower tailgate with truck bed for storage, pretend seat belts, built-in cup holders and a battery charge indicator. The battery is easy to charge and lasts about 30 minutes per charge, so I recommend getting a second battery if you plan to have your kids driving this often.

Fisher-Price has several other styles of vehicles with the new Monster Traction, including the Arctic Cat 650, Jeep Hurricane, Kawasaki KFX Ninja, and the A.T. Rex. Power Wheels are covered by a limited 1-year “Bumper-to-Bumper” warranty from the manufacturer.

Popularity: 21% [?]

I have owned the LEGO Quatro and Duplo blocks ever since my oldest son turned a year old. Not a day goes by that my two boys don’t play with these building blocks. These kids just love to build things and stack blocks! We have also used these blocks when learning about colors and relationships, such as bigger/smaller and over/under.

The LEGO Quatro blocks are the largest of the LEGO series of blocks, intended for ages 1-3. These blocks are made of a softer material than standard LEGOs and are very easy for small children to grasp. Because of their size they do not pose a choke hazard like some of the smaller LEGOs do with very young children. The LEGO Quatro Bucket comes in a see-through bucket with 20 colorful various-sized blocks and a lid that can be used as a building base.

On the other hand, LEGO Duplo blocks are for the slightly older child, age 2-5. These are compatible with the LEGO Quatro blocks - as children grow they can connect elements from both sets using a 4-stud Duplo brick as a connector. The Duplo sets also come in several different varieties such as Thomas the Train, Dinosaurs, and Zoo Animals.

I highly recommend these LEGO sets for younger children, as they really stir the imagination and provide hours of play and creativity!

Popularity: 17% [?]

The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is one of best birthday gifts my son received this year! This easel has seen daily use ever since we took it out of the box. Both of my boys, ages 3 and 18 months find hours of enjoyment with this great product.

The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is just like a professional easel, only it’s specially sized for children. The easel is made of colorful and sturdy wooden construction, and features an erase marker board, a chalkboard, and even a paper roller. On each side there are tool trays: a sturdy paint tray with cup holders for easy use and clean-up of paint, and on the chalkboard side, a tool tray that holds erasers, chalks, and clips. The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is ideal for kids ages 3 and up and has an adjustable height to accommodate the little ones as they grow. Also, it folds conveniently for easy storage!

The Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel goes perfectly with the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Easel Companion Set, which includes 4 bottles of poster paint, 4 spill-proof paint cups, 1 roll of easel paper, 10 jumbo triangular chalk sticks, 1 felt eraser, 1 dry-erase marker, and 4 paint brushes - all of which can be stored right on the easel themselves. For the price, functionality, great construction, and years of enjoyment, you just can’t go wrong with this easel!

Popularity: 6% [?]