See Kai Run Smaller

www.seekairun.com

How stinking cute are little kids shoes!? Granted, as with most things, the girl selections are by far way more fun than the boy selections. I started looking at boy shoes recently though, as we found out that our new addition will indeed be a little boy. The first place I look is See Kai Run, they have great, fabulous, terrific shoes for babies and toddlers (and older kids though I haven't tried those yet). I found my first pair for Little Moxie when a store was going out of business and I got them on sale. I will now happily pay full price for these guys because the "Smallers" are by far the best shoe for the non-walking/thinking-about-walking group. I like some other shoes just fine but I love the See Kai Run Smaller shoes.

10 things I love about shoe (not in any particular order)

1. Little Moxie found it difficult to get these shoes off of her feet.
2. Cute new styles introduced twice a year. Even with lots of wear they stay cute too.

See the grippy circles?

3.Little rubber pads on the bottom of the shoe. Let me elaborate on this point: No other shoe that I found has any sort of grippy for the under 1 crowd. While in theory that's fine I found that in reality as soon as baby can pull themselves up a grippy is good. In some other brands Little Moxie would slip or almost slip in the slick leather sole.
4. Extra soft leather that is breathable enough to even be comfortable in 110 degree weather but keeps feet warm and toasty in the winter.
5. A soft non-padded sole allows baby to feel what's going on under there and is perfectly flexible; important for the development of the foot.
6. Good foot protection from elements like the pointy stickers we are prone to in the desert.
7. There are always at least a few styles on sale so building a shoe wardrobe is do-able.
8. Sizing from 0-24 months with five total sizes, making it possible to get a good fit on the shoe.
9. A great company that gives 5% of profits annually to children's charities as well as other shoe donations to worthy causes.
10. Wide shoe to fit even super chubby feet.

Basically everyone with a baby needs these shoes.
Check them out at www.seekairun.com

Avoid Christmas Package Rage

On Christmas morning when we were kids we woke up and ran to see what Santa brought for us and of course to set about opening the presents under the tree. What was the most annoying part of Christmas (or birthdays for that matter)? Well for me at least it was opening that really super cool present out of its paper only to have to fight with packaging to actually get to the gift. It was as if it were saying "look how great I am, but you can't have me yet, hahahaha". Or it needed batteries, then those had to be found and inevitably someones gift would have to wait because there were only 3 C batteries and it needed 4. Ugh. For our kids today the experience may be even worse than it was for us because packaging is out of control and over the top. I swear some of those toy manufacturers could cut costs by a third if they cut packaging!

So fix this for your kids. Open their presents before you wrap them. Even if you put it back in the original box so that it wraps easier or so that they know that it really is new. Cut the cords, slice the tape, pull off the plastic and for heaven's sake put batteries in the thing! Christmas will be way more fun for you this way too. You can avoid the begging for you to open something or make something work EVERY time a present is open. So yeah it saves them frustration but let's be honest, it really saves us parents a little sanity, and we all know that we need all of that we can get!

Stocking Stuffer Idea #2

www.melissaanddoug.com

Is anyone else super ready for Christmas? Okay well I'm not physically ready but I am sure mentally ready.This is our first Christmas where Little Moxie will sort of get some of the festivity stuff and will hopefully show some emotion to her presents. I feel like a little kid who is waiting anxiously to open my gifts from Santa, but it's reversed and what I actually can't wait for is to see her open her gifts from everyone. In full disclosure, I am looking forward to playing with some of them too. Anyhow on with the idea right... so check out this kazoo from Melissa & Doug. This toy could not be more simple but it's well made and is such a great noise maker instrument. And not that I was fooled at first but just so you know, those blue circles are just painted on there and aren't really working finger holes, I'm just say'n. Additionally the kazoo's recommended age is 3+, but Little Moxie got this on her first birthday and figured out how to use it before her thirty something father. Just hum into it, that's it, like I said simple but very cool. It's also about $4 so you can't go wrong.

Stocking Stuffer Idea #1

How has it been so long since I last posted? I don't even have a good excuse. Well anyhow I am here now and I have some great stocking stuffer ideas to share. If you want to avoid stuffing those little socks with nothing but tooth rotting candy, try adding in some small toys that will add some fun.

I love this little car from Hape International and you can get them for $5! Stocking stuffers can really add up, but so it's nice that this is really affordable. It rolls really well, is made of wood and painted with safe paints. One thing that drew me to this car was the fact that two of the colors come with flowers on the sides. It's tough to find a "girly" car that isn't hot pink and plastic. This baby has even held up well outside in the sand and sun.

You can find them at www.babyearth.com.

GaGa Deals

For a while now I have been a huge fan of babyearth.com and especially of the GaGa Deal. During the work week babyearth puts one item on sale every hour and the price ticks down as time runs out. Once an item is sold out it's done until the next item is put up on the hour. It's truly addicting and I have gotten some super great deals. The fun part is deciding when to buy and I've seriously missed out on a product that I wanted so badly because I waited fifty cents too long (I'm still crushed by the way)! Anyhow I've added the widget to my sidebar because this is one of the best marketing strategies that I've seen and it totally works. It gets me to their site all the time and besides it's just plain fun. Hope you enjoy and good luck.

Refrigerator Magnets

 

www.melissaanddoug.com

So I'm working on Christmas presents and trying really hard not to get carried away, though I'm well on may way there already! I ordered some of these magnets from Melissa & Doug and received them yesterday. Obviously I had to test them out during nap time because I cannot wait until Christmas even if I make Little Moxie. I wanted alphabet and number magnets for the fridge but I have a bit of a fear about the traditional plastic ones with the small little glued magnets on the back. I have horrible visions of the magnets coming off and getting swallowed. Did you know that two swallowed magnets can rip holes in you if they find each other? Probably those magnets wouldn't be strong enough, but it makes me nervous anyway. Then I found these bad boys and my fears were resolved and I am soooo happy with them.

I'm Stuck on These Magnets
The best part of these magnets is that the magnet part is the same size as the number or letter, it covers the whole back. They are also sticky but not so much so that it's hard to get them off. The pieces are also made of wood, which is nice for the environment and probably healthier for the little ones as well. Each piece is a nice color and good thickness so that it can be taken off easily by little hands. Now, Melissa & Doug puts the warning about small parts on the package. I haven't busted out my choking hazards tube but I'm not thinking I'm too worried about it. To be safe I am holding back the lower case letters for now.Can I also just say that these are so much nicer to look at then the plastic ones. Not that it matters all that much, but really it is nice to have the kitchen look a little good right?

Melissa & Doug also make magnetic animals and dinosaurs. Pretty sure I'm (I mean Little Moxie) is gonna need the animals!

Buy them now: Melissa & Doug Deluxe Magnetic Letters & Numbers in a Box Bundle

Babysitter Balance

Usually I don’t like to post a review on a product from the same company twice in a row, but I’ve really had this chair on my mind this week and decided to break my own rule. The chair in the photo isn’t exactly the one I have; you see we got the older model then bam the new one was introduced like two months later. Oh well. And so you know, I can’t remember what they called it exactly when we got it, so I’m going with what they call it now: the Babysitter Balance. So here’s the thing: Little Moxie wanted nothing to do with this chair until about 3 or 4 months ago, yet I love it, and if I had a “normal” baby I think she would have loved it even as an infant. Having a bouncer that bounces with their energy is fun and soothing for babies and no batteries or wall plug-ins to worry about.

The Best Bouncer
The Babysitter Balance can be adjusted to three positions “play, rest and sleep,” basically low, medium and high. We had a friend over with her 2 month old who loved this chair in the medium setting because she could bounce and see what was going on. The security belt is super easy to use and nice and secure without being tight. The fabric is easy to wash, it slides off easily and machine washes and it’s Oeko-Tex Standard 100, class 1, which you have to love (not sure about the older model but the new ones for sure are). While on the subject of fabric, if you get the Babysitter Balance Air, the seat is mesh so that it’s super breathable. Living in the unforgiving heat of the desert this is the seat that I would get if I were to buy another one, and who knows if we have another baby we might, though getting the hubby to agree to that might be a tough sell. They also offer organic fabric now too. When a baby is sleeping in the Babysitter Balance their motions make the chair move so it soothes them and when they are awake they learn to bounce themselves, so fun to watch. Now that Little Moxie is older she uses it as her own little chair and loves it soooo much. I’m pretty sure she has found a few ways to use it that are not recommended by the manufacturer (like bouncing while standing on the seat backwards, and remember I’m not advocating this) and the seat is holding up wonderfully. It is really well constructed and the new seats are even easier to switch from one position to another, though I’ve never had a complaint about the old system. It also folds down really flat so it’s very easy to take with you where ever you go. When Little Moxie was 3 months we took it camping so that we could set her down once in a while, it was very convenient. Oh yeah and there is a toy bar that clips on, ours came with it but the new ones are sold separately, and I found it difficult to put on. The new bar looks like it’s more fun and easier to use. Each position has different weight limits but on the highest setting Little Moxie is sure to get at least another 6 months or so out of it. I would highly recommend this chair.