1. Greek Yogurt
She has come to be sort of a picky eater in her toddler stage. One of her few absolute favorites that she will eat at anytime is (Greek) Yogurt-- even the bland-ish plain or vanilla. We are no brand snobs here, any will do. But this type is affordable and easy to find at any store. It's comes in nonfat but is nevertheless, creamy--which she loves. Greek yogurt is thicker than the traditional stuff and loaded with more protein. I try to get the kind with fruit in it too for a little extra vitamin boost, or you could try to mix a few in yourself. YUM!
2. Nick Jr.If you have cable or satellite and don't have this channel, I highly recommend you make a phonecall now to your provider to add this one. Nick Jr. is an absolute sanity keeper for us both. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba, Ni-Hao, Kai Lan, and Team Umizoomi. A TV channel with a "pre-school curriculum," its shows run 24/7 with no commercials. Instead of ads for obnoxious toys or crappy snacks there are short educational cartoon clips inserted between the shows as part of the pre-school curriculum. Even pre-pre-school, I know these shows are helping her learn new words and counting. TV bad for your kids? Whatever. It's is not her babysitter; when I need a free minute I turn on this channel and we both win. She learns another way to say "Hel-lo!" and I get a few minutes to put on makeup, make a quick phone call, or fix some lunch. Quick tip: if you have DVR or Tivo, record a few episodes of your child's favorites to have at hand.
3. Born Free Trainer Cups
After finally selecting another daycare after my daughter turned 1, we soon learned of a new rule on her first day: all Ones must be drinking from cups--NO Bottles!! Prior to this occasion, we had casually and non-forcefully introduced the idea of a sippy cup to her, but my daughter had not been impressed by the idea of hard spouts on nevertheless cheerful looking cups. She was however, a huge fan of her Born Free bottles. (9oz, plastic) So after throwing tons of money down the drain shopping for a variety of sippy cups, I desperately run into the drugstore one morning and stumbled upon this. She took to it instantly; we all breathed a sigh of relief knowing she could stay in the daycare after all. Another quick tip: the training cups come in two sizes. The smaller cup comes with a softer spout than the larger cup. If you have the Born Free bottles, since the parts are interchangeable just purchase the separate spouts (which will need to be replaced every couple of months anyway and save $$$!
4. You and Me Love and Wiggles Doll
We sort of have an odd relationship with this doll. A few weeks ago my mom wanted to go to the local ToysRUs to pick out a few toys for my daughter. I suggested a babydoll. We looked at a few dolls, trying to select an age-appropriate doll. There were two of these on the shelf. One of them was opened-up already, with the fabric rinky-dink bottle missing. Like dummies, we grabbed the other mint-condition one without bothering to attempt a test-drive on the opened good on the shelf. It wasn't until after we brought it home that we realized why someone took the bottle but left the doll behind. So apparently, this doll wiggles and giggles when a switch is flipped on in the back-- in the most freakish way. Sort of a cross between a shriek and a giggle, this baby activates her charm from some sort of apparent sensor (think Halloween motion sensor decoration). Whenever this doll goes off, my daughter gets a sheepish grin on her face and throws her hands up to her cheeks. I can practically hear her thinking, "Maybe if I put my hands up to my face and smile this possessed doll won't kill me." Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to truly frighten her, since she doesn't cry or seem too terrified of it.
But this is the tip: We don't use this dolly as a toy-- it makes an excellent toddler deterrent! She likes to climb her highchair when it's not feeding time. I plop possessed doll in her seat, telling her "it's time for dolly to eat" and toddler stays away. Magical.
(All of these products were self-purchased. I was not paid to promote any of these items that we love.)
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