Must Have Toys for 18mth Toddlers

I had a friend text me the other day that her son, who is just a month younger than Leo, is happy as a clam outside, but gets bored when they are inside. 

Leo can totally relate, and honestly, if we could be outside 100% of the time, this sweet kid would be happy with a ball and space to roam 24/7.

But since that's not happening, I took stock in the toys that actually keep Leo's attention for more than a minute or two. The toys that I considered "Must Haves" are toys that Leo plays with day after day, toys that he can play with independently, learn from, and bonus points if they're not super ugly to look at. 

::: Fubbles Bubbles Machine, bought at Target for $10

We love this thing, only downside is that you need 3 batteries. Leo has learned how to turn it on and off himself, he can play with the bubbles for 20-30 minutes, and it's pretty spill proof. It does leak a little, but overall, I really enjoy not blowing the bubbles myself for 30 minutes. 

 
::: Little Tykes Water Table, Amazon $40

Our 2nd water table, I like this one better because the pieces stay where they are supposed to. Leo likes this table with water or without which is a nice plus! I've also found that Leo's favorite toys are one's that he can stand and play with, versus sitting on the ground. I have a feeling we will use this for years to come. 

 ::: Grocery Cart, TJ Maxx $10

 Leo loves his cart. He probably plays with this toy every single day and it's one of the toys that we keep in the living room. He loves pushing it around, placing toys inside and out, and racing it on the hardwood floors. 

::: Melissa and Doug Cleaning Set, amazon, gift

This is one of our newest toys and we both love it. It's so cute, it's the other toy that I keep in our living room. For the most part Leo sweeps the floors, but I've also been finding him dusting lately. My sister-in-law said that her 7 year old loves this toy too, so I think this is a nice toy that will grow with Leo.

::: Backpack, local toy store, gift

I had to include this backpack, because for whatever reason, Leo is obsessed. He will just run around the house with it on, but he must find it somewhat fun. I think this particular toy is probably a little child specific, but it makes for a great gift and it is possibly the cutest thing ever to see a toddler with a mini backpack on. Leo just started saying "backpack", and it pretty much melts me.

::: Shape Sorter, target 

In full disclosure, Leo isn't a master at playing with this toy by himself quite yet, but it's a great toy for learning, identifying shapes and developing fine motor skills. I also like that I can see him getting better at it each time we pull it out. This is a great gift for a one year old, and another gift that I can see him playing with for at least the next six months to a year.

::: Train Table, everywhere! 

The biggest investment, but by far our most used and loved "toy". Our table stands a little higher, which I like....my mom has one (I think hers is Kid Kraft) and it's a touch low (although it does have 2 drawers and ours doesn't)...but regardless...Leo loves his table. For now, he just has fun moving the trains around the table and up and down the simple track we have, but the older Leo gets, the more creative he can be. Plus, even if we're not playing with the table itself, we seem to have trains everywhere else. They make for the perfect small toy for dinners out and hes been playing with them independently in our living room a lot these last few weeks.

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I'm always trying to stay on top of the next phase of toys to keep Leo entertained, so please pass any of your favorites/must have to us! I'm trying hard to have quality over quantity!

How To Road Trip with a Toddler

For the most part, Leo has always been a pretty good car rider, but I've found a few tricks that have helped keep everyone sane, so I thought I'd share them.

Most of our "road trips" are under three hours, and my thought there is - you can do anything for three hours - but as we were gearing up for our 6.5hr (without traffic and stops) car trip I had to do a little preparing.

The Gear We Use

ipad holder ::: toy organizer ::: car seat tray ::: spin toy ::: car shades ::: lovey ::: hand and face wipes :::

Books - Leo is obsessed and happily will flip through his own board books for a while. He is also learning the sounds animals make, so we spent probably 45 minutes re-reading his animal books. I would have at least 2 on hand. (I get most of our books from Marshalls)

Sassy Spin Toy - This toy is one of the few toys that can hold Leo's attention, so it came with us on the road trip. He gets a kick out of spinning it and it is a nice toy that I try to keep as a novelty so it only comes with us on car trips or to restaurants 

ipad Holder - I love this one because it's normally a mirror, but it also fits an ipad. I don't mind allowing Leo to watch shows, especially on a long car ride, so this is really handy for us! 

 Carseat Tray - This was a gift from my mom, and while we did use it to eat breakfast on, I wouldn't say it's a necessity. Leo likes clapping his hands on the tray part, and I think it might be handier when he is a bit older, but it was a nice distraction to have too. 

Sun Shades - These are not the exact kind we have, I found mine at Marshalls, but I used two on Leo's side since the sun was beating down on him and they were absolutely necessary to have. 

Lovey - Leo's lovey is his favorite thing ever, so that came with us too - and helped him know that it was time to go to sleep again.

Hand and Face Wipes - Not only do I keep these everywhere, Leo loves to play with them. They crinkle and make a loud noise, so they turned into a toy for us as well.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Movie - I found a movie version on itunes that I downloaded and it is basically 4 episodes, but it plays for 2 hours which is nice since the shows themselves are only 24 minutes. 

Toy organizer - I love this one. I keep extra diapers, wipes, more books, cherrios, and a few more toys. It kept everything off the floor and was really handy for me to reach into and give Leo whatever he needed.

The Secrets We Use

1. Leave EARLY. Really, REALLY early.
We woke Leo up at 4:30 in the morning, changed his diaper, kept his room really dark and then gave him a big, warm bottle of milk. He was awake for about 15 minutes, we loaded him into the dark car with his blanket and his lovey, and he was asleep until 8am! We were able to get 3.5hours without even realizing we had a wild toddler in the back seat.

Honestly, if I were to drive alone, I think I would try and leave the house even earlier! A tired baby made for an easy one! 

2. Break Bottle Rules and Have Lots of Snacks
We are down to just two bottles a day, but I decided to bring an extra bottle just in case, and I was really glad I did. It took him some time to drink it (sometimes you gotta buy minutes!) and then he was happy and chill for another 20 minutes after it too!

Between the bottle and pre-cut up snacks (and again, this isn't the time to try and force broccoli) keeping Leo well fed was a good key to happiness! Our favorite snacks to have on the road included lots of soft (because choking ranks high in my fear list) goodies - waffle, bananas, cherrios, apple sauce to-go packets, and fig bars.

3. Don't sit in the backseat
The worst car trip we had, I had to sit in the backseat with Leo because my in-laws were driving. The fact that Leo could see me made it horrible. He knew I was there so he spent the better part of 3 hours screaming his head off for me to put him on my lap/get out of the car seat.

Now, this long car trip, I did end up sitting in the back with him for about 3 hours, and it was ok. I was feeding him snacks and just didn't feel comfortable with him eating alone in the back. Plus, being back there for half of it allowed me to get creative with toys/games/etc.

 4. Overnight Diaper 

5.  Roll with it
Probably the key to everything - and the thing I fail at constantly - but just like with air travel, ya gotta just do it. Even if the baby cries, you are 10 hours late, the baby gets "too much screen time" or "too much milk" or whatever......just roll with it. And maybe bring a roll of paper towels too, now that I'm thinking about it.

Obviously, we are no parenting experts, and I'm positive that someday our second child will throw about 12,000 curve balls to my ways, but this has worked for us so far. I hope some of it helps you too if you are in need! 

How to Feed a One Year Old

 I actually have had a really fun time of feeding Leo actual food and thought I would share a little bit about how we got to this place and what we're doing here.

How we started: Baby Led Weaning 
I'm sure you've heard of this technique and after looking into it, Joel and I both felt passionate about the theory behind it (in summation, let your baby do the weaning ((of milk)), and try and stay out of the process).

We both read the book  and when Leo was 6 months, 1 week we started to give Leo a few avocado slices to play with. We started with 1 "meal" a day, and for a month it was basically play time. Sometimes he would land a banana into his mouth, sometimes Roscoe would get an extra snack, and most of the time it ended up caked into his clothes. We have since become wise and try to eat naked.

Around 7 months, I started to introduce some Plum purees into the mix. I would often serve them with a food that I felt like was soft enough for Leo to mush on, but not hard enough where I was constantly concerned about him choking and gagging. 

 

At this point, I was trying to have 2 "meal" times a day, but still not concerned at all by quantity. In the beginning we considered meal times more of an opportunity to explore, play with textures, and taste different flavors. Bonus points were awarded if something was consumed.

When Leo masted the pincer grib, I think right around 8/9 months, the game changed. He wanted nothing to do with purees, and started to become a legit eater. 

Right around that point, we were up to 3 meals a day  and we dropped our 4th bottle and introduced a snack.  Now, Leo feeds himself most of the time - unless spoons are necessary, and the little 11 month old that he is can have days where he eats more than I do.

The last 2-3 months have been a blast. Leo's a great eater and we have fun finding new foods for him to try. For the most part, he eats what we eat - only in a deconstructed (and bite size) version. 

What We Use:

placemat : Love this

lobster chair :This is a must have for us. It's super easy, portable, but is obnoxious to clean.

plates: dishwasher safe, I like that ours are white, and are stackable. They're a little pricey,  I wanted a simple plate that divided out portions well. They make it easier for me to feel like I'm building a healthy meal for him.

cups :for whatever reason, Leo decided these are his favorite. They leak everywhere but the straw was the first thing he caught on to and they've stuck.

utensils:I was told these are the best. They're a little big for Leo now, but apparently they're nice to grow into. 

What He's Eating: 
For the most part, like I mentioned, he's eating what we're eating. Sometimes he will eat everything on his plate, sometimes he will eat nothing.

Breakfast - Easy go-to's for us are frozen whole wheat waffles, hard boiled eggs, Ezekiel toast, oatmeal, and lots of fruit! 

Lunch and Dinners -  A lot of the below pictures are made from meals under my "weekly menu" tab, or can be found on my pintrest page too, since that's where I collect all of my recipes (@teatimewithtess). I also post a lot of real time snaps on snapchat if you are follow along @tshields622

As far as dinner is concerned, I try to keep the fruit at bay since he gets a lot of fruit during the day. We try and stick to veggies and proteins and then depending on what the earlier part of the day included will serve a carb or dairy product too - or whatever he will actually eat, which lately includes anything that's white.

 

 

And I know the tide on "picky eater"ness can change overnight, but for now, we are trying to shove as many vegetables and flavors down his throat in order to try and give him half a decent foundation for solid nutrients!

5 ::: Things I'll do differently with Baby #2

And no, baby #2 is NOT in our immediate future.

We are reallllly enjoying this sweet spot with Leo. In fact, I think right now is the most fun, easy, joyful, and exciting our life has ever been. We feel content (in most areas) and I want to revel in that feeling for a while. 

But, I have been finding myself lately saying "next time" or "I'm glad I learned ____" or "I would NOT do that again" and I thought I'd get pen to paper before I totally forget what having a baby is like. 

::: 1 :::

I'll move the baby out of my room a little sooner

 Once we moved him into his nursery, I actually got sleep! When he was next to our bed, every gurgle, grunt, and grin had me up, turning on a night light, checking his vitals, which cost me more sleep than necessary!  It was silly, and all of my commotion often stirred him awake in the first place. While it was nice not have to leave my warm bed, I think once the baby is only waking once in the night, that will be my cue to kick um' out! 

::: 2 :::

I won't do newborn photos right away

 As darling as they are, and I'm obviously glad to have them, I wish I would have waited a little bit. Babies just don't come into their own right away - and I felt like 10-13 weeks would have been a really amazing time to do the shoot. Not only was I feeling a lot better about myself, but Leo was smiling, had delicious cheeks, and opened his eyes for more than 6.6 seconds.

::: 3 ::: 

I won't wake a sleeping infant

In the beginning, babies sleep A LOT. I had always heard that, but in all honesty, it sort of freaked me out. I couldn't get over the fact that literally all Leo did his first month was eat, sleep, and poop - so I would force him to "play". I would actually blow into his face to try and keep him stimulated. Why? I have no idea...I guess I just felt like I wasn't doing enough - and that was silly. 

::: 4 ::: 

I won't be afraid of formula

I was having this conversation with my cousin this week but so often I hear moms say exclusively breastfeeding, exclusively pumping, or exclusively formula..... My question is, why does it have to be exclusive? We stopped being exclusive at seven months, and an enormous weight was lifted off of me. I wasn't having to pump 4 times a day in order to make an 8oz bottle so that Joel could feed the baby. I was nursing during the day, and then his last bottle was formula. And you know what? It was ok, it was freeing, and I regret waiting so long to do that.

::: 5 :::

I'll trust myself 

 

Everyone kept telling me, just trust your instinct. And I really, really didn't think I had an instinct. I triple guessed everything, asked for validation on it all, and didn't listen to my gut. I sort of doubt most first time moms do have that ability, but I'm actually excited for myself to be a mom the second time around. I already feel so much more confident in my abilities, and I think it will make bringing home a second baby that much more of an enjoyable experience for our family. 

And I won't be afraid of spit up, cutting finger nails, burping a baby too hard, green poop, cradle cap, not sterilizing a bottle, rolling over too soon (or not enough), or the other 6,742 things that rattled me as a new parent. Its hard work learning how to do this thing, but it's so, so worth it. 

Five on Friday

::: 1 ::: 

The weather here in LA has been SO hot, I feel like summer has arrived in February. It's been absolutely beautiful and we've been taking advantage of the heat with long walks, lunches outside, and excuses for cute hats. 

   

::: 2 ::: 

I'm blaming the weather for this, but I have a major spring cleaning bug. Yesterday I spent the entire day reorginzing Leo's clothes (for the umpteenth time) and found myself with a pile of things he's outgrown already. I decided it was due time to clear out the materinty clothes too, so I filled a big storage container and said farewell (for now). It's so weird to think the next time I need to open that box I'll be pregnant again....but I'm riding this wave for a while! 

::: 3 ::: 

And with Leo getting bigger, that means all of his toys and things are too. We got this really cute walker from Joel's co-worker and while Leo loves it, its one more thing I need to find a space for. We are staying in our condo for as long as we can, but I need to do some readjusting of our living space because it's driving me crazy.  

 

This weekend I'm going to move the china cabinet and wine fridge (behind the leather chair) to a different wall - and then push all of the furniture a few feet closer to the dining room. 

My hope is that this will give us a little nook to hang out, put all of his things (out of my sight, kind of) and feel like we have a little more room to play. 

I know that I'm not going to love the change, but as my mom said, "It's Leo's house now", so I'm going to do my best to make it work and see how it goes. 

 

::: 4 ::: 

Also....thank you 90 degree temperatures, but all I want lately is a corona light and chips and guac! I'm really hoping some cooler temps roll around here because if we are starting summer now, I'm in big trouble! 

::: 5 :::

For Valentine's Day, the only thing I wanted to do was take a trip up to Santa Barbara. I've literally dreamed about the day when we can take Leo up to my favorite city, and it's finally happening tomorrow. We are going to leave early with the dog and the babe, and spend the day walking by the water, tasting wines, having a picnic lunch, and doing some shopping on State street. I'm hoping everyone enjoys it since it will be a long day away from the house and off of our routine, but I think it'll be good for all of us.

Hope you have a great Valentine's Day weekend! xoxo 

 

Day Trip

One of the greatest parts of staying home right now with Leo is the flexibility in our day to day so when Joel had a day trip planned for Palos Verdes on a Monday, Leo and I decided to tag along. 

Joel had a few meetings near Terranea resort, which is where we stayed for our babymoon, so it was an absolute trip to go back, but this time with Leo on the outside. 

When we got there, Leo and I walked their beautiful grounds for about an hour, and then pulled up to have a solo lunch at one of their on site restaurants.

I sat and read and enjoyed the view and then it was time for Leo to wake up from his nap and eat and play. I found a little area that was perfect for us to camp out, so I fed Leo, rolled out a picnic blanket, played with toys and listened to music and just enjoyed being outside. 

 

Since we don't have a backyard, we do a lot of walking outside, but we rarely sit in a park and just hang out and Leo was entranced.

 

Joel wrapped up his meetings around 3pm and met us. The three of us went for another long walk, took some pictures and had a pit stop for some key lime pie before hitting the road again. 

 

 

And to think the three of us were there looking very differently just six months ago....my how time can change things.

Leo - Month 4

::: 1 month recap ::: 2 month recap ::: 3 month recap :::

Weight:   12lbs 7oz and 24.5"

Nicknames: Wee-Woo, Leeman, Lee-Lee, Goo monster,

 

Clothes: I could buy clothes for you every single day and it takes everything in me not to. Everyone always complains about boy clothes being hard to find, and I do think the selection sucks but I love the hunt and thrill of finding darling outfits. 

You're too tall for 0-3 months, but your booties help hide the floods ;) - otherwise, you're in a pretty good mix of 3mth, 3-6mth, and even a few 6mth sleepers.

Sleep:  You're a great sleeper and typically sleep from 7:30pm-6:30am, but this month we will be switching up a few things on you. You've loved your baby taco (the FP Rock and Play) and your miracle blanket swaddle, but you are outgrowing them. Right now you are taking naps in your crib with the help of a Merlin suit and soon you will be sleeping in the crib full time! You're getting to be such a big boy!

Schedule: We've had a nice schedule going this past month. No day is exactly the same, but if you wake up at 6:30...

6:30am feed

6:30-8am play

8-10am nap

10am feed

10:30- 1:30 nap and play

1:45 pm feed 

1:45-3pm play

3pm -5pm nap

5pm feed

6:45pm bath

7:15pm bottle

7:30pm bed

Health: We are so thankful for your perfect health!

Crying: You're easy to please, but you do whine when you're not happy. You'll take your paci to calm down and then continue to play - or if you're really fussy, you typically need a nap.

 

Feeding:  Most days you eat 5 times unless you have a growth spurt and wake up around 4am, then you'll sneak in a 6th feeding. You're exclusively breastfed, but Dad gives you a 7oz bottle before bed.

Likes:  This has been a really fun month! You love to make faces, mimic noises, make funny noises with your lips, and blow rasperries. You love to "stand", you are really liking your neutron looking rattle, and your kick mat that you got for Christmas.

Dislikes: You don't like to bet put into the car seat, but once we start moving, you're good. You don't like being cold, being tired, or getting bored.

Milestones:  You rolled more in your 3rd month than you did in your 4th but you'll still surprise with one here and there. You're really starting to grab things lately, and I'm noticing a lot more 2 handed play too. I think the way you mimic us is a pretty adorable milestone and your overall strength is seriously impressive.

Places You’ve Gone:  Coco, Papa , Aunt Hannah and Aunt Birdie have been with you this whole month and have taken you just about everywhere. You went to more restaurants this month than most babies go to in a year. We went down to Newport Beach, went for hikes, spent a lot of time at the ocean, visited the Venice canals and hit up Rodeo Drive a few times too.

Visitors: You met your Great Grandma - Kuka - this month....She's 87 and flew to California from Chicago with your cousin Liz. It was pretty amazing Leo that you got to meet such an important part of my life.

Postpartum:  Now that I feel back to normal, I want to look back to normal too! I still have 10 pounds to lose and these seem to be pretty dang sticky. I'm really trying to stay active with you and eat a lot less carbs. I was hoping that breastfeeding you was going to do all the work for me, but it looks like I'm going to have to give it a little more effort to get back into my jeans.

 

Roscoe: This month he has started to give you a kiss almost everyday and you love it. If I let him, I think he would kiss you for ten minutes straight. He turned four this month too!