I must preface this post by saying that Baby Markers is blessed with a giant family who all live nearby, including 5 grandparents, 5 great-grandparents and a slew of aunts and uncles who all love to buy her presents. With that being said, our home has started to look like the neighborhood indoor playspace because of their undying generosity!

At first I was wondering a) when would she play with all of this and b) where was it all going to live in our tiny city apartment… but I quickly found out that Baby Markers does indeed play with all of these “big” toys, and quite regularly. These are some of the items that get the most play time in our house:


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1. Fisher Price Laugh-and-Learn Crawl Around Car – Aside from the Anywhere Chair, this toy gets more play time than anything else in our house. She sits in it and watches cartoons, plays the music, climbs up and over all the sides – she never seems to get bored of this one.

2. Kidkraft Chelsea Dollhouse – We have this in her bedroom and she will sit for hours taking the furniture and dolls in and out, in and out. It’s wooden and well constructed, and I hope this will be in our family for years.

3. Disney Princess Tunnel – Hours upon hours of fun here. We discovered our love for tunnels in music class, and this one does not disappoint. The nice thing is that it folds up flat for simple storage.

4. Kidkraft Kitchen – This one is bonus for mom and dad – extra storage! I love that these have shelves on the side to store all of her kitchen accessories and then some. This toy became a favorite at about 10 months, when she would stand there regularly and play for hours. It’s great to have a baby-friendly item in the living room for her to pull up on and practice cruising.

5. Schoenhut Baby Grand Piano – This was Baby Marker’s first birthday present from us – in honor of her music party, of course! She loves to stand and bang (loudly) on the keys, but will also experiment by playing softly with one finger at a time. We hope this toy continues to foster her love of music.

6. Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart – A Hellobee favorite! And one of my favorite toys for her, as it is sturdy, heavy-weight and even has a built-in shocks system to prevent tipping as much as possible. Perfect for little ones as they are figuring out how to walk.

7. Radio Flyer Ride-2-Glide Ride-On Scooter – Baby Markers loves scooting around our wood floors on this, and has finally mastered getting on and off at 13 months. I love that this will grow with her – once she’s big enough you can convert it into a real scooter.

8. Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair – Baby Markers is obsessed with her chair. Up and down, constantly. If only we could get her to stop standing on the chair, we’d be golden!

What are your favorite “big” toys?