Hellobee

With the new baby’s impending arrival, I wanted to pick out something special for Drake and Juliet to give them when they visit the hospital. When Juliet was born I bought Drake this Noah’s Ark Set with extra animals and gave it to him when he visited me and Juliet for the first time after she was born. It was a great distraction to keep him happy and busy in the hospital room as well as a way to connect him with his new sister. He still plays with the Ark regularly and mentions from time to time how Juliet gave it to him, and even tells her when she plays with it that it was her gift to him. I hope these gifts this time will have the same success for both of them.

Juliet – Age 2

1-2) Elmo- Nothing makes Juliet’s happier these days than La La (her name for Elmo). I have been trying to teach Juliet her letters slowly and found this Alphabet Elmo as well as this Sesame Street Letter Puzzle which look to be right up Juliet’s alley. Juliet has started to do puzzles on her own so I think this one would be great for her fine motor. I really like that it has its own case too, and behind each letter is a familiar Sesame friend.

3) Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Lil Sis – Drake had the older boy version of this puppy which he played with a lot when he was younger. Juliet loves music so I think this cuddly pup with its songs and rhymes might be perfect. She already knows the puppy well as she has the ride on version of it, and it might be a nice comforting toy for quiet time in her crib.

4) Duplo Car Set – As I mentioned in a previous post, Juliet loves cars. I like this set since she is just starting to get into playing with Duplos and understanding how to put them together and take them apart.

5)  V-Tech Cars – I discovered the V-Tech cars work on the same tracks as our V-Tech Animals. Since Drake loves his animals and Juliet loves cars, it might be nice to get her some cars to play with so she and Drake don’t fight over the animals anymore.

7) Crayola No Mess Markers – Because her big brother loves art so much Juliet has a growing interest in crayons, markers, and paints. Sadly for my floors, walls, and tables she doesn’t quite get the idea that these things can only be used on paper. Drake had these Color Wonder sets when he was younger and they were great since they didn’t mark on anything but the special paper and the grip was a little better for his smaller hands.

6) Touch and Teach Book – We have this old version of an electronic book that sings nursery rhymes Juliet looks at often while riding in the car. This one seems to be a little different and has more sight words and learning applications. Juliet loves those First Word Books and this seems similar and can interact with her more, which is nice when you need to tend to a new baby.

8-10) Books – My go-to for Juliet would be Poke A Dot, Elmo flap book, and 1,2,3 in the Sea.

Drake – Age 5

1-4) Click a Brick Animal Kingdom – I have been searching for a building toy for some time that would allow Drake to create animals since those are still his favorite things to date. I was toying with this Magformers Forest Set since we have Magformers already, but I thought the lack of faces might have turned Drake off.  We have these animal Duplos that Drake still plays with and makes many more animals than the ones listed on the box, so I know how much he would enjoy making even more. My only drawback with this set is the potential small pieces for both the new baby and Juliet who is still a curious toddler. Another possibility is this Hape Magnetic Animal Builder but once again the small pieces are a concern.

5) Janod Storybox Farm – I love Janod’s little playsets. The pieces are charming, made of wood and come with a storage container which is key. Drake loves playsets with animals in them so a little farm might be perfect for his imagination.

6) Hot Dot Cards– Drake picked out a Hot Dot set for his birthday last year. He enjoys playing with the doggie and the cards and I found the flash cards to be a good teaching tool for not only him but Juliet as well (who also likes messing with the dog). We only have one set of cards right now which are played with quite often. I like the sequencing set since it’s something he is working on already in preparation for kindergarten.

7) V-Tech Animals – We got the Go Go Animal track sets for Christmas but Drake loves the animals more than anything else.  The Easter bunny brought him 2 more and he has been slowly trying to earn enough stickers on his reward chart to get more, so a few more animal friends to add to his collection might just make his day.

8)  Alphabet Puzzle – Drake watched an episode of Blue’s Clues not too long ago and Blue made an alphabet train (a line of things starting with each letter) which got Drake obsessed.

9) The Reading Game – Drake will be starting kindergarten this fall but already has a keen love of reading. He recognizes a lot of sight words on his own and has started to try to read some of his more basic books (Dr. Suess) along with me or on his own. This game seems to build on that early interest and has a lot of great reviews. I also see this as a game Drake can play independently perhaps, when I’m busy with 3 kids under 5 in my house.

10) Art Stuff – Give Drake paper and some kind of drawing utensil and he can happily busy himself for quite some time. I think before this baby’s arrival I will be stocking up on dot markers and coloring books, scratch off books, and art sets. I’m thinking of renewing our subscription to Kiwi Crate as well during the first few months after the baby arrives.

13) Book s- My good old standby of books. For Drake I’m thinking Octonauts, The Zebra Who Ran Too Fast & Ocean Alphabet!

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Did you gift anything to your older child from the new baby?