Hellobee

With every new phase Jackson hits comes a whole slew of new activities, toys, and challenges. I know I’m not alone when I say that every time I get a handle on how things are going, everything changes and suddenly I’m floundering again. Jackson is about to be a year and a half old, and we recently went through that shift with his toys – he was too old to be playing with most of his baby toys (he doesn’t chew on things much anymore, and they were much too simple for him), but we weren’t sure what get for him to keep him occupied. He’s at the age where he’s starting to become very opinionated about what he plays with, and he actually has favorite types of toys now, whereas before he would just play with whatever was set in front of him.

Here’s a quick round up of Jackson’s current favorite toys – I think all of these are toys that will last him for quite a while, as they can really grow with him. Let’s hope so, at least, because buying new toys is not my favorite activity!

1) Play kitchen (and play food) – We got this for Jackson for his birthday and it was one of the best things we’ve bought. Even though he doesn’t do much pretend play yet, he loves putting things in the cabinets, taking them out, and banging stuff around. He absolutely loves all of the play food, the pots and pans, and the little tupperware containers we’ve given him. I have a feeling this one will last us a long, long time!

2) Cars – Jack loves these Ikea cars and will play with them forever. We even bring them to restaurants sometimes to keep him occupied while we wait for food, and he loves to scoot them all around the table and make car noises. I have a feeling this obsession will only evolve and get stronger as he gets older…right now he’s a huge fan of anything with wheels, and I just love that these are cute and made of mostly wood so they’re not just another ugly plastic toy floating around my house.

3) Balls – any size, any kind. This is Jackson’s number one obsession right now and we can’t have enough balls in our house. These mini sports balls are the current favorite.

4) Blocks – we have these stacking blocks from Melissa and Doug and he has been playing with them almost non-stop lately. He also loves Duplos, his wooden blocks, and anything else he can stack up and knock over.

5) Animal Rescue Shape Sorting Truck – This combines all of his favorite things…cars, animals, and putting things into other things. He doesn’t actually put the animals into the right holes yet but he could play with this all day!

6) Mickey’s My First Learning Book – This is a toy we never would have bought ourselves, but it was a gift and he adores it. It plays music and talks and the way his face lights up when the music starts is just about the sweetest thing ever.

7) Toy broom – We got this because Jackson was obsessed with playing with our real broom, and I was tired of hearing him scream when he couldn’t navigate it around the house. He always runs to grab this whenever I’m sweeping the floor, and I love watching him run through the house waving it back and forth. I’m hoping we can capitalize on that and maybe soon he’ll be sweeping for me!

8) Classic Record Player – This was another birthday gift and it’s easily the toy that Jackson is the most enthralled with right now. He hasn’t figured out how to actually make it work on his own, so he’ll bring it to us so we  can get the music playing, and he loves to watch the record spin, try to change it, and just carry it around the house while the music plays. I love that it’s not too obnoxious, and the nostalgia factor is pretty awesome too!

9) Pound & Tap Bench – The balls that go with this are floating somewhere around my house so he doesn’t actually play with this the intended way, but he loves to play with the xylophone and slide it in and out of the little slot. When we do have the balls with it, it checks off another of his favorite activities – hitting things! This one is a definite winner for us.

10) Laugh & Learn Dog – This thing is so annoying but my mom got it for him and it’s one of his favorite toys. He frequently brings it to me to ask me to turn it on and then turns into a dancing fool as soon as it starts singing. We don’t have many noisy toys, but this one is a must-have in our home!

What are the favorite toys in your home right now? I could probably get rid of every other toy we have in the house and just keep these ten, and he’d be totally happy!