Top Toddler Toys

I know that a lot of adoptive parents out there are bringing a toddler home for the first time. I thought that I would put some of Eli's favorites on-line for you to see and maybe it could give you a point of reference for when you are shopping. Eli turned two in December, but he has had many of these toys for a year or more.


These are Eli's favorite books. He is still too hard on paper pages, so he reads the cardboard books. He enjoys books that are interactive. He likes to touch textures and fabrics and look under flaps. Animal books are a big favorite because he likes to say mooooo and make other animal noises.


We have had the Bee Bop Band which I believe is a Parents Magazine toy for a year now. He plays with it all the time. There are several different instruments inside and we make music and dance.


I bought this movie for Sophia Jane, our daughter we are adopting. When Disney announces that they have a movie that is available for a 'limited time only' and you want it, you need to buy it now. When the limited time is over, Disney takes it off of the shelves for a number of years-I've heard seven but don't know if that's official. I wanted my daughter to have 'The Little Mermaid' and I bought it now because I won't be able to get it as easily in two years when she comes. When my oldest boys were young, they wanted 'The Jungle Book' and it was off of the shelves-available nowhere. Now we have e-bay so it may be a little easier, but I wouldn't risk it. Start your Disney collection.


I bought this Little Tikes table at a garage sale. It is invaluable. There are drawers on either side where we keep the crayons and coloring books. Eli also eats breakfast and snacks there if the rest of the family is running around trying to get ready for work and school.


The Fisher Price Little People are wonderful. The farm helped Eli learn his animals and the noises that they make. The house has him starting to think about family dynamics. There is a Mommy, Daddy, Baby and Mommy Kitty. We just got the pirate ship, so we'll see what he does with it.


Our whole family loves to cook. It is very frustrating for Eli when his brothers and sister are in the kitchen with me and often times Daddy too, baking cookies and he gets shooed out because we need to open the oven. Having his own little kitchen has helped that a bit. His kitchen is located near our big kitchen. We all take time out and play with him at his kitchen regularly which makes him very happy.

SOME OTHER FAVORITES

When Eli turned one I put a small and very sturdy plastic slide in the living room. It has four steps. It helped Elijah focus on his motor skills. He loved it when we would put him on the slide and he desperately wanted to do it 'all by himself'. He is a master of the slide now, but I will bring it out again when Sophia comes home to help her learn to walk and climb.

Baby Einstein. If you need 20 minutes to drink a cup of coffee, make dinner or just to take a deep breath, this is how you make it happen. If your baby won't stop crying and you have tried everything....Baby Einstein videos are a little piece of heaven. It is magic, that's all I can say.

I also want to mention Mr. Potato Head. He's a classic. How can you resist the nose? We can't.

I KNOW THAT SOME OF YOU SEASONED MOMS OUT THERE HAVE SOME GREAT SUGGESTIONS TOO, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT. I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS TO KEEP ELI ENTERTAINED, CHALLENGED AND GROWING.
I'M SURE THERE ARE A LOT OF PARENTS OUT THERE WHO WOULD LIKE YOUR INSIGHT ALSO!