Toys Toys Toys

Just like with baby clothes, I've found lots of great toy companies over the past few months.  We're all familar with fisher price and most mom's these days know brands like lamaze and infantino but there's a lot of others out there too. Here are a few of my fave lesser known ones...

Kushies (http://www.kushies.com/Cataloque/toys/toys.html) "Baby toys for big imaginations": 

These quirky toys were inspired by emotional intelligence to nurture cognitive growth and encourage self expression, confidence and imaginitve play.  Lots of fun high contrast colors and patterns from rattles to playmats to cuddly stuffed animals (http://www.kushies.com/Catalogue-new/kushies_kritters/kushies_kritters.html).   One of my personal faves from this company is the magnetic stacking "Stackrobats" (pictured) that are not only visually stimulating but also help promote fine motor development/dexterity.

BRIO Wooden Toys (http://brio.knex.com/):

I've always loved classic wooden toys.  I guess at first glance they may seem boring to some but I'm never surprised when a small child ends up playing with the simplest of things over the brightest flashing multi-sounds toys. Brio has taken the basics of wooden toys and updated them.  Focusing mostly on train sets but also creating some great pull toys, I love these.

Wonderworld (http://www.wonderworldtoy.com/):

Another great classic wooden toys company except these toys are made from ecofriendly rubber-wood.   They have some great classic stacking trains and hand toys but I found this uber cute crocodile rocker that has become one of my faves from this company.

Yookidoo (http://yookidoo.com/):

Stimulating educational toys for babies and toddlers that nurture mental, emotional and physical development. This push n go snail comes with two different "shells" that can be removed and played with indivudally as their own toy.  One shell is a stacker toy and the other is a bead rattler. Who doesn't like 3 toys in 1?

Dandelion (http://www.dandelionforbaby.com/):
Innovative toys made of organic, natural and recycled materials. These are also adorable! The company offers not only developmental toys, rattles and plush but tableware, a few clothing items, and totes too.

Online Shopping and The Bag

Insomnia can be strangely productive.  Late last night I found myself revamping our baby registry (more for myself to be able to keep track of the things I like and eventually want to get at this point than anything).  I also found myself finding some new favorites for baby items and awesome deals on Amazon.com.
I've mastered the online search there by putting in a general search terms for things I'm interested in (i.e. diaper bag), then narrowing my results down by sorting those that have free shipping, then narrowing those down by price, discount or user review ratings until I have a managable set of items to browse through.

I had been putting off buying many things for the nursery/Landon until after our last baby shower (which was an entire week ago now!).  SO I finally gave in and went on a little splurge!  I spent a little time at Babies R Us (mostly window shopping and picking up items that had been majorly marked down and were on clearnance- diaper pail, bottles, washclothes, dreft stain remover, the "mostly boring but oh so convenient" stuff).

But I really hit the jackpot online when I got home.  I was able to find the changing table that matches our crib (that JUST was added to amazon this week- free shipping and 35% off), crib mattress, changing pad and then I found my diaper bag. 

I hope I love the bag just as much when it gets here as I did when I stumbled across it in my random search methods.  No offense to those of you who like the plastic rectangles with a nylon strap that we get charged $50+ dollars for, but I'd rather have something a little more innovative and stylish if I'm going to spend money on it and tote it around more than my favorite purse for the next 2 years.
So after looking at hundreds of bags (not even exagerating) I found The Kemby Sidekick.  Not only does it look better than your average boxy diaper bag but it doubles as an infant carrier.  Yep, that top flap of the bag just lifts up over your shoulder and helps hold your little one on your hip (best for 4 months+).  The bag features an extra compartment on the bottom with hidden zipper for diapers/wipes, and also includes a changing pad, travel wipes case, and removable insolated snack/bottle bag.
The big bonus from my 2 am insomniac find,  I got it for 60% off and saved $100!
I'm not sure Jason is going to love the color as he was just making comments about my similarly colored purse but I'm calling "my turn to pick" on this one :)
Maybe we'll have to get a diaper dude bag just for him...

32 Weeks- already?!

Jason and I have been overwhelmed with all of the generosity from our friends and family over the past few weeks.  We feel so lucky and grateful to have such amazing and giving people in our lives.  Landon is so blessed before he is born!!

We're at 32 weeks and 3 days as of today...Which means we have less than 8 weeks to go to our due date!!

I think I' have reached a point of boredom somewhat with talking about being pregnant.  But I thought I would try to answer the common questions I am hearing these days.

How are you feeling? great for the most part!  I don't want to jinx it but I have been feeling pretty fantastic throughout this pregnancy.  I am having some anemia that has me feeling fatigued more than normal and is also contributing to shortess of breath but nothing too horrible.  My emotions are definitely feeling better these days too (of course, I am typing this ona  "good" day.  Ask me this question again on an emotional day and I may have a compelely different answer).
I'm also having some mild back pain and occasionally some hip pain but, again, nothing major and nothing worth complaining about most of the time.

Is he kicking a lot? He is!  He's a little mover and I'm pretty used to his schedule.  He likes to get really active right when I am getting ready for bed.  His kicks are so strong that he wakes me up sometimes but I've only had a few painful moments so far.  His favorite game is digging into my bladder- over and over and over.

Do you need anything for the nursery still? Yes, there are a few things we still need but we have been so blessed to receive many many presents and are well on our way to having everything we want for Landon.  His wardrobe is huge! and I think we may have enough to not wash anything for over a month. (maybe not quite. but close!)

Are you ready? not to sound cliche but as ready as we'll ever be!  We are both extremely excited and so happy to meet Landon when he gets here but I'm not in too much of a rush yet.  I want June 4th to come quickly, but I don't want Landon to come before that week I guess is really what I should say.  I'll admit the idea of it all happening soon makes me a little teary eyed with happiness. 

He'll be here before we know it!

Due Dates

It's hard to believe how quickly the past 7 months have gone by.  We are almost to 32 weeks-which for those of you not so hot with math, or a little unfamiliar with human gestation, means that we only have 8 weeks to go until our due date!  And since due dates are only a guestimate and most babies are born between 38 and 42 weeks, Landon COULD be here as soon as 6 weeks!

A little more info on Landon's due date- Based on conception and ovulation dates, I have his due date as June 4th. My doctor's guess and official in the record is June 1st.  His 20 week ultrasound dated him for June 6th (with an accuracy rate of +/- 4 days).

My mom is flying in late on the 2nd or early on the 3rd so regardless of statistics, dates, guesses and no matter how excited I am (and ready for a margarita), he's not allowed to show up before June 4th. 

My neice decided to make her debut almost 2 weeks early, and a week before Grandma Hayes could get there. So I keep telling Landon the pressure is on for him to just hang on and stay nice and comfy until my guess at his due date so his grandma can be there to be a part of his birth.  I'm also telling him that he's not allowed to get too comfy because his momma IS impatient (and IS ready for a margarita) and IS SOOO excited to see him!

Is it crazy for me to actually expect him to be here between late on June 3rd and June 7th- no earlier. no later. ;)

No matter what day he chooses for his birthday it's going to be SOON and Jason and I are beyond excited (beyond excited- we're scared, anxious, nervous and all that other normal stuff too).