toys

Soothe & Glow Seahorse
$14.99
I bought this toy and started playing the music for my now 7 month old daughter while I was still pregnant. She was already used to the music by the time she was born, so it's been a favorite of hers from the beginning. We don't travel without it, because it helps soothe her so she can go to sleep by herself. The music is beautiful, the ocean sounds are calming, and it's so cute! I just wish I had known that it also comes in pink before I bought it.

Hasbro Playskool Busy Ball Popper
$28.99
I have seen the other negative reviews on this toy. I read them because I could not imagine anyone saying anything bad about it! My son absolutely loves this toy. We got it for him about 6 weeks ago. Yes it is VERY LOUD (both music and fan), in fact much louder than all of his other toys. I've gotten used to it though and don't mind. At first, the loud music did seem to scare him but after a few days of hs older siblings playing with it, he seemed to get the idea and figured out how to push the plunger himself. Now he pushes it all the time. The balls do go flying (how anyone coudl say the fan isn't strong enough, I don't know) sometimes, and sometimes he chases them and sometimes I have to dig them out of places. Once again, that's ok since the whole idea is for his enjoyment and development. And it gives me a little added exercise. He has tried to stick other toys down the hole but, anticipating that he'd do this, I'm really careful about which toys I leave out for him when he's playing with this so that he's can't get anything too stuck. So most of the other toys he has have pieces too big to really fit far down the hole and I can just pull them out. I must have the newer model with the cover because we have not had any "danger" issues with him getting stuck or even trying to get his arm stuck. He is also always supervised when playing with things like this. Bottom line is my son loves it and so do I! If you want tons of fun and laughter with your baby I highly recommend this toy!

LeapFrog Learn & Groove Counting Maracas
$14.99
These Counting Maracas are worth it but the musical one is truly fun and has a great beat. The female voice says "shake it up." My twin 9 month-olds play with them here and there except when I roll them around the house with the music one. You can try this activity I describle below.

The one that lights up and has sounds is fun, especially in the dark. They liked it right away. Our biggest game with that one is where I roll them around the house in an umbrella stroller in the dark or near-dark while they get to hold the musical maracas. They love that. And it's not boring because there are 3 different tunes and with different verbal themes (colors, numbers and a "shake it up" one). This maracas has a lot of great sound effects too and you can also select English or Spanish and choose between 2 volume levels. We use all the options. My twin babies feel important holding onto it while taking a ride around the house, one at a time.

The one that one just shakes and makes rattle noises is better than expected although still a little big for their 9-month old hands. They shake that one, not the musical one since that one doesn't rattle. It's a welcome addition to their toy collection but by far the best one is the musical maracas. The musical maracas didn't have to be shaped like a maracas because it's not for shaking.

One potential issue: The batteries for this one are very tiny. I'm going to have to replace mine any day now and I'm not certain it will be easy to find this type of battery.

VTech Preschool Learning Tote and Go Laptop
$26.99
Based on the other reviews we purchased this laptop for our two year old son. When he opened it, he was super excited and absolutely loved it. There are certainly a good variety of activities that the toy can perform and we could really see how a toddler could enjoy using this toy for at least a couple of years. The big problem though is that the sound gave out after a couple of weeks even though it was not harshly treated. When we opened the laptop, we found a loose wire that should be easy to reconnect but it is still a little disappointing to have the toy work properly for only a couple of weeks - especially a toy that our son was really enjoying.