Calvin's Favorite Toys: Year One

Why, hello, blogging world!  I have been working on this post for a while (Calvin is 20 months now hahaha), and I finally found enough links and photos to share it with all of you.  I thought some fellow mamas might enjoy a list of all of Calvin's favorite toys.  

First and foremost, our absolute favorite toys are his Lovevery boxes.  He has a subscription where he received a box of Montessori-style toys every 2 months for the first year (and every 3 months now), and they are amazing.  They are all developmentally perfect, but that being said, he also goes back to many of the "younger" toys quite frequently.  FYI, nothing in this post is sponsored nor do I use any affiliate links, but if you'd like to subscribe to Lovevery, you and I can both get $20 off our next order (if you're a first-time subscriber) with my referral link.  Email me at meg.borrowedheaven@gmail.com if you'd like my code!  Thanks, friends!

Other than the boxes, almost literally every single other toy below was gifted to us or suggested by another mama.  Moms really do know what they're talking about - haha!  We have A. Lot. Of. Toys, and we use Montessori-style toy rotation so that Calvin really enjoys and engages with all of his toys.  We have a toy space up in our loft, and a second space in our downstairs living room.  Every Sunday night, I pull everything he had the previous week and replace it with new items.  On average, he has about 8-10 toys in a play space, and I try to always make sure there's something in each of these categories: a puzzle, something musical, something with wheels (his favorite category haha), something to stack, something to sort, a set of blocks, something that makes noise (electronic), and books.  

We started this at about 9 months, when he started being able to crawl around, and before that, we had little baskets of toys around his activity mat.  He used to love pulling toys out of the basket!

The one thing you won't really see in this post are books.  I started doing books and toys together, and I can't even tell you how long this post got.  The book post will be separate soon eventually.

Here we go:

Let's start with the big things... I highly suggest looking on Facebook marketplace for all of these.  They can be pricey, but we got many of them from neighbors!

• Mamaroo - birth to 8 months

• Activity mat - 2 weeks to 8 months

• Bumbo - 2 months to 6 months
• Infant to toddler rocker - 2 months on

• Jumperoo - 3 months to 1 year

Now the little things (mostly listed by starting age)...

• Giraffe WubbaNub - birth to 6 months

• OBall rattle - 1 month to 10 months (favorite on the changing table)

• Golf club rattle/soft squeaker - 2 months to 1 year (favorite in the stroller)
• Sophie the Giraffe teether - 3-7 months, then again at 10-12 months (he loved the original Sophie, too, but the teether was unmatched)

• Fish water-filled teether - 5 months on (still a favorite at 16 months)
• Bath toys: books, squirters, Disney bath set  - 6 months on

• Stacking cups - 6 months on
• Dragon WubbaNub - 6 months - 1 year (we quickly learned that we were overwhelming Calvin with too many toys in the car, so we gave him this one pacifier, and he was easily entertained)
• Melissa & Doug puzzles: peg, hide and seek, and chunky wooden puzzles - 7 months on (these really helped with his fine motor skills early on)

• Melissa & Doug wooden vehicles: Winnie the Pooh train, stacking train, emergency vehicle carrier, truck loader set - 8 months on

• Shakers and musical toys - 6 months on
• Singing toys: Vtech Kiss & Care Cows, BeatBo, Pull & Sing Puppy  - 7 months on
• Wooden animals (not exactly what we have, but these are close) - 9 months on (these are his favorite and helped him learn all the animal sounds)

• Ride on toys - 9 months on
• Bubbles - 9 months on

• Little Tikes golf set - 9 months on (he learned to "throw" around 9 months and loves to play catch together)

• Matching eggs - 10 months
• Poppity pop turtle and hippo - 10 months

• Radio Flyer Tricycle -12m on (this one has the parent push handle, which is awesome!)

That's it!  I've started thinking about his favorite toys now (at 16 months.... edit: ooof I started writing this post 4 months ago haha), so I'll be sure to do another post like this around the 2 year mark!

Baby Favorites: 9-12 Months

Calvin turns 15 months old this week (How?!?!), and after seeing Kelley's 6-9 month favorites, I realized that I never posted my own favorites for my own for months 9-12!  At the start of 9 months (in February), Calvin was just learning to crawl, so a lot of these favorite have to do with movement.  Then, by the time he was a year old in May, we were in full lockdown from COVID-19, and we spent (and still are spending) countless hours at home.  We are making the most of it, so investments like the tricycle and a snack tray for each stroller are so worth it.

You'll notice a couple of toys and books, I also have two posts planned just for favorite toys and favorite books throughout year 1, but if there are any other baby-related posts you would like to see, please let me know!  At the bottom of this post, you can find all of my previous "favorites" posts!

1. Crib rail covers: Calvin loves to chew on. anything.  I started seeing little bits of something (turns out it was paint) on his face, so when I realized he was chewing his rails, I bought these.  They tie on and don't really keep him from chewing but does keep him from destroying his crib and eating paint.

2. Bookshelves: These are close to the ground, next to his crib, and he loves picking what books to read and handing them to me!  

3. Books: Calvin loves to read.  He has tons of favorites, but anything with sounds or that move are on top of the list.  His favorites at this age were: Noisy Baby Animals (sounds), Trucks (lift the flap), and Hello Farm (indestructible books).

4. Baby gate: Well, technically this was a pet gate so that the cats could get up and down the stairs, but this one works great.  It's tall and wide enough for the top of our stairs.  

5. Snack trays for Uppababy and BOB strollers: Since it's so hot out, we got both of these trays to keep his water bottle when we walk.  He also loves bringing little toys with him on walks.

6. Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Tricycle: I got this in my neighborhood swap group for $10 and could not believe how expensive they are!  I would absolutely not pay full price for this, so make sure you check out your local Facebook marketplace.  That being said, it is actually worth its weight in gold because Calvin LOVES his tricycle rides around the block.  

7. Melissa and Doug wooden toys: These are the best quality toys I've found.  These are other Facebook swap group finds, and Calvin especially anything with moving parts and wheels like this car carrier: up and down lift, cars that roll, helicopter that spins.

8. Toddler utensils: A few months ago, when using his baby utensils, Calvin kept yelling and pointing at our fork.  We switched to these and he loves them (I think they feel more like "big boy" utensils).  

9. Golf set: Calvin just loves throwing balls and hitting them with the clubs.  This is a toy I didn't picture using until he was older, but he's obsessed with it, when I ask him if he wants to "play golf" every morning, he crawls right out to the loft and grabs the balls.

10. Bubbles: We need to get a battery-powered bubble blower, because the amount of time I spend blowing bubbles is crazy haha!  This little one is so great!

If you missed it, you can click on the photos below to see our other favorites:

Baby Favorites for 6-9 Months

Now that Calvin is almost a year old, I realized I never shared our favorite baby items from ages 6 months-9 months.  At this point, he was sleep trained (11-12 hours per night), just moved into his crib in his nursery, and started Baby Led Weaning, so sleeping and eating take up a lot of this list.

1. Hatch Rest+: Let's start with baby sleep.  Now that Calvin is in his own room, we bought him a Rest+ to use now as a sound machine and later to help him know when it's time to get up.  Right now, we use no light and the white noise sound all night, then at 7:30am, we set a program so that the sound stays the same but it adds a little rainbow light.  It's not enough to wake him up, but we hope as he gets older, he'll understand the "time to rise" feature.  We chose the Rest+ (instead of the original Rest) because there's an option for a 2-way audio monitor and a clock on the front (which we have turned off right now but hope to help Calvin learn to tell time with "time to rise" feature in the future).

2. Crib mesh: This was a decision that we made for Calvin because we feel that it's best for him.  Little boy (even in a sleep sack) is squirmy, and immediately into moving into his crib, he got legs and arms stuck out of the crib.  This fixed the problem immediately, and I actually think it provides an even cozier, darker environment for him.

3. Lovey: Calvin's sloth is another choice we made that goes against AAP's recommendations.  However, it was suggested by the Taking Cara Babies classes we took, and it seemed like something that would work well for him.  He never really took a pacifier, so to help him soothe at night, he has his "sloth-a-man" in his crib.  Sloth never leaves his crib, and Calvin has really made the connection between sloth and sleep.  The minute I hand him the sloth, his thumb goes in his mouth, he smushes it in his face, and he's content.  Actually, finding the link to sloth on Target, I just bought a third one (yes, we already have two that we switch in and out - I have one under my pillow in addition to his in his crib), JUST IN CASE.

4. Owlet: I shared my love for our Owlet sock and camera in our "first two months" post, but it deserves love again for a few reasons.  Calvin is in his own room now, which is stressful enough.  On top of that, I mentioned the lovey and crib mesh above, both of which are personal decisions that work for our family but are made much less stressful knowing that we are tracking Calvin's heart rate and oxygen levels.  I also love that you can pinch zoom to see baby even closer up, if needed.

5. Glider: Another item that I didn't use very much at all before Calvin moved into his nursery was his glider.  We thought about buying an expensive one from La-Z Boy but decided on this one from Target.  He nurses in it for most feedings, and we read books in it.  It's actually held up really well, and I'm super happy with it.

6. High chair: We have a dining room but don't eat in it often, so we knew that when it came time for Calvin to start eating, we wanted something for our kitchen counter.  This chair is perfect!  I love the tray because it keeps the mess in one place, the navy color hides a lot of the stains, and (even though it says not to machine wash) it washes and dries easily.

7. Utensils: Teaching a baby to use utensils is pretty funny, but these chewtensils are great.  They're super safe and the company, Bumkins, also makes this silicon plate that we also bought.

8. Cups: Once Calvin started with meals, we knew we wanted to offer open cups and sippy cups instead of a bottle at mealtime.  We bought these Munchkin 360 cups as well as an ezpz open cup (basically a silicon shot glass haha).  He does really well with both of them!

9. Wooden toys and puzzles: Calvin started loving wooden toys at this age.  He's subscribed to Lovevery play kits every 2 months that have awesome wooden toys, and we also love Melissa & Doug puzzles.  He likes the big chunky ones to chew on, and the peg puzzles are great to work on his fine motor skills.  They also make sound puzzles that are really fun!

10. Jogging Stroller: I absolutely love my BOB jogging stroller and think it's worth every penny.  I started getting back into running after Christmastime (when Calvin was 7 months) and love spending the mornings with him.  It's also great for trail walks around our neighborhood.  Even if we're just out and about (and may be through nap time), we bring this stroller because Calvin can lay flat, and it gets so dark under the sun shades.  I also bought this tray to have storage for my phone, drink, etc.

If you missed it, you can click on the photos below to see our two previous favorites posts:

First Birthday Gift Ideas

I cannot believe that Calvin's birthday is in a little under a month! 

I've been thinking about what to buy him since I didn't buy him like any Christmas presents haha - he did not need ANYTHING at 6 months, but now that he has some interests and toys he favors, I wanted to get him some things he'd enjoy this summer, especially if we are stuck safe at home for much of it.  I googled list after list and came up with these 10 gifts/gift idea categories for him.  I tried to find things in a variety of categories: pretend play, music, mobility, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills. 

1. Water table: Calvin is obsessed with the cats' water bowl and the bath, so I know he'll love this water table (that my parents are buying him... shhhh).  We are planning on expanding our patio this spring so that he'll have a great space to keep it outside.

2. Sprinkler and splash pad: Another water-related gift idea.  I thought about getting him an inflatable pool, but I thought this could be something fun and easier to move from place to place.  This isn't something he's getting but may get purchased later in the summer, especially if our pools aren't able to open.

3. Ball pit: I am just doing my best to fill my entire house with kids' stuff, huh???  This just looks like so much fun, and Calvin loves to throw and catch, so I feel like he'd love this.  Or how awesome is this GIANT one??

4. Kitchen play set: This is the first of two gifts that Mike and I are giving Boy for his birthday.  I bought this play set from IKEA with some of their little pots, pans, and food, and I'm refinishing the kitchen to match our kitchen: granite contact paper for the counter tops, silver spray paint for appliances, and dark walnut cabinets to match ours.  My plan is to keep it in our kitchen so he can "cook" with us.

5. Push car: Calvin has a couple of strollers, but I thought something like this, a tricycle, or an RC car (with a remote control for us to steer haha) would be a fun alternative for walks around the neighborhood!

6. Push walker: Bones got one of these as a hand-me-down from my coworker.  It's so cute, and if your baby doesn't have one, I would definitely suggest one!

7. Anywhere chair: This is the other gift (besides the kitchen set) that Mike and I are buying for Boy.  I actually found the chair itself in Facebook marketplace and am just buying a new slipcover with his name - it'll cost me less than half of the full price!

8. Learning tower: I've seen a few moms on Instagram with these, and they look like fun (when Calvin gets a little older).  Basically, you push it up to your counter and baby can be there with you to "help" cook or whatever you're doing.  Bonus is this one folds flat for easy storage.

9. Melissa and Doug: I love ALL of their toys.  I've learned that I'm a sucker for anything that can be personalized or is wooden.  They have a whole "Fill and spill" collection of soft toys (Cal has the bug jar) that you can get with their name on them.  I love the stacking/sorting wooden toys (We have this train), and, of course, their wooden puzzles.  I especially love the peg puzzles.  He's used these since he was 6 months, and I really think it's helped with his fine motor skills.

10. VTech: Calvin got the Kiss and Care Cows from his Auntie for Christmas and is obsessed.  I tried to find a link to them and literally could only find this eBay listing... apparently they're popular? Or out of production?  Yes, Vtech toys are loud, and yes, you get the songs stuck in your head, but he LOVES this toy.  I found a similar fly and learn airplane and pull and sing puppy on Amazon.  Put a little electrical tape over the speaker to muffle it a bit, and you'll tolerate it haha!