By Ariel

By Brianna

When Monkey first started pulling up on furniture and learning to walk, we didn’t have much furniture for her to explore along.  I wanted to encourage her to keep learning to walk, but I knew the walkers of my childhood were discouraged by childhood development professionals.  The old walkers are now considered dangerous, and possibly even discourage walking.  But Monkey was starting to push around empty diaper boxes, and was pulling up on everything she could find.  So I did my research, and found a number of great toys for a little one to push around.  We ended up buying the one I thought would have the most utility past this finite stage of Monkey’s development.

Enter, the Radio Flyer Classic Walker Wagon.  This beautifully designed wagon, based on the Radio Flyer wagons we all know and love, is perfect for beginning walkers.  There’s a bar, just within reach, for a little one to grab and pull themselves up on.  The wheels offer a little resistance, so that the wagon doesn’t roll away while baby is trying to stand up.  Monkey had a blast pushing her wagon around and loading it up with her favorite toys (and the dog’s toys, for that matter).  There’s even a bumper on the front, to protect both the wagon and your furniture and walls. ​

By Brianna

Summary:
In October 1980, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish published How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk.  It became a bestseller in the world of parenting books, and has stayed relevant in the ensuing decades with various updates.  In January 2017, Faber’s daughter, Joanna Faber, wrote a more specific version of this classic guide with her friend, Julie King.  Joanna and Julie both grew up with their parents using the principles in the original How to Talk, but found they were still sometimes stumped when it came to the very young children in their lives.  After many workshops, they wrote How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7.  This book takes the principles and tools from Faber and Mazlish’s original, and focuses with laser intensity on the specific issues that come up with children between two and seven, with many real life examples of the teachings in action.

By Ariel

My daughter is an artist, and pen on wall is her medium of choice. If she is asking me for something, it is usually for a pen. “Give me pen?” she plaintively asks. Ten minutes later I am staring at a wall in need of a good magic eraser-ing. Even when I strapped her into her high chair! She somehow used her toddler voodoo and scooched over to the wall, because it was obviously in desperate need of sprucing up. Thanks Bean.

I have been on the hunt for creative activities that 1) don’t involve too much damage to property and 2) aren’t susceptible to little chompers. The Bean is not actively teething at the moment, but still feels the needs to chew on everything. One of many options that I came up with was a magnetic drawing board. I remember loving mine as a kid! Plus a magnetic drawing board is easily mobile. This is a huge plus for our family; we seem to constantly be returning from or packing for our next road trip.

By Ariel
I embarked on the parenthood journey full of ideals and goals. But with a husband that works abroad half the year, some things simply were not doable when relying on me, myself, and I to get it all done. The WeeSprout Double Zipper Reusable Food Pouch was one item that made my to-do list a little less daunting.

The WeeSprout Double Zipper Reusable Food Pouch has a wide opening that makes filling a cinch – no funnel necessary. The pouches are safe to freeze, which makes batch cooking a possibility. Plus, with both a writing space and see-through window, you can conveniently see the date-produced or content at a glance. The pouches’ double-zip closure seals completely. I still place the pouches in a zip-lock before placing them in the diaper bag because I am overly cautious, but time and time again the pouches prove this is an unnecessary additional step. Not one leak!

By Ariel

Though not the first Duck and Goose book, Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin was our family’s introduction to the lovable waterfowl. Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin, by Tad Hills is a charming short story of our feathered friends look for their pumpkin in all the wrong places. Is it in the stump? No. Is it in the apple tree? No. How about under the water? No! It isn’t until their friend Thistle walks by and suggests they look in the pumpkin patch that their quest comes to fruition.

This simply worded story is accompanied by beautiful oil paintings done up in a pleasing autumnal palette. Each spread features quintessential fall features, great for teaching young learners the vocabulary that describes this beloved season.

I chose this book in the hopes that by the time we make our own pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch – our first – the Bean can confidently point out pumpkin after pumpkin. It delivered! Now we can’t get her to stop pointing out pumpkins. That basketball? A pumpkin. Any and all decorative squash? All pumpkins.

A hit with the adults and the Bean. Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills is four eggs – a current favorite but not an all-time favorite.

Hills, T. (2009.) Duck and goose find a pumpkin. New York, NY: Random House/Schwartz and Wade.

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By Brianna

By Brianna

​First up is a general recommendation.  Dishwasher baskets.  With lids.  Both mothers told me I did not need a special dishwasher basket for bottle and sippy cup parts, but both were assuming that I already had a dishwasher basket with a lid.  All three homes my husband and I have shared so far have had baskets for flatware, but none of them had any sort of lid to keep things in.  If you’re in the same boat, I highly recommend finding a basket that has a lid that snaps tightly into place.  Breast pumps, bottles, and sippy cups all have small or lightweight parts that will be as tiny boats in a hurricane once you turn on the dishwasher.  Not to mention pacifiers, teethers, and small, plastic toys your child might play with as they grow.  I personally was gifted a Munchkin Deluxe Dishwasher Basket, but I would rather have their High Capacity model, as it looks like it would accommodate the parts of our favorite sippy cups much better.  But, if you have little clearance between your top rack and the ceiling of the dishwasher, the Deluxe is probably preferable.  I give the Deluxe basket four eggs.  I haven't tried the high capacity yet, but if I do, I'll update this post with its own allocation.

​By Brianna

​Most of us probably remember reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond.  In the original, charming tale, depicts a little boy trying to appease a mouse with a cookie, and then a glass of milk, on and on, until the story comes full circle and the mouse asks for another cookie. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was followed up by several more in the same vein; If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Dog a Donut, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, and more.  These books are all super fun for preschoolers and early school-agers, but they’re still a bit much for my toddler to sit through. 
I’m here to tell you that even if your little one is still very squirmy and hard on books, you can still enjoy the charming artwork and storytelling of Numeroff and Bond.  The first time we encountered one of these Mouse board books was in the form of It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse!  It’s time for Mouse to decorate his pumpkins.  He paints faces on four pumpkins, and each is a different emotion.  Then, his friend, Dog, joins him, and the two have even more fun together. 
The story is very easy to follow, and the pictures are just as charming as those in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  This is one of Monkey’s favorite books to read over and over.  I like to ask her where Mouse is on each page, as well as quiz her on the emotions depicted by the various pumpkins.  There are also a few chances to count all of the pumpkins.  Since Monkey likes this book so much, and it gives us so much to learn in such simple pictures, I’ll give this book a five egg rating.  If you want a charming board book for fall, this one is a great pick.  It will keep your little one learning while they play with Mouse and Dog.

Numeroff, L., & Bond, F. (2012). Its pumpkin day, mouse! New York, NY: HarperCollins .

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By Ariel

If you are a grammar nerd, you will flip over Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett. The entire book is made up of only four words: apple, pear, orange and bear. The only thing that changes? The comma! By adjusting something so small and easily overlooked Emily Gravett teaches shapes, colors, sequence and – of course – the importance of the comma. What starts as orange, pear, apple and bear becomes an apple, a pear and an orange bear. A delightfully simple read.

The board book was hardier than usual; sturdy is an understatement! The pages were super thick – at least 2-3 mm and easily withstood the best efforts of my herculean toddler. The illustrations – simple soft watercolors – brought the corresponding text to life.  If it were up to only me, I would give it a solid five eggs.

Unfortunately, the clever grammatical tricks were lost on my toddler. The little bean could not get past the first four pages without discarding it in search of a more stimulating book. So overall? I would have to say that at this point in her development, its three eggs.

I have not lost hope though! After returning the board book to the library, I went on amazon and bought the hardcover. She may not like it now, but I foresee Orange Pear Apple Bear being a useful teaching tool when she begins learning the importance proper grammar and punctuation in effective communication!

If you want to buy Orange Pear Apple Bear, click the link below.  It's an affiliate link, so Busy Nest News will get a little something from your purchase, which will help keep us running.  Thanks!

Gravett, E. (2006). Orange pear apple bear. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster/Little Simon.