While ebeanstalk picks great toys, they like to get some help from the real experts – moms and kids, to help them select great learning toys. The toy we received was the Jumbo Knob Wooden Puzzle from Melissa & Doug who specialize in wooden toys.

Image (c) L Gerlach

My son is a little older, so I dropped by and let my nephew, who is not quite two, give the puzzle test run. He had a blast putting the shapes in the correct spot on the puzzle. He had a hard time at first, but after a while he started to get the hang of it.

The Melissa and Doug wooden shapes puzzle is a great learning toy for young children. The puzzle helps children learn their shapes, while they’re working on their hand-eye coordination, and learning to compare the shape to the hole in the puzzle to find the correct fit. The puzzle was definitely a hit with my nephew!

The puzzle is very tough and durable, so I think it would withstand the tests that a toddler can put it through and still hold up.

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Gentle Giraffe features soothing sounds, including rhythmic drums, a waterfall, the sounds of a safari trail, and quiet giraffes to gently ease your baby or young one to sleep.

Gentle Giraffe would go great with a jungle, or safari theme bedroom or nursery. The best part is, he doesn’t have to stay in the nursery. Your child can take Gentle Giraffe with them wherever they go, to have a little bit of home to soothe them when they need to relax or sleep while you’re out and about, or traveling.

Gentle Giraffe is made from hypoallergenic, eco-friendly bamboo fabric, which makes him a wonderful bedtime companion for young children.

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First, this toy is soft and babies love to teeth on the fish.  They can all go in the washing machine, which I love.  Each fish makes a different sound when you shake or squeeze them and each has a different texture.  As your baby grows, he or she will move beyond simply grabbing the fish and chewing them to making noises with them and eventually putting them in the fish bowl and taking them out of the fish bowl again and again and again and again, you get the point.

This toy went through spurts of popularity with my triplets, but I think if I hadn’t given it away to make room for “older toys”, they’d still take it out and look at the fish and play with them.  Of course, now they’d use their imaginations more, but I really do think they’d still use it in one way or another.

At just $15.95, the price isn’t too high for a toy that won Parenting Magazine’s Toy of the Year Award in the past.  I give the My First Fish Bowl two thumbs up.

Image: LeapsandBounds.com

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Of course, these days it’s included in the various traffic jams, crashes and other activities 3-year olds put their toy cars through on a daily basis.  Many of the cars the kids have received over the years have already been put out to pasture due to lost wheels, missing parts and other unfortunate fates.  The Sassy Poppin’ Push Car keeps holding up and shows no signs of breaking down anytime soon.

I’m not surprised this toy won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award and the National Parenting Publications Honors Award.  I love the Sassy toy line, and the Sassy Poppin’ Push Car has been a huge success in my house.

Do you have any baby toys in your house that your kids used for years?

Image source: Sassybaby.com

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I hope I can bring a unique perspective to Play Library, and of course, I’m thrilled to hear from Play Library’s readers.  I’m always willing to try the next great toy or product.  There are so many toys in my house right now that adding more doesn’t make a difference anymore.  Anyone else out there in the same boat?  Can you no longer see your floor through all the toys?  Is there just no place left to put them all in your house?  It’s nice to know I’m not the only one!

If you’d like to learn more about me, you can read my b5media bio.  It’s chock full of all the details about my background, my other blogs, my books and more.

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Okay, so, I’m making my way through the sites that Jennifer mentioned in the comments here, and I started with PsychoBaby and it made me laugh. Okay, the site itself didn’t make me laugh (though some of the products were cracking me up). But I started laughing because it reminded me of a backpack that I was shown the other day. A friend had bought this adorable little pink backpack for her daughter, completely girly with roses all over it. It wasn’t until she got it home that she noticed images of skulls intermingled with all of the roses in the print of the fabric. That cracked me up. (Yes, I know, it doesn’t take much!)

Anyway, looks like there are some cute and fun (and most definitely unique!) products over at PsychoBaby. I especially like the hat featured above, though all my kids came out with more than their share of hair. I wonder if they carry one for Bald Man, though.

Thanks for the tip, Jennifer.

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While I have nothing against the Baby Einstein products, I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever seen the videos, listened to the CDs, or played with the toys. I can see why Erica of GNMParents took my enthusiastic congratulations of Aigner-Clark as a promotion of her product.

In actuality, I was congratulating Aigner-Clark on harnessing her passion, sharing it with the world, and being able to make a living on it. Isn’t that the hope of us all? To be able to do what we love and find a way to support ourselves and our families on it? Isn’t that our hope for our children?

Since Aigner-Clark was mentioned in the speech, she has been blasted in several places for being recognized for doing nothing but creating videos for babies who should not be put in front of the TV. Since I’ve not seen the videos, I don’t have an opinion on them specifically. However, I have been known to throw a Wiggles video in on occasion (ha), and I’m sure neither Aigner-Clark nor I could be the first to be accused of using TV as a babysitter to TRY TO GET JUST ONE THING DONE. However, I also bottle-fed my eldest child, and still use disposable diapers, so maybe I’m not the one you’re looking to for child-rearing advice.

And, FINALLY, why has eveyone failed to mention the child safety video, The Safe Side – Stranger Safety, that Aigner-Clark produced with America’s Most Wanted guru John Walsh? Reading the text of the speech (you can find that portion here), it seems to me that this project was as instrumental in getting Aigner-Clark recognized in the presidential speech as her entrepreneurial spirit and success. I haven’t seen the safety video, yet (thanks for sending it, you know who!), but will give it a review when I do.

Anyway, I am proud to be nominated for the Hot Stuff Award, and will check out the other posts to see the company that I’m in. If you’d like to vote for me, head over to this post and vote in the comments. Thanks!

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Anyway, I thought I’d seen the last of it until one of my very dearest friends (or so I thought) bought my oldest one for her first birthday. Thanks.

My youngest is now perfecting the art of driving mommy insane with his constant pop-pop-popping around the house. It is quite nostalgic, though, to remember my baby sister using it and now seeing her niece and nephews enjoy the same toy. And quite a durable toy, as well.

As for that friend? Well, let’s just say her dear children haven’t had a birthday celebrated without some fun, loud toy of their own. It became almost a tradition of “let’s see who can make the other lose their mind first.” I think she won.

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