Pea Pie Baby blogs!

We’ve finally recovered from the holiday rush and being out of town and I can get back to this blog!

I thought it would be neat to share what some of my daughter’s Christmas gifts ended up being (yes, we convince our family members to become Pea Pie Baby shoppers!) and what she/we thought of them. So often it’s difficult to make a decision (especially when you see all the items we have to choose from that all look fun. I have a hard time not keeping them all for me!) online.

So this is what we and Jodi, who was 20 months, thought of her cool Christmas gifts:

* She is a dog/animal fanatic. My mom bought her the Melissa & Doug plush cocker spaniel. This may be one of her favorite gifts! (That, along with a $1 pair of sparkly pink sunglasses.) She started talking to the dog, put her snazzy sunglasses on it, pet it, called it puppy Jesse (like one of out dogs — we have two cockers) and tried putting a leash on the dog to walk it! We loved the quality of it — you can’t even tell she’s played with it and she’s played with it a LOT since Christmas. We think this dog’s name will be Jesse, too, mainly because she prefers saying Jesse over Graham (our other dog.) I want it to be a girl puppy so I can dress it for her in a pink collar and leash that we obviously can’t use with our boy dogs!

* The lucy & michael play tent. Love it, love it, love it. She got hers in the Lucy pattern — so pretty. Even my father-in-law and sister-in-law (and she really hates pink) admired that fabric. This was a huge hit with the adults. Everyone has fun going inside and reclining on the matching pillow and Jodi loves peeking her head out the back window. It was a breeze to assemble — we opened the tube it came in, untied the grosgrain ribbon holding it together and voila! We had a play tent. What’s cool is the tents all have windows, all have flap openings and come in a variety of very, very cute prints. Several adults were joking about getting a tent of their own! The company also has coordinating aprons, catch-all bags (perfect for storing toys in the tent) and carry-its (great for taking some treasures from the tent around town.) The fabric is soft, the items are sturdy and these truly are heirloom quality toys.

* The Arabian rocking horse by Plan Toys. The colors are gorgeous (almost Gator colors for us fans) and the horse is sturdy and made in Thailand out of recycled rubberwood. Easy assembly. Jodi loves rocking on it and saying “go, go, horsie” and we love how it’s made.

* She also got peg puzzles by Melissa & Doug – she loves playing with the pieces and discussing the animals on her puzzle. We really love the price!

* She got the 100-piece set of blocks by Melissa & Doug. My husband and I were having fun playing with the blocks but Jodi enjoyed throwing them more. Could have been a bad moment to try as she normally will play with smaller items.

* And finally, she got the pink/rose tutu by Ellie Bellie Kids. The tutu is so gorgeous and fluffs out so nicely. She loves twirling and dancing in it, and we love how it looks on her! Compliments abounded.

Someone asked me what I got for Christmas and I had a hard time remembering, but I knew everything Jodi had. It’s so much more important now that I enjoy my child’s excitement and wonder. I know there will come a time when she will be asking for gift cards like your typical teenager or young adult. Until then, we share in the wonder of play and make the most of every moment.