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Whimsical September

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Motherhood 1 Comment

My 13 Month Old’s Favorite Toys & Books (Great Gift Ideas)

Hadley is getting so big, and watching her transition from my sweet baby to a spunky, beautiful little girl is incredibly fun. She’s moved on from her rattles and play mats, so a few weeks ago I cleaned and packed up her first-year toys to make room for a new stage of toys.
I love that she’s hitting the age where she has preferences and favorites, and even though she can only say a few words, she makes very clear what her absolute favorite toys and books are. If you’re in the market (or soon to be in the market) to buy a gift for a one year old, hopefully this list of my daughter’s favorites will give you some ideas. 
Step2 Whisper Ride 2 Buggy

We can’t wait for the weather to warm up and use the heck out of this car! Hadley’s always been a big fan of our family walks and her stroller, but I know she’ll enjoy them even more while riding like a cool kid in her pink car. For parents, I love that it has a cup holder, sturdy handle for pushing, and is easy to fold up to bring to the park.

Little Tikes Princess Cozy Coupe Ride-On

We’re decided that since she has two cars (lucky girl!), the Step2 is going to be her outside car and the Cozy Coup is going to stay inside (but because she’s the boss sometimes, this may change!). We love watching her climb in and out of this car over and over, pushing it around herself, opening and shutting the door a hundred times in a row, turning the key, pushing the horn, etc. She’s loved it from the second she saw it!

Disney Minnie Mouse Plane Ride-On

This toy is a favorite of not only my daughter’s but every kid who’s come in our home. She got it for her first birthday, and we couldn’t pull her away from it for days. She doesn’t ride on it that much, but she loves pushing a button that makes the light-up wheel go around, and she loves hiding toys in the lift-up seat component. Remember when she hid my cell phone in the Christmas tree? I checked this toy for my phone first thing! You can find this in store or online from Target.

Noah’s Ark Shape Sorter
This is definitely my favorite toy/puzzle that Hadley has. I just think it’s adorable! I love that all of the animals come in pairs like the bible story and that there’s a Noah and “Mrs. Noah” as we call her (I need to do a little bible reading and figure out his wife’s real name! Anybody know?). Right now the monkeys and pandas are her favorite. We find them all over the house!
Melissa & Doug Large Farm Jumbo Knob Puzzle
Knob puzzles are the best for the obvious reason that she can easily take them out and put them back in their correct spots. She really likes this Melissa & Doug one that she received from my aunt for Christmas!
Melissa & Doug Sound Alphabet Puzzle Set

I think every parent loves a toy that’s equal parts educational and fun for kids! This puzzle is unique because it has an audio component and says the letters out loud when a child correctly puts each letter in its spot. Super cute.

Books

Hadley’s perfect day would consist of an hour of running long hallways and then plopping down in my lap to read books the rest of the day. She has a ton of books and can pull them out from her bookshelf on her own, but she pulls out these same four books pictured below over and over again. If they’re all sprawled out on the floor, we can 99% guarantee that she’ll sort through them and bring us one of these four.

10 Little Ladybugs
Baby’s Hug-A-Bible

Corduroy

Sophie & Friends
Munchkin 36 Bath Letters & Numbers

As soon as we plop her cutie bootie in the tub every night she reaches for her letters. It’s been fun watching her learn how to put them all over the sides of her tub! I know these will be a bath time staple for a while!

The thing I love the most about this block set is the amount of time Hadley has spent on the floor with her grandparents, my sister, her uncles, and us as we build different things together. It’s warmed my heart a dozen times over to glance over and see her sitting nicely with our family members playing blocks with her. She loves watching and learning how to connect it all together. 
Big thanks to our generous friends and family who gifted us every one of these toys and books. We are so appreciative.
*P.S. – Did you notice the “toy” in the bottom right-hand corner of the first picture in this post? Because I like to keep it real, I’ll go ahead and tell you that spatulas and rubbermaid takes the cake FOR HER FAVORITE TOYS EVER. 
OF ALL TIME. 
All of the toys listed above are right behind spatulas and rubbermaids. Yup.
Because the toy industry is always evolving, I’d love to hear what your kids love and what I should look out for to get my daughter now or in the future. Let me know!
Disclaimer: Affiliate links are included in this post and I may receive a commission for your purchase. Thank you!

Erica
Erica

Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo

January 8, 2015

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Meet Erica

Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you!

I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos.

I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 5, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!)

I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo

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