Stuff that actually gets played with at my house

Nathanael's Top Five:

You never can predict what kind of stuff your kid is going to latch on to as favorites, but the book below is certainly Nathanael's favorite of the moment. He asks me to read it to him on a daily basis and never gets tired of the pictures and trying to say their names.

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DUDE. I got this trike for Nathanael around his first birthday and paid, like, $60 for it! He rides it everyday around the house and I would say it was worth every penny. BUT: It's listed on Amazon right now for $35! WHAT??? With free shipping too! If your toddler is in the market for a sturdy, ride-on toy that will last and not annoy you to death with obnoxious noises, THIS trike is definitely the way to go! Nathanael loves it. This simple car from Plan Toys was given to Nathanael last year as a Christmas gift. It goes faster and than any of his other cars and is the perfect size. While you will still see Nathanael walking around the house with an occasional matchbox car in his hand, we've had countless wheels and doors break off of those. This one keeps ticking and he's played with this one the most of all.

Hunter's Top Five:
I got these Trio Blocks at Kmart and stacked a bunch of great coupons to get them for SUPER cheap. Best toy purchase I have made in the past 6 months. Hands down. Hunter asks to play with these every day. The only downfall is picking up all the pieces and..if you're like me...having to psychotically account for every last one and go bonkers if you can't find them all.

Impulse buy from Daddy at Basspro. Hunter LOVES this gun especially because it has a real, working trigger.

I have really tried to direct my son's need for adventure, swords, soldiers, and excitement towards things like The Chronicles of Narnia and Bible stories as opposed to superheroes and the more commercialized kid's media. Hunter LOVES the Chronicles of Narnia and I LOVE the symbolism of Christianity behind it. Hunter has many Narnia books and this DVD. He loves to watch it over and over and over again. As he gets older I will try to draw out the spiritual parallels in hopes that he will further appreciate and understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by dying in our place....just like Aslan did!



I have been very blessed to have a slew of family members buy wonderful toys for my boys thanks to THIS wishlist for Hunter and THIS wishlist for Nathanael. Since we are back into the season of gift buying and I have an overwhelming urge to obsess over window shopping for fun, creative, long-lasting, and simple toys for my boys. I could do it ALL DAY LONG. Seriously. I need help.

Since some of you might have better things to do than to spend every spare moment doing this, I thought I'd take a moment to share the top toys that actually get played with at my house at this moment in time.

Hunter's Top Pics:

Toys that they BOTH enjoy:

The Melissa and Doug Fold-n-Go Barn

Melissa and Doug Band in a Box
We use this routinely almost every day after calendar time. I put on some music and we go to TOWN on this. We also have a camo harmonica and an the Plan Toy Drum (LOVE THIS!) to supplement. Super fun times with this set.
Classic wooden blocks get played with by both of my boys on a consistent basis. You just can't go wrong with something like this. The more the better!
Someone gave us this and I put it in the playroom for the boys. They have been having hours of fun with it. Nathanael especially likes to use the slide as a ramp for cars and Hunter uses it as a castle or hunting blind or soldier fort.
This Gorilla Mountain by Fisher Price was Hunter's #1 gift pick for last year. Santa brought it to him. While I like to shy away from noisy, plastic toys I have to admit that my boys have enjoyed countless hours playing with this. It has hidden nooks and crannies, bats that shoot out of the gorilla's mouth and a much of fun figures too.