what's the best first birthday gift?

It's hard to believe... but our little boy is turning one in two weeks! Although my husband jokes that he would like to "spoil" him with toys, I'm more of a believer in kids having a few quality toys... for lots of reasons that I won't get into at the moment.

(By the way, I don't count books or musical instruments in the same category - the more the merrier if you ask me. Levi loooves reading stories and loves, loves, loves his little guitar that he got for Christmas. Correction: he's obsessed with his guitar.)

We've already bought him a wooden Noah's Ark shape sorter toy for his upcoming birthday, and would like to buy him something else as well.

As we're thinking about what to get, I'd love to hear what you think are the best birthday gifts for a one year old! What was the biggest hit at your little one's first birthday?

Here are some of the ideas we've had so far:

love this fire truck by green toys - totally made out of recycled materials!

although we think a ride-on toy would be great, we're up in the air about the
specific one... but thought this pre-tricycle might be a good option.

levi loves the swings! a toddler swing would be a bit hit, no doubt.

is it crazy to consider purchasing a small drum? levi LOVES the drums soooo much.....

little xylophones are so much fun! this one by hohner kids has great reviews for it's tuning,
but is hard to find. of course there's always fischer price or little tykes...

another winner from green toys - made out of fully recycled materials.
a great precursor to the big, metal tonka trucks!

what parent doesn't hope their kid will end up loving legos?!
mega blocks are the prefect start for the little guys.

There also also push toys, wagons, little people toys... the list goes on!


Oh, how to choose?!!! I never really thought that toys were a big deal until I had a child of my own... and now I get it. They are so much fun! I want to choose well, spend our money wisely, and get him something that he enjoys that will also be durable and long-lasting.


Dear friends, what are your best first birthday gift ideas??

sooo excited,


p.s. This is not a sponsored post. All of these toys are just things we're personally thinking of purchasing.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission

dear God, thank you for easily amused children

Who needs to spend money on toys anyway?

This little wonder is Levi's current favorite toy, and has been for the last two weeks. He carries it around the house with him as he crawls from room to room.

He obviously finds it both fascinating and exciting - one of the "adult" objects within his reach that's not forbidden. (Apparently it must taste good as well.)

The other day I caught him practicing his clapping while still holding his beloved doorstop with one hand.

And the day before that, I found it in the bathroom... a few hours after I found it under the couch in the office. This doorstop travels.

Dear friends, what are your children amusing themselves with these days?

stocking up on doorstops,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission

dear God, thank you for big, ridiculous toys that allow mommy to take a shower

I thought I'd be the mom that would never buy gigantic play centers like this. Because, you know, kids like to play with shoes and wooden spoons and remote controls... But then Levi started crawling and Target had a sale and... I changed my mind.

A friend of mine refers to their monster toy conglomerate as "baby jail" for when she needs a few minutes with the baby contained somewhere safe.

I like to think of ours as "baby heaven"... where the ammo for chomping is never beyond reach...

...and where big boy gets to "stand up" as much as he wants without depending on mama's help.

Really, it keeps everyone happy... for 20 minutes at least.

Dear mommy-friends, what are your favorite ways to keep your baby imprisoned entertained while you "get stuff done"?

Have you registered your blog here yet?

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission