eep on his tricycle that granny bought for him before he was even born!

my son will be a year old at the end of september. A YEAR OLD. everyone warned me that time would fly but i still just can not believe a whole year has gone by!!! lately every time we go to target or babies r us, i hold up toys and see which ones he is most interested in and each time i come home with another toy that i swear i am going to wrap up and save for his bday. but when i see his little eyes light up…i just can’t help myself and i give it to him. i can see this is going to be a problem come christmas time. =) even though we have no problem finding fun toys, i wanted to make sure i am getting him some developmental toys as well so i reached out to stef from askananny.com again for her recommendations on what her favorite toys are for one year olds. i know i have a few momma readers with babies around the same age as eep so i thought you might enjoy her response as well:

“You know, I get this question from a lot of moms, and I really need to make a master list (so stayed tuned on AskaNanny.com!). Out of my many suggestions, I can narrow the choices down to a few perfect toys broken into two groups: Fine Motor (or small muscle toys) and Gross Motor (or whole body toys). I‘d like to point out that my suggestions may seem a bit old for him, but the exposure will help him to grow into them faster, plus the way he plays with a toy now will be totally different from how he plays with that same toy in 6 months!”

Fine Motor Toys for One Year Olds:

Cause and Effect toys – I absolutely love a ball run or track for this age. I have two favorites: one for the bath, and one for everyday play. All 12 month to 3 year old children love to place a ball on a track and watch it race down, bumping into things and going through tunnels along the way! These toys develop hand/eye coordination, focus, patience, and eye tracking skills.

KidKraft Zig Zag Ball Run

Musical Instruments – These too go along with the cause and effect type toys. Anything that can be easily played, like jingle bells or a drum, is perfect for a young toddler. Musical instruments encourage us, as parents, to sing and interact with our babies in ways we normally wouldn’t! I love real instruments, not plastic-y ones. To find a great selection, try a montessori toy company!

Gross Motor Toys for One Year Olds:

Climbers – I think it is so important to have an indoor climber. It will encourage muscle development and offer an appropriate outlet for the excessive energy toddlers have. Some toddlers are born “climbers,” and some are not, but they ALL will, at some point, try to climb on precarious household objects. To help distract and redirect this behavior, a climber offers a safe option for your toddler that is all his own! (Add a slide and you’re set for hours!)

Little Tikes School Bus Activity Gym and Climber

a big thank you to stef for giving me some GREAT ideas. i know eep would LOVE that climber! and i actually just bought him a xylophone last week. it is the ONLY gift i haven’t given him yet…lol. moms…please leave any suggestions in the comments…i love hearing from you!

P.S. i apologize for the lack of outfit posts this week. i swear i have been on the go non-stop this whole week. and none of my outfits were worth sharing. i mean none. i was at the post office today finally mailing off the birchbox winners gifts and as i was looking at everyone in line…all i could think was…i hope no one is reading my return address as “the stylish housewife” because there was nothing stylish about my outfit today…ha ha!