good list

I think of the good list as a mini time capsule of our life.  A quick snapshot at the favorites right now.  The favorites around here are always changing, some come quickly and stick around, some creep in slowly and go away quickly...  But I like to remember what kid stuff is currently doing the trick for us:

Everything by Mo Willems.

Especially the Gerald and Piggie Dance Game:

http://www.pigeonpresents.com/DanceGame/

As I'm preparing the new baby room and figuring out how I'm going to leave behind Aiden's hippo room (painted by my great friend Erin what seems like ages ago - more thanks!), I happened upon the book that my friend had with her for inspiration at our library book sale. I was pretty excited when it caught my eye, and I'm glad to own it now.

Aiden got this book from J's aunt and uncle right after he was born.  It is a very artsy, elaborate pop up book, so I have to admit that I just squirreled it away thinking that my infant would destroy it with spit up and my toddler would maul it.   When we first brought it out for the more grown up version of our drooly destructo boy (he's not so bad) he was immediately excited about it.  Each page has a blue 2 hidden on it, and he now knows right where each one is, but still likes to search around each page and make the parts move.

This toy deserves all the awards it claims from Family Choice blah blah raa rahs.  Seriously, when we first got it Aiden and I played with it for just under two and a half hours straight.  I was amazed and after a while just really wanted to see how long he would play with it in one sitting.  There were endless combos with the just over 50 pieces in our set.  When dad got home he came up with even more cool creatures.  It's like tinker toys with bug pieces, bones, and joints that move in all directions.  We may need more sets since it looks like they have dragon and sea creature pieces too.

Aiden's teacher mentioned how Aiden seemed most interested in the math related works.  But I realized that we didn't have that many games or toys that involved math.  My mom suggested monopoly, which was always a hit in our family.  Serendipitously, the next week Aiden found this Shrek junior monopoly game at the store and asked if the easter bunny could bring it to him - I decided to give him a treat and buy it right then.  He loves it, and is figuring out how to pay for the properties by adding up his dollars.  I think we played nearly every day last week, sometimes twice.  We love it because the junior edition is perfectly simplified and takes a lot less time than the real edition.

The Ikea Landat Farm is like a combo playmat and playhouse.  Aiden likes to expand with other blankets and toys so that the roads lead to forests and other imaginary places.  I like it because it folds right up into a nice carry case deal.

These Discovery Place and Trace toys are a great combination.  You can trace them on the outside and the inside.  Then they are textured so you can rub them also.  Aiden likes to remind me that you can even trace the outside house shape...etc.