Stuff We Love
I am a little embarrassed to admit how many toys and books I have picked up for Little Man. Some stuff is good and some stuff I can’t wait to give away. Everything in this section is Mom-e approved. Whether it is a toy that we all enjoy playing with or books that we read over and over and over and over again, these are some of our favorite things.
Stuff We Love Sub Categories
Toddler Books We Love: Best Books for 2 Year Olds
My 2 year old son loves books, but it is no accident. We spend a lot of time reading reviews on Amazon.com, talking to his teachers, and asking other parents of 2 year olds. I love when we get a box in the mail, and he jumps up and down yelling. “New books? New books?” Yes, I probably have a little problem, but hey…He isn’t jumping up and down asking for cookies.
At any rate, below are some of our favorite toddler books. All kids are different, but I would consider them some of the best books for 2 year olds.
PS…In case it isn’t obvious, I get our books and a lot of other toddler stuff from Amazon.com. There is no tax, most stuff has free shipping, and it is a heck of a lot cheaper than our local chain bookstores. If you aren’t a millionaire and don’t need it tomorrow, I suggest looking there first.
Sorry. Now, to continue with my 2 year old’s favorite toddler books…
Llama Llama Red PajamaBuy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
I enjoy this book as much as my son does. We both identify with the story of a baby llama freaking out because he is scared that his mother is gone. Plus, the pictures are so expressive. Even though the book is about llamas, I have seen the exact same expressions on my 3 year old’s face. I mean, look at the cover…
Read the reviews >>
Bear Hugs
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com
Every time my son picks this book, I roll my eyes because we have read it SO MANY TIMES. But, then I change my tune because he gets so involved as we read. I know that most of it is memorization, but it is so cool that he “reads” along with me. It is clearly designed for children that are getting ready to learn how to read.
Read the reviews >>
I Like Stars
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to gravitate towards books that are written to help children prepare to read. This is another one of our favorites. It is about stars. Duh. But, I like the fact that we can talk about the different colors and practice counting as we go. “Star” is one of the words he recognizes by sight when we are out and about, and it is definitely because of this book.
Read the reviews >>
Hare and Tortoise Race to the Moon
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
I actually found this book when I was pregnant. I was looking for books with high contrast images because I read that babies found them more interesting. Well, my son wasn’t really interested in it as a baby. No surprise. But, now as a 2 year old, this is one of his favorite books. This is one we have to hide or else we would have to read it every night.
Read the reviews >>
Pajama Time!
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
My neighbor, with 4 boys of her own, introduced us to this fantastic toddler book. Pajama Time! was one of her youngest son’s favorite books, and now it is one of my 2 year old’s favorites as well. We love all of Sandra Boynton’s toddler books, but this one has a special place on the book shelf.
Read the reviews >>
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
This toddler book was a lot more fun to read before my son learned his alphabet. Now, it takes forever to read each page because he has to point out every letter. There are worse things that he could be doing though. I can’t complain. Either way, this is definitely one of my 2 year old’s favorite books.
Read the reviews >>
No David!
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
Honestly, I wasn’t keen on this book at first. It was page after page of stuff I did not want my 2 year old doing. But, it grew to be one of my favorites because it gave us an opportunity to talk about all of the bad things that David was doing. It really sunk in too. Once at dinner, my son opened his mouth with chewed up food. Then, he promptly shut his mouth and said, “No, David!”
Read the reviews >>
The Little Red Caboose
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
This golden book is a classic, and we know why. I have had to hide this book more times than I should admit, because my 2 year old requests it every time he sees it. I like the message too. Everyone is important, even if they are just a little red caboose.
Read the reviews >>
Let’s Go to the Zoo
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
OK. If you have a 2 year old, you know that lift the flap books rock. They are more than just a book. They are an activity. I like this particular book because there are lots of things to talk about. My son likes it because it has tons of flaps on each page.
Read the reviews >>
Hop on Pop
Buy it at a discount through Amazon.com >>
This was one of my favorite books growing up, and now that I have been reading it to my son I remember why. OK…So the story is a little thin, but the words are simple and memorable. (I still remember most of it from when I was a kid, and now my 2 year old happily reads along. It has lots of site words, so it is good for pre-readers.
Read the reviews >>
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My Preschooler’s Favorite Early Reader Books
The problem with preschool early reader books is that, if you already know how to read, they can be mind-numbingly boring. However, for a preschooler who is just being introduced to the wonderful world of reading, these books are fantastic for teaching sight words and building reading confidence.
You might know them as Level 1 Reading Books, Step into Reading Books, or Early Readers, but the principle is the same. They are very simple books with short sentences on each page. Basically, they are the modern version of Dick and Jane stories.
Below are some of my preschool boy’s favorite early reader books.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
Normally, we each pick a book for reading time, and this one is often my choice. This one is actually fun for me to read as well. It has a fun rhythm and a cute story line. Plus, there are lots of fun things to talk about in the pictures. As far as preschool early readers go, I totally give this one a thumbs up.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
I am embarrassed to admit how many times my son has seen Cars 2. Having a dad who is a Petrol Head doesn’t help. At any rate, he absolutely loves this book and picks it far too often for reading time. His favorite words to read out loud are “bad cars” and “spy”. Not exactly site words we see every day, but it’s a start.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
The fact that my rambunctious spirited boy loves this book makes my heart tingle. I will totally bring this out and show it to his girlfriend (way, way in the future). He has basically memorized the book and that has gone a long way towards building his confidence.
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How To Get Your Child to Sleep In…This Works!
The problem with young children is that they have no concept of time. When they wake up, it is time for everyone to get up whether it is 4:30 or even earlier. And, young children can’t just go make themselves breakfast while we lounge around in bed until a reasonable hour.
We were going crazy. Sure, Little Man was sleeping through the night, but he was getting up so early that we were still loosing sleep. And, since he couldn’t tell time, it was impossible to convince him that it was not time to get up.
It took me forever to find this thing, but once I did, it changed our lives. It is not really an alarm clock. It is actually kind of the opposite of an alarm clock. Rather than telling your child to wake up, it tells them it is NOT time to get up. (Queue angels singing.)
It is simple. You set the night light on the clock and then set a wake up time. Instead of a bell ringing to wake your child up, the color of the light changes. It took all of 30 seconds to explain to our child that he cannot get up until the light turns green.
Now, instead of him demanding to get out of bed at 4:45, we hear a sweet little voice at 6:00 in the morning (or much later!) saying, “Mommy. The clock turned green. This has even made it into our family jargon. When we put him to bed, we say, “I’ll see you when the clock turns green.” And, he says things like, “Mommy, when the clock turns green can we play trains (cars, transformers, whatever.)
Oh, and it has a digital and analog display with a button that says the time out loud so he is actually learning how to tell time too.
If you have a young child that gets up way too early, you have to try this thing. You might be able to find it locally, but I just got ours from Amazon.com.
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My 3 year-old’s favorite books this week…
Below are the books that my son has made us read more than 3 times this week.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
Little man is all about rockets right now, so this book is just perfect. It is about a little boy reads a book and gets to join in a space adventure. The pictures are interesting, the storyline is cute, and it is fun to read. (Thanks for adding this to the library, “Glandpa”.)
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
Known in our home as “Chicka Chicka Number Boom Boom”, this one instantly held a number 1 ranking for our 3 year-old. It is a sequel to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (obviously). Although it focuses on the numbers 0-20, the numbers 0-100 are listed in the back. Every time we read it, my son insists on counting each number. This wouldn’t be too bad, but if he messes up, he starts again. Ugh. But, he is learning to count to 100, so it is totally worth it.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
This book makes me happy, and Edison can tell. I love the art, and I love the message. It is about a moose who goes off on an adventure and finds there is a lot more to life than he thought. My husband and I just love the message, and it is such a good thing for kids to learn when they are young. (Actually, we love a number of books by this author…see more.)
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
When my husband brought this home from a book fair, I rolled my eyes. Could a book be more boy? But, when it was my turn to read it, I changed my tune. It goes through different types of challenges and whether a train or a shark would win. Silly, but it sparks some great conversations. I wouldn’t say it is my favorite book, but it is certainly one of my preschooler’s top picks. At the end of the day, that’s really what matters.
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)
This book is absolutely perfect for a 3 year-old boy. First, it is about dinosaurs. But, what I love is how I can make references to it during bed time. “Hey…”, I say when my son whines about going to bed. “Do dinosaurs do that at bedtime?” Of course they don’t. This book makes bedtime a lot nicer. 
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Toddler Toys We Love: Fisher-Price Stack & Roll Cups
What a simple and beautifully designed toddler toy. A friend of ours gave this to our son Edison when he was about six months old. A year and a half later, he still loves it.
This toy is so much more than it looks. You can stack the cups two different ways, nest them inside each other, or put cups together into balls. The balls are big enough to hold little treasures like animals or the chime ball that it comes with.
But, forget what it was designed for…We use it to practice colors. I ask my toddler to close his eyes and then I put a treat like a Cheerio under one of the cups. When he opens his eyes, I tell him the treat is under the red (or whatever) cup. It is silly, but he loves it.
The cups lock together just enough that they stay together, but my two year-old has no problem getting them apart.
Versatile, durable, and inexpensive, this toy definitely packs a bang for your buck.
From the Manufacturer
Baby can learn so much through basic play, and these stackable, nestable, fit-together-and-roll-around cups offer endless versatility for lots of enriching discoveries. Includes 10 colorful cups to grasp, stack or nest, with grooved surfaces for a snug fit and easy stacking. Different colors, sizes and numbers help build early identification skills. A smiling jingle ball nests inside any cup, or fits on top of a whole stack! (more…)
