Wordless Wednesday-- Looking out the Door

My Top Ten Favorite Horse Races (Videos in Post)

I have said that I am a huge horse racing fan before.  Not sure if I ever mentioned that I did a six month internship on a breeding farm and had big plans to make my career working with thoroughbreds.  It never happened and most days I am okay with this because I chose instead to get married, have kids, and settle down.  But every once in a while, I really wonder what could have been.  Today is one of those days.

So without further ado, here are my top ten favorite races I have seen since I became a horse racing fan.  I plan on doing another post one day about historical horse races and the greats like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Cigar will be mentioned then.

1)  Skip Away winning the 1997 Breeders Cup Classic.  I love the race call from this race (and sadly can still quote it 15 years later.)


2) Afleex Alex goes to his knees, gets up, and wins the 2005 Preakness Stakes.  This was during my internship year.  Giacomo was the Kentucky Derby winner and a funny story because we had been picking horses at a internship function we were at.  There was horse confetti on the tables and we were reaching into a pile and jokingly saying who the winner was.  At one point my friend pulled a horse and said "Sorry.  Giacomo."    It was hilarious to us sleep deprived interns.  I put a win bet on Giacomo because of that and he went  on to win the Derby and I made some big bucks.

We were all rooting for Giacomo to win the Preakness since we haven't had a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.  (If you don't know what the Triple Crown is, you can read all about it here.)  When Afleet Alex went to his knees, me and the other two interns I was watching the race with went for cheering on Giacomo to immediately shouting for Afleet Alex.  It was a stunning display of heart and sheer strength and courage to get up and not only finish the race well, but to win it impressively.  Plus his jockey was a young fairly new to the big leagues jockey and he managed to not get unsaddled and keep his wits about him.  I still get goose bumps when I watch this race.



3)  Rags to Riches takes the Belmont over Curlin
This race was so special to me because it was the first time since I started following horse racing that I got to see a girl beat up on the boys.  She was also the first filly to win this race in over a century.


4)  Curlin winning the 2008 Dubai World Cup.  He was just an amazing horse and a true champion.  In person, he was breath taking.


5)  Barbaro winning the Kentucky Derby.  I was plastered to the fence at the top of the stretch just hoping to catch a glimpse of him.  He put his head in front just as they passed me and never looked back.  He was a beautiful horse that had so much promise, but unfortunately it all ended to soon.  He got hurt in his very next race.  He fought valiantly for many months, but eventually succumbed to laminitis.  He is still missed by his loyal fans.  Churchill Downs put a statue of him winning the Derby in front and it always has flowers and apples left for him on it every time I visit. 


6)  Real Quiet loses the Belmont Stakes and a chance at the Triple Crown by a hair on his nose.  This was heart breaking.  It was so close.  I cried and told my dad that I don't think I will ever see a Triple Crown winner in my lifetime.  So far this has held true.  Oh and side note, I had a kitten I named Thomas Jo after the beautiful gray Thomas Jo in this race.


7) Zenyatta wins the Breeders Cup Classic in 2009.  She was an amazing horse to watch pre race.  She loved to dance and prance and show off and she still does even in retirement.  She was a huge mare that was bigger than a lot of the boys and watching her races were always an exercise in patience as she didn't make a move until half way down the stretch.  But when she came motoring, she was nearly flying.

8) My final three are all of the same horse.  But she captivated the US and was the most amazing filly I ever saw run.  Some of my most prized pictures are the ones I took of her at Churchill Downs when she ran and won the Fleur de Lis.  The first race is when Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks.  She was by a million miles the best horse that day and just felt good.  This came as no surprise to anyone as she had been a powerhouse in her workouts leading up to it.  The only disappointment is that she was so good she could very easily have probably won the Kentucky Derby against the boys if she had been entered, but her owner didn't feel it was a good thing to run the fillies against the boys.  Rachel could have quit running half way down the stretch and walked to the finish and still won.  She set a track record this day.


9)  Rachel Alexandra wins the Preakness Stakes against the boys.  After she was sold following the Oaks, her new owner decided to put her in the Preakness to see what she could do against colts her own age.  She sure showed those boys what she was all about.


10) Rachel Alexandra wins the Woodward against older male horses.  This is unheard of for a three year old filly to be able to beat good older male horses.  Fillies are much smaller and not nearly as strong as colts and especially older horses who have had longer to grow and get bigger and stronger.  But it didn't matter.  All that mattered that day was the heart and courage that this champion had.  This race actually still brings tears to my eyes each and every time I watch it.  She set blazingly fast fractions at every step of the race as the other horses never let her rest and yet still held on to win this race showing every ounce of heart this courageous filly possessed.

Beating the Yeastie Beasties

Destructo is very prone to yeast rashes and has been since day one.  The first couple yeast infections he got, I pulled him out of cloth diapers and kept him out until it went away and did the bleaching my diapers and sunning them routine I had read worked best.  This worked, but I hated having to repeatedly bleach my diapers each time he got a yeast rash.

After reading every article ever published on yeast and cloth diapering (okay that might be an exaggeration but not that much) I have settled on a routine that works for everything but the most stubborn yeast infections.  I treat Kai with a generic lotrimin.  I have had no problems using a thin layer of this even with my cloth diapers and have never had build up issues or repelling.  With that said, do this with caution since just because it works fine for me, I don't want to be responsible for ruining your diapers.  

I treat him for 3-4 days even after the rash is completely gone.  Yeast is a resistant little bastard.  I also sometimes put baking soda in his bath water to help clear it up even faster.  Okay that is all fine and dandy you say, but what should I do with my diapers.

I have found I can leave him in cloth most of the time.  It is so expensive to have to pull him out of cloth and put him into disposable diapers for weeks at a time.  Especially since when I do use cloth I really prefer 

Seventh Generation bleach free diapers.  They run somewhere between 30-45 cents each which quickly adds up when he is in them for a week or more.

I do a wash routine like this:
Warm quick wash with 20 drops tea tree oil, 20 drops grapefruit seed extract.
Cold rinse (this is more because to do a warm rinse my washer automatically follows with a cold rinse and I never catch it in time to stop it.  You could skip this.)
Hot normal wash with about 1 1/2 tablespoons Rockin Green hard rock (read an article that this particular soap can help against yeast?) and half a cap of Calgon (due to hard water)
Cold rinse.
Hot quick wash as a rinse with a half cap of Calgon
Cold rinse.  (All these rinses are mainly because we have hard water and my diapers are prone to detergent buildup because of this.)

I then lay them out in the sun for a few hours to help kill any remaining yeast spores.
After this I dry them on high for 20-30 minutes and finish drying them on low if need be.

This has really helped me not have to take Destructo out of cloth and not have to bleach my diapers as much.  Since I started this routine, I have only had one resistant yeast infection that I had to pull him completely out of cloth and bleach all my diapers for.  If I get the rash on his bottom cleared up, and it immediately comes back I usually bleach at that time since I assume my other method isn't working.

Hope this helps you battle the yeastie beasties. What do you guys currently do if you get a yeast rash? Also if you guys have any tips on things I can change diet wise to decrease the yeast in his system, comment away.  I really feel it is diet related.

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Coping Mechanisms for Parents of Spirited Kids

We talked in the first post in my spirited kids series about how you might know you are raising a spirited child.  Part two focused on the traits that spirited kids have in common.  This week we are talking about different coping mechanisms we have found for the parents of spirited kids to better cope with the special joys that come with raising a honey badger.  

Source

I have found that not letting Kai see my emotions is one of the better tactics I have in my arsenal.  The more angry/mad/frazzled I get, the worse Kai's behavior comes.This is harder said than done when you are being blantantly ignored/disobeyed or mocked or hit.  But it helps.  

I also have found having a few close friends (see my panel of lovely ladies in my case) really helps.  They also are in the honey badger whisperer club and know exactly what I am going through.  Parenting advice that is thrown out there for "normal" kids just doens't work as well for Destructo.  It is nice to get ideas and advice from moms in similar situatons.

I also sometimes put myself in time out.  Or step outside for two minutes.  Whatever it takes to get away from the situation when I feel on the verge of losing my mind.  Me time is important to any momma, but especially when you are dealing with a very intense and spirited child.

Haha and when all else fails alcohol truly helps.  I kid.  I kid.  

Susan says:

  ALCOHOL!!! lol Next though is the gym.

Seriously if I didn't go to the gym 4-5 times a week I would die.

I NEED that release. I need that mental and physical break from her

Running has helped me a lot

Sara said:  

Ear plugs. Not to ignore obviously but just to spare your hearing.

Camille said:

• Our game plan for dealing with our spirited 4 year old, Kaylee, starts with making sure she doesn't get too tired or hungry. That makes her behavior much worse than usual. And we don't let her have junk food or sugar; that affects her mood negatively too. Getting plenty of exercise is also a must. We try to take her to play at the park or the mall play area daily, or at least exercise in the house or run around in the backyard. When it comes to discipline, we are using a 1 warning then time out system. Time outs involve sitting down and doing nothing until she's ready to calm down and obey. One of us sits with her so it's not very harsh, but honestly, it's the worst punishment for a kid that gets bored easily! Other than that, we just try our best to give her a good balance of discipline and love. If one of us is about to lose it, we take a break and let the other parent deal with it. When my husband is at work, I have a list of activities to keep her busy. If I start losing my temper, I put on some music, and that helps reset both of our moods. Kaylee has recently started preschool for a few hours each morning, and we're still working on how to get her to behave when we're not around. We roleplay and act out situations so she can practice good ways to behave at school, and her teachers fill out a behavior chart for her each day. She earns either a happy face or a sad face for each activity at school, and we give her small prizes for getting happy faces. Yes, we are not above bribery, hahah! Anyway, at the end of the day, my husband and I try to give ourselves a pat on the back for parenting well that day, and/or talk about how we can improve the next day. We really try to stay positive and focus on Kaylee's good qualities. It can be stressful parenting such a strong-willed child sometimes, but it can also be amazing and fun!
  
  

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Wordless Wednesday-- Bloopers

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Ten Funny Destructoisms to Make you Laugh

1)  I was on the phone with a coworker last week talking over some work stuff.  I had my back to Kai but not biggie because he was sitting nicely eating a baby food pouch and watching Daniel Tiger.  All of a sudden I hear shrieking.  "Ohhhhh NOOOOOOO ohhhh NOOOOO baby mess baby mess!!!!"  I turn around to see baby food all over the back of my couch and Destructo smearing it around and even painting a bit of the wall.  My couch still smalls all appley/bananaey.  I don't think he meant to do it for what it's worth. I am pretty sure he stood up and squished it in the process and then painted with it.  Eye roll.

2)  We always read a book at night about trains since he has a train obsession.  We read it one night last week and he always points to a dark haired lady and says "Kaylahhhh"  whom is my friend that moved back to Italy.  That night he didn't and I said "Is that Michela?"  He looked at me with a duhhhhh expression and said "NO."  I was like "Well where is she?"  Another duh look.  "Kaylahhhh Ihaleee momma."  Well my bad.  Thanks for clearing that up son.

3) We bought Destructo a new Nerf soccer ball so I could put the hard (read they hurt when he hits you in the face while throwing them at you) balls outside.  Mr. Destructo got called in to work while Destructo was napping.  When he got up he was looking all around and I asked him what he was looking for.  He ignored me and kept looking.  All of a sudden he screamed "Dada steal Baby Ball."  I nearly died.  Our son is accusing his father of being a thief.  For the record, the ball was in plain view.

4)  Oh man, aw man, and bye man are staples in Kai's vocabulary.  I have no idea where he picks these things up.

5)  Mr. Destructo hugged me and this made Kai super jealous.  He came running across the room and wedged himself in between us.  He said "Baby Momma.  Lubvvvv Momma."  It was sweet.  Then Mr. Destructo told Kai that I was his and that he bought me.  (He didn't.  I swear.  Weirdo.)  Kai ran off and said "Awwww man."

6)  He has a new laugh he does when he is being naughty.  It is a very forceful Hah Hah.  He was opening the gas tank on our friends truck and Mr. Destructo told him to quit.  While staring straight at Mr. Destructo, Kai opened it one more time, yelled Hah Hah, and then ran away while screaming "Run Away.  Baby Run Away."

7)  I asked him his name yesterday.  He nearly always replies either Baby or Daniel Tiger.  Yesterday he replied "Baby Kai."  I told him his full name and he screamed at me NOOOOOOO.  I knew we named him the wrong thing.

8)  Yesterday I asked Destructo what he did all day.  He replied that he played with daddy and that daddy jumped with him.  Then daddy fed him treats for lunch and they were yummy.  What a sweet daddy son day. Except one problem, Mr. Destructo worked all day.  My son is a liar.  A creative one at that.

The frog boy

9)  He insisted on wearing his Puddle Jumper around the yard all weekend.  It has a frog on the front of it and he likes that.  He then proceeded to crawl around in the yard going hop hop hop and  occasionally throwing in a badly said ribbit.  Silly boy.  The picture below is a Puddle Jumper if you have no clue what I am talking about.  On a side note, I highly recommend them for swimming.  Much better than a traditional life jacket in teaching them how to swim properly but still Coast Guard approved.

 10) We were cleaning up the dog poop in the back yard and Kai was insisting on being a helper.  But apparently picking up dog poop was hilarious because he kept saying dog poooooppp and laughing hysterically.  If only I found it as fun as he does.


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Co Hosting Mommy Moments Blog Hop

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word! We love all of the great posts!

The most viewed link from last week's Mommy Moments belongs to our very own co-host Sarah from The Not Quite Military Wife and the third part of her beautiful daughter Aislynn's Birth Story!

Aww check out the adorable little family! It doesn't get any better than a birth story!

This week we have Melissa from Adventures With Captain Destructo as our guest host. 

I hope you stop by and make Melissa feel welcome!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, and The Mrs. 
Guest host: Adventures With Captain Destructo

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

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Breastfeeding When Mom's Sick

I had a number of little colds in the first year of Kai's life.  Those never really interfered with nursing though.  I mean yeah I was dripping snot and just wanted to sleep and eat Tylenol for dessert, but not biggie.  The biggest problem with having a cold is if you have sinus congestion.  Sudafed can't be taken while nursing because it can decrease your milk supply.  I did take a half dose here or there when I was miserably desperate, but for the most part just toughed it out.

Source

The time breastfeeding was a huge challenge came this Thanksgiving.  I got the mother of all stomach bugs.  It came on overnight around midnight and I spent the next 8 hours throwing up every hour.  Thankfully by this time, Kai was only  nursing in the afternoon when I got home from work and occasionally in the morning so it wasn't like I had to try not to throw up  while nursing him every two hours.

I was so incredibly thankful to be breastfeeding him still at this point since he was 18 months old.  I knew that this more than anything was the one thing that could keep him from getting this stomach virus.  And it did.  I actually encouraged him to nurse more than the normal 1-2 times a day and stopped doing don't offer, don't refuse and would remind him to nurse.

Those antibodies are amazing things.  Nearly my entire extended family got this bug since we were all together at Thanksgiving.  Mr. Destructo got it and my sister who keeps Kai two days a week both got it.  And yet Kai didn't catch it.  He also didn't catch the stomach bug I got days before Christmas.  I was so very thankful that such a simple and totally natural act could keep my baby so healthy.  I also was glad that I decided to extended breastfeed him at this point.

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Wordless Wednesday-- Misadventures with Destructo

I might need to get the boy a basketball hoop

10 Drinking Games Destructo Could Inspire

You know all the standard drinking games beer pong, spoons, flip cup.  I honestly haven't really played any of these except spoons, but I know they exist.  Oh wait never have I ever is another one I have actually played  Well here are some drinking games I have thought of inspired by Captain Destructo himself.

Okay so maybe I play pretty pretty princess when I drink

1)  Trains.  Every time your toddler says the word train or train tracks in a day, take a drink.  I kid you not, I would be drunk within thirty minutes of Kai waking up.  I hear train tracks at least 500 times a day.  Oh wait.  I would have alcohol poisoning.  Maybe that isn't the greatest drinking game.

2)  1,2,3 Magic  For every time your toddler counts back at you when you attempt to count them, take a drink.  Or ten.

3)  Hit the Dog  Every time you utter the words, please don't (insert an act of violence such as kick, hit, bite, etc) the dog take a drink.  Although I do have to say this one would be hit or miss here.  Sometimes he overwhelms the dog with love.

4)  Night awakenings.  This would have been my drinking game of choice in the first year of Kai's life. It might be on wake up or it might be five.  You just never knew.  He liked to keep us on our toes.

5)  Toddler beer pong.  Every time you get hit in the head with a flying ball chucked at you by your little darling, take a drink.  

6)  Toddler flip cup.  I am pretty sure this is what Destructo is aiming for with as many cups as he throws of the table during meals.  

7) Never have I ever.  This would be fun at a mommy party.  Instead of naughty never have I ever statements, it could be like never have I ever slept through the night since Destructo was born.  Or never have I ever hid in the closet to avoid being touched for five minutes.  Never have I ever eaten a Reeses egg in my car to avoid sharing.  You get the picture.

8)  Strip any game.  Mainly because toddlers seem to find being naked and stripping an art form.  Surely that could lead to a drinking game.  Oh wait strip poker is already a thing.  I guess I didn't invent this one.  haha

9)  Insert your toddler's favorite show name here.  Every time you hear a certain key word while watching that show you take a drink.  For example, in Daniel Tiger it could be every time you hear Daniel say helper tiger.  Or in Thomas, it could be every time he says ashes and cinders or useful engine.  

10)  No need for a game.  Having a toddler is reason enough to start drinking when you wake up and stop after your kid is in bed for the night.  (Okay I don't actually condone this.  I just understand why you might be compelled to do this after a year of raising a toddler.)

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Spring Forward in the Latest Fluff Butt Fashions

All you fashion conscious mommies might be wondering what your fashion conscious mini me's should be wearing on their butts to complete their spring themed outfits.  After all, no outfit is complete without a matching or complementing cloth diaper.  I do have Kai wear his animal or zoo themed cloth diapers when we go to the zoo after all.  So compiled below are some spring festivites that you might be partcipating in and the diapers I would pair with this activity.

St. Patrick's Day

No one wants their little darling to be pinched, so what better way to avoid this by making sure they wear green on their little butt all day long.  My top picks for this would be:

Kawaii in fluorescent green

Grovia in kiwi

Happy Heiny in Spring Green

A spring day spent at the park flying kites or playing on slides or just enjoying the new spring flowers

Swaddlebees in Butterflies

Thirsties Duo diaper in Family Tree

Blowing bubbles in the warm spring sun
(Okay so the girl one isn't bubbles, I just love it!)

Kawaii in Blue Dotty

Thirsties Duo in Alice Brights

A fun trip to the zoo

Kawaii in Green Animal

Happy Heiny in Cheetah Spots

Rumparooz in Kangarooz

Dying Easter eggs

Bumgenius 4.0 in pastel colors

Fuzzibunz Elite in Pastels

Easter Sunday--  This one really depends on what your child is wearing.  I would personally match it up that that.  I had two outfits for Destructo last year.  One is pictured below and the other was a blue and white diamond shaped sweater vest.  I would have picked these two diapers.

Thirsties Duo in Scottish Storm

Kawaii Minky in Glossy Green

Feel free to ask for my awesome fashion advice for your kids Easter outfit diapers.  I love seeing what other kids are going to be wearing and making suggestions on diapers that match!

Speaking of dying Easter eggs, join us in hunting eggs.  There is one hidden on my page somewhere.  A small hint is shhhhhh I am telling a secret.  Another word for telling is dis.......

a Rafflecopter giveaway



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Wordless Wednesday-- Obsession

Anyone notice Destructo's obsession?

Ten Things Destructo Says that I Love

Destructo has really started talking in the past few weeks.  It amazes me to hear the words just come flying out of his mouth.  We are having to be so careful of what we say as well because he is quite the little parrot.

Here are my ten favorite things he says right now:

1)  Luvvvvv.  He will lay his head on me and say Mommma luvv.  Today it was LayeeeBug (Ladybug our dog) luvvv.  Melts my heart.  Of course his first spontaneous love was to the blue train we saw.  But hey, I guess he said it to me right after the blue train.  eye roll

2)  Baby yike.  He says this anytime he likes something, wants something, or something is the color yellow.  

3)  Yehyow.  It's truly his favorite color.  He wants a yellow train for his birthday.

4)  Dan Dan or Tom Tom referring to Daniel Tiger or Thomas the train.

5)  Monk for my dad's name.  My dad always called him monkey and so Kai started calling my dad Monk instead of grandpa.  It is too funny.  He even calls him big monk sometimes.

6)  Nope.  When we tell him it is bedtime, to clean up, or virtually any other thing he doesn't want to do sometimes he will just say nope very nonchalantly.  It amuses me even though it makes me irrate as well.

7)  We are attempting 1 2 3 Magic with him.  So we count by saying that's one, that's two.  He replies onenah and points at me, twoah.  Complete and utter disregard for our discipline method.

8)  Tohhhdowwwwwww.  Touchdown.  He says it a lot along with gooooooooollllll for goal.  He likes sports already.

9)  Road rage clear as day.  I told Mr. Destructo to calm down and that he had a serious case of road rage.  Clear as day from the backseat we hear "Dada road rage."  

10)  Bow tie.  I had no clue what he was saying when my sister called me at work to ask what bow tie meant.  When I got home he was still saying it and it was very similar to bow tie or boo tie.  That night as I read him Goodnight Moon he pointed out the window and said it again and the light turned on.  He was saying blue sky.  We had a particularly sunny, blue sky day and he was just pointing it out.  So observant! 

These are a few of my favorite things-- 0-6 month toys

I have been trying to write this post for six months now.  I finally had motivation to finish it when I was helping a friend with her baby registry and thinking back to all the toys I just loved when Kai was an itty bitty.  These were his favorite for first 3/4  year of his life.  Once he was mobile he much preferred toddler toys over baby toys.  Now my baby is figuring out how to use his 3+ Hot Wheels track that has taken up and entire wall of my living room (and is still growing ::glares at Mr. Destructo::.)

Anyways here are my recommended and Destructo approved toys for your baby!

Sophie the Giraffe.  Safe of bad chemical, made of renewable rubber wood, painted with food grade paints.  He liked his Sophie when he was teething.  (For more teething toys, check this  post out.)

This toy amused him well before he was able to actually play with it.  He loved when we would make the balls pop around and he could listen and watch it.

Baby Neptune toy plays music.  This is a newer version of the one we had so hopefully it is as awesome as it was.

Destructo loved balls from a very early age.  These three were a few of his very favorites (and he still plays with them daily at nearly two years old!)
The middle one was his very favorite.  He also had one without the rattles in it, but didn't like that as much.

Playing with my favorite red ball

This inchworm squeaks, crinkles, and is full of different textures.  I used to play peek a boo with Destructo with this toy.

Every baby needs a Fisher Price sea horse.  It plays classical music and lights up.  Destructo still likes this at nearly two.  They even have a pink one for girls!

Five days old and already loving the seahorse

Stacking cups.  Again a toy he still plays with now.   He wasn't able to stack them as a baby, but he liked pushing them around and chewing on them.

Play mat.  This wasn't the one Kai had.  I bought a cheapie one from Walmart or Target.  This was just the one I wanted horribly badly.  It had owls all over it.  I still kind of want it for my phantom child. This was also something else Kai could play in for hours.  He had a different older model, but it was the same thing just a different design that matched his nursery.  The animal in the middle plays music when they pull it.  I heard that song so many times.

This exersaucer is very similar to the one Kai had.  He loved all the toys on it and was able to sit in it from about three months on with blankets wedged around him.  As he got bigger, he would jump like crazy in it.  We also had a jumperoo that he liked as he got bigger and more mobile.

Rainmaker tube.  Not sure if Kai liked it as much as I did, but either way.  There was some amusement going on in the Destructo household with this toy.  It was a challenge to get all the beads in one end of the tube.
Battat blocks.  They are pthalate free plasticy/rubbery blocks made from recycled materials.  They squeak and are super squishy for teething babies.

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