Nûby Review: Octopus Floating Bath Toy

This is my first Nûby review and I am so excited to be a part of their Parent Blogger Network!  Maddie has been a huge fan of their sippy cups from the beginning, and for the longest time their Flip 'N Sip Straw Cup was the only kind she'd use.  They've sent me a few products to try and share with you, the first of which is their Octopus Floating Bath Toy.   

This little floating octopus comes with 3 fun-shaped rings to "toss" on his arms in the bath, and while the rings are too small to actually toss them on successfully it is a great toy to work on hand-eye coordination with.  Our little one loved taking the rings on and off repeatedly.  

The bright, fun colors and shapes of the octopus were also a big hit; Maddie was particularly drawn to his big googly-looking eyes.  In fact, when she was playing with it she pointed to his eye, looked at me, and said "eyeee" - the first time she's ever done that!  

One thing I loved about the design of this toy was that it didn't have a hole in the bottom, as most bath toys do.  Bath toys with a hole tend to hold moisture inside and grow mold so it's great that this one was fully enclosed.  

The one thing that really disappointed me about this toy though was that it's made out of PVC, a material that we consciously try to limit in our house - in fact we go as far as to only buy PVC-free shower curtains.  I didn't realize that it was made out of PVC until after her bath.  It's really unfortunate because Maddie loved the Octopus but the material is something we choose not to use.  

- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own -   

Nûby's Octopus Floating Bath Toy can be purchased at various retailers including Amazon and Kohl's.  

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Nûby Parent Blogger

Excited to announce that I'll be joining the Nûby Parent Blogger Network!  

What does that mean?  Well, I'll be writing some reviews of Nûby products and maybe even doing the occasional giveaway right here on the blog!  Stay tuned.. :)

Young Toddler Easter Basket Ideas

Today I thought I'd share what we'll be putting in our little one's Easter Basket.  My goal was to spend less than $20 and fill it with practical and fun items.  | This post contains affiliate links |

Our little girl is only 15 months old, has more than enough toys, and doesn't eat candy yet so I was a little stumped as to what to put in her Easter basket at first.  After some thought I decided to fill it with some items she needed anyway and a few things to use outside once the warmer weather comes (someday soon, I hope).  

I started with the Easter basket I made for her last year (you can read my post on making her Button Easter Basket here).  First I filled the bottom with paper Easter grass - having a toddler and a dog, it's so important to use the paper Easter grass over plastic just in case any gets eaten.  The paper grass is also a lot more eco-friendly.  

I love what I found to put in her basket!  

In her basket:  

• Owl Lunchbox by SkipHop.  She desperately needed a new lunchbox (hers broke) and this owl one from Amazon was just the cutest.  There are many other animal styles to choose from too if owls aren't your thing.  
• Purée pouches by Plum Organics.  What toddler doesn't love snacks?  We picked these up last time we were at Target but they can be found at just about any grocery store or purchased by the case from Amazon.  
• Baby Farm Animals board book by Golden Books.  We actually got this book for free from the local library (they were clearing out duplicates) but you can usually find inexpensive board books on Amazon or on sale at your local book store.  
• Child's Watering Can.  We got this from the Dollar Store, but these can also be found at your local pharmacy.  (Similar one here.) 
• Egg-Shaped Chalk.  These came from the dollar bins at Target, and I love them because they're easy for little hands to hold.  (Similar ones here.)

Since I got the board book for free I spent right around $15 for everything - wahoo!  

Other basket ideas for a one-year old or young toddler:  

• puzzle
• socks
• crackers
• crayons
• busy book
• sunhat
• bubbles
• educational placemat
• teether
• rubber playground ball
• shovel and pail for the beach

All of these items can be done for a girl or a boy, and are easy to tweak if you wanted to tailor it more to your own child.  I hope I've given you some ideas of what to put in your little one's Easter basket - Happy Easter!  

Looking for more Easter ideas?  Check out our other Easter posts:  

• DIY Button Easter Basket
• Chicken-Themed Toddler Easter Basket

DIY No-Sew Baby Legwarmers

Baby legwarmers are huge right now, and with good reason - they're just too cute on those chubby little legs!  

Today I have the easiest no-sew DIY on how to make your own baby legwarmers from something you already have in the house.  In fact it's so easy that I made these this morning before I even finished my first cup of coffee - now that's saying something!  

Materials: 

• Tall socks (preferably knee socks)
• scissors

How-to: 

Take an old pair of tall socks (I used a pair of tall dress socks that I never wear), and cut off the feet... that's it!  (See?  I told you it was easy!)  Then use the tube portion of the socks for baby's little legwarmers.  

These would be especially cute made with tall, slouchy tube socks in fun colors or patterns.  Target always has fun socks for a dollar or two and I know I'll be picking some up next time I go to make more of these for our little one.  

You most likely won't have to hem these legwarmers but depending on the material and weave of the socks, you may want to.  

These little legwarmers would look especially cute paired with a wrap headband like those from Andy Sachs or Rascal & Roo.  I tried to put one on Miss M this morning for these pictures, but she wasn't having it.. typical toddler ;)

(Excuse the frosty toddler handprints and puppy noseprints on the glass.. it's a never-ending battle.)

Toddler Art Valentine's Cards

We decided to try our hand at making our own toddler art Valentine cards to send to family and friends - it was so easy and a lot of fun!  
| This post contains affiliate links |

Materials:

• non-toxic, washable finger paint

• paper (we used special finger painting paper as well as white stationery for the card)

• heart-shaped stencil (I just used a cookie cutter from the kitchen)

• glue

How-to:

For our little one to make her art, I taped some big sheets of finger painting paper to our kitchen floor and let her go to town!  This was also her first painting experience, and it's safe to say that she really enjoyed it... though I think she may have been just as interested in trying to pull the tape off the floor.  

Even though I was an art education major, I'd never used special paper for finger painting and I was a bit skeptical at first.  The paper touts being "glossy and non-absorbent" and I wasn't sure how the paint would stay on the paper or if it would dry well.  Nevertheless, it worked great!  The non-absorbency and glossiness is perfect for finger painting - a little paint goes a long way since it isn't absorbed into the paper and the smooth glossy surface makes it easy for little fingers to move the paint around.  Drying time was pretty fast too and the paint stayed well on the paper, no flaking or peeling.  

| Crayola Finger Paint | Melissa & Doug Finger Paint Paper |

Once the paintings were dry, I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to trace out the hearts and cut them out.  

I glued the hearts onto a folded piece of white stationery from C.R. Gibson, then added a little handwritten note inside and they were done.  Now to mail them off to family and friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Check out our other Valentine's posts:  

• DIY Valentine Postcards

• Apple Rose Tarts for Valentine's Day

The *one thing* you should always do before you dress your baby.

What's the one thing you should always do before you dress your baby?  It may sound silly, but check their clothing for loose threads.  

Infant clothing is notorious for poor workmanship.  Those adorable outfits and layettes are inexpensive to buy and not meant to last.  Long threads could potentially wrap around a baby's toe causing harm, and loose threads could become a choking hazard if baby were to pull them free and try to eat it.  

You will almost always find loose threads on your little one's new outfits and after the first time they've been washed.  After that, it's a good idea to give their clothes a quick once-over before you dress them to make sure there's no new loose threads or weak seams.  

I always keep a pair of baby nail clippers handy by the changing table, that way I can easily clip any loose threads I happen to see.  

First Birthday Party Details

Our little Madison turned one last month!  We had a very low-key, small party with just immediate family invited.  We decided to keep decorations to a minimum and keep it simple and fun.  
Here are some of the details from the little party.  

Her party theme was pink and green polk-a-dots (with some buttons for good measure).  For the centerpiece we used her name puzzle propped up on a plate stand with some birthday balloons added for fun:  

I made the cake myself and kept it easy, to decorate it I added edible sugar buttons:  

For favors we filled pink polk-a-dot paper favor bags with chocolate Hershey's Hugs and Kisses candies, so party-goers could take home "hugs and kisses" from the birthday girl:  

Pampers Rewards

File this one under "things I wish I started sooner..."

So our little one is almost 11 months old, and though I'd seen the Pampers Rewards numbers on her packages of diapers and wipes I never bothered to look into it ("Ain't nobody got time for that!").  

But the other week my sister-in-law was saying how she's been doing Pampers Rewards for awhile now and has been getting rewarded with photobooks and toys for free... that got my attention.  So I checked it out and signed up, it's pretty straightforward - make an account and enter the codes printed on packages of diapers and wipes.  Once you have some points you can redeem them for all sorts of things - everything from contributions to charity, to free credits at Shutterfly, to free toys.  And to make it easier there's even an app where you can enter codes on the fly from your phone (though I wish you could just scan the code instead of entering it.. now that would be easy!).  Consistency pays off too - if you enter codes every month without skipping a beat you get rewarded every three months with little gifts.  

Now if only I had started this when she was first born, then I'd be able to order all our Christmas cards for free!  

Tip:  Make sure to like Pampers on Facebook too - they periodically post free codes to help you boost your points!  

UPDATE (May, 2015):  Pampers updated their app so now you can scan codes with the camera on your phone rather than typing them in (hooray!).  As of right now this feature is a little glitchy, but hopefully they'll work out these bugs soon.  

Want to see what we've gotten from Pampers Rewards?  Check out my other posts:  

• Our First Pampers Rewards:  Free Gifts for Buying Diapers!  (Step2 Little Bakers Cupcake Set)
• Our 2nd Pampers Rewards:  Little Tikes Shopping Cart
• Our 3rd Pampers Rewards:  Potty Training Chart
• Our 4th Pampers Rewards:  Melissa and Doug Tool Kit

Please note items available from Pampers Rewards are subject to change.