She finally has a lovey!

I'll be honest, I never thought it was a big deal, but my child has never really been *attached* to certain items (besides my left boob, but hey, who wouldn't be? It's pretty fabulous) However, that all changed a few months ago, when Buggy and I were hanging with my friend B and her little girl R. R is a year older than Buggy, but Buggy's mature so she can hang with the older kids.

Anyway, R has this Pooh bear lovey blankey thingamajiggy. And she is obsessed with it. Like, homegirl won't put it down for a second. Buggy was intrigued with the PBLBT and held it for a moment, but was kind of ambivilent about the whole thing, honestly. But it occurred to me, as I watched R slip, fall, cry and subsequently be soothed by the PBLBT that, if Buggy were to get hurt in the future, she doesn't have a soothing item except for the left boob, and hey, I'm all about nursing in public but even I think it might be a smidge odd to plop the boob out for a comfort squeeze when my kids 3, ya know?

So, I set myself on a mission to find Buggy a lovey. We tried everything. A traditional blanket? No thanks. A sweet little bunny lovey blankey thingamajiggy? Meh, whatevs. A weird satin doll with no face? Uh, yeah right.

Nothing worked. Homegirl just wasn't feeling the lovey.

That is until a few weeks ago when she saw something in the playroom/sunroom at my parents' house and fell in love. She's completely attached to it, and plays with it on the floor, hugs and kisses it, and heck, even has to sleep with it.

What is this magical item, you ask?

A Big. Freakin. Plush. Wolf.

See?

Why, yes, it is bigger than she is. But, the kid loves it. I can't get it away from her.

I guess my quest is over. But dude, how the heck will I pack this thing when we go on vacation?

Baby Crack #4: My Pal Violet

Meet Violet, my new best friend. Buggy got her for Christmas from her Uncle J and Aunt T. We had no idea when she got it what a wonderful piece of baby crack it would end up becoming.

So heres the lowdown on Violet. She's the "sister" toy to the My Pal Scout toy by Leapfrog. Basically, she's the girly version of Scout. Each of her four paws control a certain activity or game. Her left bottom paw is the on/off switch, right bottom is sleepytime music, left upper is daytime music, and the right upper is games. You can hook the pup up to your computer through the included usb cable and are able to personalize it with their name, favorite food, favorite color and favorite animal. You can also choose the songs and music that is played. Honestly, the favorite food, animal and color are a little excessive for a 6 month old, but it will really come in handy as she gets older. Right now, we have it set to sweet potatoes, an owl and green. Oh, and they had holiday songs that you could put on there during the holiday season. I was thisclose to selecting a few of them for her, but seeing as it was on Christmas that she got it, decided to wait until next year and do them then.

Violet teaches how to spell your child's name through song as well as helps teach counting, animals, colors, routines. It's a really great fun teaching toy. I'm not advocating the use of toys and entertainment items to teach your child as I feel that that is something a parent should do, but honestly, if a toy can help back up what you teach your child, all the better in my opinion.

Buggy will freak out over her Violet. She gets all grinny and giggly and will hug her and kiss her. It's so cute. Plus I get a kick out of hearing Violet say Buggy's name and saying "I love you Buggy'srealname." Awww

Highly recommend Violet or her brother Scout.

Baby Crack #3: Jumperoo

Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo

Talk about a lifesaver! This wonderful piece of Baby Crack is just what a busy mommy needs. You can place baby in the jumperoo and they can just jump and bounce to their hearts content. If your little one is anything like my Buggy, they love bouncing. I mean, homegirl can go spastic when she bounces. Seriously, she will just go crazy. It's hysterical. She's like a little Mexican jumping bean on a hot day. Awesomeness ensues.

Basically, if you've never heard of or seen a jumperoo, it's a round base with rods sticking up that have springs attached to the rod and a suspended holster with activity center. You put your little one in it, like a regular exersaucer, and they use the floor to launch off of and jump and bounce until they are worn out. The little seat turns around in circles, so that your little baby can play in full 360 fun. It also makes some annoying awesome music and sound effects like monkeys chittering and elephants bleating.

Buggy absolutely loves her jumperoo and will jump for hours if we let her (which we don't.) We got ours from a consignment shop for $40 which was a fantastic deal. Check your local stores to see if they have one in stock. Remember to make sure its in good working order and not broken though!

Check out Buggy enjoying her playtime in the jumperoo!

*excuse the fan in the background. It was a hot day.*

Baby Crack Item #2: The Exersaucer

The exersaucer. *cue singing Angels*

Seriously, it is love. Buggy would honestly play in this thing for hours if I would let her. She loves it that much. I can't say I blame her. It's obviously a super fun activity with lots of bright toys, obnoxious music, flashing lights. It's a regular carnival on 4 legs.

It technically has 3 stages (playmat, exersaucer, and standing toy) but we, so far, have only used it in stage 2, which is the stage that you see above. We got it from a friend whose little girl had outgrown it. By the time we got it, Buggy was much too "grown up" for the playmat stage and wanted to go straight in to stage 2. She's such a diva.

Do you see the extreme exuberance? I told you. She could honestly stay in this forever and she would be okay with it.

I love it because it really encourages hand/eye coordination as well as fine motor skills. It also "teaches" colors and numbers. While I'm not the biggest advocate of putting your baby in something and having them learn from a toy (or, even worse, the television *gasp*) I can't argue with the fact that Buggy loves to play in this thing and, hey, if she's going to play in it, she might as well learn things too, am I right?

This wonderful piece of baby crack has saved many an afternoon meltdown when Mommy needed to get something done and Buggy was just having none of it. I put her little self in it and the tears just dried away as the obnoxious music in the form of a jaunty rendition of "The Ants Go Marching" resounded throughout the living room. Honestly, if the annoying music is what it takes to make my girl happy, I'll roll with it.

Baby Crack Item #1: Soothe and Glow Seahorse

I figure that it might be worthwhile to some of my readers to chronicle all the items that I consider baby crack. That is, all the items that stop the screaming, crying, shouting, and bring about a peaceful calming environment. *deep breath*

So, the first item is the Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse, or, in our house, Charlie for short. (Charlie Horse- C. Horse, get it? Yeah, I'm lame)

We bought this after reading a few recommendations online from a few people about how their child wouldn't sleep but once they got it, the kid didn't budge. Well, at the time, my daughter was being Fussypants McGhee, and it just so happened that in one of my runs to Target, I saw the seahorse. Miraculously, there seemed to be a halo surrounding it, and I think I may have actually heard angels singing of it's magical prowess. So, at the end of my rope, and thinking to myself, "Ha! I'll prove them wrong," I picked it up. Well, technically I saw it on sale, and just had to buy it because it's little sweet beady eyes were begging me to, but same thing.

Anyway, I'm totally excited to say that it TOTALLY FREAKING works and that they weren't lying online. Holy Hannah! My dear daughter only slept while being held the first few weeks of life. While I wasn't totally opposed to this occurrance, because, hey, she's cute, I did need to lay her down for a bit so I could rest my arms; they're flabby, and un-muscular, and needed a break.

YAY for Baby Crack!