Reviews, promotions and giveaways

I’ve downloaded a fun little app for my iPhone called TimeHop. It sends me a little ping each day showing me things I’ve posted to the Web on this day in history, up to seven years ago. I’m loving it! I’m such a sucker for nostalgia – I think one of my favourite things about the blog is being reminded of the old stories, of how far we’ve come and how much the boys have changed in such a short time.

Earlier this week, TimeHop kicked out this photo of Lucas in a Fisher-Price Rainforest swing that I took five years ago. Oh how I loved this swing! It was loaned to me from a friend, and I swear it saved my sanity. For Tristan we had an ancient battery-powered swing that moved too fast and made him sick each time he fell asleep in it. I don’t think we had a swing for Simon, who wouldn’t let me put him down for three seconds in a row anyway. But if I could go back in time and recommend to a new parent ONE bit of baby gear that totally saved my sanity, it would be this swing.

(Two month old Lucas. Sigh. Where does the time go?)

I don’t think they make this model any more, but the My Little Snugabunny Cradle N Swing looks like the 2013 update to this Fisher-Price Favourite. Remember I mentioned Fisher-Price Favourites last month? They’ve identified a dozen products that have stood the test of time and countless families like ours. The trims and colours and patterns have changed slightly through the years, but Fisher-Price considers these the best of the best. Here’s the full list of Fisher-Price Favourites:

1. Ocean Wonders Aquarium
2. My Little Snugabunny Cradle N Swing
3. Infant to Toddler Rocker
4. SpaceSaver High Chair
5. Discover’n Grow Jumperoo
6. Brilliant Basics Rock a Stack
7. Laugh & Learn Love to Play Puppy
8. Laugh & Learn Say Please Tea Set
9. Laugh & Learn Click ‘n Learn Remote
10. Brilliant Basics Stroll-Along Walker
11. Little People Wheelies Stand ‘ n Play Rampway
12. Little People Animal Sounds Farm

I would put all five of those first five items in my “must have for baby’s first year” list. We had an Ocean Wonders Aquarium in the boys’ cribs and I wish we had had the remote control feature that’s on the modern version. We also had a Fisher-Price bouncy chair that lasted through all three boys and a high chair that endured pretty close to six solid years of use. (I do like the space-saver version of the high chair, though – I stubbed a lot of toes on the legs of our old Fisher-Price Healthy Care high chair, but holy cow was it ever durable!) The only one we didn’t have on this list was a Jumperoo – did you ever use one of those?

Here’s all three boys in the same Fisher-Price high chair:

Did you get my “durability” theme here? Each one of my own personal Fisher-Price favourites lasted multiple kids, lots of hard use and lots of love. That’s another reason why I have always loved the Fisher-Price brand and why I’m happy to work with them. Good stuff made well. That’s how you become a family favourite!

Don’t forget, until the end of April you can save 20% online when you buy a Fisher-Price Favourite from ToysRUs.ca: just use coupon code FISHERPRICE20

If you were stocking up for a new arrival, which of these would be on your “must have” list?

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Do you remember the first toy you bought for your child? Aside from the bright teether toys and cuddly stuffies designed for newborns, the first actual toy I bought for Tristan was the Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Rock-a-stack. That toy lasted through three drooling, teething, throwing, banging boys and still looked practically good as new (once I wiped it down!) the day I dropped it in the toy donation box at St Vincent de Paul. Did you know the Rock-a-stack was introduced in 1960? I’m sure I had one as a child, did you? When I think of classic toys, it’s exactly the kind of thing that comes to mind!

Popular toys come and go (from hula hoops to Cabbage Patch Kids to Tickle Me Elmo, there’s a craze every few years) but the classics never go out of style. That’s why Fisher-Price is highlighting the best of the best with the new “Fisher-Price Favourites” microsite. They’re featuring the toys and gear that families turn to year after year and generation after generation. What Makes a Fisher-Price Favourite?

• Year after year, these toys have been favourites of moms, not just in Canada but around the world.
• They have been tried, tested and loved by generations of kids.
• They encourage child development and support children in achieving important milestones.

Of course the Brilliant Basics Rock-a-stack is on the list. Can you guess what other toys made the cut? Here they are:

1. Brilliant Basics Rock a Stack
2. Laugh & Learn Love to Play Puppy
3. Laugh & Learn Say Please Tea Set
4. Laugh & Learn Click ‘n Learn Remote
5. Brilliant Basics Stroll-Along Walker
6. Little People Wheelies Stand ‘ n Play Rampway
7. Little People Animal Sounds Farm

So here’s another thing I like about Fisher-Price – they know that while we love their classic toys, it’s also important to keep incorporating new favourites into their line-ups. They didn’t have Bubble Guppies when I was a kid, but it is Lucas’s absolute favourite television show, and I knew he would LOVE a Bubble Guppies Rock & Roll Stage playset. This is a fun little playset with easy-to-assemble parts. It comes with a rolling Molly figure and a few accessories. You can roll Molly down the ramp and watch her spin into place on the stage. Very cute, especially if you have a Bubble Guppies fan in the house! (It’s become a bit of an inside joke crossed with an ear worm around our house. Nobody can ask “What time is it?” without someone in the family replying “It’s time for lunch!” If you have a Bubble Guppies fan in the house, you’ll get it.)

Also new this month, we had the chance to check out the DC Superfriends Wheelies Race n Chase Batcave. I thought Lucas would go crazy when he saw the Bubble Guppies set, but it was this one that had him begging me to open the box and put it together for him. This is another fun gravity-friendly playset along the lines of the much larger Wheelies Loops n Swoops set we reviewed last year. (Sometimes, smaller is good! This one is much easier to pull out and tuck away!)

Lucas loves the ramp action, and you can set it up so Batman and the Joker chase each other or race down the ramps, and there are “boulders” you can set in motion as well. Helpful for developing fine motor skills, and for figuring out “what happens when I…”, these sets are perfect for older toddlers right through to kids in the 5-6 year range. I think these Wheelies playsets are terrific, and clearly so does Lucas. Did I mention the elevator that brings the Wheelies (with the help of a little hand, of course) back up to the top of the playset so they can set off down the ramps again? This one arrived the same day as the new puppy (captured snoozing in the background in the photo below) and I’m pretty sure Lucas was more pleased with the playset than with the puppy! How’s that for an endorsement?

And now here’s a special treat for you. From March 29 through April 30, exclusively at ToysRUs.ca use the code FISHERPRICE20 and save 20% on your Fisher-Price favourites!

Do you have a favourite Fisher-Price toy, from your own childhood or one you love on your kids’ behalf?

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Eleven years ago today I was a brand new mother to a week old baby. I felt like my universe had been turned inside out! Despite the books, the websites, the magazines and the endless hours of research I’d done, nothing prepared me for the shock of those first few weeks at home with my new baby boy. And then two years later when it happened again, I was just as shocked. You’d think the third time would be a little less overwhelming – but of course it was not.

When I was thinking about what photo I could use to express that crazy feeling of having completely lost control of the situation, I thought of this old photo of Lucas stacking a precarious tower of blocks with his chubby baby fingers. Until you find your footing with a new baby, you definitely spend a lot of time feeling “overbalanced” – and then, bit by bit, the world returns to a new sort of normal. Eventually!

Would you like to play along? Fisher-Price is inviting you to enter their contest and share YOUR moment of joy!

Fisher-Price is celebrating the full range of emotions that we, as parents, feel from time to time, from overjoyed and over the moon to overtired and overdue. Now you can share your Million Moments of Joy by uploading a picture, video or text to enter the contest and see what other moms are feeling. By uploading a photo, you could be eligible to win one of eight weekly prize packs!

The value of each prize pack is approximately $200 and each prize pack consists of:

My Little Snugabunny™ Bouncer ($89.99 CAD)
Laugh & Learn™ Dance & Play Puppy ($59.99 CAD)
Ocean Wonders™ Aquarium ($54.99 CAD)

Visit the Fisher-Price Million Moments of Joy site for more details and to upload your moments of joy.

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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I mentioned last month that Fisher-Price is about to launch a fun new campaign celebrating the many joys of mother- (and father!) hood. They’ll be inviting parents to share those moments when we are OVERjoyed, but also those moments when we are OVERwhelmed, OVERhugged, OVERtired and of course OVERstimulated! You know, just about every moment while you’re parenting, especially with wee ones in the house.

Last month, I shared my take on the idea on the theme of “overdue” – which I was three times in three pregnancies. I’m at the other end of the spectrum this month, because when it’s all said and done, tumuluous and overwhelming and amazing as it is, babyhood is over so soon!

(Sigh, two years ago this month we disassembled the crib for the last time. One of the hardest things to watch was the garbage truck hauling it away.)

Would you like to play along? Fisher-Price is inviting you to enter their contest and share YOUR moment of joy!

Fisher-Price is celebrating the full range of emotions that we, as parents, feel from time to time, from overjoyed and over the moon to overtired and overdue. Starting next week, you too can share your Million Moments of Joy by uploading a picture, video or text to enter the contest and see what other moms are feeling. By uploading a photo, you could be eligible to win one of eight weekly prize packs!

The value of each prize pack is approximately $200 and each prize pack consists of:

My Little Snugabunny™ Bouncer ($89.99 CAD)
Laugh & Learn™ Dance & Play Puppy ($59.99 CAD)
Ocean Wonders™ Aquarium ($54.99 CAD)

The contest launches next week on the Fisher-Price Million Moments of Joy page and will run for eight weeks.

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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