Today, baby M is TWO years old! It’s absolutely blowing my mind.
The last two years have absolutely flown by, and she has been the very best part of pandemic life. We all feel so grateful that this weird time has allowed us to spend so much time basking in her light. Truly, our entire family is utterly, completely obsessed with her.
I must say, it’s fairly difficult to choose fun but somewhat useful 2 year old gifts for a 5th child, especially since 2 year olds don’t really wan’t anything in particular (but do love the opening of presents). She has pretty much everything she needs! And with plenty of hand-me-downs, there’s not much in terms of open-ended play that we want to add to our home. As you probably know if you’ve been here a while, we don’t love adding more toys to our home and try to limit to enjoying what we already have.
Still, we wanted to make her day fun and special, with a few little things that would be unique and exciting just for her. I wanted to choose a couple things that wouldn’t just add clutter, wouldn’t duplicate what we already have, and would get a significant amount of use. Here’s what we chose!
Experience Gift: Morning at the Children’s Discovery Museum
We love the CDM and used to have a membership there. But with several of our kids aging out of the prime age for the museum (and with Covid, of course), we haven’t been in a while.
The museum is taking tons of precautions, and baby M is very good at wearing her high filtration mask now, so we figured a hopefully uncrowded weekday morning while all her siblings are at school would be the perfect birthday outing and 2 year old experience gift.
Unicorn Inflatable Hopper Bouncy Toy
Truly, I still sort of can’t believe we purchased this unicorn inflatable hopper. But the second we blew it up to get ready to give to her, I knew we’d made the right decision. This thing is both adorable and wildly hilarious and likely the most ridiculous purchase I’ve ever made. We originally considered a ride-on bouncy ball, but this one popped up and not only is it cuter, it’s much more stable, safer, and easier to ride for a toddler.
I think it will be just perfect for our girly who’s more active than all her siblings combined. She’ll get out plenty of energy and have tons of fun hopping around on this thing – it’s just pure CHEER (and we don’t have any other bouncy toys). Plus, it deflates if needed to conserve space. I have no doubt she will fall in love with this toddler inflatable bouncer the second she lays eyes on it.
Picture Book: I Sang You Down From The Stars
I always love gifting my kids a book for each of their birthdays and writing a note inside; I hope they love taking their little collection with them when they create their own homes. I love choosing out a special book for each birthday, and this one seemed perfect.
Written by Tasha Spillett-Sumner and illustrated by the unmatched Michaela Goade (both Indigenous women), it’s a beautiful representation of the gifts mother and baby gift to one another. I can’t wait to soak in the beautiful message and illustrations with my own baby girl.
Purchase on Amazon, Bookshop, Target, Walmart
Water Wow Activity Book
We’ve loved these Water Wow books for years and years with our other kiddos. Our other kids have long since worn out/used up and outgrown our other ones, though. So it felt perfect to get her one of her own! I’m excited to use this for road trips/airplane and to have a mess-free activity to occupy her. I decided to just get her one booklet for now to see how she likes it before grabbing a bigger pack.
Lily Huckleberry Plush Doll
I’ve been online friends with Audrey, the creator of Lily Huckleberry, for quite a while and love her commitment to using literature to help little ones explore the world right from home. Her books are beautiful and I’ve loved seeing the series progress.
My kids participated in a photo shoot for Lily Huckleberry a little while back and while at the photo shoot, baby M fell in love with this plush Lily doll. Audrey was incredibly thoughtful to remember that and offered to send me one for her along with a copy of the newly-released book (which is gorgeous!!). Lily arrived just a couple days before baby M’s birthday so it was perfect to include in her presents. She’s going to be thrilled and I’m betting we’ll be seeing Lily on lots of family adventures.
In addition to these gifts, a couple of family members sent some sweet things:
Magnetic Drawing Table
Dan’s parents sent this darling little magnetic tabletop easel. I love that the pen is attached and has a stable surface, which will make it easier for baby M than a handheld one. She’ll also be able to do little activities at her special table.
Bombas Slipper Socks
My sister & brother-in-law sent over these adorable little slipper socks from Bombas. I’ve heard amazing things about the company and these seem so cozy. Plus, baby M is always running full speed around the house so hopefully these will help keep her upright a bit more with their grippys on the bottom!
That’s it! We’re so excited to celebrate our darling gal with morning waffles, tons of sibling cards and handmade gifts, an ice cream and playground outing, and takeout Indian food (her fave). She’s such a light in our lives!
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