Lately Legos have been a total life saver. With all of Fritz’s shenanigans Legos are the one thing that really holds his attention. Sometimes I reel at the prospect of having to play Busy Town or Hungry Hungry Hippos, but Legos are always something me and BD can get down with. On more than one occasion we’ve dumped out the entire box and sat around together as a family, everyone contributing to find pieces for a vehicle or city we’re building. Legos are clearly the most entertaining toy we have. Fritz has one nice size set that has the pieces and directions to build a few different trucks and structures. We’ve built them all several times. He’s so good with them I’m considering investing in another set. All the other toys can go to hell. What activity/toy really truly holds your kids attention for a prolonged period of time?

Is it just me or was there a major mistake in the costume department here? This costume looks like an elephant leisure suit. Halloween fail!

I love going to kid’s parties. Mostly for the cake and pizza. It’s always nice when the parents put a little extra effort into the festivities and do something special. You know clowns, pinatas, that sort of thing. Well this Saturday we went to Sophie’s 3rd Birthday which was held at Bounce U. This place was kinda off the chain. In one giant,  private room there are about 4 different giant bouncing structures to have your way with. And it wasn’t just the kids that were having fun, some of the dads (my BD included) were going totally buckwizzy on these things. There was giggling and bouncing galore. Check out Bounce U and some more party pics after the jump (Ha!) Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, my best friend has become an honorary mommy a.k.a nanny. It’s pretty much the coolest thing ever since we never got to see each other much when we were both working other jobs. Now at least once a week, we get to hang out all day, stroll around, gossip, lounge around play places, hang in the park and lunch together. We even got our nails done today when both kids crashed. My BFF, Jennie,  lives in Park Slope, the NYC mecca of yuppie families. Therefore there are 5 million things to do with kids there. Today we went to The Spanish Institute!  Read the rest of this entry »

Attention all Hipster Moms! I was just alerted via text from an Am Appy insider that American Apparel is holding a casting for it’s baby ad’s! I’ve never entertained the notion of being a stage mom but this could be a good one for the baby book. It couldn’t hurt to just submit a few photos right? He probably wouldn’t even get it right? I’ll keep you posted, but in the meantime if you think your kids got what it takes submit your photos Here!

Attention New Parents: Don’t bother buying your 0-1.5 year old puzzles unless the pieces are at least the size of a fist. I know it can be tempting because there are some pretty cool puzzles out there. I just saw Fritz put the alphabet puzzle pieces in the right slots for the first time since owning these things. He’s 2 (and 4 months)! I bought the Doug & Melissa Alphabet Puzzle when  he was 3 months old there are only 6 pieces left. I wish the puzzle was fully intact so he could play with it now. We have entire bottom boards of puzzles with no pieces at all. If you do buy, or get them as gifts, maybe just pack away the pieces in a zip lock and break them out every so often and play until interest is lost, then store. Melissa & Doug also make pretty cool puzzle storage systems. The day will come around where the kid can actually get something out of an alphabet or numbers puzzle and you’ll have the  whole sha-bang there for him to enjoy. Learn from my mistakes people.

Ftitz needs a lot of attention. Let’s just say he doesn’t love playing alone. Sometimes I’ll get the brief respite and be able to jump on the computer for a bit of work but mostly he wants me right there next to him playing trains, puzzles or tinker toys. As a good mommy I should be playing with him…but , god is it boring! I mean it’s fun for a few minutes until my mind turns to mush. I usually get some time to do my thing  if he gets into one of his shows but I don’t want to make it a habit of just plopping him in front of the TV all the time…it happens enough as it is. So I prefer if he plays or draws or something…but doing it with him the whole time can be mind numbing. Sorry Fritz. Sooooooo all of a sudden I had an epiphany this morning and it was this….by the time new baby is fritz’s age, baby 2, Fritz 5, Fritz will be the one that can play with and entertain the new one! Yessssss! I’m off the hook. What a relief.

Your probably asking yourself this same question right about now…when can I get my kid shredding? The snow is starting to fall and we just went boarding yesterday. Naturally we start talking about when we can get Fritz on a board. I remember a while back that I was talking to someone over at Burton and they were telling me about their kids boards and gear. They have a motto at Burton “Starting kids on skis is child abuse”. Burton’s youngest riders name is Hailey Langland and she’s 8 years old! Check here out here. So, I started doing a little research on boards and Burton has great stuff for kids. Then I did a little research on what age you can get kids on boards. There was some good info here and here. The general consensus seems to be that 4 is the perfect age to get them riding. You can do it earlier but I can imagine the whole ordeal being pretty difficult and their muscles may not be fully developed. Fritz doesn’t even like to try on new shoes at the shoe store so I can only imagine what strapping him in to a board would be like right now. I think I’ll be waiting until next year when he’s 3 ish to attempt to get him riding. This year my dad got Fritz a saucer so we’ll be using that on snow days for Fritz. I think when he finally does get on a board he’ll be a little maniac…I can’t wait!! Has anyone’s kids started riding? What age? Share Please!

Q: Is Chucky an appropriate costume for a toddler?

A: Yes, but only for adult amusement not to go to a daycare party (This is what I had to tell The Hipster Dad).

So, I’m left having to find a “acceptable” costume for Fritz so he can join in his daycare Halloween festivities. I’ve perused a few costume websites and they mostly offer the same fare, pumpkins, ninjas and cowboys. Check out a few possible options I selected for Fritzy after the jump…
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