Our Most Loved Toys 0-12 Months

Our girls are going to turn one next week--I can hardly believe it! Having come a year (almost), I've been compiling mental lists of baby stuff that I found most useful and invaluable to us. I stared out making it into one post, but quickly realized it was going to be WAY too long. So, I've split it up into a series of posts, starting with Our Favorite Books. I hope someone finds these helpful, I know I would have loved to have had it spelled out for me---I was so completely overwhelmed with everything. I'm sure if you have little ones, you probably have your favorite toys too. Feel free to add to my list!

I included pictures, so that you don't have click on all the links, unless you want to.

Toys 0-6 months

Infantino Barn Babies. This is a set of three--chicken, pig and cow (not pictured). They hook on to stroller or carseat straps, so they can't fall off. They have multiple textures, bright colors, and they make (quiet) noises.

Ring-a-Links. We used a lot of these. They were attached to just about everything--stroller, carseat, jumperoo, playmat. The girls still chew on them--they are excellent for teething too!

Play Mat. We didn't have this exact one (in the link), we borrowed one from a friend. Really, any sort of mat that lets things dangle in your babies' line of sight is great. Before we borrowed ours, I made one with ribbons--babies love to look and bat at things that dangle and move, so you can be creative.

My Barnyard Friends. My mom got this for the girls when they were five months old. I wish we'd gotten it sooner--they love it! Each animal makes their animal noise when you squeeze it, and the little barn carrying case makes it perfect to take to playdates.

Bright Starts Tug Tunes Pink Elephant. This is probably our most loved toy. As you can see, the ring sewn around the elephant's trunk needs to be mended. The girls absolutely loved this thing! You pull the tail, and it plays four different tunes. It worked like a charm, from the time the girls were very little, to calm them when they were fussy. To this day, if they are fussing, we can pull the elephant's tail for a tune, and they stop fussing.

Jumperoo and Exersaucer. Initially we just got the jumperoo. We began sitting the girls in it when they were 3-4 months old. They really didn't start to enjoy it for very long until they were more like 5-6 months old. We borrowed the exersaucer from a friend when the girls were 10 months. Each morning, to this day, one girl is in the jumperoo, one is in the exersaucer. It gives this mama a moment to make coffee and eat breakfast before feeding them. They are also a safe, fun spot to put them if I am not able to supervise for a few moments. They are a bigger investment, so maybe borrow, or try Craigslist, but have certainly been worth it for us.

Stacking Rings. The girls still love them! They are big enough for them to grab onto at an early age, and soft enough for them to chew on. For Christmas we got them these, which they love also. A great investment, because as they grow, they can learn different skills with them.

Toys 7-12+ months

Once the girls could scoot around we got these Wheeee-Is Cars, so that they could push them around while they scooted. Now that they are a bit older, they love pulling them back and letting them go. They get super excited as the car comes towards them. The perfect toy if you have wood floors!

B. Parum Pum Pum Drum. The girls love music, and really enjoy jam sessions with this toy.

Stacking cups. These were meant to be bath toys for the girls, but we've never actually used them in the bath. They love to knock them over when they are stacked up, and they often clap them together to make noise. They are beginning to get the concept of putting things in, and taking things out of them, and sometimes successfully can get them cups to nest. The cups also come in really handy to dole out puffs.

Leap Frog Learn and Groove Music Table. Our girls really love music. We borrowed this at first to see if it was something we wanted to purchase. My daughter, Brynne, seeks this thing out every day, and shakes her groove thing to all songs. It has definitely been worth the money!

Sort, Peek and Roll Activity Shape Sorter. The girls love to put the shapes in and out of this thing. I actually used this toy to teach them how to put things in and take things out of something. There is a mirror on one side; they are fascinated with mirrors, and love to look at themselves in the mirror. When they get a little older, they can figure out the puzzle part of this toy, so it should stick around for awhile. Also, there is room to put lots of other toys inside this toy, which makes it great to take to playdates.

Garanimals natural wood blocks (I could not find these online, but Garanimals brand is sold at Walmart). These are fantastic--they are colorful, two inch blocks that come as a set of 16. Every block has an animal, a shape, a pattern/design, and an object on it. My girls love to sit and point to the different things on the blocks--we go through all the blocks, identifying everything that is pictured on each block. They love it, and will sit for a good 15 minutes while we go through each block a few times. And, of course, they love to knock down any towers that get built.