O's Favorites

Lately, I've been working on O's Christmas wish list (that her grandparents requested), and I've been thinking a lot about the toys that she plays with very frequently. I'd thought I'd share these things in case anyone else interested :)

1) playsilks- O was not very interested in her playsilks until I hung them on the wall. Ever since then, she has played with them EVERY day! I love the playsilks because they are so versatile and open ended. She uses them as hats, scarves, dresses, skirts, capes, doll blankets, as wrapping paper, to make forts, etc. The possibilities really are endless :) I ordered the silks from Dharma Trading Company about a year ago, and my mom and I dyed them using kool-aid. This is definitely one of O's most loved handmade gifts!

2) Unit blocks- O's grandparents gave her a set of unit blocks made by Melissa and Doug for her 2nd birthday. She only played with them once or twice a week at first, but then I moved them to a different, more accessible location in the room. Now she plays with them daily. She loves to make doll beds, hospitals, playgrounds, towers, etc.

3) kitchen set and play food- I've noticed lately that O stays away from her play kitchen if it is not neat and clean, so I am trying to get her to clean her kitchen after she plays instead of leaving food in the sink, etc. She usually plays with her kitchen at least once a day. She loves to fix pretend water with mustard and ketchup in it :)

4) books- We have a vast library of children's books! Mainly because I can't resist stopping by the thrift store every Thursday after work, and I usually buy at least 3 or 4 books. I'm trying to be more choosy lately :) We spend hours reading each day, and O loves to pretend to read by herself.

5) playdoh- O plays with her playdoh every day. This is her most popular toy right now! Her ice-cream maker is very cool, but she only uses it about once a day. She usually prefers to make cookies with the playdoh.

6) arts and crafts- Ever since I set up O's art shelf, she's been making "art" several times a day. This is thrilling for me because before I set up the shelf she never asked to color or paint. We only colored or painted if I iniated it. It's very exciting that she can color or paint (with dot painters) whenever she chooses, and she chooses to do so several times each day :) Yay!

7) baby dolls- Right now Baby Emma is O's favorite doll. O is a very nurturing, loving little mama, and she LOVES her babies.

8) bandaids- O LOVES bandaids!!! She usually has at least 3 or 4 bandaids randomly placed on her body. She also loves giving us bandaids. Luckily, my mom buys bandaids at the Dollar Tree, and we always keep several boxes on hand :) I think Santa may fill O's stocking with boxes of bandaids!

9) Rainbow Nesting Tunnel- My dad gave O this rainbow nesting tunnel for Christmas last year, and it is such a beautiful, well made toy. She's been playing with it very frequently for almost a year, and we love to play with it, too :) She uses it as a tunnel, bracelets, anklets, cave, dog house (for miniature dogs), etc.