Best Apps for Toddlers

It’s sunny today. It was yesterday too. And has been for about a week. It finally, finally, feels like spring. Mother nature was in the dog house for quite some time, so it’s a good thing she finally got her act together.

Our AC went out on Tuesday, and we had to replace the entire unit. I’m loving this weather and the extra time outdoors, but not when it’s 89 degrees in our house. What a drag. But, we survived.

So, are you ready for infamous Kansas 100 degree days? I have an inkling they are right around the corner, but I sure hope I’m wrong!

But don’t worry, we’ll find ways to stay busy. Me and my little squirt will stack Kleenex boxes, play with spice containers filled with marbles, climb furniture, build forts and…play on the iPad.

That’s right, I’m talking about newly discovered, toddler-friendly apps today.

So, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite 2ish year-old Apps just for you!

And…I've included a very handy iPad/iPhone child lock trick that forces the said 2ish year-old to stay within the one app and not navigate outside of it and get into your email inbox. It’s the best thing invented since the Bilibo.

I hope you all enjoy some of these as much as we have!

**Please note that we don't utilize the iPad or electronics as a substitution for play or interaction with him. We simply utilize the technology available to this generation and are loving the educational aspect if offers.

1. Peekaboo Barn, $1.99

This is the app we use the most by far. Carson can navigate entirely himself, talks and points to the animals, and has a hay day doing it over and over.

One of three Peekaboo apps from Night & Day Studios — a forest version and jungle version are also available — Peekaboo Barn is a short, simple game ideal for toddlers and pre-readers. It requires neither reading nor excessive interaction to play. After hearing a muffled animal noise coming from the big, red barn, you tap the barn doors to reveal the animal inside. The animal’s name then displays and is spoken aloud. Ten creatures appear in all, after which night falls and the animals go to sleep.

2. Fish School, $1.99

This is our second most used app. For busy toddlers, this app is great because there is always movement. With each tap, colorful schools of fish magically transform themselves into different letters, numbers, shapes, colors and more.

Fish School includes 8 fun educational activities: Letters, Numbers, Shapes, ABC Song, Colors, Differences, Matching and Playtime.

3. Elmo Calls, $0.99 (Plus additional for specific calls)

Elmo Calls is a simple app that has put a stop to tantrums while traveling in the car. At this age, it doesn’t hold Carson’s interest for long, but he gets an Insta-smile when he sees Elmo talking to him via Facetime. Once he’s a bit older, we’ll try the scheduled calls for daily activities such as brushing teeth, going potty, taking a bath, etc.

"Elmo Calls" encourages children to engage in imaginative play, practice listening skills and sing songs with Elmo! Receive video calls, audio calls, and voicemail from Sesame Street’s own furry, red monster. This app also fosters self-confidence by encouraging children to celebrate important life moments, such as visiting the doctor, going to the potty and learning the alphabet!

4. Endless ABC’s, FREE

This newly found app is awesome. And FREE! It’s basically an electronic shape sorter with letters that includes fun, animated videos and descriptions of the words after placing the letters correctly. Carson can’t quite do it himself, but it’s a fun activity for both of us to sit down and do together. He gets a kick out of me taking his finger and matching up the letters. If I take too long, he holds up his finger and “eh eh’s” until I keep going!

Set the stage for reading success with this delightfully interactive educational app. Kids will have a blast learning their ABC's and building vocabulary with the adorable monsters in Endless Alphabet. Each word features an interactive puzzle game with talking letters and a short animation illustrating the definition. Before you know it, your child will be using words like gargantuan and cooperate!

5. PBS Kids, FREE

We don’t use this app very often, but I imagine we will once Carson discovers cartoons. It usually buys us 2-5 minutes of time while trying to finish something up.

Watch videos from your favorite PBS KIDS television series anytime, anywhere. PBS KIDS features more than 1,000 videos from over a dozen top PBS KIDS television series, including Curious George, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Dinosaur Train, SUPER WHY!, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Sesame Street and Wild Kratts.

6. UnColor, $0.99

What a perfect app for ‘I-want-to-touch-everything’ toddlers! All they have to do is swipe away to reveal the hidden drawing.

Unlike most children’s art apps, which expect kids to apply ingenuity to a blank canvas, Uncolor begins with all the lines colored in — and it’s up to baby to discover where the finished drawings are hiding. Tots swipe their fingers across the app’s six black screens, revealing a collection of cute, colorful animal pictures in the process. Though the idea might seem a bit lean, that’s precisely the point. Uncolor’s extreme simplicity is exactly what will keep wee ones coming back for more.

7. Jungle Jam, $1.99

Confession: We haven’t downloaded this one yet, but I’ve heard good things from a coworker. By the description, I think my little one will love the monkey’s and interactive music play. Looking forward to trying it out soon!

Music games don’t get much simpler than Jungle Jam, but simplicity is just what will draw tots to the game. Well, simplicity and cute, bouncing baby monkeys. All the action takes place on a single screen, where you can either tap a virtual bamboo xylophone to move through a basic do-re-mi scale or touch onscreen characters — including animated bananas and a smiling sun — to watch them move. The monkeys bounce in time to a simple beat, helping kids grasp basic rhythmic concepts in the process, but the bouncing is also a clever interactive tool that encourages little ones to tap and explore.

Guided Access
As promised, go here to find out how to keep your toddler in one App and from navigating outside of it into other apps.

Guys, this is seriously the best thing ever. Before I found out about this trick, Carson was constantly getting out of the app and into other apps….making all my apps dance with those little “X’s.”

Seriously, you will love this.

Here’s the basics if you don’t want to read the link:
-Go to Settings
-Choose General
-Choose Accessibility
-Choose Guided Access
-Turn on Guided Access

From there, all you have to do is go to the app you want to use, then click the main circle button on the front of the iPhone three times. A start button will appear prompting you to start guided access. To stop, simply click the menu button three times again and choose End.

Happy Apping! Yep, I just made that word up.

You can find us hanging out in our underwear. Not really. But we were yesterday.

Did you really think you would escape a post without a picture of my kid? Hah, you thought wrong.

Solids Are In

I like stripes, I really do, but solids are the choice this week.

I'm talking about solid food my peeps.

Big Boy is quite the little eater. He loves his sweet potatoes.

Oh you liked the sweet potatoes? How about some more? How about three times a day for five days straight?

Mmm kay Mom.

Daddy* tried them too.

When you start solids, you follow the 5-day rule to monitor any reactions they might have. So, Carson will get sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 5 days.

Then, we'll move to peas. Maybe green beans. I haven't decided yet.

Carson can now relate to big brother Jake. Eating the same meal over and over and over.

This great site follows the 4-day rule and provides a ton of great 'make-your-own-baby-food' recipes for all stages of solids.

Yep folks, I will win the mommy of the year award for making my own baby food.

Just kidding. It's really super easy and I only plan to do veggies, fruits and a few combos of the two.

Making my own baby food was something I never thought I would do. I also didn't think I would successfully breastfeed for 6+ months either (I'm too impatient), but I'm still going strong.

Well, after hearing how easy it is to make your own baby food, it's a no brainer.

Thanks to a great suggestion from my extremely talented pediatrician friend, these trays are working out great.

So Easy...for real.

Cook, puree, distribute, freeze, pop out, store and repeat.

That way we will have lots of sweet potatoes on hand and ready to go for Big Boy.

I heard starting solids would be an adventure. Not to mention the mind blowing, rank-ass poopy diapers they cause.

Not gonna lie, the poops are thicker and way too similar to ours. Yesterday, I got to experience what I call a 'sweet potato patty poop cake'.

Just use your imagine. I'm sure next week we'll experience green poop cakes.

Ok, I'm done talking about poop today, promise.

Off to make and freeze some baby food. Bye Bye!

*Don't you just love the husband's cutoff? We keep it classy around here.

Don't Judge a Book By its Cover

I haven't been shy about talking about breastfeeding on this blog.

Disclaimer: This post is entirely about just that, so continue reading at your own risk. :)

I'm fairly confident this information will help someone, so that is the sole reason for this post.

Before our sweet boy entered this world, I had mixed emotions about breastfeeding. I knew I wanted to nurse my child, I just didn't know one, if I would produce enough, two, if I would be successful, and three, how long I would last before throwing in the towel.

I heard things like,

"It's so painful."
"Your nipples will crack and bleed."
"Just get through the first two weeks."
"Formula fed babies sleep better."

Everything I heard seemed negative. All this amongst other mentionings of engorgement, mastitis and a hassle. One friend did make a positive mention of "a bond you develop."

via Pinterest

I didn't know what to think. Or what to expect.

I was definitely scared. And apprehensive about being successful. The class I took at Shawnee Mission Med helped, but all the "what-ifs" and negatives continued to flood my mind.

My guess would be that most first-time moms have these feelings about breastfeeding, but maybe not.

So, Carson was born and I started breastfeeding. Getting him to latch in the hospital was a challenge. And by challenge, I mean we experienced some intense crying fits where he was frustrated, I was frustrated, even Brian was frustrated. It took motivation to not quit.

He was a big boy, so he demanded more:). Thank God for the lactation consultants and their guidance. We had to supplement formula through a feeding tube until my milk really came in, faking him out and making him think there was more flowing from the source. This was a life saver.

Once my milk came in, we stopped the tube feeding and it became much easier. Big boy learned to latch and I started to enjoy feeding time with him.

We spent hours and hours together. There were no cracked or bleeding nipples. Not much pain. We developed the bond that a friend had referred to. He started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. I had found a new respect for breastfeeding.

Today, I'm three and a half months in and I can't say enough positive things about it. To be honest, I thought I would have quit by now, but I have this unexplainable drive to keep on going.

Now, I'll be the first to say, I know it doesn't work for everyone, and everyone has a different experience. Mine just happened to really surprise me.

When people used to ask, "Are you going to breastfeed?" I would answer, "Yeah, I'm going to try,"" but there was never any real determination behind my response.

I wish I would have heard more positive things about it and then I might not have been so apprehensive or somewhat negative to begin with.

Don't get me wrong, there's pros and cons.

It's extremely good for your baby. Not saying formula isn't, but breast milk is the best choice if possible.

It's economical. As in, 'I'll-take-the-added-hassle-any-day' economical. Have you seen how much formula costs? It's crazy bananas!

And it truly does create a bonding moment for you and your baby. It it our time together, just the two of us, that nobody else can share (at least right now). Bottle feeding can do the same, but I think you tend to rely on help once you make the complete switch (I know I will!).

It can create a hassle at times, especially when it's time to go back to work. My deadline driven job definitely doesn't make it easy, but it's nothing unmanageable. Bottle feeding requires the same amount of time, it's just easier to feed in public or when you're on the go.

My goal is six months. I would be ecstatic if I continued for eight or nine, but I think that's a stretch for me.

I have experienced said "engorgement" a few times aka clogged milk ducts, but it's nothing to really fuss about. I wouldn't suggest trying to work out while you have it.

While I was on leave, I ambitiously tried to succeed at a P90x video during an engorgement outbreak. I cursed every single time I had to do "X time" or Tony said "Get em up!" Damn plyometrics.

Ok, now on to the more exciting part of this post.

You know the hands-free bras they sell in stores to make pumping easy?

Pretty freakin' cool invention, right? I think so! It's such a pain to hold the contraptions.

I went without one for the first month because I couldn't bring myself to spend $40 not knowing if I would stick with this breastfeeding stuff. After about a month, I decided I needed something to hold these things onto my ta-tas.

A friend of mine told me that she heard of people making their own out of a sports bra.

In comes the DIY and frugal side of me, rummaging through my dresser drawer to find an old sports bra.

Two simple hole cuts later, I ended up with this:

Looks weird, I know. But this isn't about fashion people. It's all about functionality. I was unsure if it would work, but to my surprise, works like a dream!

Hands Free and Lovin' It!! 

Note: You don't have to put your arms through the straps of the sports bra for it to work properly. I simply slip it on (straps down), so I can keep my dress clothes on.

Love It List: Newborn

I'm a little over 2 months into being a mommy and finally feel like I really know what I'm doing. Though I know there are many more learning experiences to come with my little guy.

When I was newly pregnant and going through the registering process, I remember feeling completely lost, uneducated and clueless. Let's face it, baby gear and all their "must haves" are just overwhelming.  You hear this and you hear that, but what really is necessary?

I thought I would put together a list of newborn products I would recommend to others, for any future moms that might care:).

Please keep in mind, this is only my opinion and includes things that have worked and are working for me and my baby. Every child is different and there are tons of great products out there to choose from.


Love it List: Newborn Must Haves

Itz been Baby Care Timer
When I first saw this product in the store, I thought it seemed sort of silly. Well, after it was recommended to me by several people, I registered for it and got it from my good friend Megan! This thing is awesome. I take it everywhere with me.

Basically, it keep tracks of feedings, diaper changes and sleeping, so you don't have to try and remember or log it on paper. I can't imagine having to remember the last time Carson ate. Plus, he is a great eater, so much that I have to cut him off from nursing every time. The timer allows me to easily time 10 minutes on each side. Note: I heard there is an iPhone App very similar to this concept.

JJ Cole Bundle Me Car Seat Blanket
What a great product. Especially for a winter baby. It goes inside your car seat and has holes for the straps so it firmly stays in place. The top flap easily flips over baby's head and doesn't blow off in the wind. I can't imagine having to use a blanket. A++ for this convenient product.

Summer Infant SwaddleMe Blankets
I know not all babies like to be swaddled, but Carson loves it and has to be swaddled to sleep. These make swaddling him easy peasy for Mom and Dad. And talk about secure. There's no way Carson can break out of this swaddle. Therefore, he sleeps better, we sleep better. It's a win-win situation. We don't even mess with the actual swaddle blankets anymore.

Don't get confused by the "Summer Infant", that's just the brand. When I saw their products, I thought it might mean only for summer babies. Call me blonde, but it confused me.

Boppy Nursing Pillow
I pretty much thought this was on everyone's must-have list, but I actually know people that didn't have one. I don't know what I would do without mine. I use it for feedings, rocking him to sleep, and propping him up on the bed or couch. It's easy on the arms and gives Carson a cushy pillow during feedings.

Good Bibs
I have a spit up child, so having good bibs is a must. The ones with a thick water resistant material are the best. Otherwise, the spit up just goes right through, entirely defeating the purpose of the bib. Also, I really like ones with a snap so they stay on better. These ones from Target are great.

Cloud B Sleep Sheep
A calming sound is one of the five S's according to the Happiest Baby on the Block book. I'm a firm believer in a sound machine. This little guy is inexpensive and cute, and easily hangs from any crib. With four different sounds and a timer, it calms Carson when going to sleep. At least I think so:). I've also heard Cloub b's Twilight Turtle is great for toddlers.

Boon LAWN Countertop Drying Rack 
One of the most nifty things I have. Seriously. There are a ton of drying racks to choose from. Most people get the ones that match what kind of bottle they are using. I personally like this one. It's small, compact, and holds a lot more than you would think. I really like that you can pretty much place anything on it, pacifiers, pumping parts, bottles, you name it.

Here's my drying rack in action:

aiden + anais blankets
Several experienced moms told me these were a must. At first, I didn't find a real use for them because we were using the SwaddleMe blankets to swaddle. Now I use them as blankets when he is in his swing, bouncer, on the floor, etc. They are bigger than the average receiving blanket (47" x 47") and thin, so they make it super easy to tuck and stay in place.

Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor Deluxe
Another product where there are lots of great choices. I opted not to do a video monitor. I had a few friends that had troubles with them breaking a lot so I went for this one. It detects his heartbeat and will alarm if there isn't any movement. I LOVE this monitor. Simply because it puts my mind at ease and gives me the peace of mind I need to sleep soundly. It also helped with transitioning him to his crib earlier.  

The First Years Deluxe Fold N Go Changing Kit
This makes out and about diaper changes so easy. And it's clean. This is also what I use when we travel. Our Pac N Play came with a diaper changing attachment, but we don't even use it because it takes up room and is just another thing to pack.

This pad works great on the floor, bathroom baby changing stations and in the car (while not moving of course:). It has two convenient pockets to hold wipes, diapers, diaper cream, hand sanitizer, etc. When out and about (say at a restaurant or running errands), I just grab this from the diaper bag, rather than taking the whole bag. The best part? Only $12 at Target.

JJ Cole Diaper Caddy
 Diaper changes need to be quick. Especially with a boy! Diapers and cream need to be within hands reach. This caddy is great and keeps everything organized. I have it to the right of our changing pad and it also holds other daily essentials such as nasal drops, face/hand wipes, fingernail clippers, the bulb syringe, thermometer, etc. I also have the storage bins in his closet and they are great too. JJ Cole makes great products.

So there you have it. My Love It List for newborns. Of course you will need a quality stroller/carseat, swing, bouncer, etc, but these were the products I thought could get overlooked.

The Feeding Palace

Carson and I have really enjoyed our time together. Being off work for 11 weeks is pretty awesome and allows us to run errands, go on lunch dates and do lots of laundry. Thanks to my spit up boy!

Yesterday, we met our friend Kathy at the delicious Spin! Pizza. Yum yum. Seriously love this place.

After I devoured my Sonoma salad, we headed to Buy Buy Baby. The fairly new baby store that shares the owners of Bed, Bath & Beyond. Big Boy was hungry, so we went straight for the feeding room.

To my surprise, this was no ordinary feeding room. It was the taj mahal of places to whip out your boob and feed your baby. TMI? Sorry, all modesty goes straight out the window after having a child.

Now, when you're breastfeeding, you get really good at feeding anywhere and everywhere. The random places I have fed include the snack closet at my office, the Kohls's dressing room, the Urban Outfitters dressing room, the car, the hospital and the doctor's office bathroom.

I like feeding him while out and about because it then buys us 2-3 more hours of running errands and getting things done without having to race home with a fussy, crying, hungry baby.

Back to the immaculate, every mom's dream room offered at Buy Buy. Complete with uber comfy gliding chairs, side tables, a changing station with an actual changing pad, and fun kid-friendly decor.

I was so appreciative of this room. It was cozy, comfortable and just what a mom needs while parading her newborn child around the city during errands.

Yes, I am blogging about a feeding room at a retail store. I was excited.

So was Big Boy.

Thanks for changing my diaper mom!

Thank you Buy Buy Baby for putting Babies R Us to shame. Your organized shelves, clean restroom, helpful employees, coupons, and resort-feel of a feeding room make a mom's life easier.