Look at the adorable sippy cup holders made by LilyBugs! Crystal Kane, founder, CEO, and Mom behind LilyBugs, got the idea when her six month old daughter was fussing in the car, and her bottle was leaking. Crystal wrapped a blanket around the bottle, and found that her daughter was able to hold her own bottle that way. From that experience came her idea to create soft holders shaped like animals that hold a bottle (the wide, nurser kind) or sippy cup. What a great idea! I like this MissFin Bug:

Orders are packaged in a cute matching bag and then shipped USPS first class in a padded envelope within 1 to 2 days. LilyBugs are $10.00 each, but I’m hoping to win one in a contest from Moms Morning Show! Rules for the contest are on this post here-http://momsradionetwork.com/morningshow/contest-win-a-lilybug/

If you’ve never listened to a show on BlogTalkRadio, take a minute some morning at 10:30 EST and listen to Moms Morning Show. They cover all kinds of parenting topics and you can call in to chat, too. I’m listening right now as I type this

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Family Travel Gear sent us a Snack and Play Travel Tray, and I am whole-heartedly recommending it to anyone who spends any amount of time in the car with a toddler!!!! Easily wipeable nylon with a soft foam core, two-inch high soft foam sides to keep toys from rolling off, and mesh pockets on the sides to hold coloring books and toys make this the ideal travel accessory. It looks like this: (not my child in the photo)

We haven’t been on any long road trips, but I’ve used it for our trips to pay our utility bills, which involves being in the car for about 90 minutes all together. Our car seat has arms on the sides that wrap around, so I can’t buckle it behind the seat, but I can run the buckle strap around the backside of the car seat and then pull it tight. Some paper, crayons, a few Hot Wheels, and her “babies” (small plastic Dora and Diego figures), and she is entertained for the WHOLE TIME.

Family Travel Gear is a great website you should check out. You can search by the age of the person going on the trip-Babies, Kids, Teens, Adults-and by what type of trip you are taking.  If you are going on an airplane and plan to have your baby sit on your lap, I highly recommend the Baby B’air Flight Vest Travel Harness-what a GREAT idea. It fastens around your baby and then buckles to your seat belt, so your baby stays safe even through turbulence.  They also carry a wide variety of magnetic games, activity books, portable blankets for the beach, document and toiletry organizers, and so much more. Check out Family Travel Gear’s site before your next trip, no matter how long it is!

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My daughter has been blessed with the kind of hair many of us would kill for-soft, shiny, silky, curly, but also slippery and baby fine. I refuse to cut it, even as the wisps hang down into her eyes, because I hated the pageboy-with-painfully-short-bangs styles that my Mother subjected me to as a child. However, as Kaitlyn’s hair grows, it needs to be swept out of her eyes, and therein lies the challenge: How to find hairclips, barrettes, something, that will stay in her hair.

The wonderful Moms at Hooked on Baby must have known how much I needed hairclip help, because they sent me two of their fabulous bow clips for Kaitlyn, and miracle of miracles, they STAY IN her hair!  Each clip has a teeny magnet strip on one side, so the clips stay in without pinching, and best of all, they look FABULOUS. I received the adorable “Little Miss Richmond” clip from the Plain Jane collection, which looks like this:

Isn’t that cute? It looks even cuter in her hair:

They also sent me the beautiful “Little Miss Boston” clip  from the Crystal Clear collection, which features an actual Swarovski crystal!:

Isn’t that gorgeous? And now, want to help me win some free stuff from the Hooked on Baby site? It’s easy! Place an order, and mention my name (Elizabeth Edwards) and my email address (table4five AT gmail DOT com), and if I have the most referrals, I’ll win free loot! And that would be really cool So hop on over, get your daughter/granddaughter/niece/friend some adorable hairclips, and don’t forget to tell them that I sent you!

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You know that Playskool makes toys that help your baby learn while having fun, right? Now, Playskool has created their Baby Care line of items available exclusively at CVS/pharmacy. There are over 30 different fun, colorful products in bright red and yellow packages, each with the Playskool “Ages and Stages” label, so you know if the product is right for your baby. I received a wonderful box full of Playskool Baby Care items, each of which is both useful and informative.
The package came just as we were getting ready to leave on our trip to Toledo, so I was happy to see that I had received the Insulated Flip Top Cup. It keep up to 9 ounces of liquid fresh and cool, and the straw is made from a soft silicone so it won’t poke your child’s tender gums. The cup is made with two layers, and the outer layer doesn’t “sweat”, so it doesn’t drip on your child or leave rings on furniture! The flip top means this cup does not leak, which is great when you have a toddler like mine who thinks it is fun to hold the cup upside down and shake it.

I also washed and packed two of these terrific Heat Sensitive Spoons. Since Kaitlyn wants to eat whatever we are having, and is pretty impatient about it, I LOVE how these spoons work. Simply insert the bowl of the spoon into heated food, and if it is too hot (above 110 degrees), the bowl of the spoon will change from colored to white. Rinsing the spoon in cold water restores the color, and then you can put it back into the food until the bowl doesn’t change color, meaning the food is safe to give to your child. What a terrific way to let your child feel a sense of accomplishment by feeding themselves, while also keeping them safe.

I love the sleek design of this Easy Grip feeding bowl, which is cleverly designed to fit either the right or left hand. It’s made of a tough, break resistant polypropylene (helpful when your toddler decides to fling the bowl down onto the kitchen floor from her high chair), and is so comfortable to hold. You just slide your thumb through the hole on the top, and your hand is in a natural position for feeding. The bowl comes with a tight-fitting lid that has a steam vent on top, so you can take it from the refrigerator and put it in the microwave to warm up the food. And, it comes with a differently shaped heat-sensitive spoon-the handle is more angled, so you can spoon food into your baby’s mouth from a more comfortable position. The bowl of the spoon also turns white if the food is too hot.

In addition to feeding items, I also received the Infant/Toddler Grooming Set, which is getting a permanent place in my diaper bag. It comes with a three piece nail care set consisting of infant nail clippers with a curved edge for trimming tiny baby nails, a pair of nail scissors with rounded edges and soft handles, a tiny emery board for shaping a jagged nail, plus a comb for keeping your child’s hair neat. If they let you comb it, that is Each Baby Care package comes with special “Mom Tips”, developed by a child psychologist to help Moms understand basic care as well as have fun doing it. For example, if your child is reluctant to let you cut their nails, make a game out of getting closer and closer to them so they don’t feel so nervous.

I also received two other items that I am sending to my friend Tammie who has a new little guy in her life who can use them-a package of 2 Orthodontic Pacifiers, and a set of Teething Keys that contain Non-Toxic Ice Gel instead of water, so they stay colder longer. I hope he enjoys them! I know I am really enjoying and appreciating all the items I received, and since there’s a CVS right down the street, I’ll know where to go if I lose one of the spoons, or to replace the straw in the Flip Top Cup. To see the full line of Playskool Baby Care products, visit your local CVS or go to the CVS/Playskool website.

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It started with three Moms wanting to create a show that would get preschoolers excited about reading. Jill Luedtke, Kim Anton and Tracey Hornbuckle saw a need to enhance early literacy skills among young children. After a visit to a farm where they met an adorable calf named Wilbur, they thought a barnyard and cute animal characters would be the perfect setting.

They created Wilbur, an adorable calf who lives on a farm with his friends Ray the Rooster, Dasha the Duck, and Libby the Lamb. The show originally aired in April, and on September 10th, just in time for National Literacy Month, Discovery Kids’ READY SET LEARN! will air five all-new episodes of Wilbur. I received a preview copy of four of the episodes, in the form of a DVD, and Kaitlyn and I (and sometimes Nathan) have been watching it for a few weeks. Kaitlyn is pretty hard to please with anything that isn’t Dora or Diego, but after a few short airings, she will now watch a whole episode at a time. I know she loves the farmyard and the animals, she is fascinated by chickens! So I think Dasha is her favorite

Our DVD has these four episodes: “Getting Into Shapes”, “The Wright Stuff”, “Two Reds Are Better Than One”, and “Thanks For Everything”. Each episode follows a basic format, there is some kind of dilemna, Wilbur starts wiggling (I know how it sounds, but it’s really cute!), and then Wilbur reads a story to show that books are full of ideas that can help with problem solving. The stories are not real books, they are made up to fit the episode, but the idea is that books are fun, and the viewer sees the animals reading books filled with exciting and helpful information.

The characters themselves are puppets, and when Wilbur opens a book and uses his hoof to scan the words “Once Upon A Time”, the book comes to life with animation. Each story is also read a second time by real kids shown in video format, to reinforce the story and it’s message. I think Kaitlyn was more interested in the puppets, but I’m sure older kids will enjoy seeing real kids as well.

“Getting Into Shapes” is about Wilbur and Ray wanting to play the Great Shapes Game with Libby but she doesn’t know how to match an object with a shape made from tracing it. Wilbur reads “There’s a Hole in my Bucket”, about a zookeeper trying to bring water to a thirsty giraffe. Wilbur reads each page and then turns it. After the book is over, Libby still isn’t sure how to match the shapes, so a video is shown of kids reading the book. There is also a video of kids talking about different shapes. Then Libby understands how to match an object to it’s shape!

“The Wright Stuff” has Wilbur trying to reach his balloon which is stuck in a tree. He is jumping, but he can’t jump high enough. Dasha is flying by, so she gets the balloon down. Wilbur wishes he could fly, and they read “The Wright Way to Fly”, about Orville and Wilbur Wright. Then Wilbur tries to build an airplane, but none of his contraptions will get him off the ground, so he reads the book again. Wilbur figures out that he needs something to lift him in the air, so he gets a bunch of balloons, and he is lifted off the ground, just like he is flying!

“Two Reds Are Better Than One” has Wilbur dressed like the Big Bad Wolf to put on a play about Little Red Riding Hood. The problem is, both Dasha and Libby want to wear the red costume. They read a book called “Two Snow Whites”, about Sibby and Darlene, who both want to be Snow White in the same play. Sibby and Darlene decide to make up their own play with two Snow Whites in it. After reading the book, Dasha and Libby still both want to be Red Riding Hood, so they read the book again. When Ray wants to be the Big Bad Wolf too, they all decide that their play will have two Snow Whites and two Big Bad Wolves! I have to say, Kaitlyn was a little freaked out at the Big Bad Wolf costumes.

“Thanks For Everything” has Dasha hitting a ball, and Ray picking it up and handing it back to her again and again. We can see Ray getting frustrated because Dasha isn’t saying please or thank you. Finally he says to her that he wishes she would say something to him, but she doesn’t know what she is supposed to say. They read “Dolphy Learns Two Important Words”, and after the second time through, Dasha realizes that she needs to ask Ray to please hand her back her ball, and then to say thank you when he does!

New episodes of “Wilbur” start airing September 10th, at 7:30 a.m. on TLC, and at 11:00 a.m. on Discovery Kids. Both times are Eastern Standard Time. I also saw in the TLC listings that previous episodes are shown every morning at 7:30, which is a little early for Kaitlyn to start watching TV in the morning, but that’s the beauty of a DVR! I hope you will tune in to “Wilbur”, I think it’s a terrific show that will really catch the attention of preschoolers and help foster their love of reading.

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