Gifts for Two Year Old Boys

I wanted to thank everyone for your birthday present suggestions for Milo and Huck. We gave them a Little Tykes Picnic Table, Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever, and the Melissa and Doug Easel.

I really wanted to get Milo the vacuum that's shaped like a cow that Nikki recommended, but to avoid endless fighting I would have had to buy two of them. The other gifts have sharing capabilities built-in, which I prefer to buying two of the same thing.

The only unique things the boys have that are truly their own are their uglydolls that their grandparents gave them for Christmas. (Ox belongs to Huck and Wedgehead to Milo.) Everything else they just have to share.

I know parents who have different theories on this. If you're a parent of twins or kids close in age do you prefer to buy two identical gifts, two different gifts, or one gift to share?

Gifts for a 4 year old

Last month I asked for recommendations on what to get my kids for their birthdays. I got so many great suggestions, so thank you.

For Annabella we took Laura's suggestion and downloaded Coppelia from iTunes, which has been a big hit and is all part of my master plan to steer Annabella away from the Disney princesses and toward a more generic ballerina. To that end, we also got her the new tutu she's wearing in this picture.

But so far Annabella's favorite gift is one we didn't even buy her. (Isn't that always the case?) After I posted this blog entry, I received an e-mail from Jens Hewerer offering me press copies of Kiddio's Audio Adventures on CD. I accepted his kind offer and gave the CDs to Annabella for her birthday. Each CD contains 1 adventure with Billy Brown (a bear) and his friend Emma. Annabella is addicted to them, which is fine by me because they're fun and they teach little lessons like working together or the importance of sharing.

Selfishly, I love Billy Brown because he, unlike anything else, has managed to keep Annabella in her room at bedtime. She's had trouble falling asleep since we transitioned to a bed almost three years ago. But we put on a little Billy Brown and she's in there for good. 

Each CD is $10.99, but you can save $5 by buying all three. You can also listen to tracks at Billy Brown's MySpace page.   

Birthday Gifts for a Four Year Old Girl and Two Year Old Boys

The birthdays of my children are looming. Annabella's 4th is April 7th and Milo and Huck's 2nd is April 14th. I keep having ideas for gifts that I immediately forget, so I thought I'd record them here and then also ask for suggestions. I don't think they've found this blog yet and as far as I know they can't read, so it's up to you to keep the secret. Ideas for Annabella Annabella is obsessed with princesses, especially the Disney kind. I won't use this as an opportunity to spout off on a Disney marketing rant, but if you're interested, feel free to e-mail me and we can discuss. What I will say that I would rather her dress up in generic princess costumes that she's pieced together herself than the plastic licensed kind. The trouble is I haven't found those pieces. For Christmas we got Annabella a CD player for her room. She's fascinated with the The Nutcracker CD, so I'm thinking another classical CD might be a good gift. If I'm to have a fighting chance of getting her to choose Hilary Hahn over Hannah Montana, I've got to start early. I'm also thinking of getting her a pair of pink crocs and wondering if she's too young for The Spiderwick Chronicles. Ideas for Milo Milo is obsessed with our vacuum cleaner. The son of a friend of mine has a similar infactuation, so her in-laws asked if they could get him a toy vacuum cleaner. She suggested getting him a dust buster, so at least he could make himself useful. Ideas for Huck When I was on The Screen Savers I had to wear make-up every day. They even bought me some fancy Mac make-up brushes that I had never used before and have never used since. Huck found one tucked away in a drawer about a year ago and it has been his favorite toy ever since. Is it crazy to get a 2 year old a real paint brush and real (washable, non-toxic) paints? Group Gift ideas If you have enough children to fill a picnic table, you might as well get one, right? Milo and Huck (and in the past Annabella) could probably occupy themselves all day as long as they had grapes and their copy of Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry. I'm thinking of getting another Richard Scarry, but I can't decide between Biggest Word Book Ever, Busy, Busy Town, and What People Do All Day. I'm also seriously considering this magnetic responsibilities chart recommended by the fabulous folks at Parent Hacks. Milo and Huck are all about the blanket tent, but they get really frustrated when the blanket falls down and the can't get it back up. I saw the Fortamajig recommended at Thingamababy. It uses velcro to attach the blanket to chairs and tables. I'm on the fence about this one and I cannot tell you if it's because I think kids ought to be frustrated with things and figure out their own way to fix them or because it's $60. Any other suggestions?