Toys of All Sizes

Luke obviously has his share of toys. Because he stays at home everyday with my mother in law, I've always wanted him to have enough to play with....and, believe me, I've accomplished this goal. There are some toys that he will go a few weeks without playing with because he has so many others....we just rotate the toys around so different ones grab his attention.

For educational toys, I order them or I pick them up at different places like Barnes and Noble or Peebles...my favorite brand of educational toys is Melissa and Doug and both of those places sell those.

For other toys that are just for fun....like the bigger riding and pushing toys, I used to buy them new at Babies R' Us or Wal-Mart, I've realized that there is no point in buying the brand new toys. Instead, I keep my eye out for consignment sales - a lot of times churches will have great consignment sales during the spring and fall of the year and then, of course, there are the Wee Runs sales that have great toddler toys. Some of Luke's favorite toys have come from these sales and I've paid almost nothing for them. One great example is the everlasting red car....we bought that last September for $20 (a new one would be like $50) and it is still going strong with no signs of giving up anytime soon.

On Friday, I went to a consignment sale in Greensboro and got three toys (including a Tonka ride truck, a Fisher Price push/ride wagon, a Little Tikes train) and a portable high chair for $12, yes, that's 4 items for $12 and Luke loved every one of the toys. I don't always take him with me, especially if I'm going to be clothes shopping, but, on Friday, I just looked at the toys so I took him with me to see what toys interested him. He was so excited to see that we were putting the toys that he loved in our car - I was so excited that I only paid $12 for toys that would have cost over $100 at a store. I mean the Tonka truck still made the horn noises, had a working turn signal, and makes a cranking sound when you turn it...so very cool! :)

I have some pictures of my consignment purchases below...

But, first, along the Toy theme....yesterday, Luke and I joined my neighbors (Drew, Caren, and William) on a visit to Big Toy Day at the airport in Lexington. It was really neat! They had a ton of real life "toys" to drive....and, because this is one of Luke's favorite things to do right now - drive and ride everything - he had a great time! We were so thankful that Irene didn't rain on us....

Luke's favorite parts included: the mini-tractor, the lawn mower - he kept wanting to go back and sit on this over and over - the army jeep, the huge dump truck - it was so big that I had to crawl into it first and then let Caren and Drew hand me the boys - an airplane, the inside of a very nice RV which Luke called a "big bus" and the buttons on the fire truck.

He also had fun just walking around and looking at everything as he talked about what he saw - like the "big wheels" and the "ladder" on the fire truck (which he couldn't understand why he couldn't climb....I had to explain this isn't gymnastics)....he could name everything that he saw...he is such a talker....he is now saying 4 to 5 word sentences! :)

Here are some pictures from Big Toy Day....

In order to get people in and out of the event, they provided a hay ride on the back of a big tractor...here's our ride out....we got there so early that we had to walk all the way in. :)

Luke in the army jeep...


Luke in a 1957 tractor trailer.....it was still quite tall as you can tell by the way he is looking down at me....I enjoyed looking at how antique it looked....
The mini-tractor....
Juice break....but, as you can see, he's still on the move....ALWAYS! :)
This was a tractor....
The airplane...
And, the lawn mower....can you see his mouth?? I can't get him to smile because he talks so much....he's telling us all about the LAWWWWN mower....he is a country boy, ya'll....some of his words have a hundred syllables....he gets that from his mommy.....:) I'm a country gal myself!
And...here are a few consignment sale purchases....here he is riding Curious George on the Tonka truck....he's telling me that he's cranking it...he says, "I crank it"....


This is the Fisher Price wagon...you can push it, ride it and fill the seat with toys...

This is Luke inventing his own toys - using spoons as drums....he's so silly...

Riding and talking again....

Now...this is cute! :)
At the Wee Runs sale a few weeks ago, I found Luke this little race car toy...he likes this little car and track....I have some video of what it does at the bottom...in this picture, he's getting ready to fill the car up with gas...

And, finally, the bicycle....I found this at the Wee Runs sale too....this old Radio Flyer bicycle (or really, tricycle) looks terrible but it works fine, for now! I don't know how long it will last because it definitely has some things that could break at any time but for right now, it's one of Luke's favorites....we keep it in the building outside so when Luke goes outside, he will tell me....get bicycle out....I love to hear him say bicycle...he used to say, "bicycpup" (matter of fact, this was one of his first words) and now we are able to get him to say the word the right way - now, he will say bicycle, tricycle and motorcycle. :) Here are some pics of the old bicycle...the handle on the back is for me to use to push him and to help him steer...



Here are a few videos....

#1 - Luke saying "bicycpup"....this video was taken at the end of July....so basically, a month ago....he is talking so much better now...I will have more updated video of him talking later...

#2 - Luke's playing with his race car toy....

Enjoy this gorgeous day....check back soon...I have a mid-week blog post ready....

Toddy