TEN FAVS

Ever since I saw this post on Cup of Jo I really wanted to document Finley's ten favorite toys. I think it would be a fantastic thing to do yearly as another way to show progression. If I had done this post the same time last year these pictures would have been slightly different. She is just now becoming truly picky on what she'll play with, except of course if it's something Brad and I are holding. Then it doesn't matter what it is, she inevitably wants it immediately. Like it's a life or death situation and the world will end if she doesn't have it now. But other that that fun trait she does have some favorites that she goes back to every day.

1. Piglet: She has a love/hate relationship with Piglet because she knows it's bed time or nap time when I pick up Piglet for her to snuggle. She'll push him away in protest then change her mind and want him back right away for comfort.

2. B Book: This was one of my favorite books as a kid because I thought it was written for me (B is for Bridget, right?). So when I saw this at DI I couldn't say no to the 25cent price tag and it has more than paid for itself. I encourage her to pick out a book before bed and she has picked this one every night for the past week, plus today she randomly went and got it out of her room to read.

3. Tape recorder: She found this in a box in our closet last week. It's from my days as a sports reporter for the Daily Universe (that's right, I'm fancy, be impressed). She loves pushing the buttons, I guess because they are a little more of a challenge than cell phones and remotes.

4. Mrs. Tea Pot: This is the perfect trifecta of opening/closing, singing, and buttons. My favorite part is that randomly Mrs. Tea Pot sings one of the songs in a fake British accent. And I'm guessing I'm A Little Tea Pot was too expensive because she doesn't have it in her repertoire. What kind of Tea Pot are you?!

5. Candlesticks: This one is weird. But for some reason she LOVES these. It was one of those items we left on the lower shelves because they aren't breakable. You can see the paint chipping from when she has thrown them down the hall. She's not much of a thrower but for some reason these are just the right weight and size for her liking. I've just resolved to call them artfully distressed, I totally meant for them to be chipped.

6. Containers with Lids: She really enjoys taking lids off and on, and these two pose a special challenge. The Butt Paste is too big for her to unscrew and the Mouth Wash has a safety lid. Both are empty so if she ever manages to get them opened I'm not too concerned. But for now they are like baby rubik's cubes. (NOTE: Right after I wrote this I turned around and she had finally managed to open the Butt Paste for the first time. I guess there was still a tiny bit left in the bottom because it was smeared on her pants. Fun.)

7. Keys: She doesn't go for the fake kind so we let her carry the spare set around the house. We have old fashion doors where every door nob has a key hole below it and they are only about two and half feet off the ground. She loves trying to "unlock" closed doors with these keys. The other day she stood in the hallway trying to unlock the bathroom for about twenty minutes laughing the whole time. I really think she thought she had foiled our plans to keep her from playing in the toilet.

8. Shoes: One of her recent favorite games is getting one shoe at a time out of her room and bringing it to me to help her put them on. Then she'll take that shoe off and proceed to the next shoe. Once she finds a shoe she likes she wears that one shoe on the one foot around the house for the rest of the day.

9. Hair bands: These are her bracelets. If she ever sees one on my wrist she wants it to be on her wrist immediately. I'm pretty sure I've lost hundreds of these out and about over the last few months.

10. Tire Gauge: I know what you're thinking. How did she even discover that she liked this as a toy. Well the problem is she LOVES pens but she can open and unclick every version of a pen. Usually she isn't fooled by imposters but this was an acceptable substitute for a pen. The gauge reading pulls out and and it has a clip - all sorts of fun! She's allowed to play with this until she starts beating the coffee table with it like a drum stick. Not only does that leave nasty marks it's really loud.

So that concludes the toy tour! She also has some favorite big toys but I didn't count those in the collection (toy shopping cart, kitchen chairs, the printer). Hopefully I remember to do this in the future. It was fun whittling down her toy collection to her favorites. I guess we have boxes of toys to get rid of now!