Five months seems to be my new average for posting Firecracker’s favorite toy themed Tuesday Tattles, as he is now 21 months old. That’s only 3 months away from being two years old. TWO! I’m sorry, WHAT?! Who, what, where, when, why, and most importantly, HOW!?

Like any proud parents, we think we have one smart boy on our hands. He can count (with prompting) to three, and will repeat us up to ten. He knows his shapes and is working on his colors – he knows “boo” and “purp” consistently and his go-to guess is “yell.” One of his bed time procrastination techniques is to point to all the facial body parts and rattle them off – “hair, eye, nose, mouth, ear, cheek.”

Now on to the favorite toys of my almost two year old.

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn ABC Train

Firecracker got this toy at his birthday and it’s been well loved for the past 9 months. He had to get it out of its packaging immediately upon unwrapping it, even! This train sings the alphabet, says the letters individually, and has a song mode with more alphabet fun. I have determined that it’s this toy that taught him how to say “All aboard!”

Winnie the Pooh Wooden Train

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that Firecracker’s godmother (shout out to Tara!) got him this train for Christmas. He doesn’t play too much with the characters but he races the cars and carries all sorts of other toys, usually shapes, in them. But the real reason I’m thankful for this toy is that it is one of the reasons bed time has been greatly improved. After his 18 month doctor appointment, we started putting him to bed with one of the train cars at the suggestion of our pediatrician. (He doesn’t have a “lovie” blanket or stuffed animal.)

Wooden Railway Thomas and Friends Toys

We succumbed to the power of Thomas and Friends and bought Firecracker a Thomas
toy. His grandparents got him Percy to go with it. The joy that he gets in playing with these small trains was worth the crazy prices we paid for them. The constant happy yelling of “Thom-as” and “Per” is hilarious, too. He doesn’t have a train table to drive them on, but I do want to get him a road/track carpet once we’re settled in our new home later this month.

He usually gets his train table fix by going to Barnes & Noble. There’s always one young child being dragged away kicking and screaming by his parents, and I’m always prepared to be that parent dealing with the mega-tantrum, but telling him “It’s almost time to stop, so choose one more thing to do” (thank you, Daniel Tiger) and having him say “bye bye” helps immensely. We can also ask him to stay calm, and he’ll repeat “calm.” (Granted he’s often half-crying, but it’s pretty amazing to see him try to stay calm and use his words.)

Train Set with Colorful Track

My in-laws gave Firecracker this train set for Christmas and it’s definitely one of his all-time favorites. My husband definitely doesn’t feel the same way about this particular toy. I’m indifferent to it, the soundtrack of my life is the sound of this train. It’s the best when it goes under the couch to where I can’t reach it. (Sarcasm!) In all honestly though, this train has gotten so much love that it sounds like it’s on its last leg, and some of the track has been trampled by Firecracker-zilla one too many times.

He is seriously one train obsessed toddler! He likes watching Thomas and Chuggington (though Wallykazam is making a comeback) and the newest obsession are these YouTube videos of Max the Glow Train by Coilbook. For other television favorites you can check our my Tuesday Tattles #9.

Believe it or not, there are some non-train toys that make the cut, too!

Mega Bloks First Builders Firetruck

This “tire tuck” tags along with us just about everywhere – to play dates, dinners at friends’ homes, and the gym. Whenever we’re going somewhere where Firecracker might need toys, I like to bring items that can be easily wiped down, that means no wood, cloth, or electronics. The firetruck has a small compartment for holding a few Mega Bloks, and it turns out to be the perfect size for Thomas and Percy to ride in. Firecracker likes to race his vehicular toys in the kitchen so I must always be wary of tripping over the firetruck.

Shape Matching Toys

Firecracker loves to match his shapes and he can even recognize and “say” circle, oval, square, triangle, and octagon! Some of our favorite shape toys are: Winnie the Pooh Wooden Shape Sorting Cube and First Shapes Jumbo Knob Puzzle.

Books

I’m happy to report that even with his obsession with watching shows, he still loves books! The current favorites include: Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, and If Animals Kissed Good Night.

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