Sweet Little Furry Friends

I brought these two little friends home to the kids for being so well behaved while my sister and I exhibited for our company, 9SpotMonk, at the New International Gift Fair, last week. I picked the furry cat for Kasie and the mouse for Sandro but I am always a little curious to see if my instincts are right. So I showed both furry friends at the same time and moma was right - Kasie went straight for the cat and Sandro, the mouse.

These guys are by Jellycat. No doubt if you are a mom and you are reading this, you already have 1 or more animal friends in your kids' arms. Tif and I couldn't resist getting a photo of these guys, so they're posing on my dash in the car.

Meet "Shelbea", Kasie's new best friend.

And here's "Ian", Sandro's partner in crime.

The animals are super soft and cuddly. For more info and to check out more of Jellycat's stuffed animal friends, visit Jellycat online.

[Tags: Jellycat, 9SpotMonk, NYIGF]

[photos: Smuppy Kids]

Childhood Friends

Kasie's Best Bear Friend "Jasper", from JellyCat

[Spotlight: Educational Play] Wooden Puzzles

Number Snail from ImagiPlay, available at Oompa.com

Lately, nothing can hold our little guy Sandro's attention like a puzzle can. He can sit still and stay quiet (for 10 minutes) to put these 3D wooden puzzles together by ImagiPlay. I love that some of their puzzles have numbers and letters so after the puzzle is finished, we can learn the them as well.

Counting Octopus Puzzle from ImagiPLAY, available at Oompa.com

Butterfly Alphabet Puzzle from ImagiPLAY, available from Oompa.com

[photos: Oompa.com]

[Spotlight: Toys] Green Eggs and Ham

Lily Bean Play Food, Green Eggs and Ham from Mayhar Dry Goods

I found the the neatest play food breakfast made by Lily Bean Market. All of their play food is made by hand using wool felt made especially for kids. Some of our favorites...

Lily Bean Big Box o' Food by Lily Bean Market

The Original Brown Bag Lunch by Lily Bean Market

Make it Yourself Sushi Kit by Lily Bean Market

Feeling a little DIY? You can make your own food too with their kits! We're getting the sushi kit for sure. Kasie loves sushi so she will have so much fun pretending we're at the sushi bar eating her favorite cuisine.

[all photos: Lily Bean, green eggs and ham photo: Mayhar Dry Goods]

[Spotlight: Eco Toys] Let's Recycle

Recycling Truck by Green Toys

Green Toys recently added a new vehicle to their line of four wheelers. My other job besides being a mom is running a eco friendly letterpress printing studio. We also try and be environmentally conscious whenever we can (all our energy usage is even powered by wind, through purchasing wind energy offset credits). It will be easier to teach our two year old recycling with this awesome looking truck. We have most of the products from Green Toys. I love their design and love they're made in the USA.

Sand Play Set by Green Toys

I purchased the Sand Play Set last summer at Kidding Around in NYC. It was the first time I had seen the Green Toys brand and I've been hooked ever since. The design is great, the toys are extremely sturdy and substantial. Our kids don't play gentle, it's really nice to have something that stands up to active playing.

[photos: Green Toys]