Holiday Gift Guide for Toddlers & Infants

With the holiday season just around the corner I’ve created a couple of gift guides to hopefully ease the question of, “What should I get for…”

For Emmie’s Christmas wish list, and for toddlers aged 2-5, I think having a Christmas list or holiday gift guide with several different categories helps make the overall “haul,” if you will, well rounded. For the 3 year old girl I made sure to have art supplies for creating things, dress up to encourage imaginative play, and a scissor cutting book for fine motor skills practice. There’s also play money with a calculator-register to encourage math & financial learning, some pretty fun animal hair clips to wear and a real cooking set for kids to help in the kitchen with meal prep. Lastly, to round out the categories is a book to read. I chose Rosie Revere Engineer because we picked up this doll from Target…which leads to the last category of play with the doll armoire. This guide can also be easily adjusted for boys too!

 

2017 Gift Guide for 3 year old girl. Toddler christmas list. Xmas gift guide for kids. Gift guide for girls age 2-4

  markers || Melissa & Doug coloring pack || doll armoire  || Anna dress || Rapunzel dress

kids cooking set || play money || scissor skills book

hair clips  || Rose Revere Book

 

The one year old infant has a very similar styled gift guide also broken up into categories. We have musical instruments to encourage sound exploration, headbands & soft jammies to wear, bath color drops for sensory play and a rain cloud bath toy for cause and effect exploration. A teether toy covers the incessant need for gnawing & chewing and a nice interactive book to read rounds out the selection.

 

2017 Gift Guide for 1 year old girl. baby's christmas list. Xmas gift guide for kids. Gift guide for infant girls

musical instruments  || mushroom teether  || bath color drops || rain cloud bath toy

 headbands  || purple stripe jammies  ||  Melissa & Doug soft book

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Life with Vera Charlotte: 7 & 8 Months

Being away for September has really thrown me off. In fact, I’m pretty behind with Vera’s monthly updates. She’s quickly approaching the 9 month mark, so I figured it was about time to post her 7 & 8 month updates.

Cute ideas for monthly baby photos | Monthly baby pictures | baby collage |overthedeepend

At 7 months you:

| got your first two teeth! |

| crawl super fast on your belly |

| are either happy or screaming, there’s no in between |

| get up a zillion times a night to nurse |

| are really starting to dig food |

| put everything in your mouth |

| are pretty ticklish and always belly laugh when tickled |

| have been enjoying food in a mesh pouch |

| love playing in your standing saucer |

 

You still refuse to drink breastmilk when I’m not there. I had a clinic appointment this month and you went the whole 13 hours without milk. You are stubborn and set in your ways. You love snuggling when you’re sleepy and have begun “giving kisses.” You slowly lean in and open your mouth to press against someone’s face. You even did it to a little girl at story time who leaned in to give you a hug. You’ve begun playing in your exosaucer this month and really like it. We’ll bring you into the garage while we work out and you’ll watch and play. You also love chomping on berries, broccoli and bananas through a mesh food pouch.

Cute ideas for monthly baby photos | Monthly baby pictures | baby collage |overthedeepend

At 8 months you:

| started crawling on your hands and knees |

| are pulling up and cruising around |

| easily go from crawling to sitting |

| still put everything into your mouth |

| got your first cold |

| met your great-grandparents |

| stayed the whole month in Rhode Island |

| attended your first wedding |

| slept in my bed for the whole month & refused to nap |

This month was a crazy month. We pretty much stayed all of September in Rhode Island bouncing between Mimi & Pa-Rob’s house to Nonni & Pop-pop’s house. There was a wedding, and many get-togethers with relatives. You decided you were not going to nap unless you were nursing or in the car. You refused to sleep in the pack-n-play for more than 40 minutes so I ended up bringing you into bed with me most nights. You’ve gotten much steadier on your feet this past month and I fear you’re going to keep up the tradition of walking before you hit 9 months. We’ll see how you do in the next 4 weeks. Something tells me you won’t be stopped once you learn how to walk.

As always, we love you something fierce.

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The Ultimate Board Game Gift Guide

When we moved to Baltimore we didn’t know a single person there. It took a few months but we slowly befriended a couple, Kris and Taren, at the dog park. We would chat weekly at our weekend dog park outings and discovered we had quite a bit in common. Eventually we exchanged numbers and agreed to get together outside of the park.

It was around that time I had also started up an adult gymnastics class where I met a couple of girls I wanted to befriend. We eventually started going out for drinks after class and lo and behold also had quite a bit in common. It was one particular night where I took a chance and decided to tell my new friend Lauren about a nerdy computer game she might like. Turns out she already played it! I decided that not only should we be great friends, but I also decided Lauren and her husband would get along with our dog park friends too.

One fateful night I invited both couples over for sangria & beer, a fire, and a rousing round of Cards Against Humanity. It was that night where we were all a little drunk, laughing hysterically at the dining room table where Game Night was born. From that point on, we met every Friday at 6pm. We took turns supplying dinner & drinks for everyone and we played countless games. Luckily, Lauren’s husband John was a gaming pro and they had a plethora of board games just waiting to be played.

This tradition lasted a little over 3 years before Lauren and John moved, and then we moved. We’re having a Game Night reunion this December and in honor of our game night shenanigans I’ve put together the ultimate board game gift guide. If you’re unsure of what to get your friends, or even your husband/wife then look no further, I’ve got the answer. I’ve broken my guide into two categories: Board Games and Card Games.

The card games I chose are great for beginners. They are generally straight-forward to learn but still a challenge, perfect for both gaming amateurs and pros alike. These are fantastic party games and most of them can be played with lots of players. They’re usually small, so storing them won’t take up a whole dedicated cabinet…although, if you have a gaming cabinet, we should be friends.

In contrast, I picked board games that go into a bit more depth. They usually take longer to learn and overall game time is longer. These are the games that can be played over and over without losing their excitement. These games are perfect for your nerdy friend, your gaming friend, or your friend who likes a good challenge.

The ultimate card game gift guide. Not sure what to buy your brother in law? This is the answer. Card games for family and friends. The Ultimate Card Game Gift Guide. Like this guide? Be sure to check out my ultimate board game gift guide on Overthedeepend.com

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Out of these card games, again such a tough choice, my favorites would be Joking hazards, Bears vs Babies, and Munchkin. Fair warning, Munchkin can take a long time and you may or may not pee your pants laughing when playing Joking Hazard.

The ultimate board game gift guide. Not sure what to buy your nerdy friend? This is the answer. Nerdy games for geeky friends. The Ultimate Board Game Gift Guide. Like this guide? Be sure to check out my Card Game Gift Guide on Overthedeepend.com

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Out of these amazing games I would say my top favorites (which is so hard to choose just two, since all of these are awesome) would have to be Libertalia and 7 Wonders. Every time we play these games I just can’t stop gushing about how much fun they are. They’re always my top choice for playing.

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Out of these card games, again such a tough choice, my favorites would be Joking hazards, Bears vs Babies, and Munchkin. Fair warning, Munchkin can take a long time and you may or may not pee your pants laughing when playing Joking Hazard.

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