Happy Birthday Girly – Miss Makenna Rose!!
Today is our Girly’s 2nd Birthday!
It’s a work/school day for us, so our festivities will be limited to birthday cake for today. Our Big Guy turns 5 next Monday, so we’ll be hosting a combined party this weekend, and I’ll share more on that soon…also, I’ve never shared our family blog, Cronin Clan, but you can check out b-day photos/stories there if you like.
If you looked at our toy bins, you wouldn’t know it, but we really only buy toys for birthdays and Christmas.
So I always feel like I need to find toys that will give us the most bang for their buck in terms of age-appropriate development. I put a fair amount of research and thought into our choices. I really like the Fat Brain Toys site, which shows toys according age, which is where I first found the Wobble Deck. My Twin Sis is also very thoughtful, and last year she bought a Fisher-Price Bounce & Spin Zebra for Girly, this smiley video how much she loves it!
But this year Girly is really enjoying her well stocked homemade kids’ kitchen, so I went pretty simple for her this year. Lately Big Guy is addicted to playing cards, especially 
Girly’s Gifts for #2 B-day
Charlie Harper flashcards/floor puzzle from Black Wagon
Pink Gaiam yoga mat
Big Guy’s Gifts for #5 B-day
Wobble Deck
Flashcard games from
Black Wagon
Green Gaiam yoga mat
I also bought most locally, and got
Supportland
credit!
I coordinated gifts with my Twin Sis, and she got them more learning games
from
Black Wagon
and a fantastic book series she found on Zulily: What Does It Mean To Be Green?
My Mom used to over indulge kids with gifts (as Grandmas are known to do!), but she has respected our family “gift policy.” She hand felted Girly a few animals and is buying them their next pairs of shoes come spring (and no doubt a few handmade summer dresses :-). Thanks Grandma!!
Hubby’s parents sent some adorable cards and checks that will be deposited into new kids’ accounts…yes I talked about doing this last year, but this year I promise to save it!
What kind of birthday presents do you buy your kids?
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Sustainable Family Finances
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These are great birthday gifts for kids. Thanks for sharing