Baby's first birthday...

[Kristie]

So what do you think would be a good gift for baby girl's first birthday? Julia will be 1 in October and I want to get her and mom something "precious" that would be like a momento or something she or they could really use in the years to come.. my first thought is a big ceramic piggy bank with her name on it but then i'd also like to get her something else...and even something for mom like a nice locket or something that would remind her of Julia (besides all of the photo's she's already got)...

or is there anything expensive that parents might want some help purchasing at that age? i have no idea....

I've never had to get a child any presents so i'm new to finding the right thing and/or finding a safe toy or what not...one thing i know i don't want to get her are clothes because she's already outgrown her age size and it's just so hard to tell if the clothes will even fit - esp via long distance.

Thanks for the suggestions!! :grin:

[jamauk]

Is she walking yet? If so, pull behind toys are very popular at that age. There are some great websites for kids stuff (beyond toys r us, etc...) one great one is sensational beginnings. They have a lot of wonderful toys.

You could buy your sister a mother's ring (with the baby's birthstone) or you could buy them both a matching necklace with the birthstone. Obviously the baby couldn't wear it yet, but she could keep it for when she got older.

I have mushy brain right now because I'm so tired, but if I think of anything else I'll post it tomorrow!

[flygirl813126]

The matching necklaces sounds like a really cool idea. And my suggestion is really going to make me sound liek a teacher, but what I have always gotten for young ones is a collection of books. I find a cute basket that they can be stored in, so mom and dad don't have to find a place for them. I choose books that range in age. A few touch and feel, bath book, sound books for little, a board book (thick pages that are harder to rip out), a picture book, etc. This gets them "reading" at a young age. There are some really cute mommy and me type books. There are also some fill-in-the-blank type books that mom fills in as the child is young, and as they grow the child can add to it.

[TheWife]

If you get books, PLEASE get her the board books! We lost so many books to ripped pages no matter how hard I tried to show him how to be soft.

For Caleb's first bday, we put together a time capsule, http://www.timecapsule.com/a_prod_info/a10_mcb.html he will open it on his 12th bday. This is something you'd have to give to her now to start in advance though. She can put her hospital id tags, u/s video etc in it. We had each family member bring something on the bday to put in the time capsule and we closed it up at the end of the bday party. Things like a little toy 4 wheeler from g-pa, a little book from g-ma, empty bubbles from a little cousin, etc. The g-ma's and me and dh also wrote him a letter. We also put in things like the front page of the paper from his bday, a grocery receipt, movie ticket stub, pictures of his first house, pictures taken around the city to show what it looked like. (I even took a pic of gas station prices, $1.57 in May 03!!) Anyway, we put in lots of things like that, as well as cd's of our favorite songs and stuff. It comes with a book you fill out with a family tree, pics of mom and dad's cars, work, etc. It would be a bit of work for her to do, but your gift to her could also be to help collect all the info and things to put in it. It might not mean much now to a one year old, but she might cherish it later on. Just a thought, because when I look back on what Caleb got first bdays-I can't really remember anything, except piles of toys that I had to always pick up lol.

Although the one toy I would super recommend for that age that all one year olds I know love, if the Leap Frog Table. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...555206-7550546

Toysrus is a GREAT website for sorting out toys by age range, price, and customer ranking. I always read the reviews, it has stopped me from several toy purchases once I read about problems others were having, and also helps me make a decision if I am split between two or something.

[Kristie]

thanks for the suggestions!! she's already into books, her favorite is called "over in the ocean" and she just loves to be read to and turn the pages for mom/dad...so i'll probably get her some others that she can touch as well.

I like the necklace idea.. and she's crawling like mad, trying to stand already so getting her some toys that can help her stand/walk is also an excellent idea!

Do you think it'd be too early to get her a leap frog learning system?

[jamauk]

I know they make Leap Pads for little ones, but I don't have any experience with them. Ben LOVED his Leap Frog Learning Table and he could pull himself up on it when he was learning to walk.

Since she is trying to learn to walk right now, maybe some push toys. Ride on toys are also popular at that age. Or a little rocking chair just her size that she can sit in and "read" her books while mommy is busy. I will echo what Michelle said about board books....we have quite a few books with half pages or missing pages because Ben is just now learning to be gentle with the books and he's 2 1/2!!

[TheWife]

Do you think it'd be too early to get her a leap frog learning system?

Nope! It's not really a learning system, it's an activity table. The legs come off so it can sit on the floor for babes my age (Kyla already loves hers', which was Caleb's and he also loved it). When they can pull them selves up or walk, then you put the legs on and they stand there and play. There is a little piano, musical instruments, abc's, colors, etc. Everything you touch does something, and kids think that's pretty cool, they love to see something react to how they touched it.