Do you own an iPod? I do, and my biggest complaint is that I don’t always have a something to plug it into to listen. I don’t always want to use my headphone. Most of the docking stations that are out there are both expensive and huge. Most people, including myself, don’t have room for those. I also don’t want to be having to carry my docking station from room to room either. The Orbit is the answer. It weights less than 7 oz yet sounds just as good as any speaker you’ve ever used. It easily fits into a large pocket. It connects to iPods, MP3 players, laptops, and even has a 2.5 mm adapter for use with mobile phones! You don’t have to worry about having to find a plugin either — it takes just three AAA batteries which allow for up to 24 hours of straight playtime.

In my house, we use this in the kitchen.  I don’t have a lot of counter space, so we wanted something that was little yet still sounded good.  For us, the Orbit works perfect.  I love that I can easily take it into the living room with me too.  For a speaker this small, it has incredible sound.  It is actually quite impressive.  It even comes with a travel carrying case, so you can take this everywhere you go!  This makes both a great gift for yourself or any music lover you know!

If you have little ones in your house, check out Baby Rodenburg. This DVD teaches you child sign language, A-B-C’s, numbers, colors, and animals.  The DVD was a huge hit here.  Madison (my 4 year old) is learning sign language in preschool, so she loved the reinforcement.  My son who is 15 months loved it due to the music and seeing other babies.  I am not sure if he really “understood” any of the sign language.  Mom like it, because I got to actually learn some sign language (like how to sign eat) that is actually quite useful at my house.

My only complaint about the DVD is that it seems a bit disorganized at times.  I wish they correlated the signing to whichever letter they were on.  Meaning, when they did the sign for eat, I think they should have been talking about the letter E.  That being said, they really reinforced each sign and what it means using several different ways.  As each thing was signed, Madison often repeated the sign several times and repeated the word that went with the sign.  Will danced with the music and pointed to the screen and said “seeeeeee” every time an animal, baby, or toddler was on.

This DVD was created by a set of parents who couldn’t find any DVDs out there that fit their needs for their child.  Instead of complaining, they made their own DVD to use with their own child and to share with the rest of us!

Teddy Bear’s Fun to Learn First 1000 Words is book that is great for all little ones. My 4 year old enjoys it just as much as my 1 year old.  Each page in the book has a theme (like the beach). It lists the theme and a ton of items to go with it (for example, the beach pages show things like sunscreen, water wings, sailboat, beachball, etc). There is also a picture in the center of the page with all the miscellaneous items.  There is also a short poem asking you questions about the theme.  Will (my one year old) just likes to look at everything and go “ohhhh”.  Madison (my 4 year old) enjoys looking at the pictures and telling us what each thing is.  She likes to answer the questions for us too.  My only complaint is that the pages are paper which are a little to easy for Will to rip.

This book is great because your little ones can use it as they grow older.  I would definitely purchase it a birthday, baby shower, and/or Christmas gift.  The little ones who you are getting for will get a lot of use out of it!