Toys. I want them.

Now that Oliver is becoming more person-like and less dog-like, I enjoy playing with him more. I want to play trains with him. And trucks. And marbles. And think of the agony I will cause when I vacuum up teeny tiny Lego pieces! I can't wait.

In the mean time, we've been playing with the few toys he's got. A couple plastic key rings, a few little shaky rattly toys... Thats mostly it. My parents did buy him this Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-A-Boo Waterfall Soother and he loves it. Which made me wonder.... what other toys would he like?

As it turns out, all of them. We walked down the toy aisles at Target and he was reaching out for all of them. He may not be able to do much with them yet, but he already feels that materialistic magnetism towards them. But me? I was largely disappointed by them. Toys, at least to me, seem to suck "these days."

(Go ahead. Give me flack for saying "these days" like I am some crotchety 70 year old. Because I feel like some crotchety 70 year old. Take one good look at me in the morning and you would understand.)

Every toy on the shelf is pretty much just touch a button and it lights up or plays music. What fun is that? Everything looks cool, but seems to do very little. If I'm going to allow a toy to take up space in this tiny apartment, I'd like more interaction and purpose. So, to find a good old fashioned toy...

...I got my parents to buy Oliver a set of wooden blocks. Blocks! Old school, fun timey blocks! Stack them! Bite them! Knock them down! Throw them! Step on them! Hide them in the couch cushions! So many possibilities.

I don't know where my parents found those blocks, but when I looked for them I couldn't find find them anywhere. I did find theese Alphabet Blocks and other varieties of the FP Peek-a-Blocks which look pretty sweet, but they've also got a pretty generous price tag to go along with them. I think I might try to buy him some on Craigslist for his birthday, because they interact with so many fun looking toys. But I couldn't justify buying them for him full price on our income. Plus, they are, after all, just toys.

But you know what isn't just a toy? The Drop & Roar™ Dinosaur! I kid. So, maybe it is just a toy, but it is awesome on all counts.  I played with it at somebody's house.

1. It is a dinosaur. Dinosaurs rock.
2. It lights up nad makes noises.
3. It does different things when you drop in different balls.
4. It is cool. It is a dinosaur. See #1.

Sadly, it has been discontinued and can only be found on Craigslist and Ebay now. I think I like it so much because it is reminiscent of the marble track toys that I never had but always coveted. Having a kid is probably the best way to get everything you ever wanted during your own childhood without looking like an idiot.

Because when I go through the check out with a cart full of plastic dinosaurs and a baby, nobody is going to think I am getting the dinos for myself. Even though I am.

P.S. Where can one buy toys with suction cups on the bottom? We'd like to eat a meal in peace without constantly picking up the toys that are flung out of the high chair.