My daughter and I took our second outing to the Music Together activities we signed up for and we had terrific time. There were more attendees today and some familiar faces from last week. What made the second class such a good time for me was that I knew the lyrics to the songs as we’ve been listening to the music in the car and at home. “Hello everybody, so glad to see you!”
I’m actually really into one of the songs on the CD - “Rolling”. I wish it were longer as the guitar and refrain are just awesome.
But back to the classes - my daughter didn’t cry today which I was very happy about. She only cried for a few moments the first class, but I was hoping that she’d be more comfortable today and indeed she was. She is still too young to know how to sing, but she dances and shakes the rattle with the best of them!
With some good weather upon us here in Bethesda, Maryland, my daughter and I went to Target earlier this week and purchased a Cosco Juvenile Altura stroller. It cost about fifty dollars and was middle of the road in terms of price.
It took about fifteen minutes to assemble, which was a little bit less time required compared to the Graco stroller I’d put together in the past.
Here’s a picture of the completed product:
Review
I’ve taken two longs walks with this stroller and it works fine for me. The handle grips are a little lower quality than I wanted. I doubt that they will last very long, but handle grips are not essential and are relatively easy to replace or do without. The wheels work fine and one thing I like about this stroller as opposed to the Graco I’ve used before is that the foot brakes don’t lock when accidentally kicked while walking.
My daughter seems comfortable enough, though she can’t talk yet so I’ll have to wait to ask her what she thinks of the stroller!
One thing that isn’t directly related to the function of the stroller that bothered me was the strong chemical smell that emitted from the unit components after I opened the box. The smell I’m talking about is the “new car smell” which some people like, but is considered by some to be toxic. I realize that plastics are a cheap way for manufacturers to produce durable goods, but if they put our health at risk, is it worth it?
Here’s a picture of some baby stuff I bought recently:
A couple of toys, some formula, bottles, a drying rack, and some Dreft detergent. I’m doing some laundry now with the Dreft, and I plan to sterilize the bottles momentarily.
I also setup a “Pack-N-Play” to use as a crib:
With the “gift giving season” upon us, many parents (myself included) are thinking about all the cool toys which are available for purchase to give to our little ones. I’m concerned with the safety of toys, but also the risk of indulging too much in consumerism. How do we know when our kids have enough toys?
This is a great little toy that my daughter loves to play with:
This is part of her jungle play mat, and it can be moved from arch to arch high up above her or closer down to the ground. It has a little capsule which spins and rattles. Her mom really likes elephants, so I have a feeling that my daughter will really like them too!
