egriffny's Profile

I don't have a great product recommendation, but I did want to mention that when we purchased our son's first bike our local bike shop offered a buy-back program. We went with the Giant Jr Animator which wasn't cheap (around $160), but when he's outgrown this bike they will let us trade-in for a larger model. Since we'll get some of our money back it made more sense to us to go this route rather than buying a cheaper but possibly lower quality bike at the outset. And it does seem like the cheaper bikes tend to be the ones with cartoon characters.
If you have a local bike shop maybe they have a similar option. Or you might get lucky and find used bikes there as well.
Good luck!

We have the GloMate, and while it has lots of benefits, there is one main con: batteries. This thing runs out of them pretty quickly. I was constantly running around looking for AAA batteries at bedtime - no fun at all.
Then we stumbled across the Oxo Good Grips Candela Guardian Light (http://alturl.com/yjxub). When not in use it hangs off a charging hub plugged directly into an outlet so no batteries required. Plus the hub has a dim blue light itself which keeps me from knocking into furniture in the middle of the night. The light itself is all rounded edges and the rounded "handle" makes it easy for my toddler to lug around as needed. And the brightness is just right.
We still use the GloMate for travel, but at home the Guardian Light is the hands down winner.

We have the Good Nite Light and have been using it for about 6 weeks with our 2.5 year old. While it doesn't work every morning, our son does manage to stay in his room until the sun comes out most of the time. It's not the most attractive light out there, but we placed it on top of an armoire surrounded by other toys and it blends in pretty nicely. I would definitely recommend it.

I'm loving the small stools at the kids table. Anyone have an idea on a source?

My parents bought a mini crib for when my son slept at their place. It worked wonderful for 2 years, but my little guy is pretty small for his age. He's 2 1/2 now and I know we'll need an alternate solution from him when he hads to the grandparents.
I think, like so many other kid-related decisions, it comes down to what your own kid is like. If space is an issue then start with a mini crib and see how it goes.

Stanley Furniture's Young America MyHaven line comes in a slew of colors, and 2 different versions:
http://www.youngamerica.com/products/135408/Collection/myhaven
http://www.youngamerica.com/products/135409/Collection/myhaven

We have the Built to Grow crib (in boring white - I couldn't commit) and the quality is fantastic! The list price is high, but we purchased it from Furnitureland South (http://www.furniturelandsouth.com/) and paid around $500. Certainly not cheap, but since it becomes a toddler bed and a double bed I could easily justify the price.

The yellow floral pillow is an older Thomas Paul print. I can't find it online, but I did find an old link to napkins in that print on Bluefly: http://www.bluefly.com/bmpdp/_/209077200/detail.fly
Maybe an eBay search?
The other two items are so blurry it's hard to tell. The other pillow might also be Thomas Paul.
Have you emailed Serena & Lily to see if they have the source info?

I haven't used it, but the one concern I have looking at it is the height of the back. We have the Stokke Tripp Trapp still in storage because my little guy needed more head and neck support. Though I have heard that other babies have no trouble with that sort of upper body strength, so maybe it's baby specific. Maybe you can get it with the option to return if it doesn't work out for your babe? Good luck - there's a whole lot of ugly in the high chair world.

Gorgeous!
Would you mind sharing the fabric you used for the ottoman poof?

Another vote for the Baby Bjorn Babysitter. The three positions are a huge plus - perfect for both naps and for sitting up and hanging around. My 7-month old is really into sitting as upright as possible, so I think we would have had to retire the prettier Oeuf by now if we'd gone that route. The toy bar doesn't light up or make noise, but he has played with them happily from day one. It's super easy to get him in and out of, and it's light so carrying it from room-to-room (or to Grandma's) is no problem. This is one of my baby must-haves, and I recommend it to anyone that asks. :)