Essentials: 12-18 Months

I previously posted both 0-6 month and 6-12 month “essentials” and it’s time for another round! Emma actually hit 18 months back in February, so these are a few of the things she (and we) couldn’t live without between August and February. (There are several things from the 6-12 month list that still apply and still get daily use — like her car seat, sippy cups, booster seat and safety gate — but those are all kind of obvious.)

1. eeBoo Old Maid cards. I mentioned these before — they were a small Christmas gift Jose picked up on a whim, and yet they have consistently been one of Emma’s favorite toys ever since. She loves to look at the pictures of all the characters and point out things like cats (in the arms of a policewoman) and fish (in a bucket next to a fisherman). Related to this is that she also likes family photos, so I’ve been meaning to make her a little photo album with those.

2. Small no-snag hair rubber bands. We gave Emma her first haircut at 13 months and haven’t touched it since. As it continues to grow out, simple clear “no-snag” rubber bands have been our go-to hair accessory since they stay in place and don’t pull her hair. Clips look cute too, but she inevitably pulls those out after a while. She’s never pulled out one of these rubber bands.

3. Kid-sized table and chairs. This was her Christmas present from my mom and dad and she uses it on an almost daily basis. This might be partly because it’s still sitting smack in the middle of our living room — but also because it’s just a fun place for her to sit and do a puzzle or look at a book.

4. Pants, pants and more pants. Emma went through some sort of crazy growth spurt over the fall and winter — for a while, it seemed like we never had any pants that fit her! We went from a mix of 12 and 18 month sizes when she was a year old to stuff as big as 2T by the time she turned 18 months old. She’s now 20 months and I’ve started buying 3T for summer.

5. Sorting toys. We don’t have the exact shape ball pictured here, but ours is really similar. Earlier this year, she loved putting the shapes in and then having us pop the halves apart so she could do it all over again. (The “cookie jar” toy I listed last time as a 6-12 month item is also still in rotation.)

6. Good bibs. The ones we used when Emma was smaller just didn’t cut it anymore when she started feeding herself in earnest. We needed something bigger. At first, we had a couple plastic bibs with pockets at the bottom, but after a while they started to stink even after washing — ew. So I got some of these large terry cloth bibs that go over her head (and later picked up a few more at Target of the same style but with a Elmo theme).

7. Books, books, books. We read every night before bed, on the weekends before nap, and any other time she wants. A few of her favorites from earlier this year were: Room on the Broom, Go Dog Go, Pat the Bunny and Possum Come A-Knockin’. I’m always on the lookout for new books too — any suggestions?