My Baby First Steps for Wii
November 29, 2009 by Kailani
Filed under 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, buying guides, electronics, entertainment, kids, product reviews
Ever since Kaila was born, my girls have been obsessed with dolls and pretending that they’re the Mommy. That’s why My Baby First Steps was the perfect Wii game for Kacie to review.
GAME DESCRIPTION
Your baby has grown so fast! Can you believe that a year has already gone by? Take care of your baby from their 1st birthday until they’re 3 years old. Your baby will discover its entire environment and learn from it, they’ll walk, babble and speak, try to catch every object they can, and put everything in their mouth… Your baby will be the apple of your eye!
OUR REVIEW
When you first begin this game, you need to make decisions on gender, name, and race. Or if you prefer you can have your baby be a total surprise. Kacie decided that she wanted her baby to be a surprise . . . just like in real life. She ended up with a little brown-haired girl which she named Rose.
The cool thing about this game is that you really have to interact with your baby or else you’ll have a very unhappy child on your hands. This means feeding, clothing, cuddling, entertaining, and bathing. Your child can then keep track of her baby’s development in The Progress Book. There are no mini-games or opportunities to unlock features like other games. You basically take care of your child and watch her grow. I think this was a good thing because it helped Kacie focus on what’s important . . . taking care of her baby.
What I really liked about My Baby First Step is how realistic all the functions of the game are. If you don’t take care of your baby, she’ll start fidgeting and crying. It gave Kacie a sense of how busy a Mommy’s life is and made her more sympathetic to what I go through on a daily basis. Maybe now I’ll get a little more help from her. 
Purchase your copy at Amazon.com for $29.99.
This post was written for South Peak Games who provided the game for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.
Check out other great gift ideas in the 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!
K’NEX For Kids of All Ages
November 27, 2009 by Kailani
Filed under 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, buying guides, educational, entertainment, pets, product reviews
One of my girls favorite kind of toys are those where they can use their imaginations and build things. That’s why we were thrilled for the opportunity to review K’NEX thanks to Team Mom.
OUR REVIEW
We received two different sets that were targeted for different age groups:
- Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection Building Set (2 – 5 years)
- 400 PCS Tub (7 years +)
Kiana loved the Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection. This 19-piece set contained over-sized pieces that were perfect for her tiny hands. The blocks fit together easily and stayed together when she was done. We also liked the moving wheels because it allowed her to actually play with her creation once she was done building it.
The 400 PCS Tub was a little more advanced and would be great for kids with active imaginations. With all these pieces, the possibilities are endless. However, for people who could use a little help in the creative department (like me), they also included a booklet with step-by-step instructions on how to build various creations. You can even go to their website for additional ideas.
My only concern is that some of the pieces were very tiny and I was afraid that we may end up losing some. I had to make sure that Kacie understood that all unused pieces would need to stay in the container.
Other than that, Kacie and Kiana both enjoyed playing with their K’NEX sets. It was a great opportunity for all of us to play together and have fun!
K’NEX is also holding a Make a K’NEXion contest. Now you have the chance to win over $1,000 worth of K’NEX Toys and be featured on the KNEX.com web site. How? Make a video and include select K’NEX products. The possibilities are endless. Construct your own story or showcase your child’s K’NEX building skills – use your imagination! The 10 best videos will be featured on KNEX.com and the winning video will receive $1,000 worth of K’NEX Toys. How cool!
This post was written as part of a program for Team Mom and K’NEX who provided the item for review. We were not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.
Check out other great gift ideas in the 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!
Wii Jump*Start – Escape From Adventure Island
November 25, 2009 by Cathi
Filed under 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, buying guides, educational, electronics, games, kids
A few years ago we bought the Wii gaming system to entertain our grandchildren. We like games that challenge the kids physically and mentally and therefore are quite selective about the games we allow the kids to play.
Jump Start computer games have been teaching children the basics with numbers and the alphabet for years. Now there’s Wii Jump Start – Escape from Adventure Island. The game is educational, wholesome and entertaining and those are exactly the qualities we want in a game for our to grandchildren play.
The game begins with players flying over Adventure Island in a blimp. The blimp is caught up in a storm which makes it necessary for players to make an emergency landing  on the Island. Now the blimp is broken and players need to earn sand dollars to trade for helium tanks to fix the blimp. With an “E” rating  (for everyone) there isn’t any inappropriate language or violence.
As players race to collect the sand dollars, they’ll need to ward off the pesky fur balls known as Punk Punks and navigate 3D worlds both above and below the water. Along the way, players can practice over 150 math, reading and critical thinking skills—the fun way!
Using explorer skills and brain power ages 5-9 meet challenges and earn rewards as they solve problems and perfect their motor skills.
Our 6 and 9 year old grandsons love playing anything on Wii. Our 4 year old grand daughter…not so much. That’s interesting to us because at her age, the boys had aready established themselves in “their” gaming world.
The Princess is in pre-school and is learning the letters of the alphabet and her numbers. She’s learning to play Escape from Adventure Island and having a jolly good time.  It simply delights me to see how well she’s doing with her reading and counting skills.
She also enjoyed the underwater fashion show where each player picks outfits to wear and models on the run way. Way too cute!!
The Jump Start Blog has all the current information on Escape From Adventure Island and other Jump Start games.
Jump Start – Escape From Adventure Island is available for purchase at Amazon.
I received a copy of Wii Jump Start – Escape from Adventure Island for my candid review.
Images are from the Jump Start website and Blog.
Check out other great gift ideas in the 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!
Magnificent Manicure Kit by Elmers
November 24, 2009 by Kailani
Filed under 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, buying guides, kids, product reviews
One of the best things about being a girl is all the girly things we get to do. And since my daughters are true girls, they were thrilled to receive the Magnificent Manicure Kit by Elmers.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
With the Magnificent Manicure Kit girls can learn about cosmetic chemistry, make their own sea salt scrub, create their own custom scent or create their own spa line. They can also turn their hands silky soft in the crystal mud that they make themselves!
OUR REVIEW
When we received our manicure kit, the girls couldn’t wait to get started! I wasn’t sure what to expect but this kit had everything any little girl could want for beautiful hands and feet. It contained ingredients like lotions, bath salts, crystal mud, fragrances as well as various tools like a nail buffer, pumice stone, soaking tray, and toe separators.
A lot of these things were foreign to my young daughters so we started by going through each item and discussing what they were used for. Kiana took special interest in the toe separators. Even though her toes were a little too small, we tried as best as we could to get those separators on. It was pretty funny to see her toes like that. However, as squished as her tiny toes were, these separators made it a lot easier to paint her toe nails. It also kept the polish from going on her other toes while she waited for them to dry.
Kacie, on the other hand, liked making the lotion. The directions were easy for her to follow along without much help from me. What she liked best was the great smell it had. It also made her hands feel really soft and dainty. I was glad to see that there wasn’t an overpowering scent that a lot of childrens lotions seem to have. The lotion was absorbed well into her skin without leaving a greasy feeling
What I liked best about this kit is that it came with pretty much everything I needed. All I had to do is supply simple things that every kitchen should already have. I also liked that the included booklet gave some fun facts about nails as well as asked questions about each experiment. This showed me that Kacie was really comprehending what was going on.
After trying the Magnificent Manicure Kit out for ourselves, I can definitely see why it recently picked up the Creative Child Magazine’s 2009 Toy of the Year Award! Your girls will have a blast by turning your home into her very own nail salon!
Purchase yours at Toys “R” Us for $19.99.
Check out other great gift ideas in the 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!
This post was written as part of a program for Team Mom and Elmers, who provided the complimentary product for review.
