Rocco's Favorite Things: 18-20 months

I have a bit of an "online garage sale" shopping addiction so Rocco has more toys than he really needs. I'm not sure if they do these facebook online garage sales in other areas, but around here there are tons! My favorite one is very organized so I can just pop over to the "Toys" album and see what I need to see without flipping through hundreds of things I'm not interested in. I've had really great luck finding incredible deals on good condition/quality toys. It's hard for me to justify paying full price for toys now that I know I can find them for just a fraction of the price!

Crayola Board - I just recently bought this for Rocco. I was leaving for work one morning and saw a garage sale with this sitting in the driveway down the road from my house. I didn't have time to stop and figured it would be gone by the time I got home. I totally forgot about it while I was at work, but saw it sitting there still when I got home. Rocco and I walked down and scooped it up for just $10! He loves coloring with markers on it! He thinks it's real fun to sit on a kitchen chair and just scribble away. After just a few minutes his hands and clothes are covered in marker as well, but it's worth his excitement when he sees the markers come out!
V-tech Learning Walker - This was a gift for his first birthday and is still a hit! He plays with it in some way (pushing it, talking on the phone, pulling the music part off, using it as a stool, etc) daily. He wasn't walking on his own until 14 months and all the other walkers we had tried would move too fast and slip right out from under him. This one has a lever on the wheels so you can change how easy/difficult it is to push which was just what he needed in order to keep his feet under him while pushing it around.
Fisher Price Tricycle - Rocco's aunt recently grabbed this for just $5 from her neighborhood garage sale. I had mentioned that we were on the lookout for some outdoor toys since the weather had been great lately and he loves playing outside. This was exactly what I had in mind and he loves riding on it. His feet don't reach the pedals yet and I'm not sure he would grasp the concept of pedaling anyway. But our driveway has a slight slant to it and he loves saying "Go!" and picking up his feet and riding the hill down to the grass.
Dog Lovie - This was a gift from some good friends of ours before Rocco was born. I started putting it in his car seat with him when he was a few months old and started putting it in his crib with him at 6 months old (after checking with his doctor). He always had a tough time sleeping on his own from the moment he came home from the hospital. I read every website, sleep forum, mom blog, & sleep book I could find. I even posted sleep questions to a local facebook page asking for advice. Something that came up a few times was putting something near him at night that smelled like me. This seemed like the perfect thing, and actually helped him sleep longer stretches between waking at night! He still carries it everywhere he goes and sleeps with it every nap and night.
Playskool Vacuum - I bought this a few months ago from the online garage sale for $3! It was in perfect condition and a total hit! For some reason he has always loved our vacuum and is often by the closet we keep it in asking me to take it out. I carry him (30lbs!!) around while I vacuum and let him push it too and he thinks it's the best, so I figured he would think this toy was pretty fun. Best $3 I've ever spent! He plays with it every day still.
Radio Flyer Wagon - This link is a newer model than what we have, but essentially the same thing...just fancier. Ours was given to us by one of Joe's coworkers which was so generous and saved us a big chunk of money! Rocco loves being pulled around in it, climbing in and out, hiding Hugo's balls in the compartment inside, and pushing it around the yard.
V-tech Smart Wheels - I bought this on the online garage sale when Rocco was still way too young to use it, but it was listed for $5 and I can't pass up a good deal! Once he was strong enough to sit on his own he started playing on it and still plays on it almost every day. The legs on it flip around so when he was younger it rocked, and now that he's bigger we flipped the wheels down and he can ride it. It plays songs, says the alphabet, counts, etc. He loves dancing to the music and climbing on the seat to try to get on the entertainment center...
Cozy Coupe - This was another garage sale find. I don't remember how much I spent on it, but I know it was far less than it would be new. Ours didn't come with the yellow insert to keep their legs inside when they are smaller so that was a little bit of a bummer when he was littler, but he quickly learned how to make it go and pick up his feet so he can fly down the driveway!

I've been so lucky to be able to find such great deals on toys that Rocco plays with over and over. He's also been so blessed to have friends and family who spoil him regularly. He loves being outside and would be content just wandering around watching Joe mow they lawn, but it's extra fun to have cool toys to play with and share with his friends when they come over.

Much Love,

B.