And the Award Goes To…

Elleah checking out Dylan's huge stash of new toys!

Well, Dylan’s birthday has come and gone. And, boy, did he get spoiled! A HUGE thank you to everyone who gave my little guy a card or gift. We were definitely feeling the love. And Dylan has been loving playing with his huge pile of toys.

Josh and I have joined the club of Frustrated Parents Association of ‘How the Heck do you get this toy out of it’s packaging?’ What is the deal with that??

Because he got so many toys, I thought I would give awards out! But don’t get too excited, there’s no trophy or anything…

The Duplicated Award: Helicopter (The Gooch’s)
Even though Dylan got a ton of presents, there was only one duplicate! The helicopter that sings. And when you drop the colored balls into the top, it tells you what colors they are. Dylan really likes this one and it keeps him busy for long spurts of time (so I like it too!).

Best Themed Award: The Pirate Ship (From Matt & Brittany)
This ship is a Mega Blocks toy that you can take completely apart. And it makes noises when you push the little monkey on the ship deck. Matt & Britt also provided a second smaller ship because, “The pirates needed another ship to commandeer.” Brilliant!

Check out all those noise makers that came inside!

The Loudest Award: Drum Set (The Skala’s)
More often than not, you’ll hear single or kid-less couples say that they bought the noisiest toy that they could find. Our loudest toy this year was one of the only ones that didn’t require batteries…ironic? It was a drum with several instruments inside. It even came with drumsticks! He loves using the drumsticks (on everything) and really likes the little egg shakers. So much noise!!! The Skala’s don’t have kids, but they have a dog. I see a really noisy gift for Dixie from the Sitko Family sometime in the near future!

Best Immediate Appeal Award: Thomas the Train! (The Jordan’s) At Dylan’s birthday party, this was the last gift opened, and that was probably a good thing because he immediately got on his new train and continued to play with it for the next 25 minutes. At first he sat on it for a while and played with the buttons. But then he realized that he could push it all over the house. He forgot that there were about 25 people in his way and just took off. Who needs Mommy & Daddy when you’ve got Thomas? BTW, I find myself running up and down our hallway pushing Thomas around while Dylan sits holding on for dear life and squealing!

20 minutes later, he was still pushing it around the house!

Best Daddy Approved Award: Blue Car, Drumsticks, Green Balls
Let’s face it. My husband is just a big kid at heart. He gets just as excited as Dylan about having new things to play with. So there is an award for the Most Played With By Daddy toys. And it’s a three way tie!

~The Blue Car. This was one of the gifts from Jim & Diane Vana and I don’t think anyone realized how great this car was going to be. It’s one of those push and go cars. But what we discovered over time was that if you really revved it up, it would bounce off walls and turn around, pop a wheelie, spin around in circles, and more! Many hours are spent in this house with Josh letting the car fly and Dylan chasing it down and bringing it back. All boy, all the time!

~The Drumsticks. Yes, Josh is an accomplice with the ‘Loudest’ toy. His idle hands find themselves using those drumsticks on everything…his leg, the couch, the floor, other toys! One thing’s for sure - we’ve got the beat!

~The Green Balls. Danielle bought Dylan a variety of balls. A huge bouncy one, a medium sized one that looks like a giant tennis ball, and a smaller one with noise makers inside. These balls create elaborate games of catch between my two guys.

Best Gift Not At Our House: The Wagon!
I know I already posted photos of Dylan in his wagon. But he loved it so much! It was a huge hit! I know he can't wait to get back to Grandma Linda & Grandpa Bob's house so he can ride his wagon again!

Overall, all of the gifts Dylan got this year were amazing. I could have given dozens of awards, but I have to get back to playtime now.