Bathtime just got alot easier!

We've had a hanging bath toy organizer for some time, but the problem has always been that the larger bath toys just won't fit. Seeing as Connor's favorite thing in the entire world is to take a bath, we have quite the collection of toys and lining up the big ones along the bath tub is just not working anymore as I'm bound to knock them off every time I even get near the bath tub. The problem is most bath toy storage products are built for small toys, like little boats and rubber ducks, but nothing really properly stores the larger toys or a big collection of toys.

The Bath Toy Store from Kuster not only solves the problems of storing the larger toys but it looks cool! It basically consists of two almost trash can looking bins stacked, the inside one has drain holes so you can just scoop the toys out of the bath tub and drain, then any leftover water will drain into the bottom bin. The best part about that is that you won't have to worry as much about mold which is always an issue when it comes to children's bath toys as they stay wet so much of the day.

The other most obvious benefit to the Bath Toy Store is the fact that it doesn't LOOK like kid's bath toy storage. If you have a really great looking bathroom, an animal shaped bath toy storage hanging in your shower may not be the biggest turn on to you. My parents had just that delima, they have a huge beautiful bathroom and their bath tub is seperate from the shower and a normal hanging bath toy sorter was just not practical as Connor bathes in the tub and not the shower and the last thing they wanted was a huge animal hanging in their shower. But finding something that doesn't look like a kid product but still functions as well is difficult at times. The Bath Toy Store not only looks great but it can hang out in the corner of the bathroom without anyone realizing its toy storage unless they look down inside of it.

Speaking of designs that are kid friendly but you won't mind hanging out in the middle of your modern kitchen, the K1 high chair from Kuster is so pretty. I can't stop checking out the pure white high chair with that green and white polka dot cushion. Who would not want that sitting in the middle of their kitchen? The really great part is that it works as a booster chair for kids up to six years old, so once its life as a high chair is over it coverts easily to fit the needs of children as well allowing them to sit properly at the table with the grown ups. The adjustable foot rest is also great for teaching babies and children proper posture, this coming from a girl who still cannot put her feet squarely on the ground in an average chair I personally would really appreciate a chair with a adjustable footrest myself! Though we have not tried one out personally, thus far all our experiences with Kuster has been fabulous.

You can read more about the Bath Toy Store and K1 High Chair over at the Kuster website. If your intrested in buying either for yourself head on over to BareBabies. You can get 10% off your Kuster's purchase at Barebabies with the code : sdb10offkuster!

The best high chair for babblesations.

Connor can hold a 20 minute "babblesation" (aka our new word for the conversations Connor and I have at the dinner table) without even batting an eye. He will talk you silly, mind you there is no understanding of anything he is saying. Our new high chair not only allows us to eat our meals face to face, it gives Connor a whole new perspective of the adult world and believe me he couldn't be happier.

The Stokke Tripp Trapp is the perfect high chair for those social butterflies who want to sit one one one with their parents at the "big person" table. Connor loves to go to out to eat for the very reason that he got to eat meals directly at the table with us, and now he gets to do it every night at home.

For those of you with a fairly modern decor such as myself you will love its sleek lines and all wood finish, but let me point out with its large selection of colors available everyone can find one that will fit their decor! I am usually all about the black furniture, and though we did end up going with black for our Tripp Trapp the blue was pretty tempting as well.
The Tripp Trapp falls into my new favorite category of high chairs, that have a "life" well after your baby is past the spoon feeding age. The Tripp Trapp is fully adjustable and can adjust to hold a baby and then to hold an adult in just a matter of minutes (as well as everyone in between). The adjustable panels also give the child in the chair a way to rest their feet instead of dangling them like they would in a typical high chair. This teaches a child proper posture even from an early age.

After using this chair for a few weeks, I can give you the mom perspective on it.

• Of all of the adjustable chairs we have checked out, to date the Tripp Trapp has the quickest and easiest adjustment to allow diffrent sized children to sit in the same chair. Actually all that is required is for the user to slightly loosen one bolt on the side of the chair just enough to allow for the slats to move up and down. Its quick and painless and I was able to move the seat down and out for an older child in just the matter of about one minute.
• The seat on the Tripp Trapp even in the infant position is very wide.. Though this does mean that the chair has a larger footprint than other adjustable chairs we have covered it also means that its SUPER easy to clean. It still by far has about half the footprint of a traditional metal and plastic high chair.
• The optional baby rail and cushions are not "necessary" but certainly I would buy them as it gives me an extra piece of mind and I'm sure Connor's hiney appreciates the cushion. We have used the chair with and without and its really a personal preference. I will say that the cushion is very easy to put on and remove and it does wash up very well.
• The harness on the Tripp Trapp is really outstanding. Its the most secure harness I have seen on a high chair to date (traditional or non traditional). The straps go not only around the waist but over the shoulders as well which gives the user some extra security as it is possible for a child to attempt to stand up in the chair due to the foot rests.
• The Tripp Trapp is unusual for a high chair as it does not have a tray (not even in the accessories) the child using the chair is pushed against the dinner table to eat, much like you would do if you were dining out. Though honestly this took a bit of an adjustment for us in the end it has turned out far to our advantage. Though at first we just used a mat to feed him his finger foods at the table, I have now gone to feeding him off of a plate. Though we did have a few plate to floor experiences in the end it has allowed Connor to learn table manners at a very early age, he now eats out of a big boy plate and/or bowl and its rare at this point for either to hit the ground.
• Connor's Dad and Grandpa on the other hand prefer a high chair with a tray, and if you saw the mess Grandpa in particular makes while he is feeding Connor, you would see why that is..... (I love you dad.)
• As I mentioned earlier the color selection on the Tripp Trapp is better than I have ever seen on any other high chair, with the selections of cushions as well, the possibilities of color choices is pretty endless.

Stokke is currently running a promotion for those of you that already have a Tripp Trapp, if you send in a picture of your child using his or her Tripp Trapp they will send you a free bib! You can also enter to win a complete feeding package from Stokke including a Tripp Trapp as well as some great products from Skip Hop & BuiltNY. Check out that contest here.

Want one of your own? Tripp Trapp is available online and on Amazon!

High Chair Review : Svan High Chair

I am on a very strict budget when it comes to baby supplies but I have to tell you, we have gone through three highchairs at this point. If I had only known this chair even existed when I was making my baby registry I would have given up half of the items on my list to buy just this one. (actually if I had known half of the products I review had existed I would have had a VERY diffrent registry list)

The price tag on this highchair is nothing to laugh about but before it scares you away I'll tell you from a mom that watches all her pennies, believe me its TOTALLY worth it. The Svan High Chair starts at $199.95 for the youth chair (no infant/tray attachment) or $249-250 for the full high chair (tray/infant attachment included). With that said keep reading.

The Svan Chair is in a totally unique class of high chairs. It has a tiny footprint so those of you, like myself, that live in small spaces will appreciate the space saving design. Don't let the size fool you, this chair is fully adjustable and convertible so it goes all the way from an infant high chair to a chair for a full grown adult to sit in (up to 300lbs!)!

It starts (with the infant kit) as a traditional high chair with tray. Unlike other traditional high chairs it has a fully adjustable seat and foot rest so your child will learn to sit in correct posture from the start. It does not have a recline feature so I would hold out using it until your child can hold his/her head up unassisted.

Once your baby has moved past the tray stage or even before you can remove the tray and pull them right up to the table. Connor likes to eat with his tray and when his grandparents are in town we pull the entire high chair up against the table and let him eat like a big boy. He LOVES being able to interact with the "adults". As your child grows with a small amount of adjustment (there is a monkey wrench involved) you can widen the seat base and move the foot rest.

As your child grows, or if you need extra seating for a family function/party, remove the entire infant seat and flip around the foot rest and you have an "adult" chair. Hopefully this will be Connor's desk chair when he gets old enough. Ideally you could keep this chair in perpetual use from your own kids all the way to your grandkids and beyond. Now you see why I say $250 is not too much to spend on this chair?

A few things I have found after using this chair for two weeks :

• The tray is small, this is kind of a two way street.. I love the footprint of the chair and to make the tray bigger you would need to do the same to the width of the chair. Though this is a small drawback its worth it in the bigger picture.
• To adjust the chair you must use a monkey wrench. This is more of an inconvenience vrs a real drawback. (Please note that unless you plan on using this chair for multiple sized babies you would only need to adjust it once or twice a year)
  
• The width of the infant guard is not built for "gigantic" babies. If you have a super super chunk I would find a local store that sells this chair and "test" it out before you purchase it. Though it seems a bit narrow to me, Svan assures me that it will fit children up to three.
  
• The tray seems a little wobbly when its attached.. It appears to be but after much testing Connor has yet to find a way to get it off. If it did fall off Connor would be in no danger of falling as well as the infant guard would keep him secure.
• I just want to note.. Svan has the best customer service you can imagine. If you have any problems with your chair there is an 800 number and someone is always willing to help!
• Having a highchair that adjusts from baby to adult is priceless. I already have a spot picked out for it once Connor is done with it. (Its going to be my work desk chair, so it will get many years of use paying bills, doing homework, and art projects!)
  

Its by far my favorite baby gadget to date!!! Really most of the drawbacks are minor if that, the chair itself is amazing and well worth every parents consideration. The chair is much much smaller that it appears in the pictures which is great for compact spaces but if you really desire a large high chair go visit one before you buy.

The Svan High Chair comes in several finishes to appeal to any decor. The seat cushions also come in lots of shades. My chair is a natural w/ a brown pad. If I would have purchased this chair myself I would have gone with espresso w/ a lime or blue pad.

If I could do my registry all over again, I would have put the entire line of Svan products on it. Check out the Svan Bouncer and the Svan Scooter. We certainly wish we had both! Connor still uses his bouncer daily and believe me its not even remotely that nice!

We made a video of Connor using his Svan Chair :

This video was made with a Flip Ultra Camcorder!

You can purchase your own Svan High Chair on Amazon!

High Chair Review : Kaboost & GIVEAWAY!

Kaboost is the first of many high chairs we hope to show you over the next year. And what a neat idea to be our first addition!

The first time I took Kaboost out of the box I had a "what on earth is this contraption" moment. It kind of looks like a cool ultra modern octopus sculpture until you unfold it. To set it up all you do is take it out of the box, unfold the legs, put the first two "arms" onto the chair and then gently tug the last two arms until it stretches out to the size of your chair. Its a one size fits all and I did try it on several diffrent chairs including my circa 1970s dining chairs which are fairly wide and it did the trick just fine.

Kaboost claims to be ultra stable when installed so we decided that the only way to test this theory is to do several tests : (please note that I personally did these tests, so no children were harmed in the testing of Kaboost)

Test #1 - ie attempt to rock the chair to dislodge Kaboost and/or knock over the chair.
Result : Rock, Bounce, whatever I attempted was a failure. Kaboost held on strong and it actually made the chair nearly impossible to slide without getting out of the chair and picking it up. I will note I have hardwood floors as well and none of my monkeying around on Kaboost scratched or even nearly scratched the floors.
Test #2 - ie pick the chair up and try to shake Kaboost off.
Result : Our testing chair has round legs so I thought it would be super easy to just shake the chair to get Kaboost to fall off.. WRONG.. I shook and shook and there it was still holding on mocking me...
Test #3 - the final test - Kaboost says it will hold up to a 300 pound person without failure. Soo we pilled some people on and it did indeed hold 300 lbs (and actually more).

Though I don't recommend you try any of these tests on your own Kaboost (as you may end up hurting yourself or your chair more than the Kaboost) but I did try it for you!

End result... Kaboost ROCKS!

If you have a toddler or even a shorter older child that would like to sit at the table like a big person this is absolutely the high chair for you. I really hate to admit this.. but Kaboost on its lower setting actually helped me sit at the table like a regular person which was odd.. (I'm 4'10 and I'm always short for everything including the table... please don't laugh if you see me on the street but my feet don't touch the ground sitting in a regular chair.. and certainly not in a kaboost'ed chair so I had to hop to get on.. *sigh*)

Kaboost comes in green , chocolate and natural as well! So there is one to match your own style.

Want a Kaboost of your very own?
Go check them out at their own shop or on Amazon.

Kaboost would like to offer our readers a special discount! Purchase your Kaboost through their online shop and use the discount code "kaboost001" for the promo pricing from 1/24 - 2/24!

Win one!!
I'm giving away the green Kaboost I got for review!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Go visit Kaboost and tell me which color you would pick and what you like most about the Kaboost!. No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com)
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• This contest will end Jan 31th at midnight!