New (To Us) Toys

I've seen a particular toy at almost every home I've visited where young kids live. It's a learning toy made by LeapFrog, and all the pieces are magnetic so they can stick to the fridge. The most common one is the alphabet set. You stick an letter into the main piece, and it will say its name, and sing a little song about it. I always thought it looked fun and educational, and the kids I've seen playing with it always seemed to enjoy it. It's one of those rare toys that isn't just electronic "for the heck of it" [like the modern version of the See n' Say, or the remake of the Fisher Price record player for example! Ugh. That really irritates me. Both of them used to work just fine with simple mechanics, not batteries!!].

Anyways, I had decided that we would get Sly one of the LeapFrog toys for Christmas this year. I know it seems early to be planning Christmas gifts, but I was guessing the price tag would make it unqualified as a "just because" sort of purchase for him (really, pretty much anything over $5 falls in that category!).

But then, lo and behold, I was at Goodwill a couple weeks ago, and they were selling the entire alphabet set along with the farm sounds set (not a single piece missing from either) for $3.99!!


I totally scooped them up!

Sly loves them, and dances along to all the songs. Although he doesn't quite grasp the "put pieces back on the fridge after playing with them" part, which means they end up all over the floor. So I usually just give him a couple letters/animal parts at a time, and keep the rest in a box.