Vintage!

Doug and I have been adamant about people not buying a ton of toys for Callen for several reasons. Here goes...

1. He doesn't need a ton of things. He is fine with the few toys we have, reintroducing them as he grows and has a like for new things. For example, he was given a cloth book before he was born. I have shown him this book and tried to get him to play with it numerous times. It has a variety of objects that flip up as well as 'crinkles' when you grab it. Within the last few weeks, Cal is all about stuff that crinkles. He loves this book now. We take it most everywhere we go because we know it will keep him occupied for a while. There are several toys like this...one week he could care less about them, and the next week they are his favorite. We keep trying current toys to see what his current development stage likes best.
2. Callen could play with my water bottle all day and be completely happy!! Not only my water bottle, but anything I hand him that is not his. I have gotten where I will hand him a spatula while I am cooking and let him chew on it. Anything with a rubber end that he can put in his mouth is a favorite around here these days!! 
3. We have been very fortunate to have been given toys from neighbors and friends. Most of them are interactive toys with lights, sounds, music, etc. They are a little advanced for Cal at this time, but we have put them aside and plan to add them to his collection when they are age appropriate for him. 
4. Our house just isn't big enough to have tons of toys. I don't want someone to buy/bring Callen 'something small' every time he/she sees him. He comes to expect it when he sees that person and is not excited to see the person, but only excited for the toy. Also, before long your entire house is taken over with those 'small toys.' I know he is going to have lots of toys in the future, but the more we can control it now, the better. Plus, we would rather money go towards his education fund than a toy that he will play with for about a week before moving on to something else. 
5. Doug and I have some of our toys saved from our childhood that we would really like him to be able to play with as well. I used to babysit for a family where the kids only played with the dad's toys from when he was a kid. I thought it was so cool to see all the old toys, and how much the kids enjoyed playing with them. They had very few of the newest and latest toys, and they got along just fine!!!

I wasn't sure of all the toys we had in the attic, and didn't want to miss the chance for Callen to play with any of them so we went through all of the toys being stored over the weekend. There was a large bag of Doug's toys that we had fun going through. There were several vintage Fisher Price sets that look like so much fun...can't find those on the shelves of Toys R Us anymore! We cleaned them, took inventory, and even went on eBay to try and complete some of the sets. We have decided that some of these play sets will be Cal's birthday presents in the future! It will be fun to watch him and his imagination go wild with all these toys. I am excited to get the eBay shipments of the people and accessories to finish out the sets!!! 

Love the RV! Bought all the people and accessories today (including a toilet!!) on eBay

Circus train; we have a few animalsm but trying to win the ring master and clown on eBay

Love this record player

Shhhhh! Don't tell Cal these are his presents!

We did give some of the baby toys to Callen to play with...but you will notice where they all ended up...
It is so fun to watch Cal explore and play with his toys. Each day is a change in what and how he plays with the toys. He is constantly learning and exploring everything around him.

Shape sorter...Doug and I both had this toy. Must have been a classic!

What? I am supposed to play with the toys and not eat them? Yeah Right!!

As you can see from these pics, he is doing a great job of sitting up tall. He is going for about a minute on his own before falling to the side or backwards. 

Here are a few other pics from the week...

We have discovered our feet! Favorite snack for sure

Trying to climb out of the bouncy seat!

Building a fort with daddy