Russian Adopted Boys..Help!!

[jastinker]

My dearest friend is adopting two 2 year old boys from RUssia. They come home in 2 weeks!!! I really want to get them an amazing gift. Something that will last and help them with their transition to American life. I am open to any suggestions. Do any of you remember what your 2 year old's favorite toy or "lovey" was/is? Thank you so much for oyur help!!!

Lisa

[hjdong]

While I haven't gotten these, someone in the Baby Lounge suggested these blocks http://www.craftefamily.com/blocks.asp (and they have other blocks, more generalized, as well if you wanted to get a set). DS loves blocks and I would have loved the personalized one. It is now high on my list of possible baby gifts.

DS didn't really attach to loveys per se, because, at his orphanage, soft, stuffed animal type toys were not allowed (it was a cleanliness issue - kind of hard to keep stuffed animals clean with so many kids and no washing machine). Of course, he was from China, not Russia, and even in China it varies, but it's something to keep in mind.

To this day, he favorite things are little people type play things - small plastic or wooden figurines that he can pretend with.

Also, someone gave us Chinese lullabies upon our return, which was great. He still listens to them at bedtime and it helped at first when we didn't speak Chinese and he didn't speak English. He would calm on hearing the Chinese.

HTH,

[jastinker]

Thank you for the great ideas. I love the lullabye one. I am going to see if I can find some in Russian. Thank you again.