Toys for 9-18 months?

[JoyNChrist]

Our playroom will be finished tomorrow! Woohoo!

And not a moment too soon, since DD started crawling yesterday, which means I now have two babies taking off in different directions and getting into different things.

We're going out in a little while to get gates for the playroom doors, and I was thinking about picking up some new toys for the babies. We have mostly smaller baby toys (Sophie, Whoozit, Haba teethers, etc), so I was thinking of getting a few bigger things. Maybe the FP Laugh and Learn Home or Kitchen? Any other ideas that were big hits for the crawling/cruising age? Unfortunately we donated most of DS1's baby toys because we lived in a much smaller house at the time and had nowhere to store them.

Their birthday is in August so I'm not going to get too much, but just a few things to tide us over. We have a Target, TRU, and Wal-Mart locally.

[lizzywednesday]

OK, it's pricey, but my nephew (17 months) and my DD (14 months) love to play with this:

http://www.amazon.com/B-68603-Zany-Zoo/dp/B002YIX0XA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1304963124&sr=1-1

We got ours at Target.

She's also into M&D soft "fill-and-spill" toys like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Fill-Spill/dp/B000NV6BZY/ref=sr_1_5?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1304963232&sr=1-5

And she also likes her "cell phone":

http://www.amazon.com/B-68615-Hellophone/dp/B0030F67LI/ref=sr_1_12?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1304963288&sr=1-12 (BTW, I didn't pay $15 for it; I paid $6 at Target. It's normally about $8 or $9.)

[BabyBearsMom]

DD is one and she loves the FP L&L Kitchen. She could play with that thing forever. She is still into the FP L&L Activity Table as well, but I think its days are numbered since she is trying to climb it now. She is also into the M&D Shape Sorter and the big chunky puzzles. She also likes cars (especially ones that make noise) and pushes them around saying "Vrrooommmmm!"

[NN317]

OK, it's pricey, but my nephew (17 months) and my DD (14 months) love to play with this:

http://www.amazon.com/B-68603-Zany-Zoo/dp/B002YIX0XA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1304963124&sr=1-1

We got ours at Target.



:yeahthat: My twins loved the activity cubes. We had 2, the versions that were available roughly 2 years ago from Target. Those helped them learn to pull up to a stand eventually.
The Fisher Price Basics line (the no battery toys - ring stacker, shape sorter, snap lock beads, etc) were another source of entertainment then.
I also took empty water bottles and put dry noodles or beans inside for shakers.

[indigo99]

DS is a bit older, but his favorite toy is the playskool busy gears. In the beginning, he was scared of the noise so you might need to wait a while. Once he got a bit older, he started LOVING it. He'll put the gears off and on all day and stack up anything else that he can find on top to watch it spin. He also likes to hand me gears one-by-one and have me snap them together into a tower.

He also loves the baby doll stroller. He doesn't like the doll at all, but he'll stack up all his other toys in it and push them around.

The radio flyer scoot-around tricycle gets daily use.

Other toys that he's growing out of but still likes (and might be better for the age of your twins): Fisher price star stacker that plays music, Leap Frog activity table, playskool ball popper, laugh and learn puppy. Of course he loves balls too - especially the o-balls. He hasn't shown a lot of interest in the laugh and learn home, but once in a while he'll check it out.

ETA: I forgot that DS learned to walk with the radio flyer walker wagon. He loved it during that stage of pulling up. I think his favorite toy at that age was a little elmo radio with one button. It plays about 6 songs, and he loved to carry it around and push the button over and over. Since then, he's also had a similar one that's blue's clues. I don't know if they make either one now, but it shouldn't be hard to find something similar.

[vonfirmath]

The FP Laugh & learn home is on my Must Buy list for this baby

[ashleybama24]

My son also loved the Leap Frog Actvity Table at that age. The walkers they push around, the fp popper, cozy coupe car, and toys where he could stack and sort were a hit. We started trying to color at a year and we also got a small slide which you could put inside or outside.

[traciann]

Besides the laugh and learn home (which my girls loved) I would have to say the laugh and learn piggy bank and laugh and learn tea set. Both of those toys are still getting played with by my 6 and 2 year old dds, and I really don't have any other baby/toddler toys in our home because the 2 year old plays with her sisters toys now. I am not really into electronic toys, but these are my exception.

[Simon]

Pop up tents are a huge hit. We have a tunnel, tent and fire engine (the favorite).
FP play phones (the old fashioned rotary kind, with the wiggle eyes)
A ball poper push toy
Inside soccer and basketballs (soft balls with mininet)
Stacking/nesting cubes and cups
Schleigh animals
Puzzles with the big handles
Shape sorter(s)
Musical instruments
Scrap paper and crayons

We have a kitchen and play food but Ds2 (at 15mo) still seems to ignore those most of the time.

[Pinky]

Congrats on the playroom! Definitely get the FS Laugh and Learn Home... (supposedly its got more things to do than the kitchen). They have them all the time at our Once Upon a Child for around $10... that price always amazes me. That thing is the center of our playroom right now and she plays with it non-stop and has since around 9 months or so.

[lowrioh]

My DD loved her activity cube that a PP listed. The only issue I had was that my DD pulled up to stand on it and it tipped over on her. Not a huge deal because it isn't very heavy but it gave us both a fright. We had a walker wagon, a tunnel and a tent from IKEA that got a lot of use too.

I would look at the local thrift and consignment places for toys for that age group. They generally are only used for a short period of time so they are in good condition. I got a Leapfrog table for around $5 and a L&L kitchen for $5.