A Complete Guide to Pleasing Amelia Materialistically on Her 2nd Birthday (August 20th)

I am  pleased to report that the toddler is turning two this month. This means that not only has she survived, it also means that I have survived. Huzzah! ... And I suppose that perhaps James has also survived. (I wonder sometimes, though. He certainly doesn't seem alive when playing video games sometimes. He doesn't drool while playing, though, so I have hope he's still up in that brain somewhere.)

So yeah.

I went through the grueling process of combing my brain for gift ideas for the tot.

She loves drawing. We splurged and spent an entire five dollars at a thrift store for a chair and table for her to draw at. She already has washable markers. So... not sure what to say there. We've got this covered, I guess. Unless you have a mysterious stash of only pink washable markers, that is. She clearly prefers the pink marker to all the others, and it is therefore receiving the most abuse. It almost certainly will be the first of her markers to bite the dust.

Speaking of Amelia's love of pink, she is also quite fond of dresses, particularly pink ones. This... well, it isn't a nice dress. In fact, it doesn't rightly belong in the category of dress. It is a nightgown.  But! It is pink, comfortable, and dress-shaped. Therefore, Amelia absolutely adores it. It currently smells of pee and I keep putting it in the laundry, only to have Amelia pull it out, hang it up primly on an hangar, and declare it to be "priy [pretty]". I have the most obscene difficulty keeping pee-ridden pink "dresses" in the laundry.

I also imagine any actual dress that is even remotely princessy will also be well-received. (She is size 3T right now.) These are my favorite clothing items to get at thrift stores, because for whatever reason, I don't get a lot of these handed down to me, and Amelia loves wearing them. Here is my most recent haul pictured with the one dress that still actually fits the girl. (She love, love, LOVES that red dress, Steffanie.)

And any dress-up stuff or old costumes you may have hiding in your closet? Amelia will adopt them.

Let's see. She also has, of necessity, a positive opinion of all things "grown-up". Grown-up cups are superior to sippy cups. She can drink out of them without spilling just fine. The problem arises when she attempts to place the cup down on a table or something.

[Random aside time! I do not know why I really want to show you this cup, but I really want to show you this cup. The cup pictured below has recently become near and dear to my heart. (I received it as a graduation gift--filled with candy, of course--from my old employers in the BYU Chemistry Department. I once grumbled about what a useless gift it was. I have repented. I love it so much now.)

It is perfect for me to grab a cup of Ovaltine or something, because it is designed in such a way that sharing with a toddler becomes a production of ease rather than horror. It's got a handle. And the edges flange out... which makes controlling the rate at which fluid flows from cup to the toddler's oral orifice much easier. I fear for the day that this fragile item shatters. I will be sad.]

Oh, right. Things Amelia likes. Grownup things. Like... I imagine she's go nuts over a tot-sized vacuum cleaner or a tot-sized broom, if you happen to find such things second-hand. I used to have a teeny-weeny toy piano like this when I was little. I suspect Amelia would seriously go bonkers having any of these items in her own size because Mommy is so obsessed with the big-sized kind. I can only imagine how excited she would be to "help" me vacuum, sweep, or make sweet music. Ha.

If you want a guaranteed hit, think anything My Little Pony. Aunty Becca already surprised her a few months ago with a complete Ty set of the Mane 6. Amelia is absolutely, completely, profoundly obsessed with Fluttershy here, whom she affectionately has dubbed 'Shy or what sounds like "Uh-Shy". So, in particular, anything Fluttershy will be her most favorite thing ever. My Little Pony books? Also her most favorite thing ever. 

Only thing to be careful of: the old My Little Pony is not her favorite. If in doubt, just ask yourself... Do the ponies look creepy? If the answer is yes, don't bother. If the answer is no, and they look digitally rendered and such, you probably have the right ponies.

Next guarantee: Lego DUPLO blocks. New obsession in our house. I plan to collect lots of these. I will also collect actual small Legos when the time comes. And then I will keep them forever. I don't think I've ever met a kid who didn't like playing with Legos. Along a similar line, I think Lincoln Logs'd be popular with the beebs, too, but I have not tested this theory.

You could also send board books. I hesitate to say this, but it is possible that we have enough board books right now. our board book shelf is full at the moment. Perhaps, however, it is merely the case that it is time to get more shelf space. I believe there is no such thing as too many books. (Or Legos.)

Anyway, here is your complete guide to gift-finding for Amelia. I even compiled an Amazon wish list for those of you who are inclined to buy something new for her. I would like to point out that pretty much nothing on there is anything I expect you to buy on Amazon. Like a brand-new toddler trampoline? Talk about overkill. There's a toy piano on there, a toy vacuum... some Disney princess dress-up stuff... some random ponies... and then a heckuva lot of Duplos. (If you are inclined to buy something from there, I really think the My First Zoo Lego Duplo set would be the winner.) But honestly, the wish list is more of a guideline. Clean out your closets for such things, ask around... Used stuff is fabulous.

Love and stuff,

Jenna

and Amelia

and Dragon

P.S. If you wanted to get a "you survived two years of Amelia" gift for us parents, maybe you could send us something to actually clean those spots where Amelia deigns to pee on the carpet. (Grumble, grumble.) My parents had this old thing for such purposes when I was growing up. It got lots of use for cleaning up pet pee, as I recall, but I find myself considering how useful such a thing'd be for Amelia pee. Heck, a little UV light for finding pee stains would be equally useful.

P.P.S. If you want to give us something for the new baby... tubs of used baby clothes are the way to go. Otherwise, send us cash or gift cards or checks or something we can use for the truly random things we actually need besides baby clothes!