2 1/2 Year Toddler Favorites

Because what is life if not full of kid gear, right? 

PS no gear is featured in that picture because Toddler herself is way cuter than most of her gear, so there we go. The sunglasses were from a pack of ten that some wonderful grandmother had at a birthday party and the bathing suit is Jessica Simpson via Nordstrom Rack Clearance, AKA where lots of Beck's stuff comes from. 

Besides that, here are some of our current kid loves, and a few things I'm thinking of switching out as we prepare for #2!

• So with that said, Nordstrom Rack can be our first item! I shop there a ton for all of us because quality + deals and all that. I get almost all of Beck's shoes there in varying brands, and some clothes. Our store doesn't have a ton of kid clothing, but they do have a good amount of random clearance and shoes, and she loooooves looking at "shoes for Beck" even though we rarely buy any so this is how I get her to be patient through the rest of the store. 
• Chicco Nextfit Convertible Car Seats: definitely in the "boring" category of kid stuff, but I'm a massive proponent of car seat safety; look up Internal Decapitation if you're feeling a little unsure of why we should do our best to protect kids in cars. We actually have three of these, bought on sale at different times, and Beck is still rear-facing. Even though she's over two, which is the legal limit in South Carolina, she hasn't maxed out on the rear-facing weight yet so we are going to keep her rear-facing until we move the car seats to make room for the baby, then let her face forward so they can look at each other. Can't say enough good things about the seats themselves, including ease of cleaning puke, installation, and comfort for the kid. We've had these for almost two years because we moved Beck out of her infant seat super early (convertible seats are slightly safer than infant carriers), and have no complaints. They're definitely heavy and not cheap, but a thousand percent worth it, and you can use the 20% coupons on them at BuyBuyBaby!
• Boppy Portable High Chair: This is something else we've had from almost the beginning and are still getting a lot of use from. It's similar to a Bumbo chair so we stuck Beck in it early before she could sit up on her own. I remember that day so vividly, it was the best day of her life so far and I'm so happy I have a picture of it. Now we use it for travel high chair purposes, sometimes with the tray that attaches and sometimes just attached to a chair scooted up to a table. Beck still uses high chairs but likes regular chairs too, so probably we'll ease out of the high chair and into this full-time for the next few months. 
• We also have a Stokke Tripp Trappe which was an investment but I love it for another kid seating option at our house (we didn't buy the tray or other little-kid stuff because we got it when Beck was big), and Beck uses it backward as a stool to "help" me cook aka stir with her hand too close to the pot and burn herself. I also like that it's rated for an adult to use as a chair and doesn't look overtly like kid stuff, because we definitely have plenty of the plastic/brightly colored category of kid items. 
• Water Tables: We threw a baby sprinkle that included a bunch of toddlers earlier this summer, so we bought this water table and waterfall tower for outside entertainment during the party. They were both a huge hit, and we take the removable parts to the pool as pool toys for recycling purposes - no need for even MORE plastic and all that. 
• Also for the pool! Beck is obsessed with her Puddle Jumper even though she all but refuses to leave the kiddie pool and is very stable in 8 inches of water, and we use the Baby Bum sunscreen for her - we have the stick for her face and lotion for her body and they both work well. She likes the stick because she gets to "do it herself" while we do lotion and then we go back and smear the stick on some more. I will say it doesn't rub in terribly well, but I like/don't mind the sunscreen look on kids because I know it's actually there and doing its job. But that's just me, and I am strange. 
• Beck got some new bowls recently because....honestly I can't remember, but I think I bribed her with "new dishes" because we kind of needed a few more nonbreakable things and I wanted her to let me do some other errands or something. We/she picked these Skip Hop bowls and she is obsessed with them. She's started eating cereal with milk some mornings so she eats lots of bites to find the animal at the bottom and it's very cute and effective. They go in the dishwasher and weren't terribly expensive. They also aren't cool in the slightest but the kid loves animals, so why not? She still uses these Gerber forks and spoons and they work so well for her and have held up really well for the last year or so. 

On my list for the next kid! A new infant seat and double stroller situation, thinking of a Vista or similar that can be a single or double since Beck won't be in a stroller much longer and I have a feeling she'll love a gliderboard option. I'd love your current baby car seat and stroller favorites! Beck is full up on toys right now and plays almost exclusively with kitchen stuff and imagination games (we wrap her up in blankets for her to go on journeys around the house, very fun and cheap), but we're always looking for new book series for her to check out at the library since she likes to read SO much. Let me know what you're loving!