The Adventures of 'The Kidds'

Hmmm…I can’t make it play within the post but here are the links!

Daniel Walking Part 1

Daniel Walking!

I was given the opportunity to review OXO Tot products via Our365.com, so I thought I’d share my review in this post.

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I’ve been using the test bowls and spoons for almost two weeks. I have a 12-month-old son who is starting to self-feed but still lets me feed him some purees from time to time. He’s not too much into the habit of tipping over bowls (plates, on the other hand, are another matter).

Here are my thoughts:

OXO Tot Bowl Set
- I’d give this 4.5 out of 5 stars

Pros: Very stable, lid stays on, 2 sizes are good for various needs (snack, meal, etc).

Con: They only stack 2 at a time, so it occupies a bit of space anyway if you have more than one set. Also, possible cosmetic yellowing after a few uses.

My initial thoughts when I opened the package was that these are very cool-looking, stylish bowls. I loved how I could easily open the package and didn’t have to cut myself trying to get to the product. The bowls are weighted very nicely, and the grip makes gives them enough resistance for my son not to tip the bowl over when self-feeding. I used the small bowl to give him some cheerios and it was just the right size for his hands. I used the bigger bowl for entrees like mac&cheese, etc. and it worked pretty well for my use too. I do like the deeper bowl as it’s easier to scoop up foods of varying thickness and textures.

One thing I did notice that after a few dishwasher runs, one of the bowls (the more often-used one) had a slightly yellower tint than the other. Perhaps from a food stain, or just the heat of the dishwasher, I don’t know–the effect was like that of yellowing paper/older plastic. However, even though I did use some red sauces they do not stain like those generic, cheap snap-ons. I observed that sauces bead up and roll off nicely so that it doesn’t stick too much to the plastic, making it easier to clean.

OXO Tot Feeding Spoon Set, Green
- I’d give this 4 out of 5 stars

Pros: Nicely weighted, good silicone coating

Cons: The spoon bowl is a bit too deep, some purees get left behind when feeding baby.

The big thing I like about these spoons is that they don’t tip over when you place it inside a yogurt container or other small bowl. Some spoons I’ve used before (munchkin) have long handles that are so heavy compared to the spoon part that when you put them back in the food bowl after giving baby a bite, it tips over and splashes food out of the container. So I love that these spoons are very nicely weighted, and probably the angle has something to do with it too.

I’ve tried this spoon on a variety of textures; eg. yogurt, fruit puree, and more chunky items like small pasta and rice casseroles. My pet peeve about these spoons is that for many of these food categories, some food is left behind/stuck in the spoon after I feed baby a spoonful–in the deepest part of the spoon. I don’t know if this bothers other moms; perhaps it’s just me, but I like the spoon looking “licked clean” after a bite  As I said, this is texture dependent but yogurt definitely gets left behind. I do like the narrowness of the spoon, it’s just right for controlling food amounts. And the flat edge definitely helps clean up around baby’s mouth. Silicone coating is nice and safe for the baby.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the products I tested. The bowls are great for different stages and uses, but I think the spoons are most beneficial for babies 6-10 months who are being fed the runnier purees (due to sticking problem I mentioned).

So we just returned from Trek yesterday, and it was a great time.  This is like the 11th year that I have been able to go to Trek, and it was great cause this year Corrine & Daniel got to come too, which made it a lot of fun.  We stayed at the Wus Haus, which is a vacation home that friends of ours bought a few years ago.  But it worked out quite well.  We went to the island in the morning to spend the day there and then at night after dinner, I drove a boat back to the main land where we drove 2 miles to the house and spent the night.  It was a good week and I think all the middle schoolers had a fun time while there as well.

Here are a few pictures from the week.

Here is Daniel, decked out in his Island Gear with Mommy,  

Here is Daniel Enjoying the boat ride on the pontoon.

Tired boy after a long day of playing in the lake…

I know he’s a little young, but he is my kid, so he needed to get a computer, and since he won’t sit at a desk, well he’ll barely sit, we figured he needed a laptop..

Corrine was out at a yard sale, and saw it so she decided to get it.  It was only a dollar so definitely worth the price…  I just need to do a little solder work, I think she said the sound board is loose, or something, but definitely a good toy for Daniel..

As you probably know we have got a fish tank last year. We got it from the Clarks when they sold their house, and they left the tank, so we got it and have used it for a while. We recently added a new fish tank stand, that we could close and add a safety on, as Daniel gets bigger, more mobile and more inquisitive.
We can sit next to the tank, with Daniel on our lap, and he will just intently check out the fish. Corrine put him on the sofa and he could watch on his own, here is a picture that she took of Daniel watching the fish.

I think he was surprised by the flash…