Friday, October 8, 2010

iPhone apps toddlers love

I loved my Blackberry. Very much. But recently I had to give that up for an iPhone. There are many reasons for that but one main factor that contributed to the conversion is the fact that in less than 3 weeks' my husband and I would be going on a 26-hour plane ride across continents for both work and visit with family. This means we will have to keep our 20-month old boy occupied for half of that time (considering snooze hours). Sure, we're packing Duplos, books, matchbox vehicles but we all know how fast kids that age get tired of things. So we want to be prepared - with fun and educational applications on our mobile devices.

So here are some which my son (and we) approves of:

Free:
  1. Talking Tom (who doesn't have Talking Tom on their phone???) - a cat that mimics your speech in kitty pitch
  2. Peekaboo Barn - lets the little one guess the animal based on the sound it makes. The free version features 4 barn animals
  3. Animals 360 - we love this one! It features real life pictures of wild animals with the sound they make
For purchase:
  1. Old MacDonald by Duck Duck Moose ($1.99) - interactive features to the tune of, well, Old MacDonald.
  2. Wheels on the Bus by Duck Duck Moose ($1.99) - interactive fun to the tune of song of the same name
  3. Dr Seuss' selected books (we have Green Eggs and Ham) - interactive with narration option. The price ranges from $2.99 - 3.99
This is what I've on my phone right now and if you know of any that you'd like to share with us, leave us a note on the comment section.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

If the shoe fits...

Firstly, I must admit that this post is slightly off-focus from what our Two Skinny Moms blog is about. I'm not sharing the skinny on any particular shoes for kids or adults but I had just read a fellow mommy's latest post in her blog where she shared this video from YouTube and I thought it'd be good to share it here.

YouTube is one great source for tips, information, and other how-to and hands-on demos on various things. Of course there are millions of other less positive, unhelpful, destructive and junk in that site too but that's not for discussion here.

This video is helpful for all parents when buying shoes for their children (and themselves too!). Many a time, we end up buying shoes that are too tight or narrow thinking that a tighter fit would prevent our precious ones from tripping. Or we buy them one size larger because we think that they will grow into them very quickly and thus last longer.

Watch this and learn: