It feels weird to even be writing this, but somehow Oliver will be a 1 year old tomorrow. On June 25, our little baby will be a…TODDLER. How did this happen? I think we would both agree over here that it is equally exciting as it is extremely depressing that our little guy isn’t so little anymore. We’ve been prepping his very intimate first birthday party, which will be the three of us, a cake and some presents, but it will be a celebration of Oliver and that’s all that matters. We are so proud of our baby boy, and we thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the items on his birthday list.

We’ve learned a lot about Oliver in his first year. We have a good sense of what he likes and what he wants nothing to do with. He’s outgrown a lot of the “baby things” we got for him early on, and is now into more challenging toys and games. He loves to stack objects and put things away into boxes or bags and is really into toys with wheels that he can roll down the hallway and then crawl to. The Wiwiurka Pikler has been so great for Ollie’s motor skills. It’s a new addition around here and he’s very proud when he reaches the top, clearly. 😉 We’ve observed all of his interests and used that to compile a list of things we hope he’ll use and love for a while. Keep in mind, some items on this list may have disclaimers like “3+”, but we always monitor Oliver closely, and take smaller objects away if they are a danger to him. Okay, so here we go!

Shop the post:

1 – This activity walker encourages both physical and cognitive development is a great motivator to get your 1 year old (if they aren’t already) standing and moving.

2 – Ollie loves a good ride around the house. As far as Ride-On toys go, this one is pretty awesome. Maybe we’ll surprise him with it, just not sure if we can maneuver it around our smaller, 1930s house.

3 – We’re always coming up with ways to show Oliver how things move, spin, roll, etc. We love this zig zag tower and hope Oliver enjoys watching the spools glide down the track over and over again.

4 – These Sensory Tumbling toys auditory, visual and texture. are not only cute, but also great for auditory, visual and texture sensory fun.

5 – The “ABC’s” may be Oliver’s all-time favorite song, so an Alphabet Puzzle seems like a good addition to his room.

6 – The Dinkum Doll will be great to show Oliver the different parts of the face and body. It does’t hurt that it looks a little like him too. Ha!

7 – Oliver loves to stack, so we thought this would be great step up from the traditional ring toys he already has. This stacker toy integrates stacking by color, number, and counting.

8 – We’ve incorporated music into Oliver’s life from very early on. This mini wooden drum hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills is great for hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

9 – We got this crown (sold out- but this one is SO CUTE!) for Oliver’s birthday and love the quality and the way it looks on his head (Yes, we tried it on as soon as it came in!) Also, love that it is 0-3Y, so he may just be wearing it for the next few years.

10 – These little snowmen and bowls are great for imaginative play and for matching colors. We have these on Ollie’s birthday list.

11 – You guys know we are huge advocates for wooden toys. We also love when the toys are realistic. This shop has some great wooden farm animals which is great for learning about different animals and open-ended play.

12 – One of Oliver’s favorite books is the timeless The Wonderful Things You Will Be. It chokes us up every time, but it’s such a good one.

13 – This Ramp Racer may be a little advanced for a 1 year old, but it’s definitely great to introduce things early. We love that the cars can be tracked as they roll down. So fun!

14 – We love this punch drop toy for two reasons. It helps the babies hand-eye coordination, and also reinforces their understanding of object permanence. 

15 – This Audio Sensory Tray is great for both audio sensory and shape recognition. 

16 – This Wooden Block Set (under $30) has been in Oliver’s room from day one. He has only recently started to actually play with them. There is a 3+ label on these, but like so many toys, as long as you monitor your child when they play, we feel you can’t go wrong.