Community Voices for Health

By: Abby Keane

My baby, my sweet little baby, just turned three.  This is amazing to me.  I have no idea where the time has gone.  We celebrated fairly quietly this year, probably for the last time – next year will probably bring the beginnings of “friend” parties, ones with real invitations, that necessitate themes, bouncy house rentals, and probably some sort of pool/sprinkler/something to keep the kids cool, because August birthdays are inevitably HOT.

Our day started with a short, but fun, trip to the playground at Braintree Highlands.  We started going to this playground a few weeks ago after hearing from a few different friends how great it was.  The variety of equipment available is great, and the equipment for a wide variety of age ranges makes it easy to take multiple kids there.  It does, however, make it hard to take multiple kids on your own.  We then visited with some friends and their new baby.  Much to our surprise, that visit did include a bouncy house.  Finn and Eamon got to jump for quite a while, all by themselves.

Finally, Finn spent the last half of his birthday surrounded by his family.  Both sets of grandparents came over, as well as his Auntie and his cousins.  He was spoiled rotten with all the gifts he received, and really enjoyed the attention being lavished on him.  A fabulous cookout ended with a delicious “Thomas the Tank Engine” cake from local the local “White’s Bakery.”

I have to share my favorite toy that Finn received – conveniently enough, one that I picked out.  There’s an amazing local toy company called “B. Toys.”  I have loved their toys for quite a while now, and we have quite a few of them in our house.  I follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and a few months ago, saw their brand new toy called “Symphony in B.”  This toy comes with 13 different instruments that each have a part in 15 different songs.  The only instruments you hear, however, are the 1-6 instruments the user places in the “orchestra pit.”  This is an extremely fun way to learn what different instruments sound like, the difference between melody and accompaniment, and the different types of instruments that exist.  I’ve mentioned before that Finn is very musical, and he loves this toy (as do I!).  I can not say enough good things about not only this toy, but this entire brand.  It’s available at your local Target, and is often my first stop when looking for a “Welcome Baby” gift.

The following day, our house hummed with the sounds of far too many new electronic toys.  Mommy finally had enough and ordered everyone off to the pool at hubby’s aunt and uncle’s house, for a reminder that, while the electronic toys are fun, the best fun is homemade.