Park Life - Comanche Park

Ryley and I had a BLAST at Comanche Park the other day. It is brand new and was a great adventure for her! Here is the review from Silicon Valley Toddler. As much as loved the park I have a slightly different perspective than she does since Ryley is quite a bit younger.

At 13 months there were some serious pros:

• A small slide off to the side with stairs that she could climb up
• A low tunnel and bridge she loved climbing on
• The awesome rubbery squishy ground, seriously love this stuff and is good for crawlers
• The toddler structure has 2 slide options, both of which she loved

But also at 13 months there were some negatives:

• Ryley is still a swing lover and there is only 1 baby swing, need 2 at minimum
• The structure was a little high for her and the openings where she could fall were on opposite sides so I had to run between them as she climbed up
• There was only one way for her to get up onto the structure and even that wasn't totally enclosed
• I really wish when they built new parks they would put in shade structures!

The structure does say 2-5 year olds so I'm playing at my own risk but really I need places to take my kid too. There are definitely better parks for kids Ryley's age but if you have an adventurous toddler or just want a change of scenery this is a good option, just be sure to watch your little one. With all the extra stuff off to the side I do still recommend the park for the little ones.

I also enjoyed the look of the park, so fun with lots of colors. They had 4 person tables around which were great as well. There was a small lovely green grass hill behind the toddler structure too, it was calling "roll down me"! :) Some day when Ryley is big enough I can't wait to do that with her, be silly and just enjoy the grass!

What are some of your favorite young toddler parks?

Gini

Baby Life - A few of my Favorite Things

Life with a kid goes so fast. I wish I had been better about writing things down with Ryley's milestones but I always forget and by the time I remember I forget when it actually happened. Same thing goes for our favorite baby items and toys. So here is my post of trying to get the list out of my head and down on "paper".

Newborn stage:

• Rock 'N Play - this was one of my FAVORITE things. I didn't use it as a bassinet but would put her in it while Matt and I ate, I needed to go to the bathroom, really anytime. Ryley never liked the vibrating but she loved the rocking. It was a serious lifesaver and it was inexpensive. I highly recommend this one
• Sound machine - there are a billion options but I think anything that has multiple types of sound options will work. Ryley still uses this for naps
• Boogie wipes
• G Diapers - I LOVE these things. We wanted cloth diapers but they were so big on Ryley. These come in 4 sizes and actually fit her well. Plus they hold more than disposables, and of course have far less waste

Infant stage:

• Monkey bouncy seat - once Ryley was too big for the rock 'n play we got this seat. Ryley had so much fun reaching for the monkeys and bouncing. This seat was quite useful when I needed to take a shower :)
• Pacifier clips as toy clips - I happen to think this idea is genius! We use the pacifier clips and put them on toys and clip them to Ryley so she can't toss them. This is great for restaurants, walks, etc. It's also been really useful for teething toys
• Gum brush - speaking of teething toys, this has been Ryley's favorite
• Korean play mat - this thing is mostly for me, it's squishy and comfy for me plus good for Ryley crawling. I like it more than the puzzle type ones because it's thicker, Ryley can't take it a part and it's easy to clean
• Usborne Touch & Feel Books - Ryley loves books and these are some of her favorite!

Toddler stage:

• Little People ride on - Anything that plays music Ryley loves but this one especially
• Bubble Gum Machine - It was amazing watching her learn how to use this toy. How to put the balls in the top and press the leaver to release the balls
• Kid Chair - She loves grabbing a book and climbing into her little Pottery Barn chair, so stinking cute! I also got another from Target. She loves both
• My First Touch & Feel Cards - My dad got her the First Words edition for her birthday and she loved them so much we got her the rest of the set. They have great questions for parents to ask their kids too. She isn't to that point yet but we will get there

Once I publish this I'll probably think of other things that I love but for now these are some of the things I want to make sure my fiends know about :)

What are some of your favorite things?

Park Life - Cahalan in South San Jose

On Monday Ryley and I had our first PLANNED day of just 1 nap. I was a little nervous. How do I keep a 10 month old occupied and enjoying life for a 4 hour stretch and then a 6 hour stretch?!?! But we made it through!!

The morning was mostly taken up by going to the gym. Good excuse to go to the gym - keep Ryley occupied!

After our nap we decided to head over to Cahalan Park. I had read on Silicon Valley Toddler that it was a great option for young toddlers because they had a structure that was really short. Seriously - the structure was PERFECT! Ryley recently learned how to climb the stairs so this was additional practice climbing up the levels. There are 5 levels from the ground and only one has a part where they could fall, but it's very low to the ground.

It took her a good 15 minutes to climb up. She was rather intrigued by the wood chips, one downfall of this playground, and I had to brush them off to keep her from trying to eat them. But she made it and then I helped her slide down the slide. We did it 3 times and then the sun starting hitting that area so we decided it was time to head home. The playground looks like it would be more shaded during other parts of the day but I'm not certain. The swings and the larger toddler structure had no shade. We'll have to check it out at another time of day.

We had a really great time. Ryley got to actually experience a playground instead of just looking at it from the swing. It was a lot more fun for me too! I would absolutely suggest this playground to anyone with younger toddlers!

If you check it out let me know what you think!