The EZ List, 2007

Not to be outdone by fellow Chicagoan, Oprah, Zoe and Eleni are pleased to present their own "favorite products" roundup for 2007. They are only sorry that they cannot provide the entire bag of loot to you, their studio audience.


In a creative twist, they have identified a favorite product for each month of the year.

JANUARY: Lamaze Multi-Sensory Clutch Cube

This was the first toy that both girls started really playing with at about 3 months old. It just seemed to be the perfect size and have the perfect clutchability. You can see it perched upon their heads here (the photo is from February, but it reached the height of its popularity in January.)


FEBRUARY: Sassy Me in the Mirror (aka Mr. Birdy)

Mr. Birdy was Zoe's first love -- and Eleni had quite a flirtation with his brother as well. Mr. Birdy was the impetus for both girls to learn how to scooch on their backs around their crib -- and that scooching was inevitably in the direction of Mr. Birdy. And they spent countless hours batting him around. Bar none, this toy got more hours per dollar than anything else this year.

MARCH: Bunny socks

Oh the bunny socks. How delicious were the bunny socks. There are so many cute socks for little babies: socks that look like ballet shoes, socks that look like sneakers, socks that look like mary janes. But none quite as cute as the bunny socks.

APRIL: Jumperoo

Hours of fun. Enough said.

MAY: The Zoo
May was all about visits to the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Botanical Gardens, where this was taken. It's so close and there's so much to see. The product aspect of this entry is a Zoo Membership, which enables you to park for free -- aka no hunting for a meter.

JUNE: Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack
In mid-June, Kostas decided that the girls were in dire need of a new toy. So we went to Target. I picked out this old-school $5 ring stacker. Kostas was appalled and picked out a fancy toy that shot balls into the air. We tried the fancy toy out and promptly returned it. The girls spent the rest of the summer finding new and exciting ways to play with the ring stacker. This toy rivals Mr. Birdy for hours of play per dollar.

JULY: Ducky Tub

During the dog days of summer, I had this great idea that we should buy a baby pool and put it on the roof of our condo building for the girls to play in. This turned out to be slightly more difficult than I had anticipated, especially when I did the math and realized it would involve over 200 trips back and forth to the roof bathroom tap to fill buckets. Enter the ducky tub to save the day.


AUGUST: One Step Ahead Puzzle Floor

For babies of parents who have hardwood floors, learning to sit up can be an ouchy proposition. Enter the puzzle floor mat. And not just any puzzle floor mat, mind you, but the extra thick and cushiony one from One Step Ahead. This is the best thing since sliced bread -- and Eleni decided that she agreed the day that Eleni discovered that she could pull it apart into pieces. This discovery led to at least two months of sheer floor disection bliss. These days, she just does it when she's pissed off.

SEPTEMBER: Refined Sugar
On their first birthday, the girls had their first taste of refined sugar via a Dominik's mini cupcake. The official review was: "This sugar stuff has real potential."

OCTOBER: Gumball Playland
Gumball playland is an inflatable ball pit that came with 50 balls. The fun didn't really begin until I bought 100 more -- but oh what fun. The girls still play in this every day.

NOVEMBER: Little Mermaid car
The girls also love to ride their cars, and have been doing so first thing every morning for months now. Zoriyana is kind enough to push them both around and around on the condo, which they absolutely love, while mommy and baba make them push themselves along, which they still kind of enjoy. The real highlight of this toy, however, are all the different little voices and sounds it makes when you push an assortment of buttons shaped like starfish and seahorses, etc. -- especially when they're pushed on two different Little Mermaid cars simultaneously. Truly a cacophony of parental joy.

DECEMBER: Doggy Toys

Doggy (aka "Dow-doo") was Zoe's first word. Eleni now says it too, exactly like Zoe. And doggies of all kinds bring great joy, which is good because the girls have a whole litter of doggy toys, not to mention doggy books. Zoe doesn't hug mommy or baba, but boy does she hug her doggies.

BONUS: Little Giraffe Blankie

finally, I would be remiss if I didn't reserve a special place in the EZ list for Blankie. Zoe brings Blankie with her all over the house, and has filed an official complaint regarding our Blankie-doesn't-leave-the-house rule. She hugs Blankie, kisses Blankie, and takes Blankie snuggle breaks in the midst of playing in which she stops whatever she's doing to go find Blankie and snuggle up for some quality time.