Disclosure: The adventure that follows is entirely my own story and contains 100% my own opinions. I was not compensated for attending this event. I was under no obligation to write about my experience.
Sunday was quite the monumental day around here. Lily had a horse show and for the first time in her equestrian career, I had to miss it. As sad as I was to walk out the door and head in one direction while Bob and Lily drove off in another, I knew that it would be worth it.
I was heading off on my own adventure – a total girls’ day out – in New York City. Our car ride was literally nonstop laughter as Steph, Steph, Lauryn and I edged ever closer to The Big Apple. After hitting zero traffic en route to Manhattan, popping in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel with no delay and scoring FREE Sunday street parking just a block from our event, we knew it would be a good day.
Our destination was the Big Toy Book Baby Palooza event for moms-to-be and moms with young kiddos. Sponsored by The Big Toy Book, Charlene Chronicles and Real Mom Media, we would have the opportunity to learn about the latest and greatest toys and gear from Delta, Cloud_b, VTech, The First Years, Madame Alexander and Mega Bloks. Our afternoon was spent at Delta Children headquarters – just blocks away from the hustle and bustle of Times Square and Broadway.
Now, when #2 is born, Lily will have just turned 5 years old. That means it’s been about 5 years since we have shopped for baby gear. Let me just say – I could not BELIEVE the changes! iPads were just starting to hit store shelves when Lily was born and iPhones were NOT owned buy the majority – times have certainly changed. I loved learning about the newest toys that are hitting store shelves for this next generation.
Besides their line up of baby gear (strollers, play yards, high chairs and more), I absolutely LOVED Delta Children’s line of Disney furniture. Lily almost exclusively watches Disney Jr and I quickly became a superhero mom when I sent Bob a text message with the picture below of a Sofia the First chair. Apparently Lily went ballistic when she saw that picture and talked of little else for the rest of the day!
Here’s some of that baby gear – I cannot get over the Mickey and Minnie strollers – SO. CUTE.
VTech Toys have been a staple in our house since Lily was an infant. She has enjoyed (and continues to enjoy) more of their toys than I can count. Her current fave is her InnoTab (the original) which she received when she was 3 and continues to use almost every day. We were able to take a look at the brand new Go Go Smart Wheels, InnoTab 2 (with WiFi!) and the InnoTab 2 for Babies.
I know MANY of your kids have a Cloud b product – whether it’s the star nightlight turtle or one of the stuffed animals that makes a soothing sound to help infants back to sleep. The turtle was always on my list of things that I wanted to get for Lily but somehow we never got one. Not only has Cloud b added smaller travel sized products to their repertoire, but the original turtle now comes with some serious technology. The newest turtle is now equipped with bluetooth. Not only can you upload your own playlist to the turtle, but you can access it remotely. Turn the turtle on or off without EVER ENTERING your child’s room! Genius!
Madame Alexander was on hand to show us their doll collection. I was surprised to see that their line of dolls extends past the traditional baby doll. They now have several branded plush doll lines – including Wizard of Oz, Pinkalicious, Angelina Ballerina and Fancy Nancy to name a few!
Mega Bloks were our very first experience with building blocks – many years ago! I was surprised and excited to see their new products – including several PINK and PRINCESS-y themes and a fantastic little activity table that comes complete with built-in storage.
Another “Whoa, technology” moment came at The First Years table. We have used and enjoyed a bunch of their products over the years. We got a look at their brand new car seat – for both infants and toddlers.
I loved the easy-adjust lever on the back… NO MORE fiddling with car seat straps when my ever-growing kid is ready for the next belt height.
But even cooler than that was the fact that this car seat is equipped with WiFi and a whole bunch of sensors. Through a smartphone app this car seat will monitor when your child has escaped from his seat, the current temperature in the back seat and more. Probably the most amazing feature was that the seat/app can detect when your car has stopped moving and your child has been left in his seat (for example, accidentally left in car seat). It will text you an alert that your child is still in the seat and if you don’t respond to that message and get your kid out of harm’s way, it will start to send messages to emergency contacts who you enter in the app after downloading. I would love to see this car seat and its features in action in a moving car!
We enjoyed lunch and even got to take a look at the Delta Children nursery showroom. I still can’t believe that in the next few months we will be crib shopping again – it doesn’t seem real yet!
What a fun day!
Our whirlwind trip to the big city was capped with a stop to the famous Crumbs bakery. An over-the-top eye-catching rainbow cake pop for Lily and two succulent gourmet cupcakes for the Mr. and I.
And as for the little pony wrangler, it turns out her first mom-less-horse-show went just swell. She rode well, had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed her day with dad.
