Gifts ideas for our almost birthday girl...

So my beautiful baby will soon be a beautiful toddler?  What?  Where has the past year gone?  I have been in full party planning mode for a few weeks; invitations have been sent out, RSVPs are rolling in, cake and trays have been ordered, and festivities have been planned - but it hasn't actually sunk in that my daughter will be a year old.  She blossomed since Christmas  - she can move and groove and has personality to boot.  I'm starting to see her lean towards certain toys and I update my personal Amazon list with ideas for future gift giving occasions.  With all the toy and book options out there, I think it makes perfect sense to pair down to items that will grow years with your child instead of months.  However we didn't go all out on her presents this year - I found her a beautiful doll along with some 12 month clothing because she needed them, and of course we are throwing her a fete!  Plus, it's a week after Easter and she's getting all the goodies from the Easter Bunny.  But I'm sure these items will make it into our house eventually.

Melissa and Doug Stir and Serve.  Because she loves banging our utensils around and we like to remind her that she has her own play kitchen.

Snow White - fresh out of the Disney vault for 2016.

Melissa and Doug Pots and Pans.  Mama has drank that wholesome M&D kool-aid, I just love their toy line and these pots and pans look just like ours.

LL Bean Original backpack, monogrammed of course.  As soon as our little crawler becomes a little walker she can bring one of these to use at school.  My favorite color packs are the Dahlia purple shown or the Brilliant Blue - how to decide?  I really think Ava leans toward the blue, it's a pretty aqua similar to her lunchbox.

Baby Stella clothing. Yes Manhattan Toy has several outfits available but I'm loving Twinflower Designs on Etsy, she makes a lot of doll clothes that fit Stella.  Btw, in our house "Stella" is actually called "Dolly".

Little People anything.  Ava loves little people and she likes to crawl around the house carrying at least one of them with her.  We have the doll house with the three piece family and it's been loved the past three months, I think she would love to have anything from the princess line.

A water table, these are a hit at daycare and our child loves playing in the bath so I think water play is a given favorite.  We definitely want her to have one of these for some outdoor activity.

Sand play?  Ava is going to the beach in a couple of months and I thought we would try it, most babies her age either love or hate sand with a passion.  This brand, Hape, is such a great toy company for safe eco friendly materials.

VTech walking toy.  We have the fisher price elephant and she loves it - like really loves it for standing and bouncing.  But her friend has this one and when we visit she enjoys playing with the activity table, I really like that it comes apart so it's like two toys in one.  I honestly didn't think she needed two walkers but this one has a lot of features.

Our girl is far too little to be picky and we want her to be grateful of any gift, especially with friends and family coming in just to have cake with her.  But I like having a few ideas when I get the inevitable - "what does she want?" question.  This time next year she will be able to answer that question for herself.