Birthday ideas...

I've had some requests for birthday gift ideas for the kids, so I thought I'd put a few ideas on here for anyone interested. There are a few "big" ones on here that I obviously don't expect anyone to get for them (too expensive!), but these are things we would put gift certificates toward. So much will change this year, too--the boys will be in toddler beds before their next birthday, the boys will be walking soon, and Sophie is really into "pretend play" now--so they might seem too "big" for them right now, but they'll be using them within the next few months...

I'm totally uncomfortable posting this list, because I know it comes off as us expecting amazing gifts for their birthdays--I PROMISE THAT WE AREN'T! Money is so tight for everyone right now (we know first-hand!). Remember: we love to shop at garage and consignment sales, so if you find any of these things second-hand, even better!!!

• Play house like this one: http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1301
• Play kitchen like this one: http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1218
• Membership to Exploration Place (they have a great "hands-on" kid area for little crawler/walkers through school-age kids)
• Two plush child-sized chairs similar to this one (doesn't have to be Elmo)--Sophie has an Elmo one and they all love it! http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2749019
• Toddler pillows/pillowcases
• Play food for the kitchen (and the grocery cart Sophie pushes all over the house)
• Matching ballcaps for boys (denim, khaki, navy, etc.)--12-24 months or 24-36 months
• Shoes for boys (fall/winter=size 3 or 4; spring/summer=size 5 or 6)
• Shoes for Sophie (fall/winter=size 6 or 7; spring/summer=size 8 or 9)
• Cool mist humidifiers like these (one pink, one blue): http://www.target.com/Crane-Nursery-Ultrasonic-Humidifier-Pink/dp/B000E5RCAM/sr=1-10/qid=1220207583/ref=sr_1_10/601-6004225-6092101?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Acrane%20humidifier&page=1
• Clothes for boys: 2T or 3T (any season)--remember they still dress identically because their mom is neurotic...
• Plain denim jean jackets: 18 months for the boys, 2T for Sophie
• Swimsuit cover-up for Sophie: 3T. I've been looking for one on clearance at the end of this season, but haven't run across one yet!
• Any arts/crafts things: washable markers, washable paints, fingerpaints, paper/posterboard, chalk, crayons, kid-safe scissors, PlayDoh, etc.

We found some great toolbenches for the boys on craigslist, a police car rocker, and a rollercoaster at a garage sale, so don't worry about us trying to make them into girls with the playhouse and kitchen. :-) The basement is full of macho boy stuff. Ha!