I'm thinking of sending the Big Man in the Red Suit this letter:

Yo, Santa:

I would like several boxes of batteries for Christmas for all those comatose toys we have lying around. See, the husband loves to buy toys for the toddler that use batteries to dance, sing, light up or do general foolishness. It's probably a guy thing. I try to avoid them as much as possible because there's nothing sadder than a dying electronic toy thaaat caaaaannnnn'ttttt gooooooo or taaaalllkk anymooooooore.

I need all sizes, especially AA and AAA because our remotes now have no batteries, either. A few D's and C's too. **snap, snapping fingers** Steer your brain back, viejo -- I'm talking about BATTERIES, not BRAS here. I need enough to last us the year.

Wonder which kinds of toys kids prefer, anyway? The toddler seems to love her singing munecos, but she gives much love to the ones who don't talk, too. Any insight would be helpful.

XoXo,

Mama C

My Mexican eyes deceived me today. When I first saw this inflatable, bouncy horse (and I am just realizing its a horse as I Google it), I totally thought it was a cute little burro. It does look like a burrito, right, with its short legs and big ears? Hello! I'm not the only one that sees burro pinata, right? See the resemblance:

This little inflatable burro belonged to the son of one of my co-workers. I have no idea what the toddler K thought it was, but she hopped right on it and started happily bouncing away.

The reviews for the Rody horse/pony all seem to be pretty good. I like that it's inflatable, which means when you're done with it you can deflate and store easily. Here's the description:

The Gymnic Line Rody Horse is a favorite with children! Made in Italy from super strong yet soft latex-free vinyl for long lasting use and durability, this horse is a great exercise product for indoors and smooth, safe outdoor surfaces. Promotes body coordination, balance and lymph circulation while providing a fun workout. Recommended for ages 3 through 5 years.

You can also put it on a rocking base to make it a rocking burro. I like the red burro. They run about $40. Pretty adorable.

The little one was a slobbery five months old when her madrina gave her Sophie la Girafe as a gift. Unlike the other  plastic teethers that hang off the cold metal hooks at Target or Wal-mart, Sophie is very sophisticated. She comes in a box, and she was born in France in 1961. Ooh, la la!! But now she's a big international sensation among the under 12 month crowd.

There's something about Sophie that just makes her so comforting to grouchy little teething babies.  Maybe its her velvety soft texture, or the pleasant (versus annoying) toot she gives when squeezed. Or her sweet looks.

She does have a bit of a status teether reputation, though, having been in the hands of celebrity's little babes. But really, she does live up to the hype and is totally worth the $20 - $25 price tag. The toddler K hated all the other teethers we got and would throw them on the floor.

On the box, she's billed as baby's first sensory development toy that stimulates all of baby's five senses. Her contrasting spots will make her a recognizable and reassuring object. She's got lots of limbs for baby to grip well, and for baby to chew on with a vengeance. She smells nice like natural rubber. And she squeaks -- which actually the dog likes more than baby.

You can find Sophie in the posh baby boutiques and Nordstrom, or you can keep-it-real and be like me and just her on Amazon or Babies R' Us. I just bought a new Sophie this weekend to give to my newborn nephew, and I'm putting it in the mail tomorrow. So that's my suggestion--if you need to give a gift for a baby shower, go with Sophie. Babies love her, and she's nice on the eyes.

Nowadays, at 15 months, the toddler K prefers a French fry in her mouth in lieu of a French giraffe. Those teeth are working out nicely.

So it's finally happening -- the moment when baby K transitions from gibberish every now and again to having what seem like full-on gibberish conversations with inflection, with a few real words interspersed between. She points to her cup and says agua when she's thirsty. And says apple for apple, banana, nectarine or any fruit, really.

I've been listening closely to the gibberish and inflections, and wondering what its going to be when it finally synthesizes in her head. Spanish, or English? Most likely it's going to be Spanglish. As much as I want her to speak just Spanish right now, I know that's not going to happen. She spends all day with her grandma -- who speaks both languages to her -- and she Skypes a lot with her other grandparents in Miami -- puro espanol -- but when we get home from work I'd say we do about 75 percent English and 25 percent Spanish. This is not the way I want it to be, but when you've been working all day and communicating in English it's hard to just unplug and switch to Spanish. Nah, nah, nah I know that's just an excuse and here's another -- it's especially hard when you live in a city where there's not much of a Spanish-speaking population, so it's not like you're just gonna stop at the grocery store and bam, all Spanish. At least I'm not the only one in this situation.

But from here on out, I'm gonna make a conscious effort -- mas espanol!

One of my favorite websites to read up on raising baby bilingual is SpanglishBaby.com. Anyone have any good recommendations?