We don’t buy many toys for Ruby. She plays with things she got for Christmas and her birthday. The things we’ve added in the meantime have mostly been free, like mardi gras beads from the Pride Parade and cardboard boxes.
However, at a recent meeting of our parents’ group, we saw something and I immediately wanted to buy it for Ruby. It’s a mini kitchen, made of wood, with nice attention to details (like a faucet that moves, oven knobs that click as you turn them, etc.) Not only that, but the set comes with a bunch of nice accessories: a whisk, two different spatulas, wooden spoon, cutting board, baking sheet, and sink that can be used as a bowl. All of these are NOT PLASTIC but made of the same materials that regular kitchen utensils are.
The brand is Play Wonder, which seems to be a Target-specific brand. After waiting a few days in vain for it to come in stock at my local Target, I bought one at the Redmond Target for a reasonable $60. (They’re also available online, but shipping is pretty expensive.) It took 30-45 minutes for me to assemble it.
Ruby really seems to like it. Now that most of our kitchen cabinets are babyproofed, it gives her something of her own to do in the kitchen while we’re cooking or cleaning. Below is a promotional picture, but it doesn’t do the toy justice. (For what it’s worth, it bugs me that the girl is shown baking cookies while the boy looks more like a head chef.)
