Baby Carpet Overload!

Now that Raphael is discovering the world and taking more interest in interacting with some of his toys, I decided that he needs a baby carpet kid gym thing (no idea what they are called officially in English, chalk it up to living in a foreign country). I have something cool from Maria, but it is better when baby is sitting up. I also felt like Raffa needs something comfier than the kitten furred couch or the cold, hard tile for tummy time.

So I threw Raffa in his carrier and trekked an hour to a big French toy store. Man, did I feel overwhelmed! There are so many choices for baby toys and so many of them are high tech! It seems everything is meant to develop babies into super humans. Heaven forbid you choose the wrong toy- your child will be permanently behind all those in the same age range! I felt like I would totally be a bad mom if I chose the wrong activity carpet! Some had all kinds of high tech bells and whistles (literally), while others were just pretty and plushy. As an indecisive person to begin with (I have been known to call Thomas while at restaurants to ask him what I want to eat, I felt a bit lost. I had a hard time deciding whether to buy the really pretty but low tech carpet or the somewhat cute but highly advanced carpet that had music and motion and was meant to turn your child into a highly advanced creature. So after sitting on the floor of the toy store for a half hour staring at both carpets and trying to decide, I called Thomas. He told me to take the one that looked the most comfortable, so we ended up with the pretty one. I have to say that we made the right choice- Raffa absolutely loved chilling out on the carpet after we got home!

"Woooooo! Woooooo! I love my new toy mommy! Look at the pretty bunnies and the pretty colors!"

"I am exhausted mommy! The carpet is too much fun! The plushy texture is so soft and snuggly I think I will sleep right here!"

"Check it out! I match the bunny carpet with my pirate pjs!"

"I love touching the crinkly bunny ear! Mommy loves bunnies!"

Sometimes I just need to remind myself that all babies (and people in general) really need is a warm place to sleep, food, warm clothes, and lots and lots of love. Raffa won't be developmentally challenged if he does not have the latest technology advances and I am not a bad mommy if I don't try to turn him into superchild. He will discover the world at his own speed on his own time and we will get to enjoy every step of that journey. If he wants to be a rocket scientist, great! But I will love him just the same if he is a waiter. All I want is for him to be happy and healthy.

"Teddy, I have deep thoughts today. I think the Beatles got it right- all you need is love!"

As the Asian food store was on the way home, we also loaded up with groceries. Cheapest food in Paris and great quality veggies. I am sure I looked awesome dragging my barbie pink shopping cart, a massive baby carpet, and the Raffamonster back home (while listening to some old school Snoop Dogg).
Now to try to wrangle a cat and a two month old to the vet... Fluffmonster needs his shots before checking into the kitty hotel. Love and face eating kisses!