who woulda thunk?

When Gage was about one we encountered this toy at a friends house and he was immediately hooked. I didn't wait more than a few days before running to Toys R Us to get one for our house. It's called the Busy Ball Popper and it's one of those random Playschool, probably made in China, toys that blend in with all the other noisy colorful plastic toys in Toys R Us. But I have to say, this one is different. My children cannot get enough of it!

This is actually not the same model that I purchased for Gage four years ago. See, our dog loved the game as much as he did and all the balls had small teeth marks in them thus inhibiting their ability to fly out of the top so easily. I purchased a replacement when Zuzu was born. It's been hidden in the back of her closet, sans batteries, until she discovered it yesterday and promptly provided me with 4D batteries that she acquired from the kitchen drawer (don't ask me how she knew to do this but I'm not going to dwell on how freaky that was).

Needless to say, this one gets my stamp of approval. Two kids, lots of friends & a dog have all rated it and agree. Playschool recommends it for ages 9-24 months. I certainly wouldn't gift it to a child over 18 months but it will last far beyond 24. Heck, Gage still plays with it at 5.