Today was the 50th anniversary of the Lego brick, one of the most ubiquitous and well-loved toys on the planet. The date and time (1:58pm, in case you were wondering) marks the exact moment that the patent was filed. I received a press release from Lego with oodles of useless yet fascinating tidbits I didn’t know about Lego – until ... Read More »

One thing that is fairly consistent about Magic Beans staffers is a flair for all things creative. We have a disproportionate number of southpaws on our team, and you know what they say about lefties – we think with the right side of our brain. Anyway, I digress. One of our clever Beansters came up with the idea to do ... Read More »

According to an update I received this morning: The Classic buggy will be available 2/15/08. The Dash and the Vibe will be available 3/15/08. My local sales rep apparently had a preview of the strollers, but I haven’t had a chance to hear about it yet. Regal Lager and Phil & Teds are keeping things very hush-hush. I know a ... Read More »

Any parent who has ever flown with a young child will understand why Louise Stoll, a grandmother of 9, was spurred into action after watching her pregnant daughter struggle through an airport with a toddler, a car seat and a diaper bag. She went to the drawing board and designed a five-point harness that could fit into a tiny bag, ... Read More »

The first trimester of pregnancy is a unique time, especially if, like me, you don’t tell anyone outside of your immediate family that you’re pregnant. You’re keeping a big secret, and it starts to feel like you’re harboring a very small fugitive. Even with all the weight loss between my last pregnancy and this one (I’m more than 40 lbs ... Read More »

Forgive me for what is hopefully the last major interruption in my blogging schedule for a long time. We just got back from a wonderful family vacation in Costa Rica, where we got to spend lots of time in the sunshine with our two girls. It was really a nice break, and much needed for all of us, after a ... Read More »

International Playthings is introducing a new line of infant/toddler toys called Yookidoo. From what I’ve been told, the toys are designed in Israel and produced in China, but a quick Google search turned up no references outside of International Playthings. So I’m not sure if this is just a very new company, or if it’s an offshoot of International Playthings ... Read More »

After a very rough patch, which included a bankruptcy filing, I was pleased to learn that Small World Toys is getting back on track and should actually have product available for 2008. Small World Toys is not exactly a household name, but if you’ve shopped in a local specialty toy store, you’ve probably seen their products – Ryan’s Room, Tolo, ... Read More »

You may recall that we found this clever new high chair at the ICFF show in the Spring. We were wowed by the simple genius of the concept, and the graceful execution. We are delighted that the chair is now in stock. Basically, the HiLo chair has two seats, one designed for babies (Hi) and one designed for children (Lo). ... Read More »

Orbit has sent me updated weight ratings for the Toddler Car Seat. They are as follows: Overall: 15 lbs – 50 lbs Rear Facing: 15 lbs – 35 lbs Forward Facing: 20 lbs – 50 lbs Read More »