Toys, toys, toys

At the end of our trip to Ohio last month (I swear, I'm working on the recap posts for that!), Tim's mom was playing with Elle and one of Elle's rattles, a flower with a big, smiley face on it. And Elle LOVED it. We've found that she always grins at the rattle (I presume because the rattle has such a cheesy smile) and will coo at it and chatter away. "Miss Flower" will often ask Elle about her day. This isn't the best video of their "special bond," but this is Elle talking with Miss Flower:

The must-have toy at my Wednesday mommy/baby group is this ball with holes and beads. About 70% of the playgroup has the ball in either blue, green, orange or pink. The toy is sold at Babies R Us, but I only have a Toys R Us near me, and it wasn't there. I had to ask around to find out the company and exact toy name, but I finally ordered the Oball Rattle online for Elle a few weeks ago.

At first, she had no interest in it. But one day, she started grasping at it. The next day, she was grabbing it and bringing it to her face, mashing her tongue between the holes (and trying to mash it in the beads, too, which frustrates her to no end). She loves it now, slobbering all over it and improving her grasp each time.