Haba toys: apparently they completely unnerve me....

Are you a Haba toy fan? If not, you must have not been introduced to them for to know them is to love them ( in my opinion). They are mostly wooden toys made in Germany. They do not have lead in them. There has never been a Haba toy recall. They do cost more but they will last for child after child and are safe for little mouths. They are not a toy you will find at Target or Babies R Us as they aren't interested in mass markets. You usually find them at small toy stores or natural toy catalogs or, in my case, salivate over them at online stores like oompa.com
So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into a toy store the other day to look for a shower gift and I was face to face with a HUGE Haba display with a large amount of the toys I have coveted for so long.

I hate to admit it, but it threw me for a loop. I'm just not used to being so tempted by baby items. Usually I am saying in my mind, "Too bright, too noisy, too busy, too commercial," when I am in the baby section of the big,big stores. I spend lots of time trying to find something I like for the babes, verses trying not to buy too much. Suddenly, that was not the case. At all. I slowly circled the display looking at each of the toys and then circled it once more. I picked up a few boxes imagining how the babes might like it, if they already had something too similar, if I should just throw the toy and run out the door before the situation got out of hand. Alas, I couldn't tear myself away. Suddenly, I started getting hot. "Is it warm in here?" I asked myself, but I was too distracted even to take off my sweater. The owner of the shop came over and made the situation even worse. He was an older man, wearing an apron and he had a twinkle in his eye. A twinkle I tell you! Furthermore, he had been to the Haba factory in Germany and proceeded to tell me many more wonderful things about the company. He finally walked away and I gathered my wits about me, wiped my sweaty brow, and made myself focus on a shower gift for my friend. Then I said, "One thing Jenny. You can get one thing for the babes." You can imagine how long that took me. A very long time. They already have several of the clutching Haba toys,etc. etc.

Can you believe that the item I chose wasn't even Haba? It was Kathe Kruse, who is equally wonderful, but still! That is how much the whole situation made me feel off kilter, silly as it sounds:) If the store would have had slings and cloth diapers I may have gone into shock or something!

We all have our materialistic hangups right? Right? Well, I came face to face with mine and though I didn't necessarily fail in terms of the amount of money I spent, getting literally hot and unnerved over wooden toys is a bit disturbing in itself and something I may need to spend a little time thinking about.

Ah well, onward we go. Here is a new picture of Sammy from this morning. Hands are so yesterday for him.....feet are the new rage! Amelia is catching on as well and I'm sure she'll be feet crazy in no time. Playing with your feet , blowing spit bubbles and one Kathy Kruse rainbow doll....they are what's new in the Hunt household this week! Jen