We’ve lost count on how many times we’ve read “Goodnight Moon” to our tots and were so thrilled to find this little gem on a recent outing to our local library. Caldecott Medal-winning “The Little Island” by Margaret Wise Brown with beautiful illustrations by Leonard Weisgard, tells about the seasons and animals that touch a small island and it just couldn’t get any sweeter. Simple text is perfect for newbie listeners and is great for identifying seasons and specific animals. A new family favorite that makes us long for the San Juan Islands. $4.95 and up, here.

Did you know there are more insects in one square country mile than there are people on the whole planet, or that flies can taste sugar with their feet? Who knew? These are just a couple of cool facts we recently learned from these new bug flashcards by Flash Of Brilliance. Easy to understand facts about insects and arachnids, we just can’t tell who likes these more mama and papa or the kiddos. 26 thick durable flashcards printed with vegetable-based inks with full-color photographs. Fun. Thick and durable, full-color photographs with loads of information. Love ‘em. $15.00, here.

Fairies and gnomes unite. Pretend play has recently reached new heights at our house and we couldn’t be more excited to watch the kiddos embrace the world of play. The Mushroom Playhouse is awesome. While, the kiddos enjoy the interactive doors and windows, along with interchangable velcro flowers and polka dots, mama digs the gender neutral colors and durable 100% spun-bonded fabric. Plus, it’s tall so tots can easily stand up and jump around. Big enough to fit 4 or 5 preschoolers comfortably. This is not a tent you can easily set up and break down on a daily basis. FYI: spousal fight warning while setting up. Recommended for Ages 3+, but our younger ones enjoy it, too. Measures 61″ x 60″. $99.98, here.

Watch out worms, here we come. Auntie gets an A+ for this cute birthday present, and  just in time for spring. Hooray. This wooden, screened in critter house allows children to observe all things creepy ‘n’ crawly up close, and our tots love it. Nifty design on one end and sliding door on the other. Equipped with a handy carry strap for lengthy expeditions and cabin measures 8″ x 6″ x 6.5″. Perfect for the 3+ set and for little ones with sibling supervision. If you can’t find it locally, $14.99, here.

Where do we begin? It’s been a whirlwind of a new year and if these last couple of months are any indication of what’s to come in 2011, we’re ready. We’re so excited to announce our new positions at NW Kids magazine. We, the mamas of cleeo & bea, Beth Friesenhahn and Kelley Schaefer-Levi, (weird, I’ve never written our names in a c & b blog post before), are taking over the editorial activities at NW Kids. This comes after writing their Found Around Town feature for the last year and cultivating a relationship with the great Jessica Davis, pevious editor and publisher. Jessica is taking over at Red Tricycle Portland where she will do a stellar job, we’re sure. We have so many editorial ideas for the magazine, but our main goals are to keep NW Kids the great resource it is for Portland families, feature all the fun things we love to do with our kiddos, and reach new readers. The March issue is out now with info on summer language camps and kids & pets. We’re looking forward to coming issues and can’t wait to share what’s going on in Portland. We’ll follow-up with more information about us and a photo, just in case you’ve ever wondered what we look like. Yes, we’ve been a little shy up to this point. And we’ll get back to a few product reviews shortly, too. We’ve had birthday parties galore, so we’ll get cracking soon.

We really can’t think of a finer way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by dressing our most wee in a onesie dawning the queen of country’s mug. Dolly Parton is a family favorite for this cleeo & bea mama. We must have watched 9 to 5 over a thousand times when we were young. A true icon with amazing hair and a sweet voice, Dolly has tenacity and perseverance; two qualities we want to pass on to our little gals. And despite being made fun of, she just never seemed to give a hoot what others thought of her. Plus, country music seems to go hand in hand with Valentine’s Day. Screen printed by Reckon for your little dolly. Available in sizes 3-6m, 6-12m, 12-18m. $28.00, here.

Considering our fondness for paper craft, glue and all things letterpress, we’re always in search of the perfect card. We buy cards well in advance when we find good ones and hold onto them until needed. That being said, when it comes to holidays like Valentine’s Day and kiddo card exchanging, it’s a little bit tough to shell out the dough for a fancy card that won’t be repurposed. This year we’ve been looking for a personalized printable option, and found it. Hooray. We like this one. Available in different colors with kiddo’s name, lukecommasara will personalize and send you a proof within 24 hours. And when you’re ready you can print and go. Make your cards eco-friends by printing on post-consumer recycled stock. Love it. $15.00, here.

Yet another reason to pull out the Singer. We just can’t seem to get enough of Portland stay at home super dad, Joel Henriques. His creativity is so inspiring and his blog never seems to lack great ideas. Here’s a sweet garland he created for his wife as decoration for Valentine’s Day. We thought we’d share with a link, so you can try to make one with your tots. May be a bit tough for small hands, but if you have kid-friendly scissors and hand sewing tools, this could be a great project for the family. And the garland is a tangible decoration that can be used year after year. Good luck and have fun.

If we had to choose a dream gift on Valentine’s Day, it might look a little something like this. A sweet engraved necklace by Surfing Silver with a custom design created by our little budding artists. It’s a keepsake like none other and one to make our hearts melt. And also a great gift because it will preserve art that may otherwise get lost or buried in our basement. You can have your kiddo’s artwork  made into a fine silver pendant (with a sentiment on the flipside) or a key medallion for any loved family member or friend. So cool and not something you see every day. Handmade from sterling silver. Sizes vary, but most pendants look roughly the size of a quarter. Pictured pendant is approximately 1″ in diameter. $75.00. Questions? email them, here.

Happy New Year friends. We’re looking forward to a happy and healthy 2011 and hope you are all, too. We have lots to come this year, but thought we’d start off with a quick book review on two things we love; paper and crafting. And though we’ve been hitting up the sewing machine for inspiration lately, (we’ve moved up to patterns and aren’t looking back), our favorite projects still usually involve paper and glue. We were initially drawn to this book for its cover. Look at that sweet pooch with the paper bunting in the background, but on taking a second look, “Paper + Craft” is just the kind of book we like to have around the house on winter days when we need something to do with our kiddos. Note: many of these ideas are too advanced for small hands, but all things are possible with a little help. Authors Minhee and Truman Cho who own renowned stationary store Paper + Cup in Brooklyn include some great projects like the sweet pinwheels, vintage-inspired frames and moustache straws, a must craft. Each of the 25 projects is presented in a few easy, (thanks), illustrated steps and the only tools you really need are scissors, recyled paper and patience. Have fun.

Whew. The holidays are upon us. We’re almost ready  for the mayhem to begin, but have a bit more shopping to do this weekend. We wanted to post a few new picks from our lists this year and thought we’d recycle some great finds from months past to fill up your stockings. We’re going to make our best effort to add a couple more next week, but in the meantime, here goes. When we think of upcycling, we can’t say skateboard decks are the first resource to pop into our heads, but then again, why not? We love these tiny top spinners by Portland’s Board Games. They’re the perfect toy for kids of all ages and are repurposed from the coolest of materials. Constructed by stacking the layers of three old decks, each spinner is unique and (in their words) “spins like your grandma’s dreidel”. Can’t beat that. Pictured spinner measures 1 ¼” x 2″. One, two and three deck spinners. Dirt cheap and awesome. $5.00 each, here.

It seems there’s consistently been a drooling, tooth cutting tot among the cleeo & bea kiddos for the last few years, so we always have several teethers on hand. We found this sweet (And did we mention personalized?) ASL “I love you” teether by Little Sapling Toys and felt it was a must have for the teething tots we know. Each teether is sanded satin smooth, left unfinished and measures 3.75″ finger to wrist, 1.5″ diameter center hole for easy clutching. And every purchase made contributes to the planting of a tree for the future, so cool. $18.00, here.

Our tots want to move to Busy Town. So, as you can imagine we we’re a tad excited to find this game on recent outing. This is a perfect rainy day game for the 3-6 set. This game is not about competition but collarboration, which we love, and leads to many opportunities to engage in conversation, practice counting, memorizing, and helps builds focus. Richard Scarry is the absolute best! We loved his books as youngsters and now we get to relive the fun of finding Goldbug all over again with our tots in this giant 6′ long game board. Highly recommended. $19.99, here.

Our toddlers simply can’t get enough when it comes to puppies. Regardless of the drool, they love them, so when we happened on this giant puppy-palooza floor puzzle, we knew we’d score big points if our tots found one under the tree. These puzzles are part of the Green Start books series (a cleeo & bea fave series), which are printed on 98% post-consumer recycled materials and use eco-friendly inks. 35 sturdy, oversized pieces are easy for little hands to assemble, take apart and reassemble. Upon completion puzzle measures 2’ x 3’. Packaged in a reusable tote box. Perfect for tots 2 and up. $14.99, here.