As we’ve said before, we like to see little minds at work. And one sure-fire way to witness our tots figuring things out is to present them with a puzzle. Atelier Fischer puzzles are excellent for beginners because the pieces are quite large and easy to hold on to. We also really like that they look a bit vintage. This is a durable and developmental toy with an heirloomy quality. It’s one we’ll be keeping in the family for a long time. Made in Switzerland. Wood harvested from regional wood. Non-toxic, water-based paints. 9-pieces. 5” x 5”. $19.49, here. 

We’ve been on a mission to find BpA, pvc and phthalate-free bath toys and we found them. Aw, yeah. These three interchangeable bath buddies by BOON are super and the kids love them. The design is totally cute, orbish and rocket-like, and they’re the perfect size for little hands to hold on to. And now you can stop cringing when your teething tots put these in their mouths. They can even go in the dishwasher. Tots can practice scrubbing the bathtub, too, which will prepare them for tasks later in life. Wink. Great Value. $9.99 at Kangarooboo.

We are crazy about Matte Stephens’ illustrations. They appeal to us because they’re reminiscent of all the things we love from the 1950s and 60s, and his characters are well-dressed. Very important. We had a difficult time deciding which print to buy for our kiddos’ room. They are all soooo loverly. Ultimately, Uncle Rutherford beat out the competition because he’s one dapper cat, holds an umbrella (we live in the Northwest) and the colors will work. Plus, his name is Uncle Rutherford. This is a print of an original gouache painting. Measures 8.5″ x 11″ with a white border. Printed on Hahnemuhle photo rag 308gsm matte paper. $35, here.

Okay, so we really liked play-doh when we were kids. We were particularly fond of sculpting beautiful bowls and filling them with play-doh peas. We also remember making necklaces for the cat and grinding blue play-doh into grandma’s beige carpet, sorry Grandma. Now that we have our own young sculptors, we’ve been looking for something a little less messy and permanent. When we found Eco-dough, we were very, very excited. It’s made with fruit and veggie extracts, infused with rosemary oil (it smells good) and is completely chemical and dye-free. Eco-kids packaging is completely compostable, too. Hooray. Can last up to 6 months in the fridge and if left out over night Eco-Dough can be rehydrated with olive oil. We don’t have carpet, so not sure what the outcome of clean-up might be, but would love to know. Not cheap, but totally worth it. $20 for 6 containers, here.

As you may have noticed, we’re total suckers for vintage children’s books and artwork. And if you are too, look no further than Donkey-donkey by Caldecott Medalist and illustrator Roger Duvoisin. First published in 1933, this is the lovable tale of Donkey-donkey who doesn’t quite like his ears and feels a little strange and out of place. With the help of the other farm animals he tries to give himself a makeover, but no-one can decide how Donkey-donkey’s ears should look. By the end of the book, Donkey-donkey comes to like himself just the way he is, ears included, which is pretty darn cute if you ask us. We need more ways to help illustrate the point to our kids that we are all beautiful, just the way we are. A universal theme that’s been around forever. 56 pages. Hardcover. $1.99 used or $9.99 new, here.

Lara bars, love ‘em and so do our kiddos. We feel really good about this snack for our family because these bars are organic, unprocessed, dairy, soy and gluten free with no added sugar. They’re packed with nutty protein, Vitamin E, Omega 3, 6 and loads of other essential vitamins and minerals, plus each bar contains an entire serving of fruit. Sweet. Best part is they aren’t messy. We barely even have to clean up after this snack. All of the flavors are great, but we do hope the Peanut Butter Cookie bar comes back soon. We haven’t been able to find it since the peanut recall and it’s our favorite flavor. Little note: watch out for big pieces of nut if your wee one has only a few chompers. Super deal, one of the best values we’ve seen in a bar. 1.6 oz. $2 or $27 for a 16pack at larabar.

Flashcards are the ultimate in developmental activities and, yes, we like developmental activities–lots. Look, baby flip-a-face flashcards assist us in playing learning games with our babes. Animals and one baby in both black and white and color are so cute. Sami also includes suggestions on the inside of the box for fun interaction activities with the kiddo,“where are the dog’s ears, do you have ears?”. The wee ones can flip the card to see a face. It’s pretty amazing to see little eyes comparing differences at such a young age. Excellent value. 20 cards, 5 ¼ x 7 ¼. $9.95, here.

We aren’t very dexterous; knitting needles make us sweat, but we do love to get a little bit crafty with our kids. This stitch kit from egg press is right up our alley. Stuff it (with organic matter of some kind) and stitch the two sides together, or use a backing of your choice, if you’d like. No sewing machine required, but if there’s one available this project will be complete in a snap. Really best for adult hands, but an older kid could do it, too. And with names like Magnus and Perry, why not? Nametags provided. Hand-screen printed on canvas. Easy instructions. Finished product : 7” x 11”, $26 from egg press.

We talk about fruit and vegetables a lot. In fact, we can be found hanging out in the produce section daily, so when we received this fruit and veggie set as a gift, we were very excited. As with all Plan toys this set is made from sustainably-harvested rubber wood from Thailand, held together with non-formaldehyde glue and is stained with organic vegetable dyes. We love that our little ones are able to slice through a carrot or pear with a big wooden knife and they love it, too. As promised this set is durable and stylish, so good looking in fact, it’s currently on display in our kids’ room. Teaches food appreciation and good nutrition. Great value. Set includes orange, mushroom, pear, lemon and a carrot, plus wooden knife. $14.50, here.

Rub-a-dub-dub, it was a good day when we found the original rubber duck by Rich Frog, particularly because everything has to be taste tested by the kids and we’re kind of picky about what goes in their mouths. This duck, we call it “duck”, is made from natural rubber tapped from sustainably-harvested rubber trees, is completely non-toxic and has good squeak, always fun. One drawback, however, that does affect the rating a bit. Duck molded after a few months, which means it should be dried off after bath time. May defeat the purpose for some. Comes in two sizes, small 3”x 3” and Large 6 ½” x 8”. $8.95, here.

We like to use the spackle and shovel method when feeding our tots. We work hard to get every bite into their mouths, because they just can’t seem to get enough of this cereal. And we’re glad because it’s an excellent source of nutrition. Happybellies is USDA certified organic, packed full of vitamins, minerals, DHA, and is the only baby cereal we’ve found containing probiotics. Probiotics aid digestion and assist in building and maintaining good gut buddies (bacteria), which is highly beneficial for digestion, building intestinal immunity and over all tummy health. We love the brown rice cereal, but it’s also available in oatmeal and multi-grain. No soy, no dairy. $4.99, here.

We are big believers in homeopathy for kids. We’ve seen some pretty miraculous results when we’ve used it on our wee ones. Liddell Laboratories has been around for over a decade and they’ve perfected their remedies based on heavy-duty research. We bought Tee drops for the kiddos when they were teething and were incredibly impressed. As promised this remedy treated symptoms rapidly and alleviated swelling and pain. One little drop under the tongue calmed fussy baby down and made those gums feel better, which made us so relieved.  Not that this is heavily important, but the packaging caught our eye in the sea of remedies on the wellness shelf. $13.95 at Liddell Laboratories.

Ahem…it’s a bit of a task finding kids’ music that’s enjoyable for the whole family. Especially lullaby music because, frankly, some of it is just dull. This may be the point, but, sometimes we just want a little bit more. So, we’ve reached into our own collection to write a gushing review of a Dean & Britta album that has gone over very well with our little ones and has kept us pretty happy, too. In other words, we can stand to listen to it over and over and over. For anyone who loved Galaxy 500 and Luna, this is a treat to the ears. Originally released in 2002 and re-released in September 2008, each ethereal piece on L’Avventura is calming and sweet. Faves include “Your baby” and “Night Nurse”. Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips do it lovingly and do it well. $18.95, here.

Hooray, we are officially into our second week of posting, so we thought we’d write a short report of our first week’s stats. We are happy to report that last week went really well. We had just under 200 visitors to our blog and about 500 page views. Yippee. We also can now be found on these websites: Urban Mama’s, Kirtsy, Bust’s girl wide web and the Mom Blog Network. We are working on spreading the word, so hopefully you’ll be seeing us everywhere, soon.

We found a few glitches in the blog layout last week, so if you’re experiencing any issues when viewing cleeo & bea, our apologies and we’re working on it. We’ve also come up with some things we can add to make our posts even better, so we’ll be making some minor improvements in the coming weeks.

We have just under 10 e-mail subscribers, but we’d love more. If you sign-up in the right column, you’ll get e-mails sent to your inbox every Monday, or any time we post new material. If you’re busy and don’t have time to visit the blog, becoming a subscriber will be great for you. We only post once or twice a week, so your inbox won’t be overflowing with mail from cleeo & bea, but if we have something to tell you, like you’ve won a prize for being a truly exceptional person, this is how we’ll inform you.

We’re going to continue to post sneak peeks to our facebook page weekly to let everyone know what’s coming the following week, too, so keepa watchin’. And as always, feedback is welcomed, so don’t be shy.

vintage report card