Book Review – BurritoBuzz

Tray Haven {Review}

Published on December 9, 2016December 8, 2016 by Casey Sehm1 Comment

Now that my youngest is almost 9 months old, she’s hell bent on feeding herself. If a spoon or fork goes anywhere near her face, she swipes at whatever’s on it so she can shovel it in her mouth with her own two hands. Because of her new found independence, we just cut food into small bits and put it on her high chair tray so she can go to town on her own. Most of the food ends up on the floor rather than in her mouth though. She thinks it’s funny to throw it all on the floor (I think she wants to give our dog a snack) along with her sippy cup of water. After going through this with my oldest, I decided to find something so don’t have to keep picking her cup and pieces of food up and constantly cleaning the floor. I stumbled upon Tray Haven and I’m so glad I did! I reached out and the company was kind enough to send me one to try out.

I received our Tray Haven just in time for Thanksgiving and it was a life saver! It’s made to work with most high chairs, booster seats, and wheelchairs with removable trays and seat backs. It’s designed to keep food and objects on the tray, and not on the floor. It’s made from durable mesh and strong straps so it can withstand a lot. It also collapses really easy and can be taken anywhere. We’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and I am so happy with how well it keeps everything where it should be! It’s super simple to attach it to a high chair (or even a stroller). Here’s a video that perfectly shows and explains how to use the Tray Haven:

Tray Haven has made mealtime with my baby so much easier, not to mention there is less to clean up! No more bending over to pick things up over and over and over (because it always turns into a game) and no more constant cleaning of the floor. I wish I would have had one when my oldest was a baby, she was always throwing her food and cups! I give Tray Haven a 5 out of 5 stars. It’s made of quality materials, it’s easy to use, and it works! At $34.99 and available in pink and blue, they make great gifts for birthdays, holidays, and baby showers. Parents and caregivers will be so grateful! Purchase yours here!

If you want to win Tray Haven of your own, you’re in luck! We’re giving away a blue Tray Haven to one lucky winner! All you have to do is follow these easy steps to enter:

Like both @burritobuzz and @trayhaven on Instagram.
Like the original giveaway post.
Tag friends you think are in need of a Tray Haven, too!
That’s it!

The giveaway will begin Friday December, 9th at 12pm and will end Monday December, 12th at 12pm. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on the original giveaway post within 24 hours of the giveaway ending. Goodluck! **This giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Instagram.**

Don’t forget to like Tray Haven on Facebook and Twitter, too, for product updates!

– Casey

**Burrito Buzz received this product at low or no cost for the purpose of review or testing. No compensation for a positive review was provided. All product reviews are based 100% off of our personal experiences with a product and we never guarantee a positive review.**

First Look and Find Books {Review}

Published on August 17, 2016August 17, 2016 by Casey Sehm1 Comment

As I’ve written before, my almost four year old loves books. I love that she got her love of reading and books from my mom (she would read 2-3 thick books a week!). My daughter also loves seek and find books! A few months ago, I was going through a box of my old belongings and found a few Where’s Waldo books and she loved them! So I did a little research to see if there were any seek and find books geared towards little ones. I was so happy when I found First Look and Find books from p i kids (Phoenix International Publications).

I purchased two First Look and Find books to see if my daughter liked them. We got Mickey Mouse and Princess Sofia to start off with. She devoured those books! They were all she wanted to look at for a few days until she could find each item with her eyes closed. So I
reached out to p i kids to collaborate on a review together and they kindly sent her a few more titles to check out! The board books come in two different sizes, a small 5″ x 6″ perfect for little hands and a large 10″ x 12.125″ that’s big enough to share. Each page has pictures of several items to look for and the back of each book has bonus challenges, too! The books are perfect to keep kids busy in the car, at the store, at the doctor’s office, anywhere!

There are so many titles available including Disney, Nickelodeon, Thomas The Train, Hello Kitty, Sesame Street, The Peanuts and many more. It’s almost guaranteed that your little one’s favorite characters have a Look and Find book! There are books for Christmas and holidays, too! Kids can search, point and match items, which I love because my daughter is learning as she’s looking! She’s making comparisons and following simple directions. At bedtime, she picks a book, gets her flashlight and “reads” to herself before falling asleep.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

There are other Look and Find products, too, not just books! p i kids sent us two big puzzles that, once put together, have items to find! My daughter loved putting them together then searching for Mickey and friends! There are activity pads, Write-and-Erase books, Fun Boxes (filled with books, stickers, activity cards, poster and magnifying glass), puzzles, book sets and more! There are so many fun products for little ones! p i kids also publishes a ton of other fun books, be sure to check out their website to see all of their books!

We love Look and Find books and can’t wait to continue to add to our collection! They make great gifts for birthday, holidays, or just because, as any child will love to look through these books! They can be purchased pretty much anywhere books are sold; book stores, Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Toys R US to name a few and prices start at $2.99. I give p i kids Look and Find books a 5 out of 5. My daughter loves when we snuggle in her bed looking for items together and I can’t wait my youngest is able to join in on the search!

– Casey

For Your Little Bookworm: BabyLit Books

Published on July 31, 2016August 9, 2016 by Casey SehmLeave a comment

My mother absolutely loved reading books. She went to the library several times a week and everyone knew her name, she knew all of the employees’ names as well. She would read super thick, long books cover to cover in just a few days. I don’t think I have met another person who enjoyed reading as much she did. My mom passed away from cancer less than two months before I found out I was expecting my first child. I honestly believe my daughter Stella (her middle name is Catherine, after my mom Cathy) was sent here by my mother to help heal my broken heart. I also feel that she gave my daughter her love of reading and books. Stella loves looking at books and being read to. She follows along, usually trying to recite the words of books we’ve read together a bazillion times. I am always looking for new and interesting books for us to read, and now that I have another little one, I’m looking for books that they can both enjoy. I have heard such wonderful things about BabyLit books, so I reached out and they kindly sent us several of their adorable books.

BabyLit books are a fashionable way to introduce little ones to classic literature with timeless writers like Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe just to name a few. The illustrations are phenomenal, they’re so bright, colorful and engaging for both my toddler and baby. The artwork really keeps them both interested and entertained. Each book is a primer, an introduction to a subject of study or is used for teaching children to read. The different primers include colors, shapes, emotions, counting, animals, flowers, opposites, weather, fashion, anatomy, ocean, camping sounds, and even French and Spanish languages.

There are so many fun titles that it was actually pretty hard to narrow down which ones to receive. I ended up choosing Jabberwocky (Little Master Carroll), Wuthering Heights (Little Miss Bronte), Emma (Little Miss Austen), The Secret Garden (Little Miss Burnett) and Edgar and the Tattle-Tale Heart (inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”). The quality of each book is fantastic. BabyLit books are 7” x “7 board books (our Poe book was available in a hardcover, but it’s also available in a board book) and each are around 22 pages long. At $9.99 each, they are right in line with the price of children’s books. Jennifer Adams, the author of BabyLit books, does a fabulous job bringing classic stories to a young child’s level. While I have personally never read The Secret Garden, Emma or Wuthering Heights (the reading gene must have skipped me), I really enjoy reading them to my girls.

There are 3 titles in the BabyLit First Steps collection, Edgar and The Tattle-Tale Heart, Edgar gets Ready for Bed and Edgar and the Treehouse Usher which are all inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and are picture books. All Aboard books, written by Haily and Kevin Meyers, celebrates the unique qualities of cities and states such as London, Paris, Washington DC, California, and New York, a must for the travelling baby or toddler. BabyLit also has an awesome coloring book called DoodleLit: Drawing on the Classics with pages from classic such as Pride & Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Romeo & Juliet and many more. It is next (along with a bunch of other BabyLit books) on my list for my girls!

I highly recommend BabyLit books for the little bookworm in your life. With all of their amazing titles and primers to choose from, there is something for everyone and I promise you, it won’t easy to decide which books to get and you won’t be able to have just one on your child’s bookshelf. I already want the complete collection and a list of which ones we’re getting next! They’re definitely my new go-to gifts for birthdays and holidays for my little loved ones! Be sure to check out their website to see the entire BabyLit product line, as books are just the tip of the iceberg for this innovative company! They have dolls, totes, buttons, notebooks, puzzles and games which all relate to the books!

Don’t forget to follow BabyLit on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for new releases and sales!

– Casey

**Burrito Buzz received this product at low or no cost for the purpose of product review. No compensation for a positive review was provided. All product reviews are based 100% off of our personal experiences and we never guarantee a positive review.**

Becoming Mother: Book Review

Published on December 11, 2015December 11, 2015 by Closed Account2 Comments

As I sit here with my 10 month old son, who is currently whining non-stop due to a sinus infection, I think back to my days before being a mother. Did they exist? I barely remember them now. Though, that wasn’t always the case. While pregnant I just went through the motions. Once my tiny human arrived into the world I was in a total state of shock by how suddenly and immensely my life had changed. I thought about my days before being a mother frequently, and sometimes lustfully. Longing for days of quiet, missing the boredom that I used to complain of.

The parenting books that I had skimmed merely told me the motions that I was already going through. What to plan for in pregnancy and labor and delivery, how to care for my new baby, various milestones and expectations. Some of these books I could barely relate to, and quite frankly seemed like they were written by men who have obviously never been pregnant or dealt with labor and delivery or post-partum hormones.

I was thrilled when Sharon sent me her book, Becoming Mother. The title alone gave me comfort– and reassured me that being a mother is actually a process for most. I identified closely with Sharon’s journey into motherhood, including the discomforts of pregnancy and trying to stay active, to the disappointments of care in labor and delivery, and, as she puts it “Just the plain, messy truth of what it’s like for one to become two.”

Becoming Mother isn’t candy-coated. It’s the simple truth of her story of bringing her child into the world. In its rawest form, motherhood is full of decisions that can be questioned by both yourself and others. Sharon talks about various choices that she made, including natural childbirth and the empowerment that comes from it, to the necessity of formula-feeding and the judgement that she initially put upon herself (I myself formula fed, and identified so well with feeling like you have to justify your decision to others. The truth is, you don’t, and it’s not anyone else’s business.) What’s best for one mother, or baby, may not be best for another.

I admire her reflections in this book because she portrays her experience with all of the blemishes, mishaps, and frustrations that come with becoming a mother. We live in a generation where a perfect life can be contrived on Facebook through simple statuses and photos; we can eliminate the bad and only portray the good. When, in fact, motherhood is full of ups and downs. While I personally was SO in love with my new tiny human, I was exhausted, frustrated at my labor experience, and definitely suffering from some post baby blues and hormone imbalances. I was in a foreign land, from a life previously filled with only my own needs. It was hard to adjust at first, but here, nearly a year later with my son, we have found our new normal. He brings so much love an joy into our lives. It’s important for new moms to know that it gets easier.

Thank you to Sharon for an accurate portrayal of what it’s really like to become a mother. Your candid writing gave me comfort in knowing that there are others with stories just like mine. I highly recommend this read to any new mother or soon to be mother.

-Katie