Amy's Favorite Things

Since I put together the list of Kaitlyn's favorite things, I started to think about what my own list would look like. Turns out that it's really pretty short. But in the spirit of the holiday and gift giving season, I thought I'd share just a few things that I love and make my life easier as a parent.


1. Canon S95 digital camera: I like to always carry a camera with me to capture those moments, but it can be a pain dragging the dSLR around. I love this camera because it has the ease of a point and shoot, but also lets you control aperture, speed, and exposure as you would with a dSLR. Compared to other point and shoots, it has a fast lens and takes great pictures in low light settings. This camera is super easy to use and takes amazing photos.

2. Eye-Fi Wireless memory card: This is probably my number one favorite thing right now. I hate always having to pull out the cable whenever I want to upload photos from my camera to computer. This memory card saves all the hassle by sending all the photos to my laptop wirelessly. It's just one less step I need to worry about. Without this it would probably be months before I shared photos on this blog!

3. Amazon Prime: Unlimited two-day shipping - what a convenience! As full-time working parents we just don't have time to go shopping during the week. And we do all of our research online anyway before making big purchases. We have ordered so much through Amazon - including Kaitlyn's highchair, stroller, car seat, toys and books - that the $79 annual fee has more than paid for itself. As an Amazon Mom subscriber, you can also get two months of Prime for free for every subscription order (up to one year), in addition to a great discount on diapers and wipes!

4. Tyler Florence Start Fresh cookbook: We're big fans of Tyler Florence and love both his restaurant and his TV show. With three kids of his own, he now also has a line of baby food and came out with a family cookbook earlier this year. Start Fresh has delicious, wholesome recipes that can be made for the entire family. Most of the recipes involve one-pan roasts that can then be blended or chopped to the desired consistency for babies or toddlers. I made many of his purees when Kaitlyn was starting solids and we also like the salmon with pea risotto and the one-pot lasagna.

5. Kodak Pulse Digital Photo Frame: This was actually our Christmas gift to both sets of grandparents last year. There are so many digital frames out there - I like this one because it is wireless. I can upload photos directly to the frames through the Kodak Pulse website and they will automatically appear on the frames, wherever they are located. We take so many pictures of Kaitlyn and this is a great way to share all of her pictures with our families remotely.

It's a short list but these few things have made a big difference!