My friend Jeanine once told me there’s lots of fun time to be had with a baby at an outdoor store like REI: you just set up a sweet pad in the display tent with several of the Thermarest mattresses, chirping bird toys, and bright colored water bottles and have a blast.
The first time I took Holden to REI as a baby he was many interested in chewing the labels off the Nalgene bottles. When I brought him back as a toddler, he hid among the large racks of clothing to the point that I couldn’t find him and had to ask for help from security. I left completely terrified me. So your results may vary.
Whitney had a much different experience when she brought a mellow toddler, Julian. She told me that it was all kinds of fun:
It is wonderful for tiny toddlers who just want to follow the path around the store endlessly.
They sell “Just Corn” and “Just Peas” which is my new method of feeding Julian vegetables. (More suggestions for feeding picky toddlers here.)
Putting a kid-sized backpack on your child without him noticing is an entertaining preview of the first day of Kindergarten.
And finally, if you are nearing the one year mark, we like the Nalgene sippy cup (BPA free, of course!). In this photo, toddler Julian is giving his opinion on framed packs to anybody who will listen.