I have to admit that I had a special sparkle in my eye when I was handed my newborn, burrito wrapped son in the operating room. That special sparkle was from one of the stray thoughts that came into my head in this surreal, foggy, teary state of things: “Kid, you are going to have the BEST toys!”

I have kept to that mental promise. Searching out the coolest items for Zubs to have. Unfortunately, I was not told that his interest in toys would be nearly zero through the first 20 months. Since Zubin began crawling, he achieved the most enjoyment playing with the following items in chronological order:

• 1. Dust bunnies: Hmm…how does this taste?
• 2. Carpet fuzz: See above. Our phenomenal nanny has squashed this problem.
• 3. Extension cords or other type of wiring. This was a troubling phase.
• 4. Telephones: Until recently Zubin would not speak into the phone, just listen and smile. Afraid to have his soul sucked into the device that had swallowed his grandparents.
• 5. Freshdirect boxes: This continues to be a fan favorite every 14 days or so.
• 6. Shoes: He will try on everyones shoes and walk around in them. Until he falls flat on his face.

With great delight, I report to you that this trend of playing with rubbish has begun to fade. Zubin’s latest addition to the toy chest is this fantastic Explore n’ Go remote control car. (Full disclosure: that was a referral link.) With two simple buttons for control on a remote that has an oversized rubberized antennna, he got the hang of it right away. The added bonus of four animal passengers with a shape sorting puzzle to get them seated in the car works for him too (the engine rumbles to life when all four are successfully placed in the car). The car itself seems quite durable and the headlights work to boot.I am now in the process of culling down the potential Christmas toy list. I think Zubin really wants a robot. Open to suggestions.