I had the privilege of contributing to Mihee Kim-Kort’s new blog series, The Meaning of Children. I wrote about Micah and Judah, and the way that their short lives have impacted our lives. Below is an excerpt, and please click through to read the entire post and check out Mihee’s series:

As the father of a current 3.5 year old, I certainly agree with that. They can make you feel love and joy and warm fuzzies in ways that are beautiful. They can also make you lose your cool and be filled with frustration, anger and lots of thoughts you wouldn’t want other people to know you were thinking.

Caleb has helped me learn to love and appreciate children’s picture books. He’s helped me be silly and danced with me in elevators. He’s reminded me that I need to stop working and doing stuff that really doesn’t matter and take time to play more often. He’s taught me that there are many things in my life for which I need to be grateful.

I can’t wait to see what Caleb continues to teach me.

But even though Micah and Judah only lived about an hour after they were born, they taught me things too. They taught me that I was, in fact, ready to be a father, even though I was quite nervous about the prospect of being a dad.

Read the entire post here.

But, I did want to share something that I’ve been really enjoying recently. Caleb talks about Micah and Judah a fair amount – which I love. Sarah went to pick him up at pre-school last week and the teacher asked, “You don’t have other children, do you? Because Caleb has been saying that he has older brothers.”

There was some clarification with the teacher – but yes. Caleb does have two older twin brothers. And the fact that he refers to them as his older brothers…is so meaningful to me.

One of the Bibles that we read has a short prayer after the end of each story. With the Joseph story, the prayer is, “Dear God, help me to love my brothers and sisters.” Every time I read that story with Caleb, I ask him if he has brothers or sisters, and we talk a little bit about Micah and Judah.

It’s a sweet time, and fun to be able to share them with Caleb.

A few nights ago, Caleb kept saying that he wanted to read the Micah and Judah story.

I couldn’t figure out which one he was talking about – I didn’t think there was a story about Micah or Judah that we’d read in any of the children’s Bibles that we have. But he picked up one of them, and started flipping through it…until he came to the Joseph story. It’d been awhile since we’d read it, so I was still a little confused how it was the Micah and Judah story. But then we got to the prayer.

“Dear God, help me to love my brothers and sisters.”

Ahh.

Of course.

And we talked a bit about Micah and Judah again. I told him that while they were his older brothers, he was now a lot bigger than they ever got to be. I told him that it was sad that they weren’t around, but that they loved him, and it was okay for him to love them.

Talking about Micah and Judah feels pretty normal nowadays. Whenever Caleb talks about them, he also makes sure to add, “They aren’t here anymore. They dead.”

They dead. That’s right. And yet, as cliché as it sounds, they are very much alive in our home and in our hearts now.

And with Caleb.

A few weeks ago, I saw someone on Facebook post about something called the KeySmart…and as soon as I saw it – I knew that I wanted one. Aside from just being a really sleek looking accessory, it’s also incredibly useful. I was starting to get annoyed at how bulky  my keys were becoming – which was always a bit of a nuisance, trying to fit into my pants pockets. Manufactured here in Chicago, I was also excited to support a local business. This is what the founders said about the reasons behind creating the KeySmart:

Constantly annoyed with thigh poke, key jingle, and damaged pants, Mike set out to design a solution to the bulky key ring. After months of prototyping, testing, and redesigning, KeySmart was born. The frame was crafted out of aluminum to be ultra lightweight, and the hardware was milled from stainless steel to survive anything life threw at it. After launching on Kickstarter in early 2013, KeySmart was one of the most popular products ever launched. Mike quit his job to take KeySmart on full time and has been making happy customers ever since.

One of the many cool things about the KeySmart is how customizable it is. You can have additional add-ons (and there are many to choose from – look here), you can choose from 8 different colors, or choose to go fancy and get the titanium edition (which is a bit above my price point). There is also the KeySmart 2.0 Extended, if you have any foreign or longer keys. And it’s expandable so if you have a lot of keys that you want to hold in your KeySmart 2.0, that’s no problem.

The first week or so I used it – I did find it a little difficult to figure out which key was where, and I thought it was actually taking me longer to stop and find the key, fold it out, use it and fold it back in. But after about a week, I really got used to it. I have a few of the AirKeys, so I think once I get those made, the color coding will help a lot as well. The AirKeys are really cool because they are so lightweight.

Most importantly, however, is how comfortable the keys feel when they’re in the case and in my pockets. I only wish that I didn’t have the larger Subaru key for my car, because then it would be even sleeker.

They give you great instructions for putting your KeySmart together when it arrives, and it’s actually kind of fun (or at least I thought it was fun to get them all organized and put together). Again, there are so many accessories, I’m looking forward to trying some more of them out.

As we are getting closer to Christmas, at a $19.98 price point, this makes a perfect stocking stuffer. And I think it’s something that anyone would appreciate. If you want to order one, you can do so here.

Caleb and I have our routines. And one of them is that he often comes to church with me in the morning – and when he does that, as soon as we open my office door, he runs over to the chair and says, “I want to play with iPad.” He knows he gets to do that while dad gets ready for the worship service.

And he’s getting really proficient with the iPad and his ability to navigate through apps and other games is really impressive. But, I’m always a little fearful that he’s going to drop it or do something to it. He actually has dropped it a couple times, but nothing too serious. He did drop Sarah’s iPad once, and it got a very small dent on one corner. That led Sarah to start investigating iPad cases that were great for kids. After doing that research, she ran across a case called the Gripcase. This is how they describe it on their website:

The patented Gripcase for iPad 2,3,4 case is designed to meet the complete tablet protection needs of students, teachers, and parents. The EVA foam protects your iPad 2,3,4 from damage due to bumps and drops, and the safety bumpers and crush zone corners allow your young ones to go virtually anywhere without fear of damaging your iPad. The Gripcase iPad 2,3,4 case features improved tablet ergonomics through its unique design and use of soft, lightweight, child-friendly, and washable materials.

Gripcase was gracious enough to send one for me to review – and I will admit I was a little skeptical at first. My first thought was that it was way too big and cumbersome. But as soon as Caleb started using it – I thought it was brilliant. And I actually like using it too. It makes it really easy to grab and walk around the house with. Caleb will take it and when he’s FaceTiming with his grandparents, he can hold both sides of it and walk around the house talking to them, and I’m not afraid of him dropping the iPad.

We also got the GripCase Base, which also lets you just set the iPad up and FaceTime really easily, or use it in the kitchen for cooking. There are so many options and ways to use the Gripcase. I’m thinking of getting one just for myself to use too – because I like it so much.

It’s also super light, and a really durable material. I remember a few months ago, Caleb’s iPad time was done, but he wasn’t ready to be done with the iPad. Sarah grabbed the Gripcase and was trying to take it, and Caleb was pulling pretty hard on it, and it was no problem for the case, so it’s extremely tough too.

They have Gripcase models for the iPad 2,3,4, iPad Air and for the iPad Mini. I have no hesitation in suggesting this as a really high quality iPad case for your consideration.

We’ve been in a few other homes of friends who have had a table similar to that, and they always seemed like a great place for kids to be able to play, whether it was trains, cars, Legos or anything else. So, we started looking around and seeing what types of tables were out there. You can search on Amazon and find a fair amount of these tables. However, a lot of them are plastic, or just don’t look all that good. We were hoping for something that might last longer and wouldn’t look like cheap.

Enter: the Nilo Table.

The Nilo Table is a really well-made kid’s play table. It has a very solid hardwood frame, with a white melamine top. These are some of the reasons that the company says their table is significantly better than other play tables you might find:

• Solid hardwood framing
• Our tables feature a SOLID TOP, NOT a Split Top like most all other brands!
• Our tables are not “decorated,” CHILD DOES NOT OUTGROW the graphics/character of the table!
• Allows child to sit comfortably at the table to do arts, crafts, homework, puzzles, etc.
• FREE Digital Graphic Play Mat included wtih some models shown below.
• 24″ Leg set available to make our tables taller for when your child is older
• Holes in frame allow for Accessories / Nilo® and other brands such as Tinkertoys, Zoob K’Nex and others.
• Table deisgn allows for BOTH seating and storage. Others brands don’t.
• Our products are TOP QUALITY, will last for generations.

We got our Nilo table a few months ago, and it took all of about 15 minutes to put together. It was shipped in extremely sturdy packaging so that none of the table pieces were damaged at all, and with the minimal hardware needed to put the table together, I had it up and ready for play in no time.

What this tables provides is a great playing surface for Caleb. We’ve set up train tracks and trains on the table, we’ve played with cars, we’ve done puzzles, and a lot more, and that’s just with the plain white melamine surface of the table. But what’s cool about the NiLo table, is that there are endless options for what it can be used for.

The one we got to review is the N51 – Nilo® Multi-Activity Childrens Play Table, which has holes around the wood border of the table. These can be used for Nilo nails and Caleb can practice hammering them into the peg holes.

Our NiLo table also came with one of their Graphic Play Mats which consisted of roads, and lots of wooded areas. So, Caleb was able to drive his cars around the table on the roads – and it helps him create more and more stories about what his cars are doing.

We also got two lego base mats which are made for Duplos on one side, and Legos on the other side. These are great because they fit perfectly into the NiLo table and don’t slide around once they’re in, so Caleb can have half of the table setup for Legos and half for cars or trains or whatever else he wants.

While I don’t have any experience with the other tables that might be competitors to the NiLo table, from other research that we’ve done on reading up about these types of tables, the NiLo Table comes as highly recommended as any can.

In fact, just recently, they just won the Product of the Year and also the Play of the Year awards for their tables, and for their hammer set and the block mats.

The company is one that truly cares about creating great toys for children, and the company’s founder believes that it’s really his mission, and calling, to create quality toys for children.

Now, I will say that it isn’t a cheap table. The one that we got will run you about $220. You can see more information about the block mats here, and the graphic mat here

If you’re in the market for a great table that will last, I would recommend checking out the Nilo Table.

A few months ago, I was sent a Töbo Track to review on my blog – this was a toy that Sarah had heard a lot about, and so we were excited to see how Caleb would enjoy playing with it.

The Töbo Track is a pretty unique educational toy. This is how their website describes the Töbo Track:

Tobo Track is an exciting new way to build roads and tracks for toy cars and trains. 12 identical pieces are included with each set, and can be joined together in hundreds of ways to create a track that goes anywhere you want it to. Every hexagonal piece has a straight section, a curved section and an intersection – and can be connected to any edge of any other piece. Its a fun way to use creativity while playing with toy cars and trains.

Here’s what’s included:

• 12 track pieces
• 1 wooden toy car
• 1 mesh storage bag
• 1 set of optional stickers

Tomas Nielsen, the creator of Töbo Toys has created a company that has 3 core principles:

1. Healthy Play
2. Sustainable Production
3. Educational Value

When you’re playing with a Töbo Track, you really feel like he’s accomplished those 3 principles in the creation of this toy. The toys are made from wood – and so it’s a completely safe toy, free from toxins or oil-based chemicals. And it’s also from scrap wood – wood that would have been thrown away otherwise – so it’s a toy that is great for the environment as well.

This is a toy that even I have a lot of fun playing with. Each of the tracks has a great texture and feel to it – and I know it’s not something that Caleb is going to be able to break at all. It’s very sturdy. I also love the educational component with the numbers on all of the sides of the tracks, which means that it’s a toy that can be used when Caleb gets older as a fun way to work on mathematical skills.

Nielsen says that “just fitting the pieces together builds spatial awareness, manual dexterity, and pattern recognition. And since each piece has six possible orientations, deciding how and where to place track pieces builds creativity and problem solving.”

The Töbo Track comes with 12 identical track pieces and a cute wooden toy car – which Caleb especially liked when he first opened up the Töbo Track. In fact, the only complaint that Caleb had with the toy is that he wished there were more pieces to it. You can make a lot of track options and designs with 12 pieces, but I also wished that I had bought a 3-4 sets so that we could have made some really long tracks.

Caleb has really had a blast playing with his Töbo Track. He loves seeing what kind of road shapes he can make with the tracks – I’m hoping that perhaps he’ll get another set or two for Christmas so that he can make a much longer track and keep enjoying this toy. The only comment that I might make about the product (which didn’t affect me since I was given a set to review) is the price. The Töbo website shows a list price of $59.95 and offers it for $49.95. However, you can get it on Amazon for $35, but even that feels a little steep. However, for being a safe, toxin-free toy that is made out of recycled wood material…$35 is probably a pretty good price for it.

If your child loves cars as much as Caleb does, and if you’re looking for a good present, I would highly recommend the Töbo Track. Below is just a short compilation of Caleb and I playing with the Töbo Track. Enjoy!

Thanks to my wife, Sarah, who wrote up this great review for the Glide Bikes Ezee Glider that we got to review online.

When we lived in Ashland, OR, balance bikes were the norm. Rather than seeing kids tooling around playgrounds on tricycles or bikes with training wheels, you’d see little kids scooting themselves along on balance bikes. I had never seen or heard of balance bikes before and they piqued my interest as Caleb began to show signs of one day becoming mobile. On the recommendation of a blog I like, we bought Caleb a Pewi Ybike, which is a cross between a push toy that helps kids learning to walk and a pre-balance bike. With three wheels and a handle, Caleb was able to both learn to walk while holding onto it and sort-of learn to ride by sitting on it and pushing himself along. It was great for learning to walk when Caleb was 1 and for learning to ride the summer Caleb was 1.5, but this summer we realized it was way too small for Caleb to be able to use it as a bike again. So I began to research balance bikes.

Although I was already sold on wanting one for Caleb, this site helped me learn more about balance bikes (so I could explain them to Adam and our parents) and begin to compare different models. Money was a big factor for us since our budget is very tight, and after doing some research, I decided the other key factors were: warranty, size (I wanted something that Caleb could ride now and next summer, and ideally until he is ready for a bike without training wheels), sealed ball bearings (keeps dirt from getting into the wheels so they continue to spin smoothly instead of slowing down over time), and air tires (foam tires seem great if you want to be able to use the bike indoors, but air tires provide more traction for riding outdoors).

Factors I didn’t care too much about were footrests, brakes, and turn limiters (I didn’t care if the bike had those features or not), the weight of the bike or the status of the bolts (recessed bolts mean less chance of scrapes when your kid falls off). Ideally I wanted to spend under $100, but I quickly realized this was unlikely to happen as the majority of bikes that fit all of my qualifications were closer to $130-$150. So I made a list of my top picks and started watching for sales.

When Glide Bikes offered to send us an Ezee Glider in exchange for an honest review, I jumped at the chance. It was at the top of my list and was probably the bike we would have ended up buying anyway. My only hesitation about buying had been its size range (12”-18”), which wasn’t quite as big as I was hoping for (Glide Bikes has a number of different models and the Ezee Glider is designed for younger kids, like Caleb), and has unsealed ball bearings (though with a lifetime warranty I kind of figured it balanced out).

Like most bikes that are shipped, the Ezee Glider required some assembly, but it was minimal and Adam managed it with relative ease, putting it together one afternoon while Caleb was napping.

The learning curve was a little steeper than I anticipated, and the first few times Caleb rode the bike I worried he was never going to get the hang of it, but it only took about a week and three or four short rides for him to figure it out. He hasn’t yet learned to glide or balance, so we haven’t turned the foot pegs so he can use them yet (parent tip: best not to show your child how the foot pegs will eventually work until they are actually ready to use them; Adam made that mistake and Caleb spent an afternoon crying because we wouldn’t simply push him on the bike so he could ride with his feet on the pegs), and he has no clue what the brake is, but otherwise he’s using the bike to its full advantage.

In terms of pros and cons, my favorite things about the bike are:

• It’s cute and looks cool (and is gender-neutral so we can easily reuse it for another child some day or resell it—balance bikes have a great resell value)
• The brake and foot pegs will (I think) make this a bike that Caleb can continue to use and grow on until he’s ready for a bike with pedals (and until he’s ready to use them, they aren’t in the way)
• It’s light weight. This wasn’t a factor that I thought was important, but it has turned out to be a big plus because it means I can easily carry it when Caleb decides he doesn’t want to ride it anymore. We went on a ride around the block one day after he first got it and halfway around the block he decided he’d rather walk, so I was left carrying/holding the bike, his helmet and the dog on her leash in one hand and holding Caleb’s hand with my other hand. While it’s not something I want to do every day, it was doable and we made it back to the house without incident.
• It’s easy to adjust the seat to accommodate growth (and it feels like we make small adjustments every time Caleb gets on it).

I don’t see any major cons with the bike. At first we had some trouble with the seat—it would slowly get lower as he was riding and it would twist every time the bike fell, but then we realized that we’re morons bike newbies and we could easily fix the problem by tightening the nut on the seat adjuster to make the fit tighter. Now the seat stays put even when the bike crashes. The other con I discovered has to do with balance bikes in general: they don’t teach Caleb to pedal. This is fairly obvious, but I didn’t think through the fact that at daycare he would have access to tricycles but not have any experience pedaling. He seems to have figured it out on his own, but I think it kept him from using the bikes at daycare for awhile.

All in all, if you’re interested in trying a balance bike for your kid and want a good one that is reasonably priced, the Ezee Glider from Glide Bikes is a great bike and I would recommend it without hesitation. If money is no object for you, I would also consider the FirstBIKE (the composite frame is pretty impressive and the safety features and ski attachment are worth noting as well), the Early Rider (the only wood bike worth considering, in my opinion—the wood is marine grade so you don’t have to worry about it warping over time), and the Ridgeback Scoot (goes up to 20” so it would fit a bigger kid for longer than the Ezee Glider), but even if money is no object, I still think the Ezee Glider is a great choice that you won’t regret.

A few mornings ago, Caleb was playing with a toy boat that is one of his bath toys. He said, “It’s Noah and the Ark!”

I asked, “What do you know about Noah?”

Caleb: “Noah and the Ark, and a flood.”

Dad: “A flood? Why was there a flood?”

Caleb: “God sent it.”

Dad: “Caleb, who’s God?”

Caleb: “….help please….”

Dad: “Why did God send a flood?”

Caleb: “Because people…FIGHTING!”

Dad: “What did flood do?”

Caleb: “Flood covered earth.”

Dad: “Oh yah? So God sent a flood?”

Caleb: “Yup.”

I went to look at the storybook and sure enough, the story starts: “Before long, people started fighting and hurting one another terribly…”

We just started reading Desmund Tutu’s “Children of God Storybook Bible” a month or so ago. But this was the first time that he’s initiated a conversation about a story in the Bible. Pretty fun.

When Caleb was a baby, and got his first YBike Pewi, he had a helmet that I think Sarah got off Amazon at the time. Knowing her ability to research things on the internet, I’m sure it was a good one. And it got some good use, but it seemed like it wasn’t really fitting that well anymore, and seemed like with a new bike that Caleb had, it would be a good idea to get a new helmet.

The one we went with was the Catlike Kitten Helmet, and we’ve been really pleased with it. Catlike was founded by Pepe del Ramo (nicknamed “El Gato”), who was a member of the Spanish amateur team and went professional from 1983-1988. The Kitten helmet is their helmet for toddlers and youngsters just getting started on the bike (although they also make it in Medium for those adults who really like the style).

From the first time we put it on Caleb, we could tell it was a significant improvement over his previous helmet. The fit was much better, probably because of all of the adjustment options it has. The strap over the ears and under the chin are easily adjustable…much easier than some of the other helmet straps I’ve tried to use.

As you can see in the photo below, one of the best parts is the MPS EXE wheel adjustment on the back of the helmet. One of the biggest problems with Caleb’s old helmet, is that it would constantly slide up on his head, and he’d be riding around with his forehead totally exposed. So, if he were to really bite it on his bike, his old helmet would have been pretty useless.

With the MPS EXE wheel adjustment, once you have adjusted the straps to get the right fit, you can get a really snug fit by tightening the wheel. The system has a micrometric wheel adjustment: every “click” tightens or loosens the retention arms by 1mm, so that exact stability assured. With this snug fit, the helmet doesn’t slide around on his head at all, and so it stays where it needs to, in case he were to have an accident.

It also just feels incredibly durable, and while Caleb hasn’t necessarily said anything about the fit or how the design helps him bike any easier…I’m sure all of the vents on the top must have some positive effect. Seeing the quality of the Kitten helmet, I’m definitely going to look into their adult helmets when I need to get myself a new helmet. There really isn’t anything that I think could be improved upon for this helmet for Caleb.

I’d say that if you are looking for a good quality helmet for your toddler, as they start riding a bike, this would be a great one to pick up. You can find the Kitten helmet here or you can view all of their products here.

This review is cross-posted on Pomomusings

Thank you, Adam, for allowing me to stop by your internet home to talk about a project that is very near and dear to me, my new book!

Seamless Faith: Simple Practices for Daily Family Life, is based on the simple idea that faith is learned as it’s woven into the fabric of everyday life. The book is divided into three sections: traditions, ceremonies, and spiritual practices. There are about 50 practices in the book for all kinds of situations and families. There are ceremonies for life events like graduations and the birth of a new baby, traditions for holidays and every day, and spiritual practices that range from the very ancient to the very contemporary. Each practice is organized like a recipe in that it is clearly laid out with regard to age and steps to follow

When taken as a whole, the practices in Seamless Faith can be used to achieve some of the goals that many families in my congregation have.

• An alternative to the culture of buying: How much of parenting has now become about what we have rather than what we do and it begins at birth. Parents are urged to have the right gadgets and gizmos and to take their children to all the right places. Seamless Faith tries to get away from that and focus on the most precious investment parents can give: time and attention.
• Faith that goes beyond Sunday Mornings: Many families assign faith and spirituality to a one hour block on the weekend and find themselves unsatisfied with the depth of their family’s engagement with their faith. It’s not that they don’t want to do more they just feel that they don’t have the time or that they are ill-equipped to know what to do. Seamless Faith addresses these challenges with practical solutions.
• The opportunity to challenge your children and be challenged by them: The practices are designed for the family as a whole and so they offer a time for parents to grow in faith alongside their children. This isn’t a guide for parents to teach faith to their children as much as it is a guide for the family to grow in faith together.
• A respite from the crazy, hyper-scheduled life: It is a rare family that I meet that doesn’t worry about the schedule of running from appointments to extra-curricular activities to church activities to family commitments and back again. The practices in Seamless Faith are designed with busy lives in mind. There is room. There is time.
• Language to talk about spirituality and faith: Oftentimes we need words to express concepts of the heart. Seamless Faith gives families space and words to talk about concepts that are often so abstract and difficult to grasp.

Traci Smith is the author of Seamless Faith and pastor of Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas, where she lives with her husband and two sons. Sign up for her monthly Newsletter containing articles and tips on family spirituality: Seamless Faith Newsletter.