Rocking Pony Shirts

In conjunction with this review, I'm having a giveaway for a Rocking Pony shirt on my blog! Go there for details, and leave a comment there to enter!

A couple years ago, I made online friends with Karen and subsequently discovered her Etsy store: The Rocking Pony. What a great discover that was! I could go on and on about how awesome Karen is as a person, but since I'm doing a review of her site, I'll try to stick to Karen's customer service and work.

Over the years, I've ordered I think 4 shirts from her, including two for gifts to my niece and nephew, and I've gotten one shirt for free. Karen worked with me to be sure she had the right size and color, and that I was fine with the kind of shirt she had (an adorable hooded t-shirt, instead of a regular t-shirt).

The free shirt I got was because she was trying to do more shirts for girls and was making some samples for pictures on her site, but she didn't want the shirts to go to waste, not having any little girls herself. So on her blog, she offered free shirts to those who commented saying they wanted one. She is thoughtful and kind, and she provides the kind of customer service that seems to be lacking in most places today.

As for the shirts themselves, I've loved every single one of them. They are all hand-made shirts, well made, unique and high quality. They are also absolutely adorable! Check these out:



That is Niles, and there's a cute story behind his creation. That's the shirt I initially fell in love with.



Although a little blurry and not a great angle (it was at a time when she rarely held still for any pictures), this might be my favorite shirt I've gotten for my daughter. It's such a cute flower, and I love it on my favorite color purple.



This teapot and tea cup shirt is the one I got for free. Oh how I wish it still fit my daughter, because she and I both loved it.

I have had wonderful experiences with The Rocking Pony Etsy store, customer service and the shirts themselves. I've loved the shirts for my daughter (and soon my son will be getting one) and for gifts. Karen also makes bibs, blankets and other things. You should really go check out her site. And if you don't believe me, you can read all the amazing feedback she's gotten on Etsy!

Disclaimer: When discussing doing a giveaway on my blog with Karen, she offered me a free shirt from her store for each of my kids. Because I love her stuff so much, I am taking her up on the offer. Karen did not know I was planning a review of her store now that I've started writing reviews on my review site again. When I told her, she didn't offer me anything in exchange for the review. My review was in no way influenced by the offer of free shirts in conjunction with this giveaway. I would not be doing this giveaway if I didn't love her and her store so much. I think that covers everything.

It's Definitely Baby Signing Time

Did you know that Baby Signing Time now has Volume 3 and Volume 4? I was thrilled when I found out, thanks to an exceptionally well-targeted email sent to me from Two Little Hands Productions asking if I wanted to review these DVDs. The Communications Manager had noticed that I have before mentioned Signing Time and Baby Signing Time as shows that my daughter watches.

But let me expand a little about my daughter and these DVDs before I get into my review. The Pumpkin is not one for TV. I think it's more than just her age. It's that things on TV rarely hold her interest. Baby Signing Time not only holds her interest, but she has even begged (and signed!) to watch it! This from the child who usually barely notices what cartoons are on TV while kids around her are glued to it.

There is just something very engaging to her about Baby Signing Time, something about the singing, the kids, the animated Leah, Alex and Hopkins, the signs themselves (which we continue to practice later), and Rachel that my daughter loves. We tried Signing Time, but the Pumpkin was not as interested in that. Granted, we only tried the first one, so the others might have grabbed her. But we knew that she loved the Baby Signing Time Volume 1, so we got Volume 2.

I hate to even say it, but the second volume was not as engaging to the Pumpkin as the first. I myself wasn't as fond of the songs, although the signs were good ones to learn. The Pumpkin started wandering off in the middle of the show, like she does for other TV shows. I said to my husband that I wish they made more so that I could find another she liked. A few days later, I get an email about Volume 3 and 4 of Baby Signing Time! I hopped on that quicker than Hopkins catching a fly!

Baby Signing Time Volume 3, A New Day, includes songs about it being a new day, going outside, taking stroller rides, bugs, stars and nighttime. Not only does my daughter enjoy the songs and signs, but I love to sing the stroller song when I'm taking her for a walk in her stroller or even when we're walking her toy stroller around inside! The Pumpkin has learned most of the signs, which amazes me, because I hadn't really mentioned grass or clouds to her until watching this, and now she knows those words and the sings for the words.

Baby Signing Time Volume 4, Let's Be Friends, includes songs about being friends, feelings, opposites, foods and toys. When I first watched this DVD with the Pumpkin, I wasn't sure if she was ready for some of the concepts. She totally was. In fact, this was a great way to really get her to begin to understand sharing and what opposites are. I'd already been doing facial expressions with her, but to also have the signs as a way to express the feelings is a great idea. She also loves to watch the kids express themselves with their faces and signs.

Both Baby Signing Time volumes 3 and 4 were really well done, with a good flow, engaging concepts, cute animation, and really great songs. The Pumpkin may be ready for Singing Time (the older versions) soon, but she's just not ready yet. Until then, we are now able to enjoy more Baby Signing Time shows with new signs and songs.

I highly recommend these DVDs for parents and babies to toddlers who are interested in signing. Although my daughter speaks pretty well, and developed her oral communication early, she loves to sign and is able to express herself more clearly when she uses the signs and words together--because anyone with toddlers knows how understandable toddlerese can be! I think that it is so important to teach children another language, and this is a fun and entertaining way to teach sign language to young children and their old parent.