One thing they need to put in all books for new parents is that you must stock up on batteries of all sizes. Never in my life I have used more "C" batteries than in my career as a mom. In addition to making sure you have an ample supply of batteries, new parents should also be warned that any toy that runs on batteries has a strange way of starting up at odd hours.
My girls are playing a lot with a talking puzzle of the United States. You place the state in the correct spot and a robotic voice reads "Kansas, capital Topeka" or "Vermont, capital Montpelier". I love the fact that they know these things (I was MUCH older before I knew the capital of Vermont), but the silly thing has a habit of talking in the middle of the night. A few nights ago I was downstairs locking up for the night, had turned out all of the lights when all of a sudden I hear a voice saying "Oklahoma, capital Oklahoma City". I about jumped out of my skin before I realized it was just the puzzle. I stuck it in the laundry room and shut the door so I wouldn't wake up at 3:00am to a voice telling me "Missouri, capital Jefferson City".
Posted by Margaret Sarver