Your baby's gotta eat! ciao! baby portable high chair will help!

Camping.  Grandma's house.  Company.  Restaurants.  Baseball games.  Cook outs.  Small spaces.  Vacation.  Bonfires.  Grandchildren.  Wandering Toddler.

These are just a few of the MANY reasons you should check out the ciao! baby portable high chair!  

Admittedly, Stinky is beyond the need for a daily high chair.  In fact, he's been out of even a booster seat for quite some time.  Silly, then, that I'd be super excited about a high chair, right?  Except the ciao! baby isn't a high chair.  Nope.  It's a life saver!

In our family, we like to "visit."  I'd say travel, but that's probably taking it a little too far.  We visit Mamaw and Nana.  We go camping on occasion.  We typically take a summer trip.  We visit with friends and family at their homes.  We invite others into our home.  We're visit-ers!  (Please don't confuse that with visitors.  We are sometimes visitors, but visit-ers are different.  I promise.  Just ask me.)  The trouble with having a 2 year old and being a visit-er is that toddlers don't like to sit and eat.  They just don't!  Toddlers roam.  Toddlers explore.  Toddlers drive their parents crazy at meal times, especially when they aren't at home!

The ciao! baby portable high chair is the perfect solution to toddler mealtime wandering, especially for "visit-ers" like us!  The ciao! baby folds up small, like a camping chair.  It stores in a bag, like a camping chair.  It fits in the trunk or the garage in a small space, like a camping chair.  In fact, when you take it along to a bonfire, people will think you're taking along an extra seat!  It is SO much more than a camping chair, though.  It is a promise of safety and security that means your little one will stay near your side.  It's the affirmation that your toddler (or baby) will be contained long enough to (maybe) eat 4 bites of food before he's allowed to roam.  It's a comfort for mommy, and a treat for toddlers that don't typically sit in high chairs!  (I know, that sounds crazy, but Stinky gets SO excited when he sees the ciao baby come out!  He gets jealous if we're "sharing" it.  He climbs in if we're not.  He loves it!)

I LOVE how easy it is to wipe this high char clean!  See all that mess?  Here, let me show you:

We have peanut butter and milk and bits of apple all combined into a sticky nasty mess on the tray and the seat!A quick wipe with a wet cloth, though, leave the tray (and chair, and cup holder) good as new!

(I can't say as much for the toddler.  He needed a hose!)

The seat belt buckles behind the seat.  Genius!  Curious toddlers can't reach there to unbuckle themselves!  My biggest complaint, though, goes right along with that bit of brilliance.  The opening in which to put your child is smallish.  It's great for little ones, but if you have a chunky little guy, it's going to be a little on the difficult side to wrangle him in.  It's still VERY doable, and very worth the effort.

The tray is not meant to be a rigid high chair tray.  It's not, after all, meant to be an every day high chair.  It is meant to be an occasional use travel chair.  You will find that as long as you are using a plate, the tray is fine, but if you're planning to just put bits of food on the tray, food will be more likely to slide around.  Use a plate.

The ciao! baby portable high chair is easy peasy with smaller babies, too!  In fact, I used it this week with my 9 month old nephew.  (Stinky was jealous.  He has a broken leg and can't use his ciao! baby right now.)

This little guy is tiny.  He was very comfy in the ciao! baby!  He was very happy--until I walked away with his food.  PLEASE, if you're using the ciao! baby portable high chair, don't forget to strap babies in!  He didn't fall or get hurt in any way, but he did stand up in the seat while my back was turned.  I am not in the habit of strapping Stinky into the chair because he sits still, but with the littler guys it's going to be necessary.  Because the chair is very stable, though, and very well constructed, this little guy was safe despite his amazing aunt's lack of baby-tending skills!

We LOVE our ciao! baby portable high chair!  It's perfect, aside from the opening being just a tad small for toddlers.  It's the perfect size for families like ours; families that don't need an every day high chair anymore, but who need one for "those times."  It's perfect for families like my sister's; families that DO need a high chair every day, but could use one for "those times."  It's perfect for YOUR family!!

Order your ciao! baby portable high chair today!

I received this item at no cost in order to facilitate a review.  I was not compensated in any other way.  All opinions are my own.

Zooper Bolero Review and Hook-On Chair Giveaway!

Confession time: I think strollers are cool, and even if I don't NEED a new one, it's fun to HAVE a new one.  Are you with me? 

I told you last June about my amazing Phil&Ted Sport double jogging stroller, which has been WONDERFUL when I want to go out and get a little exercise in, but I don't really want Bugsy (aka Mr. Short-legs) slowing me down!  That stroller has afforded me tons and tons of workout time that I wouldn't have otherwise had, and I am SUPER grateful for that!

Today, though, I want to tell you about another amazing stroller...the Zooper Bolero! 

You see, the double jogger is great for, you know, jogging.  (It's good for other things too, just a bit long front to back.)  I've been mostly using a cheapo umbrella stroller, though, and honestly it hasn't been nearly as great at maneuvering as I would have liked!

I can't tell you how excited I was when Zooper asked me to review their Bolero stroller in Ocean Blue!  I had been looking all over the Zooper website, and it looked like the Bolero would be a super compact folding full-sized stroller!  I was SO excited when the box arrived!  So was Bugsy!  ("Mommy, this box is almost as big as I am!")

It was so easy to put together that even Stinky was able to help a bit!  It probably took me about 20 minutes to put together, but had I been working by myself I probably could have done it in 10-15 minutes.  The instructions were very clear and very helpful! 

The first time I opened the Bolero once it was put together, I didn't get it fully engaged.  Be careful about that.  After the first time, though, it hasn't been a problem.  I also struggled to pull the handles fully apart the first time, and popped myself in the chin trying!  Again, this was only a problem the first time, and it has gotten easier to open each time.  I think it's just tight because it's new!

The Zooper Bolero is very roomy!  Stinky weighs about 28-29 pounds, and he has a TON of room in the Bolero!  Bugsy tried it out too, and at 47 pounds he's got room to move!  It's just as easy to push with EITHER of them inside.  The first time I used the Bolero, I was racing my sister through the neighborhood.  I commented to her several times about how hard it was to turn and how awful the clicking noise was around corners.  When we got back to my house, I suddenly remembered having read something about locking front wheels.  I unlocked them, and it is AMAZING the difference it made!  This thing corners like a champ!  I love how smooth the ride is with the Bolero!  It is seriously the easiest, smoothest stroller I have ever pushed.

I LOVE the "sleeping bag" attachment that keeps my little guy toasty warm on cool days!  (He wasn't as thrilled about it as I was at first, but he DID love that he didn't have to wear a coat.  It was 45ish degrees in this picture, so it wasn't a big deal for him to wear a coat anyway!)

The Bolero lays totally flat in it's most reclined position, and it comes with a bassinet for your newborn!  I haven't had the opportunity to use this feature yet, and honestly haven't tried putting it together.  It has its own set of instructions, though, and it looks like it would be easy!  I love that the bassinet can go forward or rear facing, so mommy (or daddy) can see baby the whole time!  It is snugly warm and would be perfect for a newborn!  (Stinky, a week shy of 2, doesn't care to lay down when he rides.)

I really love how compactly the Zooper Bolero folds!  We traded in our Ford Expedition (HUGE vehicle, tiny amount of cargo space) for a Ford Focus Wagon (tiny vehicle, huge amount of cargo space) a couple of weeks ago.  Even with the Bolero in the back, there is more than enough room to load up a week's worth of groceries!  (Currently, it's riding in the back with a folding chair, an extra carseat, a case of girl scout cookies, and a diaper bag...and there's TONS of room to spare!)

My ONLY real complaint about the Bolero (the rest have all be more user-error issues that have been quickly resolved) is that the basket underneath is small.  Yesterday I took it along to the doctor's office.  I was toting 2 sick boys and didn't want 2 sick boys running wild through the office, so I stuck Stinky in the Bolero.  I put my small purse and a cinch sack style diaper bag in the basket, and it was packed pretty full.  I had to unsnap the side of the basket to put them in!  I wish the basket were a little larger...BUT the Bolero does make up for the small basket with the "All Purpose Canopy Pocket."

 

There are actually 2 pockets on the back of the canopy, which, if you plan ahead, would be perfect for your wallet, keys, and a few diapers and wipes!  You could essentially leave your purse and home and your diaper bag with a few spare items in the car, and just take your stroller along!  If you live in an area where you do a lot of walking rather than driving, this would really be perfect!

All in all, I LOVE the Zooper Bolero a million times more than I expected to!  It is definitely my go-to stroller!  I would highly recommend it to any of you!  You can visit Zooper to find out where there's a retailer near you!  (The suggested retail price is about $400, but I have it on good authority that you can get one on sale on amazon.com for about $300 right now!)

Zooper makes amazing products, people.  One of those amazing products, one that I'd like to give to one of you, is the Zooper Hook-On Chair, which retails at $49!  This cute little high chair folds flat for easy carrying, has a 4-point harness, and works for toddlers up to 30 pounds!  This high chair is great for at home or when you're out and about!  Enter below on the super easy Rafflecopter form for your chance to win!

 

Wanna know something REALLY cool?  Right now, through the end of February, Zooper is donating $1 worth of Zooper products to Doernbechers Children's Hospital in need for every new Facebook like!  That's potentially a lot of dollars!  Simply by entering this contest, you could be helping Zooper reach out to people in need!  I think THAT is awesome!