Spring/summer cleaning around Minnesota has benefited us this past week. Not because WE'RE actually doing spring cleaning (ha!), but because we've ended up with lots of hand-me-down toys.

Now, I love hand-me-downs and hate buying toys new. It just seems so silly when they're only used for a short time, and you can get a used one without all the packaging, etc.

So, needless to say, we were excited about the following gems that came in to our life this week.

First, Quinn's new bike.

We bought this at our next-door-neighbor's garage sale. All four of their kids have used it before Quinn which makes it even more special. The neighbor kids have also taken quite the supervisory role in helping him ride, partially because the bike used to be theirs I think.

Another neighbor gave us this trike for the girls

They are obsessed with this thing. They can both actually ride it pretty well but need supervision. Therefore a picture of such riding does not exist. you'll just have to take my word for it :)

Another purchase from our next-door-neighbor's garage sale was this awesome train table.

The kids (especially Penelope) love trains and have been using a make-shift train table for some time, so this was a big hit.

But, the biggest item of excitement was this dollhouse, given to us by some friends.

All three adore this thing. Quinn has his own dollhouse in his room which is the one item his sisters aren't allowed to touch (his rule). So, they couldn't believe their good luck when something so coveted appeared in their living room.

Both girls still try to go "in" the dollhouse, which is actually developmentally appropriate as shown in this video from Judy DeLoache's lab:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtngSHtz-cc&feature=related

It's always a favorite of my students :)

Can't wait to pass these toys along to some other lucky kids one day!