  I've already been getting queries from loving relatives about the kids' Christmas lists. Since they're still too young to beg for their own desires, I'm relishing what will probably be my last Christmas of choosing their gift lists for them! I've created an urlLink Amazon.com wishlist for them under the name Feighery Children and am working hard to fill it with ideas. Regarding toys, we seem to return to a few favorite themes: wooden toys are always good, toys that don't take up too much space are also appreciated since our house is only 950 square feet! Aidan's really into puzzles and building toys, to include robots so we decided to put some of the new Fisher Price transformers for younger kids series on the list.
He has a My First Leappad from last Christmas, so I also added a few new Leappad books. Ella's favorite toys are always Aidan's toys so I continue to keep the small parts on his toys to a minimum. She also enjoys musical toys, she loves the xylophone. Books are always loved by both kids. Amazon doesn't carry roller blades, but I am definitely ready to skate with Aidan so any blades or skating accessories will be appreciated.
I also expect him to enroll in soccer this year, so soccer accessories are also good. For physical development, any kind of big bolster pillows in strange shapes would be a nice find for Ella, but I don't know where one would get such a thing and I'm not about to make them! We decided to make the official switch from videos to DVDs, but will keep around the VCR for a year or two more so if you already bought a video, no need to return it! Aidan continues to love playing computer games, and Sesame Street seems to be his favorite theme. His computer can't really support the new games out there, so we're thinking of giving him my computer and getting me a new one.
Anyway, just about any themed game with an age range of 3 give or take a year is good for him. Ella will be on the computer within the year, so age range of 1-2 is good for her. She loves Teletubbies and Blues Clues. Aidan wears 3T pants and 4T tops, his shoe size is anything bigger than a 10.5 (he grows fast so feel free to buy big in all clothing items). He's grown out of his jeans, so they're on the list of wants. Ella tends to wear her prescribed age size range for most brands, so at Christmas I would get a 12 month size if it's wintery or an 18 month size for spring or summer clothes.
Like Aidan, she tends to be a little longer in the torso and shorter in the legs, so if in doubt on bottoms sizes, go a bit smaller. Her shoe size will be around a 4, at her age shoes with very soft soles are best. I always liked the StrideRite brand for Aidan. My best tip for good kid clothes is to frequent the clearance racks at BabyGap and the Children's Place (at Cielovista in El Paso, in the Village in Houston).
Similarly, TJ Maxx and Marshalls Superstore seem to be fantastic places for developmental toys. Hopefully, within a year Aidan will be in a French program, so language toys would be very thoughtful. He's already exposed to a lot of Spanish, thanks to occasional caregivers Yolanda and Patti and I want to build on that. Finally, let me say that our family and friends have been so great to get the kids neat presents throughout the year. It's become somewhat functional for us. With birthdays so close to Christmas, I really think it's a nice policy to do Christmas gifts a little light and sprinkle sustaining toys as they take their developmental leaps around the calendar. Be warned that if anyone gets Ella My First Purse or a Knee Pony, they will face the wrath only I can dish! And please know that I put together this list to try to make shopping easier for those of you who have already asked about toys. I don't mean to ask anyone to buy these gifts. If you do want to buy a gift, you don't have to buy from Amazon, it's just a source of ideas in a medium that was easy to distribute.
We love and miss you all, and the best gift will be sharing time together over the holidays! UPDATE: I was practicing searching for the kids' wishlist on amazon to make sure family would be able to do it, and I was shocked to see 20 wishlists that come up under a wishlist search for "feighery" to include a wishlist for Aidan Feighery of Dublin, Ireland! The wishlist I've referenced here is for Feighery Children, and you'll know it's the right one because 1) it will have toys on it, and 2) it will say they live in Houston, Texas. 
