Tasty Tuesday

When we first started looking at high chairs for Christophe we decided from the get go we wanted something that did not look like a big hunk of plastic. After lots of research and consideration we selected the Trip Trap from Stokke. A big shout out and a thank you to my coworkers at KML for getting us the chair - we love it. I have to admit at the begining we found the straps frustrating and anoying but have since then found out that it was because Christphe has 2 sleep deprived parents that were not using the chair correctly, since we have figured out how to use the chair - IT ONLY TOOK US 2 MONTHS - we love it.

On of the best parts about this chair is it grows with your child from a baby high chair; to a toddler chair; to a child's chair; to an adult chair. We hope to have many years of use out of this chair.

Stroller

We wanted to shout out a thank you to grandpa Wiseman...

Last weekend grandpa Wiseman (Roy) treated us and baby Wiseman to a brand new stroller.  I have to say I can't wait till the little one is out so I can go for nice walks with him and his new "Cadillac".  Yes for all of those who want to laugh at us we chose a Bugaboo.  However we had our reasons:

• Had to have adjustable arm in length that could accommodate both comfortable myself (5'-5") and Geoff (6'-1").  Honestly there are only a few out there that met this first requirement: Bugaboo Cameleon; Stokke; Quinny Buzz (just barely); Mutsy; Stroll-Air
• Weight of the stroller when folded.  I.E. I needed to be able to lift it comfortably into the trunk of my car.  This gave a strike against the Mutsy, the Quinny and the Stroll-Air.  However the Quinny was just on the line of tolerable.
• Ease of use.  We played with all of these over and over in the stores.  the Quinny and Bugaboo kept on coming up at the top for the easiest to fold and open.  The Mutsy we had to fight with each time and the Stokke we eventually got the hang of it after going to 4 different stores and finally finding a sales clerk that knew how to operate the stroller.
• How each of the strollers felt to us when we walked around with them.  Geoff really seemed to prefer the Stokke and I preferred the Bugaboo. For both of us it had to do with the handle.
• We looked at the price however by this time we had already decided against the Mutsy one of the lower cost options.  The remaining 3 options ranked in price as follows the Quinny (+/- $700); Bugaboo (+/- $1100); Stokke (+/- $1200).
• Then I wanted to look at the widest span of the stroller because I know it can get complicated trying to get a stroller onto the TTC in Toronto. The narrowest Stroller was the Bugaboo, followed closely by the Stokke and then the Quinny was probably a good 6" wider at the wheel span.
• The I looked at what came with the stroller and what was available as an add-on.  For the all inclusive package the Stokke definitely wins, it came with almost everything including a stroller umbrella/parasol.  The Quinny followed after however the bassinet is a separate purchase and the amount of verity in the accessories that you can purchase after the fact are limited.  Including the fact that until this month you could not get an infant car seat that was compatible with the stroller.  The Bugaboo came in last for all inclusive however it definitely leaves everyone else in the dust with the after-market add ones you can get.  The only ones we are planning on getting for our Bugaboo are the cup holder, diaper bag and travel case.
• The designer in me had to look at the style and colours available, however at this point all 3 strollers left in the running were all great looking and very hip :-)

All in all: 

• The Mutsy got eliminated due to the weight and not user friendly
  
• The Quinny got eliminated due to the wheel base width
• The Stokke we flip flopped back and forth to this one but at the end it got eliminated because it just was not as user friendly, it felt odd to push around (at least for me) and it was more costly

Oh, for those of you that are wondering what our final choice was from Bugaboo: The Cameleon with a dark grey base and red canvas tailored fabrics.