I admit it I am a sucker for toys. Maybe that is why my 21 month old has so many of them. I often think when I am looking at the racks of toys at the store how each might buy me a few moments peace, and save my cell phone from baby play.

So when I recently attended a Fisher Price Lunch and Learn with my son, where an expert talked about the many neat toys and gear Fisher Price has to offer I was listening keenly. Not just so I could report back to Wee Welcome what wonderful things are out there but also so I could populate my own home with things my son loves to tinker with.Â

When we left this event we were given a bag full of goodies and inside was a Fisher Price Rock-a-stack. You know this toy - a series of plastic rings in various sizes stacked on a yellow pole. The top ring has beads in it but otherwise it is just the same as what I had when I was a baby. I immediately thought the toy was too young for my son and that I should stash it away for our new addition, arriving this May. Besides, Jack already had one of these toys and it had been packed away with the rest of the "been there" items.

Boy was I wrong! As soon as my son saw the toy it had to be unwrapped - right there in the car. And when we stopped at Tim Horton's for a much needed rest and bite to eat on our long drive home he just had to bring the toy inside. We spent twenty minutes inside the restaurant while he and I stacked and re-stacked the rings, me counting out loud and him mimicking the sounds. It was great! He was entertained, I enjoyed a nice cup of tea and even one of the women who worked there came over to marvel at how she had that toy when her kids were little. It seems to bring happy memories to everyone.

I just love simple toys that really encourage children, apparently at a variety of ages, to engage with their own imagination. As a wee one he chewed on the rings and scattered them around but now as a toddler he is into stacking and re-stacking and counting aloud with me. So great!Â