Whenever we go to the mall, my nephew Keoni would always drag me to the toy store. I guess he knows I can never say no to him. Once inside, he would immediately go to the section where Thomas the Tank Engine toys are displayed. He knows all the characters so he knows which ones he already has and which ones we have yet to buy for him. After choosing his TTE toy, he would then go to the section where he can play with educational toys on display. He particularly loves those educational toys because they’re basically interactive and I know he learns a lot from them. He actually has an interactive toy laptop which his doting grandma gave him and it just amazes me how that simple toy taught him the correct usage of a computer mouse, as well as his upper and lower case letters. At 3, Keoni already knows how to navigate through a real laptop and it doesn’t take much for us to teach him the alphabet because he already received early training from his toy laptop. Indeed, educational toys are a must for young kids like Keoni because they learn a lot from them.

Time surely flies when you’re having fun. I can pretty much attest to that fact. It seems like only yesterday when my nephew Keoni made his grand entrance to the world. I can’t believe it’s actually been three years since then.

When Keoni was born, the doctors told us he had a weak heart. They deduced that it was because of his birth weight. He came out weighing 11.22 pounds! We even had to leave him at the hospital after his mom was discharged because he had to undergo several tests. It was heartbreaking to see a tiny little boy with all those needles stuck to his legs.

Anyway, it was a good thing that the doctors were able to detect it right away and ever since he was given a clean bill of health, I can say that he’s at the pink of his health. Of course, we’re still monitoring his condition. So as much as possible, we don’t allow him to overdo himself. Keoni does engage in some physical activities but what’s great about him is that when we tell him to stop, he obliges.

Educational kids toys are what normally keeps him busy most of the time. His grandma (my mom) bought him a toy laptop that has lots of interactive features and currently, he’s starting to learn his upper and lower case letters. He also has several activity books, most of which feature his favorite characters like Mickey Mouse, Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine and The Backyardigans.

It’s amazing how much he’s absorbed through his educational toys. Children’s development nowadays is so overwhelming and I’m just so happy that Keoni is turning out to be one smart boy. Playing with his toy laptop has even taught him how to navigate my own laptop and on days when I’m not so busy, he asks if he can play interactive games there. Of course, I let him and boy, does he know how to use a real laptop! I can't help but smile and be amazed when I see him ably controlling the laptop's touch pad and knowing which icons to click on.