We love blocks in our home. They offer endless possibilities for play and keep my little guy happy for hours. We recently had the opportunity to try out the K’NEX Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection thanks to K’NEX and Team Mom.

We received the Elmo set (these sets also come in Cookie Monster or Ernie) and as you can see above, my son enjoyed his playtime with the blocks. They’re just big enough not to be frustrating for small hands and best of all, the entire set didn’t come with a million tiny parts! Reasonably priced at $9.99-$19.99, these sets would make for some fantastic Christmas presents for the little people on your list.

K’NEX is also sponsoring the Make a K’NEXion Video Contest. The 10 best videos will be featured on KNEX.com and the winning video will receive $1,000 worth of K’NEX Toys! To enter and for official rules, please click here.

On the day before Thanksgiving, while most people are preparing their shopping lists and braving the crowds at the supermarket, my little family was up bright and early at 5 AM to head to the hospital. E.B. had a dentist trip a few weeks ago where it was determined that he had a serious cavity of epic proportions that had to be fixed. Great, no problem, I thought.

Until the dentist informed me that he would have to be admitted to the hospital and put to sleep to have it done.

This, dear readers, is why I haven’t been posting or nearly as inspired to write here. It’s one thing to have a cavity filled, but quite another when your four year old has to be admitted to the hospital and put to sleep to have it done. I have been an absolute basket case and trying to hold it all together.

In any case, E.B. did better than fine. He had a pulpotomy and the dentist warned us that if he saw anything else that needed to be fixed, we should do it now. We agreed and E.B. came back from surgery with 4 silver caps in his mouth. The worst part of the whole experience was the effects of the anesthesia on him. I had no idea a child could become so crazed when given anesthesia. It took Cracked Daddy and I both each standing on one side of the bed to keep him IN the bed until they came to take him to surgery. The sedative they gave him beforehand actually had the opposite effect. Sedated? Ummm…no. More like climbing the walls! The procedure took a little less than an hour and he was back in his room scarfing down popsicles, chicken noodle soup, and jello. We took him home about an hour later where he slept for three hours straight and then woke up raring to go.

Big props go out to my mom. After he was brought back to the room after surgery, E.B. was still a little crazed from the whole experience and NOBODY, and I do mean nobody, could do anything with him but Grandma. I think he was a little mad at his father and I, and I guess being that young and not being able to understand, I can’t exactly blame him.

Over the past eight years, Cheerios has given away more than 40 million children´s books by distributing them free inside cereal boxes and has donated $3.2 million to First Book, their non-profit partner, which provides books to children from low-income families. The program is part of Cheerios´ ongoing commitment to helping parents provide their children with a healthy, nutritional and educational foundation.

Beginning this month, Cheerios is again bringing books to the breakfast table, by providing six million children´s books free inside Cheerios boxes. The books are for children ages 3 to 8 years old, and include a brand new book in the popular “Trucktown” series, available only inside Cheerios boxes. And for the first time, all five books have been specially printed in both English and Spanish.

This year´s book offerings from Cheerios – all by Simon & Schuster Children´s Publishing – are:

Junkyard Fort, written by Jon Scieszka, and illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and Dave Gordon: Join Gabriella, Jack, Melvin, Ted, Lucy and the other Trucktown characters as they make their own fort, using things found in the junkyard. Ages 4-8.

Tea for Ruby, written by The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser: Wherever Ruby goes, a bit of disaster seems to follow. But one sunny morning, things change when the postman brings Ruby an amazing invitation: would she like to have tea with the Queen? Ruby needs to polish her manners, and quickly. Ages 4-8.

Sleepyhead, written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by John Segal: In this rhythmic bedtime story, a cat is the parent and a teddy bear is the child who doesn’t want to go to bed. All ready for bed with teeth brushed and story read, Sleepyhead teddy tries anything to prolong his bedtime; books and his quilt provide ample fodder for his imagination. Ages 3-7.

Ballyhoo Bay, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Derek Anderson: Mira Bella, an artist who teaches painting and sculpture, loves Ballyhoo Bay and what it offers: sun, sea, sand, and sky. But one gray day a billboard arrives, announcing an impending development that would take all the fun out of the place. Read along to see if Mira Bella and her art can save the day and Ballyhoo Bay! Ages 4-8.

What´s Under the Bed?, written and illustrated by Joe Fenton: Young Fred cannot stop worrying about the scary creature that might be hiding beneath his bed. Finally summoning the courage to peer under his bed, Fred, with his cumbersome glasses, sees that the only thing there is Ted, his friendly Teddy Bear! Ages 3-7.

We recieved a prize package like I am offering for a giveaway below and we have thoroughly enjoyed reading each book. They’re just small enough for little hands and all titles my son has never read before. It’s been fun introducing him to these books and the librarian (my former profession) in me is so excited that Cheerios does this each year. We have a little collection of these books from the past two years and we look forward to them!

I have one Spoonfuls of Stories gift pack, which includes a set each of the five Spoonfuls of Stories books, a box of Cheerios, and a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble to give away to one lucky reader!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite children’s book is.

Contest will end on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 11 PM Central. Winner will be notified by email.