My little guy is 16-months old today. How the heck did that happen?!?! One of my closest friends here in San Francisco just had her first babe, and as I held this 4 day old baby and watched my [*gasp*] toddler walk around her living room, I’m quickly reminded how incredible the journey of parenthood is.

You know it. Those moments when you think, “How did you get so big?” and “Really, just stop growing, please… stop.”

However, one of the joys of them getting a little older, a little bigger, and of course smarter (!!!) is playtime.

After that 1-year mark, your kiddo will start trying their luck at pretend play. You can expect more advanced play sequences, like drinking out of cups, feeding stuffed animals, brushing teddy’s hair, and driving cars around every inch of your home.

Ahhhh. Cars. Whether you’ve got a boy or a girl, cars (or any vehicle) are classic, simple, and must-have toy for every kiddo.

Action Step: Help create play sequences for your kiddo. Something like two cars racing, or two cars crashing, or a car knocking down the most recently built block tower.

Don’t forget to use prepositions!! Kids that are exposed to more prepositions have been shown to have improved reading and math skills. Talk about the car under the couch, next to the ball, on the road.

Speaking of roads, try out this awesome road tape or train track tape, and start getting creative with road building. Under furniture, up the wall, on the couch, are fun ways for your kiddo to engage in pretend play, and an awesome way to bring prepositions into their vocabulary.

Now I want to here from you… What does your kiddo love most about vehicles? Driving? Crashing? Or spinning wheels? Tell us in the comments below!