One of the ladies in my NCT group asked us to share what our babies' favourite toys were the other week, and I thought what a good blog post it would make. I'm super nosey myself and love to know what other mums have found to entertain their babies. So here goes!

I would say that Daph has two absolute favourite toys - one is a small dinosaur rattle, the other is a soft book. They were both gifts from friends (thanks Amy and Sophy!). The dinosaur rattle is called Steve the Steg, and he's a cockney barrowboy who's on his last legs, having worked on a market selling fruit and veg for years. We reckon he's around 70 now and he wheezes a lot thanks to the cold. (Yes, this is what happens when you live with a trained actor). Steve and Daph regularly have conversations (well, he talks to her through Oli, and she squeaks and shouts back) about his hard time on the market today because of the weather or what have you. Anyway, aside from his scintillating conversation skills, Steve is a hit with Daph because his stubby little legs make him very easy to grab and throw about. Oh and he's knitted, so he's very tactile too.

We named him Steve the Steg almost straight away but then realised he's not actually a stegosaurus, he's a triceratops. Oops.

We liked Steve so much that we bought two other dinosaurs - a diplodocus (Dave, Steve's son, who helps him out on the market) and an actual stegosaurus (Cedric, who sells cheese and wine and thinks he's a cut above the others). Steve, Cedric and Dave are all by Best Years.

Moving on slightly (am afeared we are coming across as rather peculiar...) to her other favourite toy - a book. Hurrah! She's going to be a bookworm. Or a writer. The book in question doesn't have any actual words in it, but it does have a squeaker thing disguised as a beehive, and a plastic fish attached by a cord that makes a great teether. Anyway, it's the book Daph gets to play with after she's eaten her meals, and she flaps her arms up and down and lights up at the sight of it. As you can see above. It's by Tiny Years.

I also bought her an activity cube from John Lewis which I've already blogged about and highly recommend - it's been the perfect toy while she's been getting better at sitting independently as it gives her something to lean forward and reach for. The snob in me loves the fact it's wooden too.

What do your babies love? Let me know in the comments below!