I realize that it’s almost August and reviewing a box from June might seem silly, BUT I just received this a couple days ago. I had been in contact with LaLaaLu about reviewing a box, they agreed, and THEN they took a summer hiatus to spend time with their families. So there was no actual July box, which is why I was sent June. I kinda hoped they’d wait and send me the August box, but what can ya do.
LaLaaLu is an expertly-curated box for babies, toddlers, and “big kids”. (I tried to find an actual age range, but their new website is beyond confusing. Their old one wasn’t exactly easy to navigate, but this new one… good luck! Hopefully they’re aware of this and make it a little [a lot] more user-friendly soon.)
Unlike most boxes, with Lalaalu you don’t need to commit to a subscription — you simply purchase boxes as you want them. Every month (or two?), a new theme is released and you just choose your box based on the age of your child. LaLaaLu is based in NYC, so they lean towards hip, “city”-inspired themes. The upcoming August theme is “Urban Yogi”.
So yeah. This is the June/July “Urban Artiste” Box. Let’s get artsy!
“Little Black Book” by Renee Khatami – This board book introduces little ones to the color black in a fun, interactive way. You can pat a soft black bunny, smell the scent of black licorice, play with a black cat’s whiskers, and more! It’s short & sweet and my girls seemed to enjoy it (although they’re still too young to grasp the whole “scratch n’ sniff” thing. Someday!). (Amazon Price: $8.09)
Babo Botanicals Clean Sport Shampoo & Wash – I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep right on sayin’ it… I LOVE getting stuff like this! If it were up to me, we’d donate all of our Johnson&Johnson baby products and replace them all with organic ones. But alas, Mike thinks it’s too expensive so I’m stuck with J&J — except when I get it in boxes — then I do a happy dance. (But not really, cause who seriously does “happy dances”?) Wow, that was a lot of rambling. Back to the product — It smells super good, it’s vegan, and I can’t wait to use it! (Amazon Price: $11.77)
Wee Gallery Art Cards for Baby – These are sturdy cards featuring bold drawings designed to capture your baby’s attention. This is the “Garden Collection” that includes a squirrel, worm, butterfly, bird, dragonfly and ladybug. I debated on whether or not I should open them, as they’re targeted to infants 0-12 months old. Since the girls will be one in less than a week, I decided to put it in my “trade” pile. If they were younger, I would have definitely put these to use. (Amazon Price: $12.95)
Kinder by Nature Natural Wipes – These wipes are made with over 99% naturally derived ingredients. Made from wood pulp, they’re totally compostable and biodegradable. Alcohol free and never tested on animals. Also, they’re wicked expensive. Woah. (Amazon Price: $6.99)
NurturMe NurturMeals (3 packets) – Organic, gluten-free powdered baby food. Mix with formula, breastmilk, or water and eat! I’ll be honest, we’ve tried these with the girls before and they were NOT a fan. They both made the “face of utter disgust” and refused to accept another bite. The pouches do say that you can “sneak them into meals” to add more nutrients, but we’re not quite at the actual “meals” stage yet. Maybe we’ll try again in a few months… Yep, I totally copied all of that from my last Ecocentric Mom review. No shame! (Amazon Price: roughly $5.06 for 3)
Little Pim “French Bop” CD – I got this same CD in the Ecocentric Mom Mystery box not too long ago. It features 15 songs sung in French, to help familiarize your children with the language. Also includes a booklet with lyrics in French and English. (Amazon Price: $15.00)
Flip-A-Face: Colors Board Book – The girls love this book! I’m not going to be able to explain it very well, so I’ll use the description from Amazon: “Alternating die-cut pages transform one baby face into another with the flip of a page. A baby with no hair becomes a baby with black hair, then a baby with brown hair. A baby with no hat is transformed into a baby with an orange hat, then a baby with a purple hat.” Way better than how I would have worded it! (Amazon Price: $6.29)
“Old” box and wonky site aside, I was very impressed with Lalaalu. All of the items were of high quality and you definitely get your money’s worth. This box retailed for $35 (I believe) and all totaled, the value of the products in the box comes to $66.15! Impressive!
Disclosure: This box was received for review. I was not compensated in any way. All opinions are my own. Amazon prices subject to change. Post contains affiliate links.
We’ve received the NutureMe meal packets in other sub boxes as well. At first I was so excited because I thought, ‘Awesome, something that I can toss in the diaper bag for those long car trips to the lake and I don’t have to pack the cooler with her food’. Until I opened the packet, and tried it…BLECH! It smelled horrible (we had the Raisin, Carrot, and Sweet Potato), but I mixed it up – thankful that I only used water and not waste breast milk on that. It was super pasty, and Squish REFUSED to eat it! ha! I make all her food, so she’s used to something very different than that. Needless to say, if we ever get anymore of those they will be re-gifted or shelved for EMERGENGY use only.
haha I felt the same way that you initially did. I thought it was weird that it was powdered, but convenient (and organic!) nonetheless. But when I gave it to my girls they were NOT havin’ it. The consistency was kinda gritty and reminded me of wet sand. Yum! Needless to say, every packet that I get goes into my “trade” pile now. 😉
I tasted it, and it was pretty gross…but thought, meh – I’ll give it a go with Squish. She spit it back out at me. ha!
I got this sample as well but I mixed it in with other food instead. I think I may have had peas or carrots? Im not sure but my daughter ate it like that.
Yeah, I saw that idea on the package… Problem is, my girls don’t eat much besides purees right now. Maybe I’ll throw it in a smoothie for myself… But prolly not. 😉