Friday Lucy and I made like birdies and migrated south to check out the Mamas and Chicks Show.

We had a great time making some new friends and checking out the talented roster of local vendors. The aisles were big enough for strollers (unlike other shows we’ve been to…) and businesses reported a steady, often overwhelming-in-a-good-way-ca-ching! flow of mummies. The only complaint I heard was from a friend who said exhibitors were unable to offer Debit because the venue did not have phone lines in the room. That, however, didn’t seem to be stopping the shopping…

At the show, we met Candace, the lovely proprietress of name your tune — a product I’ve been meaning to review for ages. At no prompting whatsoever, she immediately made Lucy and I a CD to take home.

And lemme tell you. That colourful disc has hardly turned off all weekend. Seriously. Seriously.

The premise is so simple and clever it’s one of those things you wish you’d thought of yourself: The company has a database of more than 3,000 names, and using a unique computer program, makes custom CDs with your child’s name. Lucy’s head snapped up as soon as the first song hit (“Lucy, Lucy, let’s sing and dance all day…”) and looked at me incredulously, with her head cocked to the side, as if to say, “Me? Like ME, Lucy?”

And then when the rest of the songs (If You’re Happy and You Know It, Little Lucy Had a Farm, The Wheels on the Bus) kept tra-laa-ing her name, I thought the wee thing was going to explode out of her car seat. Even in the dark on the drive home I could see the gigantic smile on her face. And the disc got the ultimate seal of Lucy approval: Her southern-drawl “Ah-gaaine” at the end of her fave songs — so on repeat they went.

I love that the discs are printed with the names, so Lucy will appreciate it even more as she gets older and learns to read. You can also put a custom message below (ours says: Special songs for you, Lucy, Love Mommy). Best of all, the packaging is environmentally friendly — using veggie ink, water coating — and is shipped in completely recyclable materials. A big, big kudos to the company for that. To top all this greatness off, it’s a Canadian business run by a mompreneur, and she donates a portion of the sale of each CD sold to a non-profit organization that provides hearing aids for children.

Check out their site to look up your baby’s name, order online, and listen to song samples. At only $20/disc, it’s a fabulous gift that will far outlast a regular toy.

Possibly related posts:

1. Dear Lucy,
2. Charm n’ tricks: Lucy-isms @ 18-ish months
3. MusiGo get it!
4. Manumanah!
5. 7 reasons why leaving Lucy with someone else makes my toes curl