Busy Gears

So I bought this for Nolan yesterday at our favorite thrift store.

It was $2 versus the Toys R Us price of $18! I really like toys that encourage thought and imagination but it seems like the more simple the toy the more it costs. The cheapest all wood teether I've found is close to $20! Yep it's just a nice piece of sanded wood! Needless to say we don't own one and instead Nolan utilizes the crib (even though I went to all this trouble).

Nolan really likes the gears on the play table at the library so I thought this would be perfect. The gears at the library table are all permanently connected to the table. As you rotate one, the others spin. The gears on this toy, however, come off. That leaves us with 10+ pieces and a table that no longer spins. Once Nolan figures out how to put the gears back on it will be better but for now I'm stuck finding the gears, putting them back on, and then hoping he plays with it for a while before removing them all and starting all over! Good news though, apparently the gears themselves are yummy to chew on!