Totally inspired by Sophia Amoruso’s book of the same name, Girl Boss is a series focused on fierce, determined women who go with their gut and create their dream businesses in the process.

I love a story about a girl who sees a need and makes it her mission to fill it. Lacey Ellis is that kind of woman. The Art and Creative Director for various agencies for ten years, Lacey realized after having her son that there was no good way to capture the hilarious (and sometimes profound) things that kids say. Wanting to preserve those special memories and help other families share their stories, Lacey started LittleHoots, a really fun app and memory-keeping platform.

I’m totally excited to share her thoughts on business and balance and all of that good stuff with you today…

Toddlers are amazing little boogers. From how quickly they learn new skills like language to how closely they watch and learn from the adults in their lives, these bite-sized, temperamental humans are absolute sponges.

The other day we watched Ellie pick up my brother’s girlfriend’s phone, click on the camera app and start swiping through her pictures. The girl is two and a half. I know plenty of adults who can’t figure it out that quickly (I will spare them the public humiliation of being named, but you know who you are).

She seems to be more interested in phones because she’s not allowed to touch them very often—which is why toddler apps are pretty much the best distraction ever when you’re praying to the gods that your little angels will behave themselves for fifteen freakin minutes.

I’m not going to lie. I’ve totally turned to iPhone apps as a babysitter and/or bribe. Don’t judge. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do—especially if you’re trying to have a phone conversation with a client and are hoping to be able to pay attention without screaming in the background and/or silence that’s indicative of some sort of major catastrophe.

So yeah. Color me guilty. And if you’re sitting there wanting to be guilty with me, you’re in luck. I put together a list of five of the best toddler apps for the iPhone. We got most of these for free either because they’re always free or because we (and by we I mean my husband) watched the App of the Week list and picked them up that way—because momma ain’t shelling out a lot of money on apps for a fickle little toddler. I’m way too cheap for that business.