What's a kid's favorite dream? Probably the one where he lives in a toy store.

That's more or less the case for two lucky little kids, Isaiah, 8, and Mira, 1. After all, the Izilla Toys-owning duo Jude Larene and Jen Schneeweis are their parents.

However, it doesn't mean the kids get everything they want. On the day I visited, Isaiah pointed out a few toys he'd like to have ... someday.

"Maybe for your birthday," Jude said, gently. "Maybe."

Here's Jude's take on toys, great vegan restaurants and fun things to do with kids in Seattle.

Q: How did you decide to get into the toy business and who is "Izilla?"
We opened our shop about five years ago. In our neck of the woods there wasn't much going in terms of good toy choices and we were looking to do something as a family. My wife was working a miserable job and commuting so we were not seeing much of her, I was a full-time stay-at-home papa.

With the shop, we could all make no money, but do it together. My son was 3 at the time and the true inspiration, so we named the shop after him. His name is Isaiah, but we call him Izilla.

Q: Do your kids act as toy-testers?
Absolutely. I like to see how they interact with the toys, especially when they play with their friends. There are certain catalogs that we just hand to Isaiah and ask him what we should order.

Q: What should parents look for in a "good toy"?
A good toy inspires creative, open-ended play and gets the grown-ups on the floor playing with the kids. A good toy engages different children in different ways; it's never quite the same kind of play twice. A good toy doesn't provide all the answers and allows the child to explore the possibilities.

Q: Do you have any advice for parents who feel like their kids receive too many toys on birthdays, holidays?
We are firm believers in the One Good Toy idea. I encourage people to invest in one great open-ended toy, rather than a bunch of uninspired ones.

Q: Where do you all eat out?
We are all vegetarian, but I'm the worst kind of vegetarian, a vegan. This limits our choices somewhat. We are big fans of Araya's Thai in the U District, Vegan Garden in the ID and Lola's South City Bakery in Hillman City. Cafe Stellina always does something great for me, which is super cool of them.

Q: What does your family do for fun?
We live about two blocks from the best park in the city, Powell Barnett Park on MLK in the CD. Our shop is about two blocks from our second-favorite park, Bobby Morris Park on Capitol Hill. We also spend a ton of time racing BMX bikes at North Seatac BMX Park.

I'd love to go to more Mariners games because I love baseball, we go to the zoo quite a bit (in spite of the fact that animals in cages make us all a little sad). We love, love, love fairs. Any and all fairs. Rickety rides, impossible ring toss games, teeming crowds -- we love it all. And it's fair season. Yes!

Know a fun or notable family that should be profiled next? E-mail Lora at littlekidsbigcity@nwsource.com.

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