a little bit of chocolate posing

My youngest is now demanding to feed herself.  I would like to show you what happens when a 1 year old gets hold of a spoon and a chocolate yoghurt and enjoys having her photo taken

That would be a little bit of chocolate posing!

This day I love a little bit of chocolate posing

A twist up and alls dry

For a long time my eldest has wanted me to twist her hair up for it to dry after we get out the shower.  We have tried over and over with towels, but they just don't stay on and then she gets upset.  It is because I tie my hair up and she is wanting to copy.  

After visiting the baby show we came back with a Cuddle dry, cuddletwist.  This was the perfect solution.  The hood of the towel went on her head, I twisted the back and then slotted it into the elastic on top.  It stayed in place and she was ever so pleased.  I loved how happy it made her that she could finally put her hair up.

The cuddletwist also, due to its high absorbency, dried her hair a lot quicker which meant we did not have to struggle so much to dry it.  I am so glad we found cuddle dry at the baby show because they really made my daughters morning.  She is ever so happy to be able to twist up her hair and she adores her new towel.  I am even thinking of buying one for me!

This day I love a twist up and alls dry

The toadstool review : Trix Trax spin and swirl

I have been eagerly awaiting our toys to review from the toadstool.  My eldest daughter was very excited when she saw the box for the Wonderworld Trix Trax spin and swirl.  We had to set it up straight away

Of course my youngest had to help too

Trix Trax is suitable from 3 years old.  We found however that the instructions, although in picture format, could be a little tricky to interpret at times.  I personally think it is for an adult or older child to build and for younger ones to enjoy.

My eldest also got fairly frustrated with the building process as the plastic bricks would not click into place like she is used to with her building blocks and so did not 'stick' together.  Once we managed to get to grips with the instructions, we found we only needed them once and could then build again from memory.  My eldest knew what to do straight away and even took it upon herself to show her sister

The video also helps to illustrate our one other downside and that's stability.  My youngest barely touched and the whole thing fell over.  I think this is due to the plastic bricks not clicking and locking in place.  Perhaps a board to build the Trix Trax on would remove this stability issue.

We took the Trix Trax and re built downstairs to test if it was any more stable on a table

It did last a while longer before parts started to become dislodged.

At the end of the video my eldest daughter says 'oh no its broken'.  

Even with parts moving as they did, my eldest daughter loved playing with the Trix Trax and it is her current favourite toy.  Every morning I have to set it up before breakfast so she can play.  The wooden parts of the track are made to the highest quality and painted in such lovely colours that it is such a shame the plastic bricks let it down.  

Having seen the enjoyment my daughter gets when playing with the Trix Trax I think we may have to purchase more sets to link them all together to create one big track.

I can see this becoming a popular toy but if you are purchasing for a child under 5 be prepared to put the track back together a fair few times

a good family day out at the Baby Show

My Mum accompanied the girls and I to the Baby show at Birmingham NEC.  Having attended quite a number of shows in the past I now know what to expect, but each show is unique and just gets better every time.  My Mum and I love to watch as the pregnant visitors and their partners stock up on all they need for their, what appears to be imminent, new arrival.  Those with their lovely newborns picking up some amazing bargains and those like myself shopping for their beautiful children.

The baby show really does cater for many offering superb bargains and discounts and displaying some of the latest in baby products.  It was really lovely to meet Aquaint which is a brand I have come across recently.  I really loved the idea and it was great to finally see the product in action.  It is a 100% natural cleansing water that is safe if drunk and can be used to clean hands, face, cuts, baby products what is really great is that it kills 99.9% bacteria.  I think this is certainly a product to watch.

Having visited the baby show before it is always lovely to catch up with friends, Vital Baby, Easi Dream, Water wipes, Cheeky wipes and MaByLand.  I must also say a huge thank you to Cheeky Rascals who helped me fix my daughters Buggy board and to Maxi Cosi for some amazing transportation, more on this to follow shortly.

The Baby show also gave me the chance to see Mia Tui bags up close.  All I can say is wow, I think my Mum and I stood there for a good while just loving the bags.  I had a lovely chat with the Mums at Tots Bots, who have such wonderful knowledge on cloth nappies.  At every Baby show I always have to have a walk over to the Bunk Cot company, as I just love the Bunk cot.  It is such a great product for those with more than one child who are short on space, a really innovative idea.  

I took the opportunity at this show to sign up with Nappies 2 go, as I ran out of time to talk to them in detail at Excel.  I am a huge fan of reducing waste and recycling and I think it is amazing value for money to help reduce the amount which goes to landfill.  I look forward to the service commencing.  As a huge fan of wooden toys I was amazed by the selection on Batteries not Included.  The bright and wonderful colours on Great little Emporium had us wishing we could buy everything.

As with every show, I find I always run out of time and wished I had had more to spend talking to Bramble Rose.  I was so impressed with not only the quality but how beautiful everything looked

I loved the new advanced comfort bottle from tommee tippee, which is designed to reduce air injection and encourage a good latch on to help reduce colic in infants.  It is a shame I no longer use bottles with my daughter else I would have been very tempted to purchase one.  Kiddy also had me wanting another baby just so I could try out their new evolution pro .  It is a new generation of car seats, which just by moving the handle moves the baby into a more relaxed, natural sleeping position.  It conforms with new car seat regulations by growing with a child up to 15 months, and as you would expect can be used on a travel system.  I was just amazed by how easy to use, light weight and well protected a new born, or even premature baby would be.

If all that wasn't enough there were free drinks from Peter Rabbit Organic Drinks, which went down a huge treat with my girls who are already a fan of the product.  Beautifully decorated stands including fake grass from Cosatto which my youngest loved the feel off, apologies once again to Cosatto for my daughter 'exploring' your stand.  Wonderful pictures which would make amazing gifts from the day that and a first aid app from the red cross, which I shall be downloading.

My eldest daughter was in amazement at the pic and mix, I don't think she has ever seen so many sweets before

I think by far her highlight of the show was the play area provided by Little tikes

I think she would have happily played there all day had the promise of an ice cream not tempted her to come out.  Amazing facilities by Little Tikes, who played games including pass the parcel, which my eldest has not stopped talking about.  

For me though my favourite finds of the show were Gumi Gem, as my youngest is teething at the moment and I am hoping this will help her, Brush baby as I am beginning to struggle to brush my youngest teeth [almost on a full set] and this should make things easier, Bundle Bean who I have seen the products on the Internet and was even more impressed up close, I managed to find the cuddle twist from Cuddle Dry after rather a lot of searching, and finally BOB gear as the range of strollers available would be perfect for taking the girls with me on my training for the Yorkshire 3 peaks.

I think though for my youngest her favourite part of the show, other than the previously mentioned Cosatto stand was the colourful and and beautiful products from Funky Giraffe bibs.  I could not resist them and I know I am biased but she does look ever so cute in them

We all had such an amazing day and I cannot wait for the next show and for some new discoveries.

This day I love a good family day out at the Baby show.

Silent Sunday 19.05.13

Project 365 : Week 20

Sunday

The girls are starting to play together a lot more now which is really lovely to watch.  We do still have the odd fight but I guess that's siblings.  Both girls love the ride on car from their Grandparents for my youngest first birthday.

Monday

There was only one way I could think of to unwind after a long day at work and that was to have fun with bubbles and make some very silly faces!

Tuesday

We received a very special delivery today from Galt toys.  My eldest absolutely loves it and has not stopped playing on it.  Even the bribe of chocolate did not work to get her to come off for bed.  I think if she could get it in bed with her it would be there.

Wednesday

My youngest is now turning into little miss independent and wanting to feed herself.  Food times have become even more messy!

Thursday

Our new car seat from Kiddy is proving to be a huge success!  It has been a very long and tiring week though I can forgive her for feeling like this.

Friday

For whatever reason my eldest now finds it fun to get a blanket and tuck the dog up in it.  He is not bothered and lets her get on with it.  He spends most of his time either wrapped up in a blanket or having his hair done by my eldest.

Saturday

My youngest is teething and generally feeling off it.  We went to the local shopping centre as I need walking boots for my challenge in summer [I would love it if you would sponsor me via the Just giving button in the top corner].  There is a water sculpture that the girls love to sit by and watch,  Think it helped my youngest take her mind of her teething.  

5 x £25 vouchers for card town

I have 5 vouchers worth £25 each to spend on Cardtown.  Card town provides cards for all occasions and they can be personalised with photos and your own messages.  The website is very easy to navigate around and there is a large selection of cards.  With Fathers Day round the corner, why not enter to win one of the 5 vouchers and choose one from their Father's Day range, or with all the weddings that seem to happen in the summer why not personalise a Wedding card.  Whatever the occasion Cardtown is the home of personalised cards.

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