Fun with Baby Annabell

Last Saturday, we were invited to meet the new autumn/winter range of Baby Annabell dolls at our local Smyths Toy Store. When we arrived the party was in full swing, with face painting, story time and much more. My daughter was most excited about getting to meet the new Baby Annabell dolls and toys, however first she had her face painted.

With some yummy cakes to celebrate and lots of crafts from The Creation Station, it was a great way to spend some time on a Saturday morning.

With a new fold up bedroom, two fab new dolls and probably my favourite, the walking lamb, there were some great toys to play with.

The two new dolls are the stuff of my dreams back when I was my daughters age, with one that drinks and uses the potty and cries, as well as one that learns to crawl and walk, it was great for my daughter to see them up close.

I think these dolls will be on many a Christmas list this year and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed playing with them, I love things that are interactive as they enhance a child's imagination and allow them to take it to the next level.

We had a great morning getting to know the new range of Baby Annabell toys, best of all they have a host of events happening all over the country so why not pop on over to Smyths to see if there is one near you.

Make Your Own Baby Birth Stats Wall Art

This week whilst I am on holiday I am passing over the blog to a few lovely bloggers, first up is Emma from Handbags To Change Bags, her blog is beautiful and a great insight into her life and her beautiful family. Anyway enough babble from me, over to Emma.

Hi I'm Emma from Handbags To Change Bags and I'm guest posting for the lovely Ellie today while she is away on holiday. Today's post is a DIY, hope you enjoy it!

I'm always on the lookout for cute ideas for my kids bedrooms and the home in general, I recently saw a lovely personalised piece of wall art with your baby's birth stats on it and thought it would be perfect for Summer's bedroom.

However when I noticed the price was £28 without a frame and when you add in the frame it was £68 I just couldn't justify paying that amount.

So I decided I'd take on a little DIY project and have a go at making one myself and I'm really pleased with how it came out!

All I did was use PicMonkey to add different texts in different colours and fonts to a white background and printed it out. I chose to design mine a little different to the one I'd seen but you can design it anyway you want.

I got the frame from Ikea and the whole thing cost me the grand total of £4!

I think it looks lovely in Summer's bedroom and goes perfectly with her room decor, I'm going to make another one for Riley's bedroom and I'm also making one for my nephew as part of his birthday present.

Thank you so much Ellie for allowing me to guest post and if you enjoyed my post then please pop over to my blog and say Hi!

XXX

Gumigem Mothers Day Giveaway

We have had our Gumigem for the last couple of years and it is a really simple yet brilliant idea, so I am really pleased to be able to host this giveaway to win not one but two pieces from their range.

Gumigem offers a wide ranging line of award winning, baby proof, mummy jewellery designed to look amazing, but with your baby in mind. Babies love to grab, pull and chew on jewellery and this jewellery collection accommodates this, without damaging the jewellery or harming your baby. Nor does Gumigem compromise on style although it is practical and baby friendly it also looks great with a huge variety of necklaces and bangles.

The creator of Gumigem is Jenny McLaughlan who came up with the idea while on maternity leave with her second child in early 2010.  Jenny's son inspired her to start the company, as he was a nightmare during teething, biting everything in sight! She used to tie and strap teethers to herself until the light bulb moment hit her and she decided to create a teether into a stylish piece of jewellery? Gumigem was born!

The current range includes Bangles & Bracelets

As well as a wide range of pendants and necklaces, as well as bespoke necklaces and many combination deals that offer big savings

The jewellery is made from silicone (like what you would find a dummy teat, teething toy or baby spoon to be made of), so is soft and flexible. It is BPA, PVC, Lead, Latex and Phthalate free, can withstand high temperatures and be easily washed in hot water or placed in the dishwasher. The necklaces come on a long cord, so there is plenty of reach for baby, and for extra comfort and safety, each necklace has a breakaway clasp.

So here is what you could win, this gorgeous bright Squash Bermuda Bangle, perfect to warm up these cold days and a Pepper Raindrop Pendant, wonderfully simple and will go with pretty much anything. Just enter via the rafflecopter form below and one winner will be picked at random next week.

For more information and latest updates you can follow Gumigem on Twitter and Facebook.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kisses, hugs and cuddles!

My son is such a loving little soul, he always tells me he loves me, gives me hugs and cuddles and is generally the sweetest thing. My daughter kisses and cuddles too but she is only 2 so she doesn’t understand why she’s doing it yet.

I treasure and cherish every one of those kisses in case they stop, a colleague at work tells me how her 16 year old daughter never talks to her let alone kisses and cuddles her, it has been this way since she was about 11.

If I am sad or just need a cuddle I still go to my mum and I really hope my son and daughter are the same, however I know one day I will probably be an embarrassment to them and they won’t want to know me.

So for now I will continue to treasure my perfect little people in all their hugging and kissing glory.

Love you guys :'o)

Image courtesy of Clare Bloomfield / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Happy 30th Birthday...

To me, ah bet you thought I was going to say Prince William didn't you.

Well yes Happy Birthday William but it is also mine on Saturday and I too am reaching the milestone that is 30!

But to be honest I am not interested in celebrating it, to me I am just getting another year older. I don't really need a party to feel good about getting older.

I shall be having a quiet night in with some lovely food, champers and my beautiful family.

I leave you with a picture of my first ever teddy, I have pictures of the day I came home of me with this teddy.

We have lift off!

Well not exactly lift off, but today my little girl pulled herself up for the first time!

*excuse me a second whilst I sob into a tissue* Soon she will be walking and then she will be a toddler and no longer a baby!

I can see why some women have child after child, as much as I enjoy watching her grow there is part of me that just wants her to be my baby that little bit longer. But as she curiously watches her brother running round like a mad man I can see in her eyes the desire to be chasing him.

The term 'eyes in the back of your head' has never rung so true, I have no idea how I am going to keep tabs on them both once they are both mobile.

I suppose we had better think about getting her some shoes *claps* with my son there wasn't a huge choice but for girls...whoa nelly I am soooo excited.

Just have to get her little feet measured (and I mean little she has the dinkiest of feet) and then off I shop, first stop will be Little Stomper if you haven't visited them you should.

A little book that made me smile...

So I have mentioned a few times about suffering with PND after my son was born with it I lost the ability to see the little things and this book really helped me.

In it are lots of little ideas and things to do that aren't just visits to the park. Little quotes that are uplifting and often had me in tears.

It's probably the reason I just chose to spend time with my daughter and enjoy 'her' rather than trying to make it to baby groups and compare baby poo and how great their baby slept through the night.

Although it is nice going to baby groups and talking to other mums sometimes I would just find myself getting wound up, and with my son around as well it wasn't always possible to take him and it would just become more hassle!

I still made sure I saw my best friend from work once a month and go to the hairdressers to have a wash and cut. If I am out and about I would take time to talk to people who ask about my children rather than being in a rush.

I would go for long walks and sit chatting to her rather than being in a rush to be somewhere on time and then get stressed about it!

So what is this book, it is called things to do now that you're a mum...

A couple of my favourite excerpts are...

'Babies spend a lot of time sky gazing, so join in!. Lie back and relax as you watch the clouds vaporize and float across the sky. See what faces, shapes or animals you can make out in the cloud formations. Teach your baby to find magic in the natural world.'

'On a clear night, wrap yourself and baby up warm and step outside to watch the stars'

'Take an enchanted early morning walk in a dew filled garden. There are some advantages to getting up early with a baby!'

'Even if your child pretends not to care, they do look up to you. So try to 'walk your alk' and be a positive role model in all that you do.'

and my favourite one...

'Take your baby on a 'date'. Dress up and have lunch in a restaurant you've always wanted to go to.'

They are just little things that sometimes with sleepless nights you forget exist or with busy lives you literally don't have time to stop and smell the roses.

I think it would make a great new mum gift or mothers day gift for a new mum as it is lovely, even as a second time mum with a one year old I still find little things in it that I do with my children.

How time flies!

This time last year I was heavily pregnant, full of pineapple, raspberry leaf tea and overdue!

Everyday I walked up the huge hills around where we live and cleaned like a mad woman just to try and get labour started, twelve days overdue she arrived.

A week on Monday my daughter is one, I cannot believe how quickly this last year has gone.

I have smiled everyday since having her and she has completed my life, healing some very raw wounds left by the birth of my son.

Here is to my daughter and the miracle that is birth, love you little lady :)