The Evolution of Barbie - Barbie Fashionistas

Barbie has always been a part of my life and with each doll Mattel release they seem to evolve, the release of the new Fashionistas dolls has been another interesting development. With dolls of all shapes, sizes, skin colour, eye colour and hair now available, it has been interesting to see some of these dolls up close.

When my daughter examined them as we took them from the box she only saw the different clothes, she didn’t see the different skin colour or sizes, although she did comment on the slighty wider legs of Chambray chic, but it was more of a passing comment than criticism. It certainly makes you look at yourself and think about how the comments we make have an effect on how they see the world.

These dolls are a great addition to our collection and for me epitomise what Barbie has always been about, clothing and fashion. Yes I would have liked to have seen more practical clothing and styles but the new flatter feet mean new shoes that I would have loved for my Barbie as a young girl. I remember my mum making dresses and trousers out of old scraps of material and being able to dress my dolls up in the clothes of the time, these offer just that.

My daughter took to playing with them as she would any doll, making them talk to each other about random stuff from clothes to what they'd done that day. The clothes themselves are almost interchangeable with the slimmer fitting ones struggling to be done up at the back of Chambray Chic, but that didn't really matter as most of the time my daughter doesn't manage to do the clothes up properly anyway, the shoes on the tall and petit dolls don't interchange either but that is fine, you just need to remember whose shoes are who's.

The dolls stick with the signature facial style of the original Barbie so are recognisable, but all have their own look. I really love the curly hair on Crazy for Coral, it reminds me of a perm I had back in the day and I loved it then and even now, I would love curly hair, it is this imagination that Barbie sparks.

Barbie creating these dolls means that children get a chance to see from within their imaginations that everyone is different, that it is normal and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Playing with dolls that are different shapes, sizes and colours helps them to understand that in the real world people are all different and that this is normal.

My daughters favourite doll is Crazy for Coral, she loves the dress "because it's shiny and she likes the pattern". With such a huge selection to chose from I can't wait to see the rest, their are some more wonderful hair colours and clothes and my daughter has already chosen the ones she'd like next.

The new 2016 Barbie Fashionistas doll line includes four body types (the original, petite, curvy and tall) seven skin tones, 22 eye colours, 24 hairstyles and countless on trend fashions and accessories. The RRP is just £9.99 and they are available to order now from Amazon. Mattel have also released a great video all about The Evolution of Barbie, it is a great insight into the changes.

NB We were sent these dolls for the purpose of the review, all words an opinions are my own.

Learning to Draw

This week my daughter has surprised me a in a few ways, firstly when we were in the playground at school she recognised the first letter of her name from the letter cubes on the playground floor. After  speaking to nursery about the recognition of letters we also established she can pick out her name.

Then as we were talking about letters and drawing I asked her to draw a smiley face and she did, she hasn't really shown much interest in drawing up until now so this is a big milestone for us.

You probably can't tell from the picture but this circle has a smile, two tiny eyes and a nose, it is the first time I have seen her draw anything that resembles a face, so I am excited about what we are going to see in the future.

My sons drawings have gone from this, which was his first ever picture of him and his daddy...

To these intricately drawn pictures, full of imagination and a world through a six year old boys eyes, it is a truly wonderful privilege to be the person who sees these pictures and thoughts.

The milestones never really seem to stop and the magic of children and life through their eyes is just wonderful.

Word of the Week

I think my word of the week this week is pride, for so many reasons. Firstly, my son got to go to the cinema for 100% attendance, he also took part in his French class end of year performance. He has picked it up so well and I am really excited to see him use it when we go to France in a few weeks time.

We  went to my daughters nursery to see where she would be going in September, she was extremely well behaved and the nursery nurses who currently look after her have nothing but the highest of praise for her. She has such confidence in fact so much so she went and stood with my son in his French performance and counted to 10 with them, in French!!!

My son has also been asking to do things round the house, making his breakfast and helping me tidy things away, my daughter insists on helping me set the dinner table and I couldn’t be more proud of the two lovely young children they have become!

I am really looking forward to what I expect to be a glowing report for my son, his teacher is constantly telling us what a lovely young man he is and how he is the perfect student and role model. He came home with yet another star of the week certificate last week and after a rough start in school life he has blossomed.

My heart is bursting with pride for my two wonderfully kind, caring and enthusiastic children, what more could a mother ask for. 

Linking up to Word of the Week with The Reading Residence

Time for Bed?

Recently, my son has started getting up earlier and I am wondering whether it's time to let him go to bed later?

I have checked out the NHS website, which has a list of hours children need of sleep at each age, they say that a 6 year old only really needs about 10.75 hours sleep a night. I think that sounds about right.

But are we a nation of put to bed early parents? The people across the road from us who have a 5 year old and a 9 year old and they don't put their children to bed until about 1.30 in the morning. We've gone to bed at 11.30-12 before and they are still up playing, is this normal?

I really believe that sleep is important so have always made sure that they get to bed at a decent time (between 7.30 and 8.00pm), especially on a school night, nothing worse than having to drag a child out of bed still half asleep!

I know when we've been to France it is quite common for children to still be up late, is it just a British thing to put children to bed early?

I think we'll let my son go to bed a bit later for a few nights and see whether he stays in bed till later although i'm sure he's just going to be up as early and then won't have had as much sleep. I can't imagine anything worse than a child falling asleep in class or being so tired they can't function at school.

Learning to Tie a Shoe - Childhood Milestones

This weekend my son got his first pair of lace up shoes, it is a momentous milestone for any child.

As I sat teaching my son to tie his laces it bought back memories of nursery and the wooden shoelace board that I learnt on.

I remember doing it for the first time and I got a big star sticker, it was such a wonderful feeling so I wanted to make sure he had the same experience.

As I sat behind him we slowly went through the process, he got a little frustrated but we persevered and eventually he had it nailed.

We had lot's of clapping and high fives, I hope that this made him understand how important it is to keep trying in order to achieve something.

I certainly was a very proud mummy,  I had managed to teach him something and he had achieved a huge milestone in his development, I am sure there will be a lot more practice required though ;)

Meet our New Family Member

As a child I loved my pets, it all started with a couple of pet goldfish (we won at the fair) then we had two mice and from then I had several hamsters. They are such wonderful little creatures that after careful handling can be loving pets

These small furry bundles make me smile and are such wonderfully endearing creatures, so at the weekend we decided to brush off the old hamster cage and get a new one for the kids.

Now I can't really show you any pictures of her being held yet as she is still very timid, but over time she should come out of her shell and be a great friend for my two children.

But so far my two children (3 and 5) adore her and keep waiting for her to come out and have a snuffle about the cage, in fact it is safe to say they are besotted by Peppa, as she has been named by said 3 year old.

Pets are great for children, they not only become a friend but I think having something to care for will show them how things life is for me at times.

I hope to share more of our journey with Peppa and the children, to show how wonderful a pet a hamster can be.

But for now this is me linking up to Magic Moments over on the lovely The Olivers Madhouse blog.