Oscar

Leapfrog – Peek A Shoe Octopus

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The lovely people at Leapfrog have sent Zara and Oscar one of their Peek A Shoe Octopus to review.

The Peek A Shoe Octopus is for ages 9-36 months and so Oscar is almost old enough to play with it now. I have to remember that as he was premature he isn’t quite as advanced as most 8 month olds at the moment but now he has learnt to sit up he will find it easier to play :) Zara at 22 months absolutely loves playing with it.

The Peek A Shoe is basically a ball drop toy, you drop the balls into either the Octopus’s hat or arm (well I suppose technically it’s a tentacle?) and then you have to find which shoe it will appear under. The Octopus gives you clues using colours and numbers to help you find the ball. This is a fab game for teaching colour recognition, numbers and even sea animals. Zara can already identify most of the animals on the shoes but her favourite word is currently Octopus!

I only have a couple of small issues with the Peek A Shoe Octopus. 1) The balls are just small enough to roll under my sofa and so I’m quite frequently lying on my stomach with a ruler trying to get them back and 2) Zara has a habit of dropping other items into the Octopus. So far we have managed to retrieve them all successfully but we have to keep an eye out as we’ve so far found a shoe, a gingerbread man and a load of wooden jigsaw pieces in there. Even taking this into account though I think the Octopus is a great toy and we have been having loads of fun with it. When Oscar is a little older it will be lovely for them both to play with it together :)

The Peek A Shoe Octopus sells for £24.99 which I think is a pretty reasonable price and if you’re looking for gift ideas for a baby/toddler then it is definitely worth considering.

Friday Photo Time

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Kara at Innocent Charms Chats has started a weekly photo drop called #fridayphototime.

All of my old photos have just been downloaded to a portable harddrive so I’m not posting any #flashbackfriday photos but here are just a few of my favourite photos taken over the last week :) This week looking back at my photos, it seems to have been an Oscar week :)

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Galt Playnest

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We were sent a Galt Playnest a while back to review and it is one of those products that we like so much that I feel it should be included in my Christmas Gift Guide.

“The triangular shaped Playnest has various activities to explore including a furry mane, squeaky elephant ear and crinkly leaves, hiding monkeys and snakes and furry tiger tummy. The triangular shape offers baby additional sideways support when sitting. The fabric cover has a quilted centre for baby’s comfort and is machine washable.”

The playnest is a firm favourite in our house, loved by both Oscar and Zara. Now Oscar is at the stage where he is just mastering sitting up, it is a great place for me to pop him with his toys so he can wobble about to his hearts content.

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Of course when Zara is around the playnest becomes a boat, a car and anything else which involves her jumping in it with Oscar and playing with him. Luckily there is enough room for the both of them “just” :)

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I was going to include a video here of Oscar in the playnest but to be honest he was just lying there being a bit boring and I’ve got a much more entertaining one of Zara in it which I’m going to show you instead :) Just to prove that even 20 month olds still enjoy playing with it!

The playnests sell for £28.99 which I feel is a pretty good price for the amount of use we get out of it. If you’re looking for something to buy for baby at Christmas then I think it would make a fabulous present :)

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Silent Sunday

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Mama Jewels

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It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Mama Jewels and I did a review for them back in July here. Just because I love them so much I’ve decided to feature them in my christmas gift guide as I think they would make a lovely gift for any mums out there :)

The necklace I’ve chosen to feature is the Audrey Necklace.

Audrey sells for £19.95 and is a gorgeous long necklace using gold or silver beads to create a chain like appearance, with a dark smoky grey pendant finished with bronze or silver thread thread and Macrame knotting. It comes packaged in a lovely Mama Jewels gift box and tag.

Each necklace is strength tested to 90N to prevent breakage and all components are non toxic for when baby chews them, washable and can be steam sterilised. Perfect for the mum who has a pulling, teething baby :) What new mum wouldn’t love to find one of these in her Christmas stocking? :)

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Friday Photo Time

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Kara at Innocent Charms Chats has started a weekly photo drop called #fridayphototime.

All of my old photos have just been downloaded to a portable harddrive so I’m not posting any #flashbackfriday photos this week but here are just a few of my favourite photos taken over the last week :)

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Silent Sunday

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Stokke Tripp Trapp, A Chair for Life Part 2

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Way back in March when Oscar was only around 6 weeks old, I reviewed the Stokke Newborn Set and there are some products that are so good they deserve a follow up review post, and this is how I feel about the Stokke Tripp Trapp and Newborn Set!

Since the day we received the Newborn Set it has been used every single day from when Oscar arrived home from hospital weighing just under 6lb to when he was a strapping 6 month old baby weighing around 20lb! Mealtimes for us are family times when we all sit around the table, chat about our days and eat together. This didn’t change when Zara arrived on the scene and when Oscar arrived, the Newborn Set made mealtimes a thousand times easier. Oscar has loved sitting with us during mealtimes and having him sat near us when cooking, etc has been a real boost. Zara has also loved having her little brother nearby although we have had to watch out for the occasional carrot or spoonful of yoghurt being thrown at him ;)

Taken when Oscar was 3 weeks old, 3 weeks before his due date

My main concern when I originally saw the Newborn Set all those months ago was the size. I remember looking it and thinking it would never last him until we were ready for weaning but it has proved me wrong. Although premature, Oscar didn’t stay a tiny baby for long and soon outgrew most other babies his age but the Newborn Set has coped with his growth spurts and we have only now retired it as he has reached 6 months and is ready for weaning.

Oscar approx 3 months old, having a snooze

Oscar approx 6 months

Stokke very kindly sent us a Baby Set for Oscar to move up into as we have started weaning and Oscar absolutely loved his new seat :)

Oscar in the Baby Set

Although it did cause a bit of trouble in the household as Zara then proclaimed this to be “Zara’s chair”…sigh.. however the ever so lovely people at Stokke saved the day once more by sending Zara her very own Tripp Trapp so now the tiny terrors have a Tripp Trapp of their own and peace has been restored in the Brown household once more :)

Double Tripp Trapp

Mealtimes are now even more of a family affair with Oscar joining us all in eating, the Tripp Trapps enable Zara and Oscar to sit together and the bond between them is beautiful to watch…

Having a pre breakfast conversation

A family that eats together, stays together..

Zara at 22 months sits on the Tripp Trapp with no harness or baby set, she is capable of climbing on and off it by herself and will sit nicely at mealtimes although we do make sure someone is nearby at all times just in case. Oscar sits in the baby set and can easily reach the table and his food from it. Another huge bonus with the Tripp Trapps is that they are SO SO easy to clean compared to other highchairs with all their nooks and crannys to trap food in. With the Tripp Trapps I just wipe them down at the end of a meal, brush the floor and it’s all done :) And yes for those of you who’ve noticed that our table doesn’t match the Tripp Trapps, that is because we hate the table and it will be replaced shortly with one that matches our floor and the Tripp Trapps :) Of course you can get the Tripp Trapp in pretty much any colour you like so for those of you who are more adventurous you will be spoilt for choice!

Mealtime

We absolutely love our Tripp Trapp chairs and they really will last us for years and not be relegated to the scrap heap like our old plastic highchair has been. They are practical and elegant and something I’m proud to have in my kitchen :)

PS. Apologies for the photos and there being stuff everywhere but in a household like ours the kitchen is rarely looking like a show home lol but that’s just how we like it :)

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A Week in Photos

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Silent Sunday

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