Aug 2 2013

A Picnic, A Flying Ants Nest, and Dexter’s New Travel Weaning Kit

Posted on August 2, 2013 by admin

Yesterday was positively boiling. To take advantage of the sunshine, Dexter and I went for a picnic in our local park!

I’d love to tell you we had a fabulous time. We had all the gear - a huge picnic blanket, a basket full of food, sparkling wine for the grown-up’s… but unfortunately it turned out to be a disaster of epic proportions.

Although Dexter had the park to himself and had a fabulous time playing on all the play equipment, the picnic itself was terrible. Its my fault. Idiot here decided to set up camp on a flying ants nest and our food was simply too much for them to resist. Despite hurriedly packing everything back up, and moving to the other side of the park, they seemed to follow us and you could literally see them moving through the grass! As I’m a wimp and have a phobia of anything remotely insect-shaped, this was an utter nightmare!

The picnic did, however, give us a perfect excuse to test out our new baby travel kit from Vital Baby. The bundle includes a Vital Baby Trap-a-Snack, a Vital Baby Unbelievabowl set, a Vital Baby Two Handled Trainer Cup (200ml capacity), a Vital Baby Weaning Set and a pack of Vital Baby Super Soft Fruity Hand & Face Wipes.

I’ve fallen in love with the Trap-a-Snack. It’s such a clever idea. It has a super soft plastic lid that allows little fingers to pick out a snack item. The genius of this is that if they drop the bowl (or fling it out of their pushchair) the food will remain in the bowl. It’s also great for protecting snacks from insects - the flying ants couldn’t get at Dexter’s cocktail sausages!

The weaning bowl is also very clever. Its hygienic spoon cover and clip on lid means the spoon and bowl are attached to one another so you’re not frantically searching for a spoon in the depths of your change bag (honestly my son has more baggage than I do!). The bowl itself is also a very child-friendly shape for little hands.

The sippy cup holds up to 200mls which is fabulous as Dexter is a right guzzler. We think Dexter believes he has to down all his juice in one sitting or it will evaporate under his nose. These are available in either non-spill or free flow 2 in 1 valve - Dex had the free flow one (his first ever free flow cup) and coped admirably.

Finally the Unbelievabowl has been a staple favourite in this house for months now. Its sticky base can be attached to highchairs or pushchair trays so baby can’t fling their dinner at you. As you twist the bowl onto the suction cup it would take a child with an impossibly high IQ to figure out how to detach it. Genius.

At £16.99 for all these travel essentials, it’s fantastic value for money. Each of these items now live in Dexter’s change bag just in case we’re caught out and need to grab a bite to eat when we’re on the go.

You can check out all of Vital Baby’s genius weaning solutions on the website and like them on Twitter and Facebook.

Jul 31 2013

Home Videos (Guess who’s walking…?)

Posted on July 31, 2013 by admin

It’s tough being a stay-at-home-parent. You’re acutely aware that your other half is at the coal-face whilst you’re getting to see your little one hit all those milestones for the very first time. Sometimes I have to catch myself when Craig gets home and I realise I’ve been bleating on about Dexter’s progress before I’ve even asked how Craig’s day has been.

But it’s been a massive few weeks for Dexter, and luckily Craig’s been there to witness most of it for himself. In fact, he got to see Dexter’s very first steps when I was upstairs doing a spray tan!

Here are those all-important ‘firsts’ captured on video:

First up - he shocked me by standing unaided. We were in the bath together and he began standing up and exploring the various bottles and toys on the sides of the bath. When he suddenly let go of the sides of the bath and stood entirely unsupported, I grabbed my phone and filmed him. Unfortunately it wasn’t appropriate to share these given Dex had his winkle on show. I did manage to re-create it the next day with Dexter in his ‘Daffyd’ trunks. Here you go!

Next up, I finally managed to get him kissing Craig on camera. He’s been giving these out freely for about a month now (he’s definitely his daddy’s son). We began encouraging him all those weeks ago by singing to him (and generally making prats out of ourselves). It seems to have worked as Dex now recognises the words and will instinctively go in for a snog when we start singing. I’m guessing we’ll employ the same tactic for potty training and fussy eating - will keep you posted.

And here’s the all-important first steps. Yep at 15 months Dexter took 3 steps in the kitchen with Daddy when I was upstairs applying fake tan. I finally had my own little taste of jealousy and we’ve been trying to get Dexter to show me ever since. Somehow - he did it when we were filming! (Excuse the over excited footage!)

So there you go! My little boy is growing up. Have your little people achieved anything huge this week? Do let me know or join in the fab linky below by Ethan’s Escapades x

SmallSteps zps991d32d0 Home Videos (Guess whos walking...?)

Jul 30 2013

An Altogether More Civilised #CharcoalChallenge

Posted on July 30, 2013 by admin

Nothing says summer like a beer-fuelled BBQ. Having all your mates crammed into your small back garden, a lack of places to sit, speakers in your living room deafening your next door neighbour (whilst only the thud of the bass reaches your guests in the garden), drunk games of Twister, wine-runs to the off licence every 2 hours, a hoard of ants the next day as you were too squiffy to tidy up… Those were the days…

indexbbq An Altogether More Civilised #CharcoalChallenge

Having attempted to organise a slightly tamer version of the above last weekend, we had to face up to the fact that no one wants to come to a BBQ where there is even the slightest possibility they might be roped into doing a bum-change after a few cans of Stella. Let’s face it, if you’re single and childless, the prospect of an impromptu gathering + alcohol + burgers + sunshine + kids = politely declining the invitation and going to the pub instead.

Undeterred, we decided to have our own family BBQ instead. Having been given £50 to create an epic BBQ for family (and friends - hmm) by Money Supermarket as part of their #CharcoalChallenge, we had some money in the kitty to make it a fun day for Dexter instead.

So here’s how we spent the dosh:

A crate of Stella £13

Piri Piri pork shoulder joints £4

Minted lamb kebabs £4

Fresh Salad, potatoes and dressing £5

(We had our own condiments)

A reclaimed seesaw for Dexter £20

We found Dexter’s new toy by chance as our local pub was turfing over the children’s play area. They had swings, playhouses, and slides up for grabs and we managed to nab this for a bargain £20! It’s been Dexter’s favorite toy in the pub garden for some time as he loves having daddy send him up skyward (and I think Craig likes using Dexter to work-out).

indexseesaw2 An Altogether More Civilised #CharcoalChallenge We also got to try Dexter out on some new food. He’s like his mummy and prefers vegetables but it was great to see him experiment with new flavours (cucumber, tomato and spring onions). He loved the minted lamb kebabs and got on quite well with tomato too (so well in fact, we had to change his shirt by the time he’d finished).