Calleigh's New Toddler Bed

Calleigh finally has her own little toddler bed. We knew hat once we got back from England we were giving her room a little makeover (more to come on that soon) and one of the things I was most excited about getting was a toddler bed. 

She had been in her crib since she was 6 months old and although she slept incredibly well in it, the time had come to move her on to a bed of her own. 

The bed itself is perfectly designed with toddler's in mind. It is just inches from the floor so if Calleigh happens to roll in the night the fall will not hurt. It's also really good because she can get herself in and out of bed when she pleases. This is more of a good/bad thing. 

It's good because it gives her a lot more freedom. When she wakes up she can get herself out of bed and come to the door and shout for us or she can play around with her toys for a bit first. It's only really bad at bedtime. Before it was easy to get her to sleep as she had no choice, she was in her cot with no way out of it. But now bedtime is a bit of a free for all. She goes to bed, she gets out and fetches a toy or a book and goes back to bed, she then gets out again to fetch something else and so on and so on. Before you know it you've been up there an hour, all her toys are out and Calleigh is still no closer to going to sleep. 

It' a work in progress, she is getting better. 

I am so happy that she is in her bed now, it really makes me feel like shes grown up. I've gone up after a nap to hear her playing in her room by herself and it really just makes you feel good! 

Calleigh loves it too! She loves running over to her bed, climbing under the covers and giving us a big yawn before pretending to go to sleep. It the cutest thing! 

Storage Ideas for a Tidy Toddler Room

Keeping things tidy when you have a toddler is near impossible. If its not all over the floor its usually just rammed out of sight somewhere. And all of those precious memories in a box or on a high shelf out of reach of wandering hands.

It doesn't have to be a nightmare to keep things tidy or to save those important items somewhere safe and secure. Below is two simple and cute storage ideas to keep your toddler room tidy and looking good at the same time.

Keeping Memories Safe

These gorgeous Fairy Tale storage books are a super cute way to keep those precious items safe. They look just like books so no one will know any different. You can find these on nextdirect.com These ones in particular are perfect for a little girls room but they also do a more neutral set which would look great in a boys room.

Keeping things tidy

Kids have so much stuff its hard to find places for everything. I am constantly struggling to find places for Calleigh's toys. The big ones are no problem but its the tons and tons of little toys she has. One neat way to keep them all in one place- Storage Baskets!

I got these plain white baskets and also added a personalised liner- that way I knew what was in which box and they added to the design of the room. 

What's in Calleigh's Backpack

Calleigh has now moved up to the 2-3 group in daycare and we thought it would be a good idea to buy her a backpack so she can take all the things she need to school in style. It's also really useful for short trips and she loves that she has her own little bag to carry around with her. We took it back to England with us and found it really useful for when we were out and about visiting different family. It's big enough to carry what we needed but small enough for Calleigh to wear on her back. 

So what does Calleigh take to daycare with her?

Nappies/Diapers- Calleigh isn't potty trained as of yet so she always needs to take a days supply with her. 

Baby Wipes- I only usually take these once in a while as they will stay at school until she runs out.

Spare Clothes- Kids will be kids and kids get messy. It hasn't happened as of yet as Calleigh is a rather clean child (she hates dirt and mess) but she always takes some spare clothes just in case. 

Teddy or Toy- I always like to let Calleigh take one of her cats or a toy of her choice with her. She still gets quite upset when I leave so it's nice that she has something to remind her of home and she can cuddle/play with it when she's feeling a bit sad. 

So there you have it- the toddler version of what's in my bag! 

England.. Part 2

After Christmas had been and gone we spent our remaining time in England enjoying some "us" time as well as regularly visiting family. Calleigh loved playing with Auntie Lana and finally warmed up to Mike, which was nice to see. She still spent a lot of her time chasing the cat and sneaking mee-maws Christmas chocolates. We had a few good trips down to our local tea shop Anderson's too. Their tuna and cucumber sandwiches are my favourtie!

We took Calleigh to feed the geese at a nearby nature reserve, which we also took her to when she was a baby. She really does love geese and had fun throwing food to them. That was until a swan turned up and started pecking at daddies feet. It freaked her out a little bit and from then onwards didn't want to be put down. She also then spent the rest of the day asking daddy if his feet were okay. So cute!

Paul and I enjoyed a few Calleigh free nights together, including New Year's Eve, whilst Nanna and Grandad enjoyed lots of Calleigh time and night time cuddles. She went with Nanna and Grandad to a party and they also took her out for a day in a kids play area.

I also managed to go down to London to catch up with my good friend Charlotte of Charlotte's Web. We spent the day chatting and catching up whilst walking around Harrod's. We also enjoyed some food in the cutest little pub and it was really nice, even if they didn't have the pie. I had a really good time!

The night before we were set to go home we went down to our local pub to say goodbye to our friends. Calleigh had a great time and enjoyed getting all of the attention! 

It was really sad saying goodbye to everyone again and we will miss them all so much. But hopefully it wont be for long and family will come out to visit us. 

I'm really looking forward to a few family visits this year!! 

Toddler Outfit of the Month: January

January's outfit of the month is a cute denim skirt paired up with a pretty jumper and some knit tights. The star hair clips match perfectly with this outfit to complete the look. 

Denim Skirt- Next

Tights- Next (set of 3)

Jumper- Tesco 

Boots- Cherokee at Target

Hair clips- Gymboree

The boots are Calleigh's favourite at the moment. A new program has just started on Disney Junior called Sheriff Callie's Wild West and Calleigh is obsessed with it. She finds it amazing that it has her name and she's also a cat. It couldn't be more perfect! 

Calleigh calls these boots her "Sheriff Callie Boots" and wants to wear them pretty much all the time! 

 

I asked her to pose for me and this is what she did...

Hmmmmmm...

Night Time Nosebleeds

Yesterday morning Calleigh woke up with a rather blood stained nose.

Our biggest concern was that she had fallen out of her new toddler bed and banged her nose on something (even if the bed is only 1 foot from the floor). After cleaning her up there appeared to be no bruises or other telltale signs of a bang to the nose and we also spotted quite a bit of blood on the bed sheets and pillow and also on the sleeve of her Pyjama's.

So we concluded it had to have been a little nose bleed.

Calleigh has never had a nose bleed before so it did worry me a little bit, especially as it seemed that she had slept through it. I do remember, from when we took Calleigh to the doctors, that he had noticed the back of her nose was a bit sore, presumably from a cold, and for the past couple of days she has had quite a runny nose and a cough. So it made sense to me to just put it down to that. Although I have been keeping an extra eye on her to make sure she's okay.

I never suffered too much with nose bleeds when I was younger but I do remember my sister having them quite a lot. That girls nose could turn a white dress red in seconds. I do hope Calleigh doesn't start to suffer with them regularly. There's nothing worse than seeing your little one covered in blood.

Our English Christmas Day

Calleigh spent Christmas Eve night round her Nanna and Grandad's house. I was a little bit sad that I didn't get to wake her up on Christmas morning and surprise her with gifts but we decided it would be nice to let Nanna and Grandad have that pleasure. Instead Daddy and I got to spend the evening together and we went out for a few drinks in our local. 

In the morning we went straight round to Nanna and Grandad's to see our girl. She was already up and playing with her new toys. She got a big cardboard house which she loved going in and out of. She also got a balance bike and helmet along with lots of other little goodies. She loved the bike and had so much fun walking it around with her helmet on. Unfortunately it was a little to big for us to bring back with us, so we will have to make sure we get her one to have here.

This Christmas Daddy and I decided not to get Calleigh much for Christmas. With going back to England it made it a bit awkard. We didn't want to buy presents over here, take them back to England for her to open them and then bring them back again, seemed a bit pointless. And on the other hand we didn't want to buy her loads in England as we knew family had brought her gifts and we wanted to bring them back with us. Although I couldn't resist buying her a few things including some Octonauts Teddies.

Back at Mee-Maws house we all opened some more gifts and then sat down to some yummy Christmas Dinner. Calleigh didn't eat much aside from quite a large amount of onion and garlic dip (strange child). She had much more fun playing with the party blower that great Nanna had brought round from her night out. 

The whole day flew by pretty fast to be honest. Before we knew it we were tucking Calleigh into bed and getting ready to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special. 

So that was how we spent our Christmas. I really enjoyed spending it with family but I am looking forward to having our own little family Christmas in St Louis this year. As Calleigh will be 3 and much, much more aware of what Christmas is we think it would be best to keep her here and give her an amazing Christmas and start our own family traditions. 

Of course if family would like to come over and spend it with us here they are more than welcome! 

Cut it Out Wall Stickers Review and Giveaway

At the moment we are in the process of giving Calleigh's room a little update. She is no longer a baby any more and I think the time has come to give her her own little space. Obviously as we are renting at the moment we have had to look a little outside the box when it comes to decorating the room to make it "hers". 

So when I was contacted by Cut it Out Wall Stickers and asked if I would like to review one of their lovely wall stickers I jumped at the chance. Cut it Out Wall stickers create beautiful and personalised Wall Stickers that can add that special touch to a room. 

They have a lovely and extensive range from stickers for a girl or boys room to stickers to spice up your kitchen and living spaces, all at very reasonable prices. My personal favourites are the inspirational quote stickers. 

The sticker I chose for Calleigh's room was the Personalised Once Upon A Time sticker.

I was so happy when the sticker arrived and couldn't wait to get it on the wall. I went straight to their website and their How To Guide so I knew exactly how to put it up. I must admit it wasn't as easy as the video made out, in fact it actually took a really long time and it was quite fiddly, you can see in the picture below where I struggled and screwed the "e" up. Luckily, It's not too noticeable.
So one thing I would say when you go to apply your wall sticker, make sure you have more than one person!

The end result though was completely worth it. I love the wall sticker, it really adds a personal touch to Calleigh's room! I am really looking forward to buying all her new furniture and seeing her room transform.

And now you can win your choice of wall sticker from Cut It Out Wall Stickers. Just enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*This giveaway is open worldwide. You must complete the entries to be entered for a chance to win, all entries will be verified before a winner is chosen. The giveaway runs for 2 weeks from 17th Jan to 31st Jan. I am not personally responsible for the delivery of the prize, I will pass on the winner's email to arrange delivery* 

England.. Part One

We really enjoyed being back in England. Spending so much time with our families was great and Calleigh loved all the attention! 

When we first landed it was a bit of a mad rush to go and see everybody, we were a bit jet lagged but wanted to at least show our faces to people we hadn't seen in 9 months. Calleigh settled well back in Mee-Maws house and loved staying there. I think that was mainly to do with Kitty. She loved that cat, although I'm pretty sure the feeling wasn't mutual. Whilst Calleigh would spend all day running around after her, shouting kitty, pulling at her, throwing things at her and emptying a whole packet of treats into her bowl, the cat spent her days running away, hiding, hissing and getting fat eating far too many treats. When Calleigh was asleep however the relationship changed and kitty would sit herself near to Calleigh and take a little nap herself. It was really great to see! 

Sneaking up on Kitty

Both having a nap together

Trying to get a sneaky stroke

Kitty needed a check up

We went out for lots of meals and Calleigh spent a lot of time with Nanna and Grandad as well as round her Great Nanna's! 

Playing with the toys from the crackers

She acquired a liking for Brie

Showing Great Nanna the Calender she brought her for Christmas

At least one of them was looking (this was the best I got haha)

Loving her Balance Bike round Nanna and Grandads

We also spent some time in the pub to see our friends from the village and Calleigh was also able to spend some time with Grand Pops when he came up to visit. 

Trading her Do Do for Grand Pops glasses

Having a ride

Weeee