Hello Play-Doh

Last time we went to Toy R Us I decided to buy Calleigh some Play-Doh to see what she thinks of it. I have never been a fan of it to be honest. From the short time I spent working at a nursery I came to only two conclusions when it comes to play-doh.

1. It gets everywhere you don't want it to! 

and

2. For some reason children just want to eat it- all the time!

However, they always loved to play with it and got really excited when it was brought out and I couldn't take that pleasure away from Calleigh just because I dislike the stuff. 

I picked up a little Minnie's Boutique set which came with two tubs of play-doh and some Minnie and bow cutters.

The first time Calleigh saw it all laid out on her table her eyes lit up! She loves to play with new things. This was also the first time Daddy had experienced play-doh too so he was more than excited to try it out!

She had so much fun and kept shouting "Calleigh make bows!" it was so cute! Although it did get everywhere as I thought it would do and of course she had the obligatory taste test, luckily she didn't quite fancy the taste of it and hasn't tried again since.

Home-Made Treasure Chest

One of the programmes Calleigh likes to watch on Disney Junior is Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We recently brought her a Jake Spyglass and she loves going around the house, following her map, searching for the treasure. Only problem was we didn't have any treasure to find. 

So whilst we were out in a craft store I picked up a wooden treasure chest, some paint and some star stencils and decided to make one for her. 

I was really simple to do. Just a couple of coats of paint, I used a light beige colour because I wanted the pink stars to stand out. Then use the stencils to either paint or spray on your chosen design. I wanted to keep it simple so just opted for a few stars.

I'm really impressed with it and now Calleigh has her very own treasure chest which she loves! She dances around it with Jake and crew when they count their gold doubloons. I did want to buy more gold doubloons for her but after the incident on the video below I decided I had enough to pick up off the floor. 

Gift Ideas for a Girl's 2nd Birthday~ Part 2

1//2//3//4//5

Here are some more ideas I have for Calleigh's 2nd birthday. We have already got the piano and the Doc Mcstuffins medical bag.
I'm getting so excited now, it's almost November which means we can go shopping for all her presents very soon!!!!

Playing with Water

We finally got around to getting Calleigh a sand and water table for outside. She loves it! Playing with water is one of her favourite activities at the moment. 

She had so much fun transferring the water from different places using the little train cups. We literally had to drag her inside when it got too cold because she didn't want to stop playing, even though she was soaking wet and turning a little bit blue. 

We will get as much use out of it as we can over the next few days before putting it away until next summer. 

Playskool Wooden Blocks Review

Calleigh has recently reignited her love with building blocks. She liked to play with them when she was little, however was not very good at stacking them. As we only had a small amount of blocks we decided we should buy her some more so she can really enjoy playing with them. 

We decided on Playskool's wooden blocks as they looked really good and were not expensive. 

The great thing we liked about these blocks is that they are not just your normal ABC blocks. Each side has different letter in lower case and uppercase as well as numbers, maths symbols, animals and you can also build a little house with doors, bricks and windows. 

It also came with a mesh bag so you have somewhere to store them when your child is done playing. 

Calleigh really enjoys playing with them, they are a lot easier to stack than her other blocks as they are a bit bigger and more sturdy. This saves us having to deal with a tantrum when her tower collapses. Every time her tower fell over she would walk over and kick mine too so mine fell (shess so mean). It still happens, but a lot less often. 

They are going to be really great when we start learning more. I will be using them as props to help teach her about letters and numbers as well as Math and English. 

*I am aware that I used an I instead of an L at the end of the word but we only had one L and had to improvise*

Cat's Enough

As I think you all know Calleigh has got a bit of an obsession with cats. Here is her ever growing collection of cats. The large grey one is her favourite, he goes to bed with her every night. 

I am aware that the bear at the back is in fact a bear but he has a sound chip inside that meows like a cat so he gets included in her collection. 

Bath Time Fun and Review

One of the best things about our new house is the fact that we now have a bath tub to bath Calleigh in. Back in England we only had a shower and struggled bathing her in the small bath tubs for babies. 

The first time we bathed her here it didn't go so well. She cried and refused to sit down. I think the sheer size of it may have frightened her a little bit. So on our next shopping trip I picked up some fun bath toys to make bath time a little more fun in the hopes that she would be less afraid. 

And it worked. 

She had a great time splashing about and playing with her new toys. 

She even said a new word "bubbles" (see the video at the end).

Big smiles for bath time

Brushing her teeth

The bath toys I decided on were by Munchkin. 

The first thing I brought were some bath crayons, she loves colouring on things and more often that not it is the floor or the walls. So when I saw these I thought it was a great idea that she could colour all over the bath tub without being told off as it rubs off really easy. 

I also picked up some bath time turtles. They float on the water and each one has a different interaction. One has a mirror, another has a rolling ball and the last one has little balls inside to shake about. 

Finally, and personally my favourite, are the bath dunkers. This fun little toy includes a net which suctions onto the side of the tub and 3 little puffer fish balls which also can be used as squirters. Calleigh definitely had the most fun with these and spent most of her time in the bath putting them in the net.

She lines up the shot

And she scores!!!

All three toys have proved a great success in making bath time more fun and something we look forward to. In fact they worked so well we had tears coming out the bath instead of getting in. 

And here is the video of Calleigh saying her new favourite word!

Princess Ball Pit

Yesterday I thought to myself that it's been a while since I brought Calleigh something new to play with. 

So after browsing the Argos catalogue and their 2 for £15 sections on toys I decided on a Princess Ball Pit.

Yes, those are Calleigh's shoes in there

The balls were not included so I had to buy them seperately, I got 100 balls for £4.99 which isn't bad but I think I may have to get some more, they hardly fill the pit and I think from the way Calleigh throws them around we may lose a few. 

On the foot pump

Unfortunately as I was on my own and Calleigh didn't like the noise of the air compressor I had to get the foot pump out and do it that way. It took ages! And I felt like I had walked a marathon afterwards. 

It was all worth it though!

Getting in

Flicking the balls around

I love the blurred photo, her little arms were moving so fast flicking the balls around. 

I spent most of the night picking balls up from around the house (there was even one in the cat's food), whilst the cat spent the night ducking and dodging balls Calleigh was throwing at her, the little monkey! 

A Look in Calleigh's Toy Box

 

We got a new toy box to keep all Calleigh's toys in (and save us from tripping over them 5 times a day).

Today you get to take a peek inside at some of Calleigh's favourite toys.

 

 

 

 

This is monkey we brought Calleigh from Saint Louis. This is more a favourite of mine as it has sticky arms and legs. I like to wrap him round Calleigh when she's crawling around and watch her get angry with him for following her around.

Haha.

 

 

 

Some books and Handy Manny DVD's. Calleigh loves books, in the first words book theres a picture of a cat which she meows at and a dog on the next page which she shouts "Do" at (I think that means dog).

 

 

Here are some random things that Calleigh sneaks in there. A comb, a TV remote and some sun cream.

Strange child.

 

 

Calleigh usually goes in there and picks out what she wants to play with. Or just throws things on the floor and puts them back in, this can go on for a while.

 

 

 



Bubbles and Ducks: Making the most of Bath Time

Bath time is by far Calleigh's favourite part of the morning. She always get excited when she hears me splashing up some bubbles for her. I think if left up to Calleigh she would stay in there all day.
 

 

 

Unfortunately we are not lucky enough to have a bath in our house, only a shower. So we have to make do with the smaller baby bath.

 

Here's how we make the most of bath times.



Johnson's cotton buds, baby shampoo, top-to-toe wash, baby lotion, baby powder, a brush and a sponge.



 

I swear by the Johnson's range of products. They are brilliant and gentle on Calleighs' delicate skin. I have used the top-to-toe wash from her very first bath and introduced the other products into the routine when she was a bit older.

 





Don Duck Leone







 

 

She always has her friend Don Duck Leone in the bath with her to splash about with. It just wouldn't be the same without him.

 

 

 

After the bath I like to use the hooded towels as they keep her nice and snug whilst I'm drying her. Which makes for a happy baby and a happy mummy.