WPD12: My Preemies, My Inspiration

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Tis a Djeco Toyjeanius Puzzlement!

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Back in July Esther and William were given some birthday money from their Great Uncle and Aunt. I decided to use it to buy them some puzzles from Toyjeanius. I chose three puzzles and a wooden shape sorting stacker.

The puzzles, by Djeco, have become firm favourites in our household and make great early morning activities.
We like to spend our puzzle time in the lounge in front of the log fire. It is a lovely way to start the day.
The first puzzle we call the tummy puzzle. The puzzle is made up of 10 animals with circles missing from their tummies’. There are also 10 coloured circles, each of which completes one of the animals.

Tummy Puzzle

Esther and William love matching the tummy to its owner. For some reason the black dog is their favourite animal, I honestly do not know why. This puzzle has helped Esther and William to identify their colours and to think about complimentary colours such as orange and yellow, and purple with pink. It is also teaching them to share and to work together!! This is very important for any toddler but even more so I think when you are a twin.

Tummy Time Together

When Esther and William have finished playing with this puzzle they know to put it away straight away so as not to lose any of the pieces. We put each piece safely back into the box and as we do we say goodbye. Goodbye Owl, goodbye purple tummy. Goodbye Lion, goodbye orange tummy.

Goodbye!

At first they could only complete the puzzle with the aid of an adult but now they can get it out, complete and put it away all on their own. A fantastic value for money present and would make a great Christmas stocking filler.

Adult Aid!

I feel the same about each of the three puzzles actually. They are so simple, so very pretty but also educational and great value for money. They foster independence in very young children and develop their language and social skills. I think they have been a fabulous find for our family.

Miss Independent

The second puzzle, like the first, involves animals with bits missing from their bodies. This time each piece is not only differently coloured but also a different shape. This is another activity that has really helped to develop Esther and William’s vocabulary and their knowledge and understanding linked to shape, colour and pattern. They love this puzzle so much that they are now able to confidently place the octagon in the cows tummy and tell you what the polygon is called! That is good knowledge for any toddler, especially my premmie two year olds! I am one very proud mummy!

Pattern and Shape

Esther and William also make links with this puzzle. For example, they know that the toucan in the puzzle is like one of the birds in the Night Garden. They know that the diamond in the penguin’s tummy is like the kite on their playroom wall. These Djeco puzzles are fun ways to extend toddler learning.

The third puzzle is again about animals and matching. This time you have to match the animal to its home.

Habitats

The horse lives in the stable, the honey bee in a hive. When Esther and William first tried this puzzle back in August it was far too hard for them but now they can do it with ease. They have learned which animal belongs in which home. They can do it on their own!

Home Alone

Well, most of the time they can, when they are not distracted by the car mat!!

We have not been asked to review these puzzles from Djeco and Toyjeanius but with Christmas on the way I thought I would share them with you as they would be perfect stocking fillers for younger toddlers.

Priced at £6.95 they would make great little gifts from Santa too.

Each of the three puzzles is available to buy at www.toyjeanius.co.uk.

Our Best of The Baby Show

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On Friday 26th October 2012 Matilda and I headed to The Baby Show at Earls Court. We made a very early start to our day and were able to really make the most of our mother and daughter shopping day. Though I have to say that most of the things I bought were for the toddler twins rather than for the baby. I was really pleased with the wide range of products available for young children of all ages. We really enjoyed the show. Here are some of our highlights and best buys.

On our arrival we were warmly greeted in the press office and given our press pass. I felt very special and excited. As soon as I entered the hall I saw a wonderfully familiar face, Emily from BundleBean. This is a company and product that we love here at Edspire and it was wonderful to say hello.

Seeing companies I consider friends of Edspire is one of the best things about The Baby Show and so it was fabulous seeing the beautiful Keira of Mama Designs Ltd. We had a lovely chat and I introduced Matilda Mae before buying a very funky star design Snoodie. We love the Snoodie!

Star Snoodie

We searched for another of our friends Safe Dreams and were very excited to find them with their Giant Patch. It would have been very rude not to have had a photo with our favourite non fluffy dog!

Matilda and Patch

At 11.00am we went to the launch of The Red Cross First Aid Challenge. This was a time to catch up with some other Mummy Bloggers and the lovely ladies at Azaria PR. More importantly it was a time to learn some top first aid tips and to remind myself that attending a first aid course should be higher on my to do list. It really should be a priority for any new parent or parent to be. I am going to write a separate post about The First Aid Challenge so please do keep an eye on the blog.

Matilda Mae with The Red Cross

Red Cross launch their First Aid Challenge

The best buys from the show as judged by Esther and William were two toddler towelling ponchos from Cuddle Dry. I chose a floral giraffe motif and two grey striped elephants. Esther and William love their new super soft towel coats and Matilda Mae can have their old Cuddle Dry hooded towels.

Floral Giraffes

Towel Poncho

Before heading to The Baby Show I had made public my desire to seek out Dotty Fish and their picture perfect leather baby shoes. I bought four pairs for £20 and they are great. Esther has an owl pair and William’s feature a car. They are using their shoes as slippers. They are made of softest leather with a light suede sole. Matilda Mae has a floral pair and the dotty design I coveted for her before the show. She will be wearing hers through the winter to keep her little tootsies warm when she is in her pram.

Dotty Fish

Nunu Pram Ride

Just a few days ago I reviewed the fabulous dribble bibs from Funky Giraffe. I was not surprised to find their stall buzzing with customers at the show. I queued up to buy some fabulous florals for Matilda Mae and we also bought some of their funky Christmas designs. Please do follow the blog as we have a festive giveaway coming up soon where you can also win some fun Christmas bandanas for your little one.

Funky Florals

It was great to catch up with the team at Me and I on Friday. They looked to be having a busy day but as also treated me like they had all of the time in the world. I chose two tshirts for William and a lovely little dress for Esther. I am hoping to review an item from their new season soon which will be something for Matilda Mae. Me and I sell gorgeous baby and toddler clothes with adorable patterns and motifs. William loves his diggers!

Me and I

I bought a Gummee Glove for Matilda Mae at the show as she will be 6 months on Friday and I am certain that her teeth are starting to come through. With the loss of dearest Sophie I am hoping that the Gummee Glove will become her new favourite toy.

getting to grips with gummee glove

I felt very priviliged at the show to meet Dolly and Jack. I have been admiring their quotes for babies’ nurseries for a while. I am ordering three this Christmas to hang above the heads of each of our children. I spoke to the lady on this stand for a long time about Edspire and she has agreed to offer a print as a giveaway prize for World Prematurity Awareness Month. The giveaway will launch tomorrow so please do make sure that you are following the blog. As well as wonderful words and quality prints Dolly and Jack also make beautiful decorative hair clips which I could not resist for Esther to have and to eventually share with Matilda Mae. They are simply stunning. Have a look at these!

Pretty as a Picture

The headlining highlight of The Baby Show for me was being invited to The Stokke Launch. I have made no secret of my new found love affair with all things Stokke. I had not really been aware of the brand before reading Me, The Man and The Baby’s Blog. (I got to meet Emma and her beautiful boys at the launch. Just lovely! I think Dylan and Matilda could be good friends x)

You do not see many Stokke Strollers in Kent. In fact, I think I have seen one. I have made a point of really looking recently so perhaps the word needs to be spread down here because the strollers are just to die for!

I did not really know what to expect from a product launch having never been to one before. What I found was a very eloquent, passionate man talking sense about a range of products that he truly believes in.

Talking to a room full of people also passionate about the brand and excited to see what was coming next.

Stokke are launching two new connection strollers to complement the already popular Xplory. The Crusi is a stroller with a sibling solution seat and the Scoot is a lightweight stroller ideal for going on your travels.

Each of the Stokke strollers is well designed, exquisitely finished and fully functional for the modern family. Their designs are based on scientific research proving that children need to be close to their parents when they travel, to make the most of the connection and to feel confident and secure. The high, parent facing seats of the Stokke range make this connection and communication possible.

Stokke Connection Strollers

The Xplory is I think my favourite Stokke pram but the Crusi would suit our family much better with it’s sibling solution! A second seat that can be used when needed for short trips to rest weary little legs. A great idea. And I had chance to get up close and personal with the stroller and see that it would work having a toddler in the lower seat without compromising their comfort or that all important communication.

I think you can tell by my gushing that I was impressed. A wonderful way to spend part of our day.

The Baby Show is over now for 2012 but will be back in February at London Excel and I will definitely be going back. In fact I have already booked the day with Daddy who may even have all three children this time so that I can enjoy some of the massages and beauty treatments that were on offer throughout the day.

Thank you The Baby Show and congratulations on a fabulous exhibition of all things toddler and baby.

See you in 2013!