Fresh Air

Well we reached the month of November and boy has it got cold. I've been seriously thinking about hibernating!!

However I've been told by a few people that fresh air is good for you so I thought I best dust of my hat and gloves and get back outside. The tough part was convincing Layla that she needed to keep her hat and mittens on too.

So whilst the girls were at school and playschool my youngest daughter and I managed to enjoy some one on one time and do a little bit of exploring.

On our travels we stumbled across some ducks

Naughty mummy didn't have any bread to feed to the ducks though so we left them an IOU instead.

On the way back Layla was let loose.

 FREEDOM!!!!

She was not a fan of holding my hand and of course she made a bee line for the nice big pile of crunchy leaves in front of her. The fun only had to stop when she decided the leaves my taste nice!! 

xxxx

Crawlerz Review

You may remember a competition I ran a little while ago to win a set of Crawlerz safety romper suits.

Since then, Crawlerz have kindly sent me one of their rompers to try out and review.

Now incase you haven't heard of them or are just wanting to know a little bit more about them, I will do my best to explain.

Crawlerz are rompers that have safety in mind. Made in sizes 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months,  they are designed to encourage your babies to crawl in a safe manner. They have unique anti-slip safety grips down the legs, toes and underfoot which are in the shape of paw prints. These not only give protection for your little ones, they also make it more comfortable for them whilst they are crawling around on different surfaces.

I was sent one of their rompers in their unisex white colour but you can also purchase them in pink and blue too.

Made from 100% cotton, Crawlerz are lovely and soft and feel like they have a little bit of stretch to them. 

I was accidently sent size 3-6 months, now I didn't return it because I thought I would pass it on to my cousin's baby once I had finished reviewing. Now either Layla is really small or these come up big because Layla is 13 and half months in this photo and the romper just about fits her!! 

Fairly easy to put on, there are poppers to do up down the centre of the romper. 

We have laminate at home and the romper definitely helped prevent Layla from slip sliding around on the floor. Layla in the past couple of months has started walking around and the ant-slip grips on the underfoot really came in handy in helping steady her without the need for putting shoes on.

Crawlerz are currently on sale for £9.99 each. Not only do they look cute and funky, they help your child to move around safely, which I think in turn helps build your little ones confidence as they will have less accidents to scare them.

I would really love it if they were to make these in bigger sizes, 12-18 months and 18-24 months would be great, many little ones are still crawling around at these ages. I would also like to see a wider range of colours available too.

Overall I would recommend these to others, anything that provides extra safety for my child is good in my eyes and I feel they last beyond the crawling stage, they also help when it comes to cruising and walking too, so you get your moneys worth from them.

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent this product free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Please Stop Scaring Me

I think you are all going to laugh at me now. There I was getting all impatient, really willing Layla to start moving, just a few more steps I said.

Well I take it all back!! I would really like it very much if Layla would just sit still for longer than five seconds now, she really likes scaring me now.

She seems to be unstoppable. Within a week her walking has come on leaps and bounds, if she falls over, she gets straight back up again and carries on moving forward. The trouble is the more she is getting about, the more accidents she keeps having!!

Since learning to walk, she has also learnt to climb, she decided to make herself comfortable in her sister's bed the other morning, much to my shock.

Yesterday I had my head turned away from her for all of a minute and what did I find her doing.....

.... the little monkey was halfway up my stairs, I was about ready to have a heart attack then and there.

So I suppose it is time for me to start baby proofing the house again because I really don't want any serious injuries occurring, although we have already had a few bumps and bruises to the head.

I'm sure you can guess what is top on my list for baby proofing, the stair gate.

Daddy Hazelden actually built one when we had our eldest daughter, it can move from upstairs to downstairs so we only need the one.

Another thing that I need to invest in is locks for the cupboards and drawers and this is a first for me, my other three children never attempted looking inside the cupboards, Layla is a different kettle of fish altogether. The trouble I have is that I still want my other children to be able to open the cupboards and drawers so any suggestions would be much appreciated.

The one thing I don't need to buy is plug socket covers, these have been firmly in place for almost 7 years now.

You would think after four children that I would be well aware of exactly what is needed in a house to keep my baby safe but I think because each child has been different, every time there has been something else I need to "make safe". It is surprising just what little fingers will go to touch and just how far they can reach, sometimes I think Layla is the female version of stretch armstrong!!

I know I can't protect Layla from every little thing but I will keep definitely keep trying. So what top tips do you have for baby proofing a house??

xxxx

*this is a sponsored post*

Admiring The View

The Summer holidays seem to be flying by. I have been trying my hardest to keep my girls occupied because with the slight hint of bordem comes the bickering and moaning that every parent dreads hearing!!

Trouble is as the holidays continue, my bank account slowly starts to decrease with all the days out that include ice creams, beach toys, petrol to get to these places, seriously where is that money tree when you need it?

Living by the beach, you sometimes forget to take advantage what is right there in front of you, so yesterday we kept it simple and just took a stroll along the beach and down the pier. I had to laugh standing back and taking the photo below, it looks like they are playing follow the leader :)

Whilst out in the sunshine, the girls got to have a look at the ferries coming in and out of the port.

And yes I did cave and buy the obligitory ice cream at the end of the pier but to be fair it was hot!!

However I think the best part of the whole morning was just being able to slow down for a little while and just appreciate the view. Not only can you see Dover Castle, you can see all the little boats out in the sea and we even saw someone swimming, a much braver person than me right there. 

Do you ever get the time to slow down or do you wish you made the effort to slow down more often?

xxxx

Just One More Step

So of all the firsts that little ones do, for me, I think learning to walk unaided has got to be one of the most exciting. I like my kids to be on the move.

Now Elise, Freya and Gracie all did things at the exact same time, learning to roll 4 months, learning to crawl 7 months, learning to stand up and cruise 8 months and they were all walking unaided by the age of 10 months.

My little monkey Layla wants to be different, you know she wants to stand out from the crowd!! She rolled at 4 months and that's when she decided to switch it up. She didn't start crawling until she was 9 months old, she had been teasing us on and off since she turned 7 months old, rocking on all fours, cheeky.

However as soon as she learnt to crawl there seemed to be no stopping her, she immediately started pulling herself up and walking around the furniture, I was sure she would be walking soon but of course she had to prove mummy wrong.

One week before her first birthday, we were on our holiday in Ibiza when she did it, she took her first step, we managed to coax her into taking three whole baby steps and that was it.

Since we've come back she hasn't done it again, as you can see from the picture below, she just stands there teasing me, look mum no hands!!!

Although she has added a new trick to her repertoire, the bounce.

When did your children learn to walk?? Which of their first had you most excited??

xxxx