Montezuma's Chocolate Christmas Preview

Last week started on a high with a visit to Montezuma's to see their Christmas range preview. There were a lot of samples on offer at the press event, but sadly as most contain dairy I couldn’t try them all. However I did get to try one of their Like No Udder bars, a Rum and Raisin bar, their dark chocolate buttons and the 100% cocoa solids bar, none of these contain dairy and I think they are all vegan too. The Absolute Black bar wasn’t my sort of thing, but I think G would have liked it, they also have 3 other bars in that range. 

It was great to see their full range of advent calendars too which included a delicious looking truffle one (that I can’t eat). I will probably be requesting the dairy free one which might be targeted at kids, but I wont be sharing!

Montezuma's Like No Udder, Dark Chocolate Orange & Geranium and 100% Absolute Black are all Vegan

Christmas Marzipan Stollen & Christmas Bar Chocolate Collection

Like No Udder (milk alternative) advent calendar and Kid's Mixed milk and white chocolate advent calendar

Essex Baby Show

The week ended with a visit to the Essex Baby Show which I was gifted tickets to. We were all meant to be going, but it turns out England being in the Men’s cricket World Cup takes priority so G stayed at home. The girls decided they wanted to come with me because I had mentioned visiting a playground afterwards and it worked as a successful bribe to keep them behaving while we were there.

The Essex Baby Show was at Chelmsford Race Course. We waited in a long queue to get in and it took ages to get around and see all the stalls because of the crowds. Despite that I thought it was an interesting show to visit with plenty to appeal to parents to be right through to parents of toddlers. There were companies providing information about: weaning products, Baby & toddler classes, nurseries, decor, beauty products, clothes, toys as well as other services which might be of interest including will writing, health coaching and first aid training. Both girls were well entertained with face painting, numerous activities and a regular supply of sweets on many of the stalls.

While not all the businesses were Essex based it was a real showcase of local talent and a lovely contrast to the London Baby Show with the huge household names. The next show is 10th November 2019.

Artwork by The Little Heart Gallery

Cufflinks by Itsy Bitsy Imprints

Fun slogan and tie dye children's t-shirts from Harry + Dax

Learning about backbones and how they change over time by a Chiropractor

Playing with puppets at the Moo Music Stall

Baby Boy at 26 Weeks Old

Crawling & Sitting

Baby Boy has been able to get around slowly for a while, but suddenly he has found some speed. It’s not the full on speed crawling that older babies do, but when he puts his mind to it he can commando crawl pretty quickly. His motivation is normally related to spotting an object on the floor which isn’t suitable for a baby's mouth. If he wants a cuddle and is on the other side of the room he is more likely just to cry until you go and get him. At 6 months old I can’t blame him for that though and I guess there is a logic; those books, tiny characters and shoes won’t make their own way into his mouth, but someone will go to him when he cries.

Baby Boy is also stronger at sitting independently. I initially wrote that he was sitting for longer, but he isn't really as he gets distracted and wants to be off, but he is now capable of sitting for longer. He's also managed to get from a crawling position into a sitting one a few times. All the improved control makes it feel like he has suddenly got a lot older. I think Little has noticed that too as she has stopped being so gentle and I often walk into the room to find her picking him up or dragging him around by a leg!

Baby Led Weaning Update

We first gave Baby Boy food a few weeks ago, but his tongue thrust reflex hadn’t fully gone so I haven’t been regularly giving him food. He normally gets something at meal times if everyone is sitting at the table because otherwise he complains, but otherwise I don't bother. With teething pain from the top gum as the teeth slowly work their way down I have been giving him cold, soft fruit and vegetables which he has been enjoying munching on, if not actually swallowing

He is now starting to be able to move the food back in his mouth to swallow it, but he’s not very good at chewing yet so there have been a few big lumps and gagging. He hasn’t really got the hang of gagging just yet either and although he can successfully remove the obstruction, it often results in him being sick. His first meal where he managed to keep it all down was some cooked then refrigerated carrots at the weekend and he has also managed some banana. I’m not going to cook foods specifically for him until I know he is getting to grips with eating a bit better. There are enough days ahead for him to refuse my home cooked meals, why start now?

M at 7 years 9 months

Sports Day

On Friday M had her Sports Day at school after it was rained off in June. For most of the activities the class are in teams (their school Houses) so it’s the overall team that gets points and the House overall with the most points wins. M was at the front of her group for most of the activities and she was impressively fast in most of the races especially the space hopper race and any that included running, she was slightly slower in the egg and spoon race and the one which involved dribbling a ball.

The only race where they compete as individuals was the sprint at the end. The teachers identify who are similar speeds in the class during PE lessons so they all get to compete against around 4 people that won’t leave them miles behind. M was in the first heat in her class which was the fastest children. In previous year she was racing against only girls, but this year they didn’t separate the sexes out. She came a close 3rd and she was the fastest girl. I was really proud of how much her running has improved and also that she was happy with the result. I always think I would be a bit grumpy because if she competed in any of the other heats she would have won, but she seemed ok with it. 

In M's first sports day the parent races were incredibly competitive and one Dad ended up in hospital. I wasn't surprised that last year there were no parent races, but many parents weren't happy. This year they decided to have a tug of war, I'm guessing the school researched "what type of sport are parents least likely to get injured in". Apparently the teachers won.

School Report

We also got M’s school report on Friday. It was glowing; full of As and A*s and everything was at the expected level or above. The comments gave her lots of areas to work on and even in the more negative comments nothing was a surprise. M has the same teacher next year so it’s good that she knows her so well. I don't really mind if the reports are good or bad as long as I feel they are an accurate reflection of my child and how hard they work.

Little at 3 years 5 months

It was a quiet week for Little really with just the ongoing signs of a threenager and demands for independence (including getting the big kitchen scissors out when I was upstairs and she wanted to open an ice pop). On Friday it was her last dance lesson of the term which meant it was "watch week". Normally I leave her in the class, the door is shut and I come back an hour later with no clue what she has been up to (dancing I assume, but she doesn’t really show me). It was nice to spend the class watching her instead, or at least as much as I could while I tried to stop Baby Boy crawling over to join in. I was impressed that she knew a lot of the moves really well although she did get distracted easily. I might have sneaked a photo, but shhh don’t tell anyone.

Me - Migraines and Busy With Work

In between the chocolate eating and herding 3 children around the Essex Baby Show I have been fighting tiredness and migraines. I keep forgetting to take my magnesium and I don’t eat very well so at 6 months postpartum my body is repeatedly telling me it is struggling. I know I need to make more time to look after myself, but until Baby Boy is sleeping more reliably I can’t see it happening.

Work is really busy at the moment and I’ve had quite a few items sent to me for review. Last week I shared a review and giveaway about PoundToy and we reviewed the Series 3 Smashers Epic Dino Egg. 

In the next few weeks I will be sharing more about MIXPIX photo tiles, Moo Goo, some great weaning products, a Peppa Pig Toy and some summer fun pocket money toys from HTI.