It's not always easy to find ways to get Ivy involved in our crafting, so many of the things that we make are beyond her abilities or use materials that aren't safe for her (meaning that she would try to eat them!)  So today we made some Valentine's Day cards that were easy for her to be creative with, perfectly safe and will mean that she has something to give to Ethan and her friends.  



All that we used was so red finger paint and a large sheet of paper.  I started by taping the paper to the table so that it wouldn't move around everywhere, then put some of the finger paint into a paint palette so that she could dip her fingers in on her own.  She wasn't sure about it at first, but was soon happily squishing the paint around and patting her hands against the paper, covering it in red paint.  She did try to put her fingers in her mouth once, but I quickly took them away and got her painting her masterpiece again.



After the paint dried I cut out loads of small heart shapes that Ivy had painted.  Some of them we can write on the back of to give to her friends, and others can be stuck onto a folded piece of red card, with room inside for her to do some more scribbling, or even to stick in a photo of her creating her artwork.  I know a certain big brother who will be very excited to get a special card from his baby sister!

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We were lucky enough to receive a hamper full of yummy Heinz Baby breakfast foods for Ivy to try before Christmas.  It was perfect timing because everything was so busy and we were going on holiday, so it was nice to have some convenient and simple options for Ivy's breakfast.


I think that our favourites are the Banana and Apple Muesli Breakfast Pots, they are ready to eat and full of cereal, milk and fruit, so they're the perfect option for when you're on the go.  We brought them with us on our holiday, and gave one to Ivy on the aeroplane, which she loved, and we were happy to know that she'd had a good meal and not just bits of everyone else's breakfast. Both Ethan and Ivy enjoyed the Breakfast Biscotti, which we gave them as healthy snacks while we were on holiday.  


* We were sent a hamper of breakfast products from Heinz Baby to try, and to write an honest review about. *

Hello, it feels so strange to have been away for so long, but after taking a blog break over Christmas, I just decided to continue the break throughout January whilst we were on holiday in Cape Town.  


Now we are back and looking forward to Ivy's First Birthday in less than a week, finally giving her a bedroom of her own, and then Valentine's Day and of course sharing lots of fun photos and stories from our time in South Africa.  

Thank you to everyone who asked where we were, and apologies to everyone whose emails, tweets and Facebook messages I didn't reply to.  It will take a little bit of time to catch up on everything, but normal bloggyness shall resume shortly!

We've just returned from a lovely week in Portugal!  It wasn't really Ethan's first holiday, as we've already taken him to Cape Town, but it was our first time taking him away somewhere and not staying with family.  It's not a very long flight and we brought lots of toys for Ethan to play with, so he was easily entertained and happily sat in our laps playing with everything he could get his hands on (mostly in flight magazines and buttons on the arm rest!)




The Accommodations

We stayed at Martinhal Resort which is in Sagres, Portugal.  It was a bit of a drive from the airport, and after getting luggage and sorting out the rental car it did take a while to get there, but it was well worth the wait!  We were checked in quickly, and Ethan was even given a cute kids pack with a hat and bib as well as a bucket and spade set which kept him happy.




The Food

Food is one thing that we were a little bit concerned about, so we did a box of Ethan's regular baby cereal from home, a bag of his favourite rice cakes, as well as a few puree pouches just in case we had trouble finding food suitable for him.  It was good to have those as a back up, but we needn't have worried as we found lots of things that we liked.  We went to a local supermarket to pick up some things for simple meals (like pasta and sauce) and for making sandwiches to take out with us for Ethan.  There is also a small shop on the resort, which is a little bit more expensive but does have everything you need, including the English brands of baby foods and snacks!


When we were out Ethan was happy to share some of our meals, we often ordered pizza or other simple food for sharing.  We also always carried some snacks for him as well as sandwiches that we'd made at the cottage, just in case he was hungry and we weren't close to a restaurant.  

There are lovely restaurants on the resort, which all offer early seating for families, which meant that we could go out for nice dinners with Ethan.  The other great part, was that they all also offer take away, so we could feed Ethan in the cottage and put him to bed, then pick up a really nice take away, open up a bottle of wine and eat out on the patio and relax.  It was much nicer than having to cook for ourselves every night!

The Family Activities

The resort itself is completely set up for families, so you really could stay there the whole week and never get bored.  There are 5 pools dotted around the resort, we used the one that was quite near our cottages quite a bit, as well as the main one which also has a little pool for toddlers that Ethan could crawl around in.  The main pool also has a snack bar, so you can have drinks and snacks by the pool.  We also took Ethan to the playground on the resort quite a bit, which he loved.  There are also kids clubs and a creche, but we didn't need to use them (I imagine they're great when you've got more than one child to chase around!)



Our main activity was to explore the surrounding towns and to go to as many beaches as possible!  Ethan loves the beach and was happily crawling around playing in the sand and dipping his toes in the sea.  It was so easy to just set him up in the shade with his sand toys and let him play for ages, he is such an outdoor baby!



We had such a fantastic time in Portugal that I truly did not want to leave.  Everyday was something new, with the ease of going back to a very family friendly resort.  I would definitely recommend going to Martinhal as it truly did have everything that we needed and more.  I can't wait to go on our next holiday!

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We're on holiday in Portugal and today Ethan played in the sand on the beach.  It is so much fun to watch him exploring the sand!



He loved it!  He was a bit unsure at first, but after a while he was right in there, crawling around and playing with his sand toys.  Great for his Knowledge and Understanding of the World as he explores new textures and materials.