We've just been to Odds Farm Park for a fun day of playing and learning about farm animals. There is so much to see and do there, that we didn't actually get around to doing everything in one day, we'll just have to go back another time to finish the rest!  

We did do a lot of fun things though, the first thing that we did was feed the animals!  We went to the animal barn and fed the sheep and goats.  Ethan was a bit nervous at first and held his hand back cautiously, but by the end of the day when we went back to feed them one last time he was confidently holding his hand out to feed them all.  He absolutely loved it and giggled away as they tickled his hand.



We also went on a tractor ride, which was of course very exciting for Ethan, being a big fan of tractors!  But it was also great because we could bring Ivy on as well, she just sat on Daddy's lap and watched as we passed by loads of different animals.  Both Ethan and Ivy enjoyed seeing the animals from the tractor, and being able to see a few (like the bulls) that you can't really see from the pathways through the farm.



There are plenty of outdoor toys and play areas scattered around the farm.  Ethan especially enjoyed the tractors that he could pedal around and the go karts that he rode on with Daddy.  But he also loved playing in the sand and water area and the various climbing frames and playgrounds throughout the farm.  



We also went around the adventure maze, which Ethan loved!  He ran around so quickly, turning corners and leading the way.  He was shouting out, 'this way next, now turn this way' and confidently navigating his way through the maze, finding the different pictures of tractors as we went.  We didn't actually make it to the other end of the farm for the maize maze, that will have to wait until next time.  Unfortunately we didn't get our timing right for many of the shows either, but I heard people raving about the circus, so I am sad that we missed it.  There are also animal shows in the barn throughout the day, as well as sheep races!



Then there's the play barn!  A huge indoor soft play area alongside the cafe and tea room.  We had our lunch there, you can bring your own picnic to have at any of the tables throughout the farm, but we weren't that organised.  Ethan liked his kids lunch pack, but I'll be honest and say that my jacket potato wasn't fantastic.  The play area, on the other hand, was fantastic!  There were separate soft play zones for babies, toddlers and older children.  The largest area also had these massive slides, which Ethan could have played on all day long.  A few of them are basically just a vertical drop, which Ethan is slightly too young for, but he did love the big wavy slides that you sit on a rug to go down.  One tip to remember, if your little one isn't so little and does want to go on the biggest slides, is that they have to be fully covered for safety, so that means long trousers and long sleeved tops must be worn.



Overall we had a really fun day, and we could have stayed there for much longer if we weren't all completely exhausted!  I noticed on the way out that not only do they have fun things to do over the summer, but they also have special events leading up to Halloween and Christmas, so we will definitely be going back soon!
* This is a review post, we were given passes to explore Odds Farm Park for the day, so that we could write an honest review. *

While we're still having a few nice days, between the rainy days, we've been spending as much time as we can in the garden.  So we take out our mat and our play tent and some toys and books to play with and read.  Ethan chooses which books to bring, and we read them all together.  One that he's been choosing to share with Ivy is Peekaboo Pets.

We started giving Ivy solid foods a few weeks ago, and it's going quite well so far.  She's happily eating a combination of puréed foods and finger foods that we prepare for her at home.  We've been using the Beaba Babycook Solo 4 in 1 Babyfood Maker to steam fruit and vegetables and then we purée some of them (the others we leave in sticks for Ivy to hold and feed herself).



Ethan loves helping to prepare Ivy's food for her.  He sits with me to chop up the fruit and vegetables and put them into the basket of the Beaba, then he watches as the steamer works to make the food for Ivy. (He did give me a fright one day, he saw all of the steam coming out and came running over to me shouting 'fire, fire, it's an emergency!!!'  This lead to a lesson in the difference between steam and smoke, ha ha!)

The Beaba is really easy to use, we just prepare the food and put it in the steaming basket, then put the desired amount of water into the machine, press the button and let it do it's magic.  It turns itself off when it's finished, which works great for me as I get easily distracted by the two little ones (and burnt the bottom of a pot on the stove already when the water boiled dry) so this is much safer for us.  Once the vegetables are steamed we take them out of the basket and put them directly into the jug (keeping a few out for Ivy to eat whole), put the lid on and set the Beaba to puree the vegetables.  Then voila, ready to eat!



Ivy really is doing well with her meals, she loves squishing the steamed vegetables in her hands and attempts to eat them all by herself.  It is taking a while for her to get the hang of eating, so she is only having very small quantities now, but we've been making big batches in the Babycook and freezing them in small pots to keep us going over the next few weeks.  There are a lot more fruit and vegetable combinations that we'll be creating for Ivy with this handy little machine.  I highly recommend it, it has made preparing food for Ivy a whole lot easier.


* This is a review post and also contains an affiliate link, we were sent the Beaba Babycook to use and write an honest review. *

Now that Ivy is more actively joining in with playtime, I find myself searching for ways that she and Ethan can play together. One thing that she has been loving to explore is any type of treasure basket.  I decided to have a go at making a treasure basket that they could play with together, by making it interesting and safe for Ivy with large smooth objects, while fun and educational for Ethan in learning about shapes.


Ivy loves to pick up all of the different items inside as well as holding onto the side of the basket  itself for extra sitting support! She was very intrigued by the shapes, picking them up one at a time, then putting it in her mouth for further examining.  We've also got a few blocks that have beads or bells inside, so they make a sound when shaken.  When she discovered this she was then shaking and rolling the different shapes around to hear the sounds they made as well.


Ethan knows all the names of the shapes, but does still mix them up sometimes, so it is something worth going over through play.  Even though we were using three dimensional shapes today I was still using the 2 dimensional shape names (saying square instead of cube) so as not to confuse him at this point.  I asked him to find certain shapes for me from the basket, to find a shape in a particular colour and to find shapes that fit in the outline.  He did quite well and enjoyed being able to play alongside his baby sister.


They did play together for a little while as well, Ethan would build little block towers for Ivy to then knock down!  It was actually very sweet, because he knew that she was going to knock them over, so he didn't get upset, he just thought that it was funny.  His goal was to try and put as many blocks on top of each other before Ivy could send them tumbling down, and they were both giggling away as they did!

We took Ethan and Ivy to the newly renovated Snakes and Ladders Indoor Playground in Brentford the other day to play.  It was closed for a few months for a huge revamp, and is now bigger and better than ever!  There is a baby and toddler play area, a small world play area and the massive climbing area for children aged 3 and over.  Ethan was so amazed when we walked in the door, he didn't know where to start!



We walked over to the big climbing frame to have a look, told Ethan that he would have to take his shoes off, and zoom he was off!  He was all the way at the top (the third level) before we could even blink an eye (when did he get so brave?) He was running around and looking down at us, waving excitedly!  It had all of the elements that you would expect from a large soft play frame, climbing, sliding, tunnels, trampolines, a maze and ball play area.  



Ethan loved playing with the balls as well, there were different places that sucked the balls in and then showered them down on the children waiting below or blew them up in the air.  Ethan was amazed!  We spent ages in there putting balls into the different chutes,  and rolling around in the balls on the floor.



My favourite area was probably the imagination play zone.  There was a house, a bus, a shop, a post office, a hospital and a construction site.  Ethan desperately wanted to drive the bus, but as it was so busy and other children can be a bit pushy he didn't get a chance.  We'll have to go back another day when it's not quite so busy so that he can get a real go at everything.  



We did have a look at all of the other imagination play areas, Ethan had a quick play in each, but to be honest he was just so excited to run around that he went straight back to the climbing area to explore some more.  He could have stayed there all day, there are so many different things to do and he just loved it all.

We had to tear him away from it for a little while to have some lunch and a bit of a rest.  He was boiling hot from running around, we really should have thought to dress him in lighter clothes, it does get quite hot in there!  We got lunch from the cafe, which to be quite honest wasn't fantastic, but we weren't expected gourmet food from an indoor playground!  I did see other families bring in their own food, so that is an option as well.



Ivy also had her fun in the baby and toddler area, she loved sitting in the ball pit and rolling the balls around.  There were soft climbing apparatus for smaller children, a small climbing frame and little bikes to ride on.  Those were still a bit advanced for Ivy, but she did get to try her first swing while we were there as well, she had the biggest smile on her face swinging back and forth!  It's a nice little area for the smaller children, and I liked that the staff really made the effort to keep the older children out of this area to make it safer for babies and toddlers to play.


* This is a review post, we were invited to visit Snakes and Ladders and provided with a family ticket in order to try out the new equipment and write an honest review. *

After our first visit to Chessington World of Adventures a couple of weeks ago (I wrote about it here) we loved it so much that we got ourselves invited to the launch of the new Azteca Hotel!  It was a great opportunity to see the new hotel before anyone else, to have a mini family getaway, and to get another day in the park!

The Hotel

The Azteca Hotel is attached to the Safari Hotel which was already on the resort.  They share a reception area and other facilities (such as the pool and soon to open splash area) between them. There are a few animals to see and huge giraffe statues in the reception area, to get you into the adventure spirit right away!


There is also a kids club in the reception area which can be accessed (but we didn't get a chance to try it out).  The hotels are in a great location within the park, close to the Wanyama Reserve, and Amazu Treetop Adventure which gives you lovely views from all the areas of the hotel, so you feel more like you're on a safari than in a theme park.

The Hotel Room


We stayed in a Discovery room of the hotel, they are less themed than the other rooms, but still fantastically decorated and fun.  All of the rooms in the hotel have a separate area for the children to sleep with bunk beds, and in our case a cot as well (more about baby and child friendly facilities later).  There's also a tv and a safe in the kids room, as well as a third mattress under the bed for another child to sleep.  It's really nice to have a separate area for the kids, it makes it much easier in the evening to have lights on and watch TV in the main area without worrying about waking them up or disturbing them.  The rest of the room is lovely, as you would expect in a good hotel, comfy bed, kettle, iron, bathroom with nice products, etc.  

Baby and Child Friendly Facilities


As I mentioned, the children's area of the room has bunk beds (which Ethan loved!) and we requested a cot for Ivy in advance so that we wouldn't have to bring our travel cot with us.  There is a TV in the children's area, as well as one in the main room, so you could be watching different shows at the same time (if you have any time to watch TV!)


The hotel provides a kids club and plays children's movies near to the reception area in the evenings, so that parents can have some time to relax as well.  The hotel is fully accessible and easy to get around with a pram, there are ramps everywhere as well as lifts to get to the various levels.  
Food

Each hotel has a restaurant, the new one in the Azteca Hotel is called the Temple Restaurant and serves a buffet dinner as well as a full buffet breakfast. 


The restaurant is jungle themed, with sights and sounds of the jungle surrounding each table.  There is a large fountain in the centre, which all of the children loved to look at.  There are screens all around, showing different animals moving around and interacting with each other.  There were sounds of the jungle, and every once in a while there was a big storm, with lights flickering and thunder crashing.  Ethan was very entertained by all of this (as well as a bit distracted from his food) but for Ivy this really wasn't ideal.  We had intended for her to sleep in her pram while we had dinner, but it was just so noisy that she couldn't settle, which meant we had to pace around with her and couldn't fully enjoy dinner ourselves.  I am happy to say that the restaurant was much quieter in the morning, while still keeping with it's fun jungle theme.

The food was very good, there was plenty of selection (even for a picky toddler) and we all found food that we enjoyed for dinner as well as breakfast the next morning.  Breakfast is also special because characters from the park come to visit!  When we were there Alex from Madagascar joined us for breakfast, and Ethan was very excited to meet him!

Perks of Staying in the Hotel 

As we stayed for the launch of the hotel there was a lot of wonderful entertainment in the evening, including tribal dancers and a fire show (which we missed as we were putting the children to bed).  They also had face painting and even caricature drawings being done!  


They regularly have animal meet and greets, evening access to the Amazu Treetop Adventure (you get to climb through different areas with monkeys swinging in the trees around you) as well as the Wanyama Reserve, where animals such as the meercats and zebras live.  


You also get early access to the park the next day, which is a huge bonus and you can get on so many rides before the park opens and the queues start to build up.  That in itself is reason enough to stay in the hotel!

Another Day of Play at Chessington World of Adventures

We were very excited to get another day of fun at Chessington, as even though we were just there two weeks ago, we didn't manage to do everything that we wanted to.  And I'm disappointed to say, that yet again we couldn't fit it all in!  

Now that Ivy is six months old, sitting up confidently and eating solid foods, I feel more comfortable to give her a sensory bin to play with that has an edible component as a base.  Of course I'm not encouraging her to eat it, but this way I wouldn't worry as much if she was too quick for me to stop her putting it into her mouth.  I also prefer an edible base like cereal for babies (rather than raw rice or pasta) for that same reason.  Ethan's first sensory bins had oats or rice crispy cereal as a base, but with this one for Ivy I used some number cereal.



I started off simply by putting a few scoops in and letting Ivy explore the bin without too many different tools to complicate things.  She was mostly happy just picking up the individual pieces of cereal between her fingers and grabbing handfuls then throwing them around.  She liked playing with the scoops, those did go straight to her mouth!  And she was fascinated watching as I scooped up the cereal with them and poured it back into the bin.  Her favourite thing to do was to grab hold of the sides of the bin and shake it around to hear the sound of the cereal moving around the bin, she did that happily for ages!  I can't wait for all of the other fun sensory bins that we'll play with together.


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As Ivy gets older it is so wonderful to watch her and Ethan play together.  Now that she is sitting, it makes it much easier for them to pass toys back and forth.  A couple of weeks ago Ethan finally got the moment he had been waiting for, Ivy was big enough to play cars with him!  



Yesterday we went to a birthday party for a friend of Ethan's, and it was so lovely to see the two of them taking part in the party fun together.  They were asked to come and get maracas, and Ethan picked some up for each of them and put them in Ivy's hands.  Then she couldn't take her eyes off of him, watching his every move and trying to copy what he did, it was so lovely.  He really looks out for her and she really looks up to him.  It's just incredible that she's growing up so quickly and already going to parties, and even getting her own special little baby party bag!

This week it's Ivy's turn to share her Sunday storybook, and we've been reading Humpty Dumpty, a finger puppet book this week.


Ivy likes trying to grab Humpty Dumpty as I wiggle him around and read the story.  I also bounce her up and down on my knee along with the rhythm of the story, and then do a big 'bump' when he falls, which she thinks is hilarious!  She loves reading Humpty Dumpty.


* This is a review post, and also contains an affiliate link, Parragon Books sent us Humpty Dumpty to read and write an honest review about *

We have been sent a Step-n-Play Jumperoo from Fisher Price for Ivy to play in and review.  It is recommended to be used by babies that can confidently hold their heads up (which she can) and for only 20 minutes at a time.  Because Ivy is a bit young and just getting used to it, I only put her in it for about 5 minutes at a time.  It's great for her Physical Development as it will help her to gain strength in her neck and upper body as well as her legs with all that bouncing around.



Ivy has loved being put in the Jumperoo from the very first time that we tried.  She's reaching that age where she's very curious about what's going on around her, so she sometimes just likes to sit in there and look around.  Then she discovered all the toys to play with, and the music and jungle sounds that she can listen to!  I like that the toys are at different levels, so there are a few that she can reach now and some that she can just look at, which will encourage her and challenge her to try to reach them as she gets bigger.



The seat can turn all the way around, which an older baby should be able to do themselves just by moving their feet around (but as Ivy's feet just touch the ground she can't do this yet!) The height of the Jumperoo can be changed as baby grows taller, and the frame can be adjusted for baby to take a few steps.  This is the new feature that the previous models of Jumperoo didn't have.  It's not a traditional walker and Ivy won't be able to walk all around the room in the Jumperoo (which is fine with me as we definitely don't have the space for that!) but when the frame is expanded Ivy will be able to move the whole seat and toys along with her as she steps forward and backwards within the frame.  (I'll update you in a few months time to let you know how she's getting on with it).

For now we are really loving the Jumperoo, it gives Ivy a little while each day to do something different.  She now has somewhere to play in an upright position (which is also good for her reflux) and she's enjoying bouncing around and playing with the toys.  I would definitely recommend the Step-n-Play Jumperoo, it sells for £90 on Amazon, which I think is quite good value for an item that you will use for several months.  

• strength building - neck and legs
• gross motor development

* This is a review post, Fisher Price sent us the Step-n-Play Jumperoo to try out and write an honest review about, it also contains an affiliate link, for more about my review process please click here *

This week Ivy is joining in and playing with her food, she's just turned six months old and has started eating solids! It's been almost a week already, and she is starting to get the hang of it, but she is taking some time to figure it out.  She often sticks her tongue out, she doesn't always close her mouth to swallow her food and she sometimes gags on it a little bit.  I'm not terribly concerned though, she is improving every day, and I think the second time around, I am just a lot more relaxed.  With Ethan we were more concerned, I think that I kept track of how many spoonfuls of food he ate each day!  With Ivy I know that she is still getting enough milk to keep her sustained, and that it will take time until she is eating a significant amount of food.  I am offering her purees and finger foods from the beginning, as Ethan much preferred feeding himself I want to give her the same option.  She is trying to bring the food to her mouth, but mostly prefers squishing the food between her fingers (that's where the play and exploration comes in!)


We have a lot of the weaning supplies left from when Ethan was a baby, but there are a few new things that we are getting for Ivy.  Brother Max have sent us some Catch and Fold Bibs, some weaning pots and a 4 in 1 training cup.  The bibs are very practical with the removable catch all, this comes in especially handy when Ivy is sampling finger foods, as she is often dropping quite big pieces.  The cup is different to any that I used for Ethan as the spout is soft and pliable.  As Ivy has never drank from a bottle she will take some time to learn to drink water, but I like how she was able to pick up this cup easily straight away and drink from it. Probably because she is teething, she bit down on the spout as soon as she got it to her mouth, and that made water come out.  She happily let it dribble back out and tried again.  The weaning pots are also great, they snap together, come with a wipe away pen for labelling and even have a soft spot to push out frozen purees easily.

My plan for weaning is to continue to introduce Ivy to new foods each day, to offer her purees and finger foods for her to explore.  I am not in a huge hurry or following any specific plan, I keep a list of all of the foods that she tries, but there is so much conflicting information about which order to offer foods that I am just doing what feels right for us.  One day she had already had apple puree for her lunch, but after dinner Ethan was having pieces of melon and she was banging on the table like she wanted some.  I was handing her piece after piece of melon, very little of which went to her mouth, most of it was just squished and squeezed and thrown to the ground!  She is definitely having fun playing with her food, and it has encouraged Ethan to do a bit of squishing and throwing as well!  What have we got ourselves into?

• hand - eye coordination

* This post contains review items provided by Brother Max as well as affiliate links.  This is part of a series of posts about food exploration called Play With Your Food in which Ethan and Ivy are having fun while they eat, we would love to try out new foods and products, please get in touch if you have items available for review *

Today Ivy is six months old! I can hardly believe it and don't know where the time has gone. Six months is quite a significant milestone for a baby, so of course we are celebrating today!