Me and Mine October

This month I left the photo until the last minute, before realising that we would spend the end of the month apart and have no chance to get a photo. Luckily I had this one that my sister took of us earlier in the month in my parent's garden.  The bloke seems to be missing the top of his head, but this is us.

I think Dylan was holding on to my hand and jumping, Finn was busy eating his fingers and Archie has obviously seen something worth pointing at!  I am rocking a rather fetching pair of slippers that I keep at my parent's house.

October has seen Dylan start full time school and the little two and I have found a new routine.  The weather has become well and truly autumnal and the dinky one and I have escaped for some sun in the middle of it all.

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Ambi Toys at the Park

Autumn is my favourite season, full of the memories of summer and the promise of Christmas.  The colours are so rich and warm as the leaves fall and after months of flip flops I can't help but embrace my slippers once more.

We love visiting the park in the autumn as the play area is always much quieter than in the school holidays and there is so much else to do.  The boys chase the squirrels who are very keen to run up the trees and there are piles of leaves everywhere waiting to be jumped in, crunched, kicked and squelched.  

Finn is not yet mobile but he is sitting and he loves watching his big brothers play.  We took along some toys sent to us by Ambi toys and he loved having a chew and a rattle.

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What the Boys Wore - Kosy Baby

Finn turns 8 months tomorrow, and whilst he still has that delicious gummy smile, I can recognise some teething signs and I know that the next few months will see those first teeth appearing.  Dylan was nine months and Archie eleven before their first tooth cut and I am hoping Finn is around the same time.

I love choosing an outfit for Finn every morning, and I am having even more fun with these sweet little bandana bibs from Kosy Baby.  Each one is made from either GOTS certified organic material or Oeko tex cotton with a fleece backing meaning they contain no nasty chemicals and dyes and will keep sensitive skin dry.  What I love most is how the designs go so well with Finn's wardrobe.

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Never let your Imagination run out

We are at such an exciting part of Dylan's life at the moment.  At four years old he has just started school and he has embarked on the most amazing adventure - the one that will take him from  engrossed listener to (hopefully) avid reader.  The start is slow but I can already see the amazement in his eyes as he learns to decode a new word and make sense of what he sees.

The first step on his journey is without words - something that surprised me as it is so different from how I was taught to read.  His school books that are sent home to be read nightly have no words in.  His school told us that children need to learn to be storytellers before they learn words.  These books teach them about the importance of pictures, the wonders of imagination and that every part of this new adventure is fun.  

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The Beginning of Weaning

After Finn's rocky start I was determined that he would lead the way with parenting. Whilst I had gone through pregnancy with set ideas on how I was going to parent and how the early days would be, nothing seemed to go to plan and I soon learned that I needed to follow his lead.

I had done my research on weaning and have weaned two babies previously, but Finn is that bit smaller and slower than his brothers and I wanted to wait until I believed he was ready before we started. The six month marker came and went and whilst he was starting to sit unaided, my instincts told me he wasn't quite ready. As the month progressed, he grew stronger, his coordination improved and he started showing a real interest in what we ate.

Just before he turned 7 months I decided we were both ready for the next little adventure and we started on the solid food. I decided that the best thing for Finn was to offer both puree and finger foods from the very beginning. As we had left it a little later than most I wanted to make sure he was getting some nutrients, but I wanted to promote the skills of self-feeding, so we have been offering him sticks of vegetables alongside the spoon feeds.

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A Day out with Kids on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight, Blackgang Chine, Dinosaur Isle, Travelling with toddlers
We managed to fit in a couple of day trips on our recent trip to the Isle of Wight with Park Resorts and both the places we chose were just perfect for young families like ours.  Finding somewhere suitable for a baby, entertaning for a 2 and 4 year old and enjoyable for adults isn't always easy, but we did some research (spoke to my cousin) and found the perfect destinations.

Blackgang Chine is a fun park on the south coast of the Isle of wight and with so many different sections there was something for a budding pirate or little princess.  Our first stop was 'restricted area 5', which is full of huge model dinosaurs and rather amusing signs.  It took Dylan a while to warm up as the dinosaurs were prone to kicking up their tails and roaring but as soon as the boys found the models designated for climbing on them they were in their element.

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What the Boys Wore - Smafolk

Kids clothes should be fun, comfortable, playful and soft.  Smafolk captures this perfectly with their range of colourful oekotex childrenswear.  Their signature apple print comes in different colours and styles and they release a new collection every few months. 

Smafolk are a brand we know well and I was really excited to see what they would send me for the boys.  The brown and blue theme they chose meant the boys looked fantastic together, and the range is designed so that you can mix and match styles to create different looks.

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Our Weekend with Park Resorts

Park Resorts, Caravan holiday, UK family break

I grew up with caravan holidays, every year my mum and dad drove us all down to Bournmouth and we would spend the week there, visiting the familiar places, spending the mornings at Sammy the Seahorse club and staying up late in the evenings for the entertainment and kids disco.  

I have so many memories from our caravan holidays; playing tennis with my Dad who always hit the ball at my racket as I was useless at moving towards it, fancy dress competitions which we always entered and my mum coming up with costumes during the day, the zipwire in the park that was quite simply the Best Thing Ever.

Earlier this month, we took the boys on their first UK caravan break thanks to Park Resorts, and whilst we only managed a weekend due to the restrictions of school, it was everything I remembered.  We have never taken them anywhere with evening entertainment, and whilst they played at being shy for around 60 seconds, they soon joined in decorating paper butterflies with the charismatic 'green coat'.  They watched in awe as Sparky and Sparkle appeared first in a video and then on stage and they loved having a quick play in the newly refurbished arcade before bed.  It was a quiet week being October with only around 15 children for the younger kids evening entertainment but the boys loved it.

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Visiting Copenhagen with AirBnB

Airbnb, Copenhagen, denmark, travel with children, travel with toddlers

When we were looking for places to stay on our recent Denmark trip, one of the options that stood out was AirBnb.  Since having children we have found it easier to stay a little outside the city centre on holidays, as for the same price you can get more space, which helps make it a holiday for all of us.

Whilst hotels have many benefits, we love being able to put the boys to bed and stay up having some time as a couple.  In a shared room we end up playing cards by phone-torch light, but we chose a spacious house in the outskirts of the city which had a bedroom for the boys, one for us and plenty of communal space.

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Melijoe - Stella McCartney

You may have noticed by now that I love kids clothing, especially things a bit different to what you find on the high street and Stella McCartney's kids range is one of my newest discoveries.  I put together a polyvore with some of my favourite pieces available on Melijoe

Melijoe - Stella McCartney by beckygower on Polyvore

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What the Boys Wore - The Bonnie Mob

Living so close to the beach, we like to make the most of it all year round.  Whilst it is wonderful in the summer to paddle in the sea and bake in the sun, it is just as perfect in Autumn to collect buckets of shells, make sandcastles (whilst the sand always seems to be the perfect consistency) and drink cups of tea sheltering in the beach hut.

The Bonnie Mob sent us a selection of their beautiful new range and it was love with every piece.  The boys co-ordinated perfectly yet looked so different with Dylan wearing a bright knit cardigan and matching accessories and Finn comfy in leggings and a super soft cotton blanket.   Every item was fantastic quality, feeling well made and perfect for adventures and it has all washed well too.

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Copenhagen as a Child Friendly City

Denmark, Copenhagen, Copenhagen with children, toddler travel, travel Denmark with children

Copenhagen is a wonderful city and it is perfectly designed for exploring with kids.   From parks, to attractions to the attitude of the locals, we had an amazing experience, even with three little ones in tow.

Denmark is child friendly, and I saw far more children around than you would in London at this time of year.  Everywhere we went was pushchair friendly, and there were always lifts or ramps making it accessible.  As their schools start much later than ours a child is generally considered to be over the age of six, meaning our three were free to enter all the attractions we visited.

Staying outside the city centre had some definite advantages for travelling with young children, one of them being there was a beach only a short walk from our house.  Whilst we didn't spend much time there, and it wasn't really the weather for sandcastles and swimming, it was lovely to balance out a bustling city with a peaceful seafront.  The boys had the freedom to run and explore and it was the ideal place to go after a couple of hours cooped up on a plane.  

At the tourist office, you can purchase a Copenhagen card, which is valid for a period of time (24,48 or 72 hours) and gives you unlimited free travel and entry into a number of the city's main attractions.  There is a handy calculator on the website that helps you work out whether it is worth it, and we found it definitely was as it covered most of the places we wanted to visit and we could use whichever transport we chose (it even includes transport to and from the airport)

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7 Months

Unlike his big brothers, at seven month old Finn is still very much a little baby.   They both seemed so much bigger at this same age and Finn, whether because he is physically smaller or because he is the last, seems so little still.

He is doing so well, he is sitting unaided and whilst he still leans forward, he is straightening up and gaining strength.   He has finally learned to roll from his back to his front, although I still haven't actually witnessed it.  He isn't interested in rolling around the room, but often isn't facing the same way I left him.

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From Babies With Love

I love finding great things for my boys to wear and I recently discovered a brand that sells wonderful babywear as well as being non profit.

From Babies With Love supports orphaned and abandoned babies in SOS children's villages.  Whether they arrived there because of famine, war, disease or poverty, the profits from the sale of these clothes helps care for these children and give them a better life.  I am so excited to be working with them and sharing their wonderful work.

Finn was invited up to London to help model some of their new range, full of adorable characters like this frog.  We managed to get in there just before the chicken pox came out thankfully, and he seemed to love it ( I guess he is pretty used to having a camera in his face now! ).  

Their new collection is now live on the site and makes a perfect new baby gift.  The classic white is completely unisex and the little animals give it personality.  These organic baby clothes are also soft even on sensitive skin and you can buy matching blankets and hats too!  

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We Love Rain - Natural Retreats

I love showing my children the world.  There are so many beautiful sights, so many amazing experiences to be had and you don't always have to travel far.  They delight in exploring the local park as much as they do a foreign country, but we are always looking for adventure.

Our stay at Natural Retreats, Trewhiddle was the perfect base for experiencing Cornwall and our villa was simply stunning.  With four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two balconies and enough social space for a family much bigger than mine, it gave us freedom, comfort and beauty.  

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What the Boys Wore - Powell Craft

With Autumn arriving and the school run becoming part of our everyday life, Finn needs comfortable practical clothes to wear and this romper from Powell Craft is just perfect for it.  It is warmer than a sleepsuit, and has a sweet little hood meaning with a vest underneath it is perfect for this inbetweeny weather.  The blue and white stripes look classic and the pirate ship motif makes it fun and adds some colour.  

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