Remember when we lived here - a keepsake to remember

You guys know how much I love books. I mean I've talked about them enough over the last few months haven't I?
The thing is I loved books as a little girl and would literally be reading all the time. It was a running joke in my household that you couldn't get my attention as I always had my nose in a book. And I have so many fond memories of the books that shaped my childhood (some of which you can read about here) that I want to make sure that Henry gets that same experience.

I really think books make the most perfect gifts. Maybe it was your favourite book from when you were little (like when Alice and Arran bought Funny Bones for Henry just because they adored the book as a kid), or it was a book you really wanted to read but never got the chance to (we have the entire Faraway Tree collection from Emily, which I have never read, but am so looking forward to reading to Henry when he is older), or maybe it's a book that they can treasure forever.

Earlier in the month I wrote about Lost My Name and their amazing personalised books. We adored their first book, so were over to moon to receive their second one - The Intergalactic Journey Home*. Whereas the first book talked all about creatures that spelled out your little ones name, The Intergalactic Journey Home is space themed, but ends with your little one coming home - and of course it's personalised to your actual home.

Teething Troubles

We've hit that age where teething is an everyday worry.
Alongside teething, babies produce a lot of saliva as a defence against bacteria as they put things in their mouths. Of course they have absolutely no control over it, and it literally appears that your small child has turned into a water fountain of the slightly sticky variety.

With teething comes the usual drool, with extra dribble thrown in for good measure, as well as sore gums.

With this mind, Cheeky Chompers have produced a must have collection of baby bits perfect for every teething baby and slightly damp mother/father.

The centre piece for Cheeky Chompers is their award-winning Neckerchew*.

3 time-saving tips for parents

Becoming a parent is a huge adjustment. The hours of sleep dwindle, someone else relies on you pretty much entirely, and life as you once knew it is changed forever.

For instance,  I'm writing this post, on my phone, with Henry asleep in the crook of my arm as it's the only way to get him to sleep for more the 45 minutes. I'm busting for a wee, and its 8:57am and we've been up since 5:35am.

One of the biggest things I've learnt since becoming a parent is how much you have to adjust. And it isn't just once when your baby is born. It's continuous. As they grow and change, so must you.

But life still has to go on. There's still all the adulty things that you need to do, which to be honest you now barely have the time to do, nor the inclination.

So today I'm sharing some time-saving tips, so you can parent and still get all the adult stuff done too!

Henry's five month update

How is it November already?! And half way through too?!

I say this every time I do these updates, but gee is time flying!! Five months old already!! How?!

My teeny baby is gone, and is becoming a rather robust and cheery little soul. It's hard to imagine that next month we'll be weaning and I'll be half way through my maternity leave!!

I'm so proud of my little Henry,  he's literally stolen the heart of everyone he meets. 

Some five month facts for you.

Wind in the Willows at the Mayflower Theatre

I really love going to the Theatre. But isn't it always the way that we can't always indulge in the things we really love.
In all honesty I've never really done shows. I've been in the theatre loads, especially since moving to Southampton, but usually for comedy performances, but I think things are about to change.

As part of the Sotonbloggers, I was invited, along with a group of other bloggers to see the Wind in the Willows Musical at the Mayflower Theatre,* and boys and girls, I'm afraid I've turned into a theatre lover through and through.

I've always loved anything involving a little dance, and if there's some really good singing, well I'm as happy as a pig in... well I'm sure you can guess the rest!
Now to let you in on a secret... I was a bad blogger, and did literally no research before the show. But actually it was kind of nice. I didn't have any expectations going in, I had no idea what it was going to be like. I also couldn't quite remember the story of the Wind in the Willows, having read the book a VERY long time ago.

The thing is, it was beautiful. It was so much more than I could have imagined, so I'm glad I went in with no idea what I was going to see.

My simple Choc Chip Banana Loaf

Autumn is basically the perfect season for baking isn't it. 

Nothing beats the smell of fresh baking on a cold windy day, and as I'm spending a lot of time at home right now, I've decided to try some recipes and make them my own! 

For my first recipe, a tried and tested favourite banana loaf bread. However I've mixed it up a bit with a little chocolate, because, hey why not. Banana bread is literally one of the most simple things to bake, and perfectly uses up those last couple of old bananas, because we all know we leave two in the bowl for far too long. 

Teething fashion with Seb and Roo

Teething ain't no funny business, but there are a few ways to help your little one battle through the discomfort and save all of your worldly good becoming stuck in your child's mouth.

Henry has been teething for what feels like forever, and we have a number of toys to help soothe those sore gums, including our Sophie La Giraffe and liquid filled teething rings. These are great, but are more for at home. The last thing you want is the teething toy to hit the floor, especially outside, where you can't clean it properly straight away.

Luckily Seb and Roo has the perfect answer in their teething jewellery range. These modern silicone teething necklaces and bracelets are a total win for teething on the go. Not only are they made from food grade silicone, meaning they are perfectly safe for little hands and mouths, they look great for mummas too.

Lost My Name - the perfect children's gift

I love books.
I love children's books.
I love books as gifts.
So a children's book as a gift is like the perfect present to me.

The thing with books,is that can create the most amazing memories - more so than any toy. They're pretty timeless, especially if they're taken care of. They can become hand-me-downs to your children, and kept for nostalgic reasons for decades. You can see some of my own children's books in this post, which I will be reading to Henry.

Anyway, I always like books as a gift. I don't think you can really go wrong with them. You can get classics, or pop-ups or something modern. Or you can get something truly personal.

The Lost My Name books* are pretty much the perfect gift for a little one. Something they can keep forever. A story about them that will stay with them til adulthood.
(there's a 15% off link at the end of this post too so you can get your own!)

Wild friends for little dreamers - Kippins Baby Comforter

Who knew babies would need so many toys?

But all those toys are a huge part of babies development, from teaching them different textures and colours, to comforting them. 

I'm a big believer in multi-tasking, especially when it comes to children's toys.

So when I was sent the Kippins Baby Comforter* by Crab and the Fox, I knew it would be a hit with me and Henry. 

At home Katsu Curry

Ok so you guys must know I love me some Japanase food right? If you didn't, well I do! It's one of my absolute favourite foods. The thing with Japanese food though is it's not very well advertised as an at home kind of meal. But luckily that is starting to change with a little help of Yutaka.

Back in August I made my own sushi at home, which was so much fun. This month, I'm making Katsu Curry* in the kitchen.

What I really love about Japanese cooking is that it is so much fun to make. It's a little bit different to your normal at home cooking, and really pushes you to try new things.

For the Katsu Curry, we received Panko Breadcrumbs, Japanese-style Curry, and Sushi Rice.
We've used sushi rice before so knew our way around it, but we've never cooked with Panko Breadcrumbs before.