BabaBooty.comFab finds for funky tots

It was Mr Moo’s birthday a couple of weeks ago (where did those 5 years go??) and he got some really lovely gifts. Mr Moo loved them all but my particular favourite was the Mookie 5 in 1 Sports Backpack.

This backpack contains 5 games – frisbee, catcherball, flip toss, bat and ball and horse shoe toss.  These are all games that are lots of fun to play in the garden and would be great to play on the beach.

Mr Moo has only had this backpack for a short while, but the whole family has already had lots of fun with these games. You can adapt them to everyone’s level, so for example, when I’m playing catcherball with Lollipop, we stand really close to each other and I cheer loudly each time she catches the ball, while my bouts with Mr McSpendy are a little more competitive and involve my ‘exuberant’ husband attempting elaborate behind-the-back and under-the-leg catches! Although he found it a little tricky at the beginning, Mr Moo quickly became an expert flip toss-erer (ok, I know that’s not a word but you know what I mean). We are still not amazing at horse shoe toss but I remain hopeful…..we’ll definitely be ready for the Rio 2016 Games!

At a recent playdate we used all of this equipment to create an ‘obstacle’ course race whereby the boys had to run to a number of stations and at each station they had to complete a challenge (throw the horseshoes, catch the ball etc) and it went down really well. It would be a great idea for a party game.

I love that all of this equipment fits into a lightweight and easily portable backpack.  It makes it both easy to bring with you and easy to tidy up. We’re off to the beach for a week at the start of July and this will definitely be coming with us. Easily worth £14 in my opinion.

So our Easter Bank Holiday weekend wasn’t exactly full of the glorious sunshine that we had hoped for. The unwelcome precipitation meant that we were inside for more of the time than we would have liked but we still managed to have lots of fun. One of the most enjoyable things we did was play board games. We have two board games that we can play altogether (well, ok Mr Mirth doesn’t play but he does love to watch us), these are Pictureka and Dobble.

Dobble is a wonderful game comprising 55 circular cards each with eight symbols on it. Each of the 55 cards has one symbol in common with every other card (so for the cards below, the common symbol is the dinosaur). There are lots of different symbols and they appear in different sizes on the various cards.  Dobble comes with instructions for five different games that you can play with the cards but the one that we love to play in our house is the most simple one. Essentially every player gets one card each and the remainder of the cards are in a central pile, each card from the central pile is turned over one at a time and each player has to find the symbol that their card has in common with the card that has been turned over. If you spot the common symbol first, you get to keep the card and the winner is the person who has the most cards at the end.

This simple game has provided literally hours of fun for us. Although Dobble is listed as being for ages 6+, Lollipop (who is almost 3) rocks at this game. Every adult who has sat down to play this game with her starts off trying to let her win, soon realises that she doesn’t need to be patronised and then ends up being humiliated as she whoops their ass! This, combined with the fact that Mr Moo and Lollipop both love playing it,  makes Dobble a really great game to play as a family. Plus, as the babas get older, we can move onto the more complicated games which adds to the game’s longevity. Because Dobble comes in a tim which about the same size as the average coaster, its the perfect game to take on hols with you.

Pictureka is also a great family game.

Like Dobble, Pictureka is an image (rather than word) based game which means that those who can’d read yet can still play. There are nine large picture tiles which are laid next to each other in a large square grid. Each tile contains a vast array of pencil-type drawings of all manner of objects ranging from the banal to the fantastical:

While you can play the game in a couple of different ways, we tend to just play a version which involves trying to be the first to find the image on the cards on one of the tiles. The person who finds it first keeps the card and the winner has the most cards at the end of the game. Finding the images is easier said than done, this game is wonderfully infuriating. Again, like Dobble, Pictureka is aimed at the 6+ age group, but both Mr Moo and Lollipop can more than hold their own so I wouldn’t worry about getting this game for younger chidren.

If you fancy a new board game, give either of these a try.

This week we have spent hours building giant towers, castles, rockets with our Edushape Giant Building Blocks….

And then we have been knocking them over!

These construction/destruction sessions have been enormous fun and cries of “again! again!” abound.

Four years ago, Santa brought a tiny Mr Moo (then 8 months old) a set of giant building blocks and they have provided hours of fun ever since. This year, Santa brought a second set of these colourful blocks for Mr Mirth meaning that our household is now the proud owner of 64 blocks.

These blocks are really super toys. They are bright and sturdy and yet really lightweight. This means that Mr Mirth does not get hurt if he has a little wobble  and lands on one (he is fairly good at sitting up now but sometimes he loses his balance and slumps over onto his toys) or if a tumbling block accidentally bumps a little person on its way to the floor. Also, their size means that the babas can actually get into the structures that they make, yesterday Lollipop was the princess inside the castle while her brave brother the knight defended the perimeter of their colourful fortress.

But by far, the build it up/knock it down game has been the most popular.

There is a downside though, these blocks are a bit on the expensive side with a set of 16 costing £63Stg and a set of 32 blocks costing £104Stg. While these prices are undoubtedly on the steep side, what I will say is that as toys go, these are keepers. Our original set has been played with continuously over the last four years and Mr Mirth is currently having as much fun with his new set as his almost-five-year-old brother and I am hopeful that they will be used long into the future.

In other news, I am seriously considering a new career in architecture…..check out this tower. Renzo Piano eat your heart out!!

On the 1st of February my sister gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy. Master B is tiny and handsome and perfect.

Since his arrival, I’ve been thinking about just the right welcome gift for Master B’s cousins to give him. After much thought, I’ve settled on a comforter. Both Mr Moo and Lollipop have had comforters since they were tiny (Blue Bear and Ruby Rabbit respectively) and both still adore them. They sleep with them every night and Lollipop runs straight for Ruby Rabbit every time she gets upset. Both babas had their own way of deriving comfort from their toys, when he was tiny, Mr Moo sucked Blue Bear’s nose incessantly (so much so that despite my frantic washing Blue Bear’s nose became totally discoloured!) while Lollipop is never happier than when she has Ruby’s bobble tail in her mouth (yes, I know its weird but heh, it works for her!).

So I embarked on a search for the perfect comforter. I wanted something that was suitable for Master B to use immediately so it had to be soft and safe. After some quality time spent on Google, I came across a site that is absolutely packed full of the most wonderful baby toys. The Organic Toy Company is a UK based company that sells organic toys and baby skin care products. They stock ranges that I was familiar with like Kaloo, Under the Nile, Steiff and Taggies but they also have a lot of more unusual brands that I hadn’t seen before: Sigikid, I Love My Planet and Kathe Kruse.

There are a host of soft toys and comforters (or  Doudous as the French call them) to chose from: here are a few that I fell for:

After much deliberation, I opted for the Sigikid Hipp Natural Love Pony comforter for Master B:

I just kind of fell in love with him. There is just something about him, he looks so darn snuggly and I really hope that he becomes a treasured companion for Master B.  This little pony is made with blue and white organic cotton towelling, his body, ears and limbs are unpadded with double thickness fabric  (which make it very easy for tiny fingers to grip on to) and his head is filled with pure wool which is hypoallergenic and dust mite deterrent. In short, he is ethical, baby-safe and is machine washable!! The bad news is that I bought the last Pony in stock so you will have to chose something from the from the rest of the site (which, in reality is no great harship as the examples above demonstrate!).

One of the fantastic things about these type of toys is that if a baby’s mum or dad sleeps with the toy close to them for a night or two, the toys then has their scent. A newborn baby’s sense of smell is hugely important to them and they take enormous comfort from their parent’s smell. Team this soothing aroma with the tactile softness of a comforter and you have every newborn’s ideal companion.

Just a final note about The Organic Toy Company. As is apparent, when it comes to buying baby products, I do 99% of my shopping online so I’ve had quite a lot of experience of internet retail. Shopping online can be a very impersonal thing (which is what some people prefer about it) but it is so nice when online retailers go that extra mile when it comes to service, to transcend the digital barrier and make the transaction personal. There are a huge number of online stores so there is a risk that the really good shops can be lost in the vast ether that is the internet. I reckon that those few shops that are special deserve to be highlighted.

When I ordered Master B’s gift last night, I arranged for it to be delivered to him directly in Belfast. This morning, I got a lovely email from Natalie from The Organic Toy Company asking whether the pony was a gift and if so whether I’d like to send a message along with him. I was very impressed by this thoughtfulness and immediately responded. There followed a genuinely lovely exchange of emails and a super swift service (the pony was dispatched before lunchtime and is on his way to Belfast as I write this).  All in all I am very confident that this little pony won’t be my last purchase from this lovely shop,  but don’t just take my word for it…..

PS: Thanks for all your help Natalie !

I’m a huge fan of Not On The High Street at any time of the year but particularly love having a look in at this time of the year. On my latest visit I came across a host of the most gorgeous traditional toys. They range in price from the very cheap to the very expensive but I thought I’d showcase a selection from the under-£20Stg range in case Santa is in the market for some stocking fillers.

I can just see those bulging stockings hanging from the mantelpiece…..

A friend mentioned that Santa might be bringing a dolls house when he visits her home this year and we got to wondering what type of residence he might pick.

For me, wooden dolls houses will always be the winners (plastic just doesn’t do it for me…) so I had a peak at the options that are out there for Santa to chose from. Here are a few of the homes that are currently available on the doll-home marketplace:

Unlike the real life world, in ‘doll-world’, there’s plenty of value to be found in the period residence market:

If your marionette prefers maisonettes over mansions,  then she might be interested in these slightly more modest (but still charming) addresses:

However, if your baba’s dolls fancy a slightly more modern pad, then these options might be the right buy:

Lastly, if your dolls happen to be environmentally aware (and can get a green card!!…this one is currently only available in the US), then this eco house might be the  home for you. This house comes with a solar panel, wind turbine, rain water collection system and recycling facilities!

Happy house hunting !

Wooden toys are my absolute favourite kind of toy, I just love their look and feel as well as their durability. In fact, the longevity of wooden toys is one of their major attractions for me. But not all wooden toys are well made – splinters and wood chips aren’t fun for little fingers –  so I am always delighted when I come across  brands that are high quality as well as good fun to play with. BigJigs is one such brand. BigJigs make woodentoys for all age ranges from clutch toys for babies, push and pull toys for toddlers and a vast array of role play, construction and outdoor toys for older babas.

Here is a sample of their fabulous wares: