How Peppa Pig Helped Us with Potty Training

My darling daughter E will be three in four weeks time. We only potty trained her brother C last March when he was 3.5 years old but because her language and understanding was fantastic when she turned 2 last September, I decided to introduce her to C's old potty.

She was having absolutely none of it and would scream and cry anytime I suggested using it. I didn't give up but I also didn't pressurise her. I would just suggest trying again every other week but it was always met with the same crying and squealing. With C finishing preschool at the end of June, I was determined to train over the summer. Everyone says that summer is the best time to potty train so I was willing to give it a go.

We received a fabulous bundle of Peppa Pig potty training goodies and because E is a big Peppa fan, I hoped it would sway her a little bit. Usually when she'd see C's old potty, she'd run away from me. I got her to open the box herself and seemed really pleased with the contents. We received a Peppa Pig Steady Potty (RRP £9.99), Peppa Pig Training Seat (RRP £8.99) and Peppa Pig Step Stool (RRP £8.99) - all of which have images of Peppa dressed as a princess on them (another of E's loves!) - as well as a copy of the Peppa and her Golden Boots book (RRP £5.49) and some Peppa Pig Hand and Body Wipes (RRP 75p per pack).

I left the potty sitting out for the first day and she surprised me by sitting on it with her clothes on to get used to it.  I felt like this was a breakthrough in itself so I was happy enough to go forward with proper training the following day. I cannot believe how well she is doing and I have Peppa to thank! Right now we have been using the potty for around a month and E is completely dry during the day with no accidents. We are yet to use the insert and stool because I think she's a little afraid of the big toilet but there is no doubt in my mind that they will make the transition from potty to toilet easier for her.

The Peppa Pig toilet wipes have been great for giving her independence and she's happy to wipe herself, help me flush the contents down the toilet then wash her hands afterwards. She seems comfortable when sitting on the potty and she has now sussed exactly what way to sit so that nothing spills out. The feet of the potty, feet of the stool and edges of the insert are non-slip too so that puts both of us at ease. The Peppa and her Golden Boots book helped in the early days because she was able to sit and flick through the pages whilst sitting down and trying to go - it now gets read a lot a bedtime!

If you're struggling with potty training your little one, I definitely recommend character themed training sets. They are even available in George Pig style.

(We received these items for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

C at 3.5 Years

The last update I wrote was when C had just turned three. Before this, I did them monthly but writing C at 37 months, 38 months, etc just seemed silly plus I didn't think I would have enough to write about how he was changing in that time. I decided to then do six monthly updates.

Since writing that last post, I feel like he's changed so much. The little toddler he was at 3 seems to have developed into the most amazing child.

He is honestly the funniest person I have ever met and I don't know where he gets it from. He has us in stitches every day with the little quips that he comes out with. As well as his speech developing wonderfully, he knows so many words and it's great to be able to have proper conversations with him and knowing that he can express his feelings, his memory is incredible too. He remembers songs that he's only heard a handful of times, he can recite the alphabet, can count to 100 and he's been recently learning to spell and write his alphabet. 

He still loves CBeebies and typical toddler shows but I can tell how he's growing because he's discovered a love for Star Wars and superheroes. Frozen is the ultimate favourite movie at the moment. He is always singing the songs and telling me what is going to happen before it does when we watch together. 


I'm mostly encouraging his creativity these days. His favourite things to do are puzzles, play dough modelling, painting and roleplaying like making figures "talk" or pretending to shop, cook and clean.

C does have temper tantrums and likes to wind us up to no end but I see that as a typical kid thing for this age. Some days he's great and we have no issues at all and others, as much as I feel guilty saying this, I can't wait for bed time so my head can have a rest!

He has his first friend in the form of D whose mummy writes at Us Two Plus You. We've had a few playdates over the past month or so and they get on like a house on fire. C always tells me about how much he loves him and that he's his best friend. 

Potty training is going well at the minute. Since he turned two a whole year and a half ago I've been so stressed over it. Hes quite tall for his age now and I worry that people were thinking that he looked far too old to be in a nappy but once I realised that it's completely up to him when he wants to do it, I felt happier. I didn't want to force him so when he recently started to accept it, I was so glad we waited. He's doing amazingly well. In saying that, we haven't yet ventured out of the house without a nappy or introduced pants. It's simply been a case of a bare bum around the house as I didn't want to introduce too much at once. He takes himself off to wee when he feels he needs to and I could count on one hand how many accidents he's had. I think it's so cute when he says "I feel a wee coming!" then rushes to the potty. He is getting a little irritated though. He asks for nappies but I think that's because he just wants to play and having to stop to go to the toilet is a bit of an inconvenience for him. I hope he gets used to it soon. Now I just need to brave taking him out and getting the pants on!

Finally the biggie. We've applied for nursery! We should get the letter this Friday (I think!) and I am so nervous. He keeps telling me that he can't wait to go to school and make friends so I have no worries about him actually going because I know he'll love it. I just hope he gets into his first choice as he has family that attend the primary school. I know I'll be the mum bawling my eyes out when I drop him off on the first day.

Where has my baby gone?!

E at 18 Months

I am so late with writing this post. E truly suffers from Second Child Syndrome. With C, I always made sure I had his updates published on the 21st of every month. E was born on the 5th and it's now the 14th and this post has just gone live - oops!

  Anyway, I sound like a broken record but I cannot believe that my baby is a whole year and a half old. Time - stop flying by!

It feels like in the space of a month she has turned into a little madam. She's getting cheekier and when we tell her off for something, she'll snap back with, "No!" Her facial expressions are brilliant too. If looks could kill! 

We've discovered that she is just as clumsy and accident prone as her daddy. When he was younger, he gathered a whole range of injuries - even being in a hospital quite a lot. In the space of a week, E has managed to fall over and bust her lip open twice - in the same place! 

E used to be a really good eater and started to go off her food a little. I freaked out a bit and thought she was starting to follow in her brother's footsteps and was becoming a picky eater but her appetite has come back in full force. She's been drooling a lot so I think I'll put the appetite loss down to teething. Speaking of teeth, she has 8 now with 9 and 10 coming through. They don't seem to bother her too much.#

Her speech is incredible. She really tries to copy everything we say with her new favourite being, "look!" whilst pointing at something. "Shoe" and "sock" are new words. There are probably tons more but I haven't been keeping track - bad mummy! She understands more than she can say. If I ask her if she'd like something, like a banana, she'll nod her head or when I'm filling her juice cup up, I'll ask her to go into the living room and bring me her brother's cup in. She'll do it no problem.

E is obsessed with Frozen and Peppa Pig. Frozen, mostly. When we go shopping and she sees anything with Anna or Elsa on, she'll point and tell me "Look! Anna!" or "Elsa!" She might not be able to have a conversation but she attempts to sing Let It Go and Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? For Let It Go she only really knows how to sing "go!" and "any more!" but we're getting there. For Do You Wanna Build a Snowman she'll only say "man" but at the end where Elsa tells Anna to go away and Anna replies with "okay, bye" - E repeats that every time! 

Erin trying to sing Let It Go 😂

A video posted by Rebecca (@13rebecca13) on Mar 3, 2016 at 11:18am PST

She is really showing her little personality now and I love it. She is so funny.

Blue Kangaroo book series by Emma Chichester Clark - Review

What better day to post a book review than on World Book Day! I hope you (well, the kids!) have all had a fun day dressing up.

I was recently contacted about reviewing new releases in a book series, Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark. They are suitable for ages 2-5 so C is target age. How could I say no?

We received all three new books in the series; When I First Met You, Blue Kangaroo!; Happy Birthday, Blue Kangaroo! and Where Are You, Blue Kangaroo?

All of the books focus around a little girl called Lily and her blue toy kangaroo. In the first book, When I First Met You, Blue Kangaroo! we learn just that - how they met. Lily's grandmother gifted Blue Kangaroo to Lily when her little brother Jack was born. She soon discovered that it isn't easy looking after a tiny baby so she can practise with Blue Kangaroo. She goes through some trial and error situations but they love each other instantly. I love this book as a mother because Lily gets a bit upset that she can't do everything as well as her mum can but mum reassures her that she made mistakes when she first had Lily - something that I can relate to! Parenting is all about learning.

In Happy Birthday, Blue Kangaroo! both Blue Kangaroo and Lily are celebrating their birthdays on the same day and are having a party. Lily, like a typical girl, wants everything to be pink from the food to her dress and the wrapping paper that her friends bring. Blue Kangaroo feels a little bit pushed out because he's blue and not pink so he thinks that Lily doesn't like him as much because of his colour. When she realises, Lily soon reassures him and makes him feel happier. I think this was C's favourite of the three books. He felt quite sorry for Blue Kangaroo and kept telling me that he was sad. He was pleased with the happy ending though.

Where Are You, Blue Kangaroo? reminds me a little bit of days out with C. Lily goes out with a few members of her family over different days and always brings Blue Kangaroo along for the trip. Sometimes she gets a little forgetful and leaves him somewhere then can't find him! She always ends up finding him again but Blue Kangaroo gets scared that one day she won't come back for him. As I read this story to C, I made a point of saying "That's why you always need to hold onto your toys tight because you'll lose them" and he kept nodding so I think it sunk in that if he loses a toy, it's lost for good.

Since we received these books, C has always asked for "a blue kangaroo book" at bedtime so he's taken to them quite well. They're a little longer than his usual books which is great, I love that we're moving on from toddler books and getting into something a bit older. The length doesn't bother him, he'll sit through the entire story listening intently. I think this is the first book series that he's owned and he likes hearing about Blue Kangaroo having different adventures. There are nine in total and because of C's love for them, I think I'll have to get my hands on the rest!

Each book retails at £6.99 and they are published by HarperCollins. You can find them at all good high street bookstores and online.

(We received these books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

 

KD UK Peppa's Musical Microphone - Review

I am super chuffed to be a part of the KD Mumbassador scheme. My kids love character products so I am seriously grateful for the opportunity.

One of the items that we have received is the Peppa Pig Musical Microphone. Both of my children absolutely adore Peppa Pig so I knew that this would go down a treat.

The musical microphone has a little image of Peppa herself on the top, something that C kept pointing out to me. He was just interested in singing into it to begin with until I taught him what each of the buttons do.

Down near the bottom you'll see the off switch but you can also slide it to the microphone or the question mark. If you switch it to the microphone, you can obviously use the microphone but the centre buttons do different things too.

The pink button will play well-known songs such a Ring o' Roses or Mary Had a Little Lamb (you just need to keep pressing to switch song), the green tick button and orange 'x' button will make different sounds and noises.

If you switch through to the '?', the microphone will switch off and the centre buttons will do different things than before. The pink button will give you a sound or fact alongside a question, your child will then select the tick or 'x' button, depending on which answer they want to give. The questions are ones like, "Rebecca Rabbit starts with the sound "ba". True or false?" or a drum noise would be playing and Peppa would state that it was a guitar then again, you'd choose the tick or 'x'.

I love the fact that such a small toy has a lot of activities. You have the microphone to sing and have fun but also a learning setting too, which is something that I always look for when I buy toys for the children.

Both children love it, although E is a little young to understand it fully, but she does love shouting into the microphone!

The Peppa Pig Musical Microphone retails at £11.99 which I think is very reasonable for what it actually does. 

You can find out more at the KD UK website and you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item as part of our role as a KD UK Mumbassador. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

E at 14 Months

Eek, time needs to slow down!

My baby toddler is 14 months old and she has changed so much. She is very cheeky and does lots of funny things. She knows she's being funny too and it makes us laugh constantly. Fake laughing and coughing are her favourite.

She still isn't walking! She learned to crawl early and was cruising the sofa at 9/10 months so I was sure she'd walk early too. I do try to encourage her but she's having none of it. As soon as she realises that I'm not holding her up, she's straight down onto her bum or knees. She accidentally took one step a few days ago, freaked out and grabbed the footstool. Maybe I'll be writing about her walking in her 15 month update? That is when C started. We'll see.

Her vocabulary is impressive! I know I shouldn't, but I do compare her to C. He was only really saying "mama" and "dada" at this age but E tries to copy everything. She knows 'duckie', George (from C's George Pig figurine), "hiya" and "bye!" She likes to accompany those last two with waves and kisses. She does babble quite a lot and I love hearing her voice and giggles.

She is really adventurous and I do feel like I need eyes in the back of my head. Although she isn't walking, she can move very quickly. Most of the time she is permanently attached to my legs as she's quite clingy with me.

E is quite the poser and loves having her photograph taken. If you follow me on social media, you'll see that I do have a bit of an obsession with bows and handmade clothes and boy, does E love to show them off!

She still loves her food, especially home cooked meals packed with veg, and she is taking at 8oz bottle of cows milk at bedtime. I'm hoping it stays that way!

She fits comfortably in both 12-18 and 18-24 months clothing which may sound a bit odd but that's mainly due to her height - she's quite tall!

I can't wait to see what she discovers next month.

Fisher-Price Silly Wheelie Mickey - Review

I cannot start this review in any way other than, this is probably the best thing that C has ever owned and I honestly believe every kid should have it on their Christmas list this year.

When I first received the email about reviewing, I knew it would be a hit as C loves Mickey Mouse and owns quite a few Mickey Mouse toys but I didn't think it would be as loved and well-received as it has been.

As soon as he arrived, C was keen to get him opened. He is recommended for children aged 2+ so at 3 years of age, he's perfect for C. He kept telling me "Mickey's on a bike!" and when I switched him on, his little eyes lit up. He also comes with 4 AA batteries so he's ready to go. 

All you have to do is pull the flag back on the back of his bike and Mickey can speed around the room, doing wheelies and spins and he sings a little song and says different phrases. He even pedals the bike! The song is so catchy too and I'm always finding myself singing it in my head! C thinks it is absolutely hilarious and the first night he arrived, C spent around half an hour running around the living room after him, sweat dripping from his head and in stitches laughing saying "He's doing a wheelie, mummy! He's so funny!"

Mickey has been played with every single day since we got him and he's always the first toy C asks for in the morning. He even had to come with us for a sleepover at grandad's at the weekend! I've honestly never seen C so attached to a toy and I am seriously impressed. Even my parents were saying how wonderful he is.

The only downside is that C's one year old sister, E, is absolutely terrified of him and crawls as fast as she can away from him when he's switched on. It's terrible of me to say, but it is quite funny! I think he just moves a little too fast for her. She's happy enough to play with him when he's stationary though.

Fisher-Price Silly Wheelie Mickey retails at £31.99 and honestly, it's worth every penny plus more to see how happy he has made C. I really think owning him is the best thing that's ever happened in his life and I cannot recommend him enough.

(Disclaimer: We received this toy for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet Sound Book & The Dinosaur That Pooped The Bed - Review

Way back in December last year, C was lucky enough to get the chance to review three of Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter's (of McFly fame) 'The Dinosaur That Pooped' books and they went down a treat! 

He is a very lucky boy again and has received the new book, 'The Dinosaur That Pooped The Bed' as well as a sound book copy of the 'The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet'. You can read my full review of the '...Planet' book here. The book is exactly the same except it is a hardbacked cover with fun buttons that make relevant sounds when pushed and C absolutely loved them and thought they were hilarious.

I love sound books for children as I find that they are a great way to capture attention. This one in particular is very funny as it has a lot of poo sounds which are perfect for my little monkey. He was in stitches! 

'The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet' sound book retails at £7.00 on Amazon.

I really want to focus on the new book; 'The Dinosaur That Pooped The Bed'. The story is similar to the others. Danny and Dino need to tidy Danny's room which is a bit of a tip. As it is so messy, Danny has a clever idea - why doesn't Dino eat it instead? Dino eats everything, even Danny's bed! Dino got bigger and bigger so they were stuck inside and couldn't get out. Suddenly, Dino felt like he needed to poo and everything came straight back out again.

This is such a funny little book and one that C wants read to him over and over again. I love that the lines rhyme and it just flows brilliantly. I know it will be one of C's favourites for a long time! The other books are all number 1 UK bestsellers and I can definitely see this one following in its footsteps.

'The Dinosaur That Pooped The Bed' can be purchased for £3.85 on Amazon.

(Disclaimer: We received these books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Molly Maybe's Monsters: The Dappity-Doofer by Kristina Stephenson

C takes after his mum and dad and is a total bookworm. When we were offered the chance to review Molly Maybe's Monsters: The Dappity-Doofer, I jumped at the chance as C is a typical boy and loves monsters but also because we have and love one of Kristina Stephenson's other books - Sir Charlie Stinky Socks!

Firstly, I love the cover. The shiny front and circle where you can see the first page, I think, is really attractive to children. C certainly liked it!

The story is about a girl named Molly Maybe and her dog Waggy. Molly has a special treehouse that takes them to a world of monsters called Undermunder. They discover the Dappity-Doofer who is in a bit of a predicament. They need to help him find and retrieve something that he's lost and we see them go on an adventure and try to solve the monster's problem.

It's a really fun book and C loves pointing all the monsters out to me. As he's getting older, he tries to recite some lines which I love. We're coming across words that he's never heard before and he's adding them to his vocabulary. It's the perfect length for his age, three, and the bright and fun illustrations really kept his attention throughout.

Molly Maybe's Monsters: The Dappity-Doofer retails at £6.29 and it is available from Amazon. 

(Disclaimer: We received this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Having Fun with Sticker & Activity Books from Little Tiger Press

C has always been a fan of books. He loves being read to and loves to learn. As he has gotten older, he likes to challenge himself by doing activity books and his ultimate favourite is sticking stickers. We were lucky enough to receive two fabulous books from Little Tiger Press that I knew C would love. 

Firstly, the 'My Little World' series by Jonathan Litton and illustrated by Fhiona Galloway has two new additions; 'I Spy Learn and Go' and 'I Spy on the Farm'. C received Learn and Go. He also received Little Snappers Dinosaurs Funtime Sticker Activity Book.

C was very excited about the dinosaur book firstly. He is a typical boy and loves all things dino related. Sticking stickers is one of his favourite things to do so when you combine those two together, he is one happy boy. 

The first half of the book has the sticker scenes. Each page has a scene and is titled then when you go to the middle of the book you can find all the stickers for each page under the title. I love this as you do have free rein to stick your stickers anywhere but you have a little guidance as to which stickers go on each page. There are also little questions such as 'Can you find xyz?' in the scene. 

The second half of the book has activities such as dot-to-dot, colouring, find the odd one out and lots of fun things to get your child excited and interested in. The answers are at the back of the book to check how your little ones get on with the task. 

C really enjoyed this book and because it has so much packed into it, he has used it multiple times of the past few weeks and it's been great for keeping him occupied. 

The I Spy On The Go book is a similar book to the dino one. The pages are laminated in this one so you can stick, unstick then stick again until your hearts content. 

You can visit four different scenes and at each one you are asked to spot different objects, use your stickers to put the missing objects in place and you can also trace words and dress up characters. The answers to each page can be found at the back too. Erasable markets can be used with this book. 

This book really got C's brain working and because there is such much going on in each scene, he loved pointing everything out and telling me what they were. 

Both of these books are available from Little Tiger Press both retailing at £5.99 each. 

You can find out more at the Little Tiger Press website and you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received these books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Bean Bag Planet - Review & Giveaway

I first heard of Bean Bag Planet through a Facebook post back when C was around 9 months old. I didn't think he was the right age for one so I quickly forgot about it. I was recently contacted about reviewing one and was informed that they are great for children aged from newborn to 7 years old. With two children now in that age range, how could I say no? 

Bean Bag Planet have lots of different designs to choose from. I opted for the beige zebra print one as I thought it was a great unisex colour for both C and E. 

When the bag arrived, I was a little surprised that the cover and beans were separate, I imagined it would arrive ready to use. I had to wait until Chris got home from work to help me as I knew me trying to put the beans in myself was a recipe for disaster. I needed him to hold the zip open whilst I poured. We did have a few accidents where beans ended up on the floor but they were easily put back in. You need to put the majority of the beans in the back part then a few in the front bit, where you sit. You can use as much or as little as you want, just as long as it is comfortable for your child to sit on.

The bean bag has a strap on the front to keep smaller children on it but you also get a piece of material without the strap that you can zip on for older children who don't need strapped in. The fact that this product grows with your child makes it amazing value for money. You get 7 years of usage and the quality is fantastic so I don't have any worries about it giving up on us any time soon!

Both my children (aged 10 months and almost 3 years) love the bean bag. It's a new favourite - I think it's the comfort factor! 

The Bean Bags RRP price is £64.99 but you can purchase them directly from Bean Bag Planet for only £29.99! You can also find Bean Bag Planet on Facebook and Twitter. 

We have very kindly been offered the chance to run a giveaway for you lovely people! To be in with a chance of winning your own bean bag just fill in the Rafflecopter widget below.

T&C's:

• The giveaway will run from June 29th until August 28th
• One winner will win a Bean Bag of their choice
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• Prize will be sent directly from the PR, please allow 28 days for delivery
• No automated entries
• One entry per person

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UK competitions at ThePrizeFinder