Portraits of My Isabelle!

3 months old

1 year old

2 years old

When choosing photos for this week's gallery, I had so many, it was very difficult to choose from. As you can guess, they are all portraits of my Isabelle. The first two were taken by a professional photographer and the last one was taken by a friend of mine. I love looking at her baby pictures and cannot believe how quickly she is growing and changing so much. I can still remember taking her to the studio for her first photo shoot, she wasn't able to sit on her own, the pillows were supporting her and she kept on leaning and falling to one side......

In no time she will be a teenager........ I just wish I could slow it down a bit.

Do we Deserve A Brake Without Our little Darlings?

I think that mostly you would agree, that it's important to have some time just for you and your partner, without your children. In our case, living in London with my husband's family in Belfast and my family in the Czech republic, it's almost impossible to have just my and my husband's time. When was the last time we went to the cinema or for a dinner together? My answer: Last week, as my dear husband had secretly planned a romantic trip to Paris and had organised my mum to fly here to look after Isabelle. We were very lucky as her flight was on Wednesday night, just before the UK flights ban had started.

We took Eurostar train to Paris on Friday early morning and spend 3 wonderful days in one of the most romantic cities in the world. The last time we were in Paris was when I was pregnant with Isabelle and we were catching up with our Aussie friends. It was very different this time, as were were not rushing around sightseeing, but we were really enjoying our time just walking around, eating great food at little cafes and talking and talking and talking....

Dealing With Chicken Pox - This Might Help!

This picture was taken when Isabelle was really poorly, fighting the chicken pox, almost a year ago. The whole time I was thinking of writing a post about it, but never got to it. So here it is now! From my friends I knew about all the symptoms and the well- known treatments, so I was thinking once Isabelle got it, it would quite easy to handle it. I was very wrong. You know, some children have only a few spots, as most of Isabelle's friends, but unfortunately our Isabelle had it really badly (absolutely everywhere!) and I would not like to go through it again. It's not just dealing with very high temperature, sickness and loosing her appetite. Every day there were more and more spots...as I was told you cannot leave the house until the spots were scabby...which seemed to take ages....and being stuck indoors with my poor darling was not easy for me. My husbands is and always has been very busy at work, getting home late, so wasn't much help either. I tried all the treatments our doctor had suggested (calamine cream, baking soda bath), and stuff from the Internet (oatmeal bath, rooibos tea bath). Then on Twitter someone suggested Aveeno cream, which is not cheap, but I hurried and bought it and it really seemed to work on Isabelle. As she's got darker skin, I was a bit worried about the scars afterwards, and have been advised by a friend of mine to use vitamin E capsules ( not orally, but to spread the oil on the spots). We were using the capsules for a few months and soon the spots disappeared, except two on her tummy, the first two, which were also the worst and took the longest to heal.

Brio Crane And Loads Reviewed!

When I was contacted by HelloBabyDirect.co.uk to review a product from their website, I was delighted I have found Brio range there, as I have heard that their wooden toys were of very high quality. Some of my friends, mostly the ones with boys, have some Brio magnetic trains and Isabelle loves playing with them when visiting. From the range I have seen on the website, I was thinking it would be quite interesting to see if Isabelle, being a girl, would enjoy playing with a crane, not such a typical girl toy! I have to say, at first she looked at it and did not want to open the box, which is not what she usually does when she gets something new! I left her and was thinking of returning it, but a little while later she asked for it and it was her daddy, who helped her and explained to her what to do. Isabelle seemed to really enjoy transferring the loads using the flexible arm. And when her friends came on Sunday to celebrate her birthday, (yes she is 3 tomorrow), all the boys were fighting over the crane and loads....and Isabelle looked very proud she had a toy the boys were fighting over! Some boys love playing with dollies, and some girls enjoy playing with cranes!


My verdict: A brilliant toddler toy of high quality, encouraging creativity, coordination and problem solving skills.

For more information go to http://www.hellobabydirect.co.uk

Very Proud - My Darling Turning 3!!!

What else can I say when I look at these pictures? I am so proud of being Isabelle's mummy. I love her dearly, she makes me so happy and just wish she could stay my LITTLE darling forever. I remember like today the day she was born and the moment when I was holding her for the very first time.... It seems like yesterday, and she is turning 3 tomorrow. Tears are coming into my eyes....

ToDoDid Laminated Notebook!

If you are a new mum or a mum to be, you will love ToDoDid! It was invented by a mum to help her keep records of all the necessary things you do when you have a new baby. It is a 12 reusable page notepad and you can record the child's name, any special moments from that day, feeds ( time, milk/solid, etc), nappy changes (time, wet/soiled), sleep (where, how long), medicines (times, dosage), reminders (any notes), this week/ next week planner, calendar for 2010, letters and numbers (the alphabet and numbers 1- 10), the back cover has space for the name of the carer. I remember when Isabelle was a newborn, and we were recording all the feeds, nappies, nap times, etc, and as my husband was helping me with that, he was using pieces of paper most of the time...which we quite often couldn't find when we needed them. If I had ToDoDid then , the problem would have been solved!
As Tasha, the inventor, has suggested it can also be used by grandparents, Au-pairs, childminders or nurseries to keep record of what your child did when not with you. If you need to focus on a particular issue, she has also come up with NEW notepads for the Sleep page, Feed page and the Nappy page.

I think the price is reasonable and Tasha has an introductory special offer price till 31st May 2010 ( £7.99 including UK postage and packaging)

For more information go to ToDoDid homepage.

Cooking Pasta With Toddlers!

I have just had a fabulous time when cooking lunch with my Isabelle. She loves cooking and pasta, so this morning I decided we would be cooking lunch together. I have to admit that cooking with her means a lot of mess, so am quite happy they cook and bake quite often at her nursery. But this time, it wasn't messy at all. My daughter was so happy, cutting some ham into small pieces, then mixing and whisking the eggs, while I was stirring the pasta. Such an easy recipe, done in no time and very yummy. Just boil the pasta and when it's ready add some ham, boiled vegetables ( green beans or broccoli), and pour the egg mixture all over it while stirring constantly! Will definitely cook with my Isabelle more often!

Little Me Baby Organics!

As my daughter Isabelle is getting older, it seems to be more and more difficult to put her to bed. When I got the Little Me Baby Organics products for a review, I was hoping that the aromatherapeutic benefits of these would have some influence on my daughter. She loves creams and when we were testing the mmm moisture babies and shhh sleepy head creams, she just did not want to stop and was rubbing the creams all over her body, face and also hair...which I wasn't that happy about. According to her it smelled "delicious" and wanted her hair to smell like that too. Since then we have had a little bedtime cream routine, using the sleepy Lavender cream and have to admit, it is much easier to get her to bed. The whole room smells beautifully and her skin feels so soft and not greasy. She also really likes the hair & body moisture wash, as it smells great and is very easy to apply even with her little hands. The last product we were testing was the moisture bath soak, and that is the winner for me. As it does not make any bubbles, it was not that interesting for my daughter, but I just love it as my skin feels so hydrated and soft afterwards. All in all- great products!

You can choose from 3 award winning baby ranges:

• Playtime fun - Dill and Organic Lavender
• Moisture babies - Chamomile and Organic Lavender
• Sleepy head - Neroli, Rose and Organic Mandarin

There is also a mum to be organics collection containing Rose Hip, Organic Vanilla & Grapefruit.

To find out more go to http://www.littlemebabyorganics.co.uk

Have You Heard of Snooze Shade?

Lately I have come across some fabulous baby products, all invented by mums ( of course!) after dealing with problems all mums have, but they were the ones who did something about them and came up with great products which will help many parents. One of these great inventions is the Snooze Shade, the pram and buggy blackout blind for babies on the move.

When I got it for a review, I thought it was supposed to be used only in sunny weather, but have been advised by Cara, the inventor, the main aim is to help your baby to nap when you’re out and about… it’s a way to switch off visual stimuli to encourage them to nap (even when they don’t want to). Her top tip is to leave the zip open the baby plays with it till they give up then do it up and they stay under longer.

And my verdict? It actually works! As my daughter does not stay in her buggy anymore, I tested it with one of my friends, whose son is much younger. We went for a walk in a park and when her son was getting tired (refusing to nap as he was watching Isabelle on her scooter and thought it was much more interesting then napping...) we put the snooze shade on her buggy. After a bit of kicking & fighting, he fell asleep. It think he just needed to get used to the new thing covering his buggy. Also, the zip at the front is very useful to check on your little one, without lifting the whole thing and disturbing her/him.

• RRP £19.99, for stockists click here http://www.snoozeshade.com/snoozeshade-stockists.html

Czech Easter Traditions!

Easter time always reminds me how important it is to be with your family and friends. As some of you might already know from reading my blog, I am Czech, married to an English man. We met in Sydney and decided to move back to Europe as our families live here. Not long after our return to London, my husband's family moved to Belfast, so we don't have many family members here. Luckily after Isabelle was born we met 5 other mums and dads at local ante -natal classes and we still see them every week. They became our best friends here, in England.

My mum was so great and moved in to live with us for 6 months (when Isabelle was 1 year old) to help me, when I was setting up my website and blog. At that time I realised how wonderful it is when you have your family, especially your mum around you. I think living here without my family and friends is not easy, also we do not have any "my and my husband's time", but we manage and when we go to see my family in the Czech Republic, we spend some time without Isabelle.

When it comes to Xmas and Easter, I always keep my Czech traditions, as I want Isabelle to know what her mummy used to do when she was a little girl. One of the Easter Czech traditions to mention would be a "pomlazka". Traditionally, early in the morning boys awake girls by pouring a bucket of water on their head and striking them about the legs with long thin twigs or switches made from willow, decorated with ribbons. The twigs are thought to bring health and youth to anyone who is whipped by them. The girls give them some hand-painted or otherwise decorated eggs. There are many Easter egg decorating techniques and the more elaborate ones require certain levels of skill. Different materials can be used, such as bee's wax, straw, watercolors, onion peels, picture stickers.

Playful Way To Learn Numbers With LEGO!

Most babies and toddlers love playing with bricks and blocks. Our Isabelle could spend hours building castles, houses, or even aeroplanes. Children of her age love learning numbers, so I have thought of implementing learning numbers and playing would be the best way how to teach her. When she saw the Lego Duplo set, she loved it and could not wait to open it, ripped the box...

The size of the bricks is just perfect for her little hands, she also seemed to like the bright colours and pictures on them. It did not take her too long to realise there were numbers on them as well. We had explained to her she was supposed to match the numbers with the pictures (for example number 2 and a picture with two rabbits). I personally think, this is a great way to learn numbers and am sure that this creative play with the bricks will encourage and help her learn numbers 1 - 10 . We have had it for only a few days, but she spends a little time playing with it every day and has managed to match a few numbers already. If you have a toddler around 3 years of age, this is a perfect way how to help them learn numbers in a playful way.

For more information or to buy (£19.99 + postage), go to the official LEGO shop website