Its the simple things

When you are looking for ways to keep your baby/toddler happy remember its not about going out and spending a fortune and getting all the latest gadgets.  Isabella loves being out in the garden and so we brought a picnic bench for her age with an umbrella which she loves, she sits at it when the sun is out (which in the UK is a bit hit and miss!) and will eat her lunch, we got her a sandpit and toys (spades, buckets, castle moulds, rake etc) and peppa pig football, in spite of getting these she loves nothing more than being outside and just playing - she loves playing chase and runs up and down the garden and she also loves helping when I water the garden although she has her favourite Strawberry plant that gets most of the water.
She has her favourite programmes on telly which are currently, Peppa Pig, Fifi and the Flower Tots and The Simpsons (she gets upset when the adverts are on and sits there saying 'SIM SIM'. So remember its not all about what you can get them its all about spending time with them and encouraging them in what they like and joining in with them when they are playing, there is nothing better than when Isabella runs up to me and gives me a big cuddle and smile when she has been playing.

babychuckle: Swimming

babychuckle: Swimming: Isabella is a real water baby and there is nothing that she likes better than going swimming.  It is great seeing her smiling and laughing ...

Swimming

Isabella is a real water baby and there is nothing that she likes better than going swimming.  It is great seeing her smiling and laughing in the pool but it is also terrifying that she has no sense of fear in the water and thinks nothing of walking out of her depth! or if she is being held by in the deep end she just wants you to let go and let her float.  She has her armbands and loves jumping off the side (not bad for 22months old!) and she doesn't even mind her face getting wet.  It is a great idea to get them used to water at this age especially if they enjoy it as much as Isabella does and its great exercise for us.

Baby TV

For all parents out there that have Sky and a baby check out channel 623, its a channel just for babies.  Isabella loves it first thing in a morning when she is having her bottle and last thing at night. 
She is learning a lot from it too - new words, actions etc.  Just be warned at night it can make adults feel sleepy too when they are playing there settling down music and shows!

Its nearly Christmas

Well its nearly Isabella's second Christmas and this time she is aware of something going on! She has very helpfully assisted the kittens in taking the decorations off the tree (although they did the best and pulled it down twice!) she went under the tree and found one of her own presents and brought it out to us and was a little grumpy when I said no she couldn't open it yet and it had to go back.
She loves the fact that there is wrapping paper around and that there are now two kittens to play with - she is very good with them and is very gentle with them and they are more than happy to go to her and be fussed.
I cant wait to see her opening her presents on Christmas Day and then playing with the paper and boxes more than the presents inside!

The Professionals

Isabella has turned into a big fan of Bodie and Doyle and CI5, I put it on one time and she sat next to me totally engrossed in it. 
When she hears the theme tune start she wants to get up on the sofa next to me and its about the only time she will sit still for an hour - she even stays still when the adverts come on!

It's been a while

Well it's been a while since my last post and so much has happened, Isabella is much more mobile now as she has been taking her first few steps and loves the encouragement that we give her (lots of praise and clapping), it seems to make her want to keep on going as she squeals and giggles.
Isabella has also experienced her first flight on a plane over to Northern Ireland and she was brilliant - she sat with mummy on the way out and fell asleep whilst we were waiting to take off and woke up as we landed (so as far as she is concerned we never left lol) and then sat with me on the way back and stayed awake the entire time and successfully destroyed the free in flight magazine and kept smacking me round the face with the safety sheet!
She is learning things really quickly too and loves her books and knows which one to go and get just by saying the name of it - Bubbles Bubbles is a favourite
Isabella has also discovered next doors cat and if you say 'where is the cat' she points out of the window and says 'cat cat'.

What people think doesn't matter

How many parents out there worry about what other people are thinking?
Yesterday I went to football with our middle child (he is 6), big sister came too and it was a nice sunny day and we sat on the grass watching, behind us there were two mums with young babies and one of the babies was crying and a bit grumpy and you could see the mother getting worried what people were thinking and she seemed too shy to try and make her baby smile.  Isabella got a bit grumpy and so I sat her on the grass and sang nursery rhymes to her and we played with the grass and she had a good old crawl around, I didn't care what people were thinking as Isabella was having fun and when she started laughing you could see others smiling.  Too many people get hung up on not looking stupid when it shouldn't matter as long as you and your baby are having fun, who cares if you are a bad singer (I am no X factor contestant!!!!) but Isabella doesn't judge me on that (YET! lol), a happy baby is much better than a stressed parent who is worried about what everyone else is thinking. 
Remember everyone was a baby once and you need to make it as happier time as possible as you only get one chance and the people around you are not really bothered about if you look silly that is all in your mind.

Eastenders is still a winner

Isabella is still fascinated with the Eastenders theme tune, it is the only programme on telly that she will stop what she is doing and watch.  She still sits there smiling and clapping along to the music (she is not so keen on the actual programme though as she generally falls asleep and wakes up for the end).
Its a shame the confused.com adverts have changed because she thought those were hilarious and the under dog advert used to get a few chuckles too.