Goodbye Elephant

After the trauma of loosing 'Bear, Bear' at Christmas I have always been really careful where we have taken 'Elephant'.

Unfortunately, during the chaos that is Sainsbury's on a Saturday afternoon, Elephant went into the store but could not be located once we got home.  I think he was tossed aside once Jamie had his hands on chocolate.

I have rang the store a number of times now, but he seems to have gone.  I only hope he has been adopted and isn't lying in a puddle somewhere.  I really hate it when I see abandoned teddy bears as I worry that a child somewhere is broken hearted.  In this case it is Jamie.

Blog Babies 24 and 25

Congratulations to Lottie and James who had twin boys Oliver (4lbs 2.5oz) and Samuel (4lbs 6oz).  Born 16th April.  Baby brothers for Jamie's friend Robert from Baby/Toddler signing.

Gets Bigger!

Someone has been playing with his winkie quite a lot and when asked why, he replied; 'It gets bigger!'

I was hoping he was referring to the 'grow your own' dinosaur that Auntie Hannah and Uncle Michael bought him for his birthday, but sadly. No. He has discovered himself!!

Pirate Party!!

I seem to have overspent! But we all had a fantastic time and if I did the same party again, I at least know where I can cut down on expenses. Unfortunately, in a year’s time I am sure it won’t be pirates but another theme to cater for!

INVITATIONS
Mummy bought some Pirate invitations (24) from Party Planet (£9). Onto these we added Pirate stickers (£1.50) prior to delivery. I stipulated on the invitations that this was a Pirate Fancy Dress Party and that there would be a bouncy castle and hot dogs!! Of everyone who we invited only one child could not attend. Nearer the time daddy added a couple more (smaller) children to the invites. A total of 23 children attended and 32 adults. This included a couple (without children) who we had not seen for a while and invited them if they fancied it – which they did!

As Jamie was three I decided to invite more of his age group than we did to his 1st birthday – which was just an excuse to invite everyone we knew to a party! So I asked 4 of the children that he has grown up with at baby signing. We did invite family members who were older, and a few friends with older children so I think we had enough ‘older’ children so that no one felt on their own.

FANCY DRESS
I bought Jamie a Party like a Pirate T shirt (£9.98 inc.p&p). The hat I had bought for him (£5.99) he chose not to wear and wore a cheap one instead (which came with a sword at approx. £2.50). He wore his vampire (stripy) trousers left over from Halloween, and his wellies from Nana which are decorated with skull and crossbones. He also ended up with one of my old tassely scarf’s tied around his waist. Most of the children who came did dress up for the occasion. Some bought costumes and others were handmade. One child asked to come as Spiderman but on the day came as Bob the Builder!! We also had quite a few of the adults dressing up which was fantastic! There were an awful lot of stripy tops! Certainly all of the family dressed up and it was very amusing prior to the party getting 4 adults and 2 children all ready; arguing over who was hogging the mirror! Even though the party was simply across the road, for some reason we all took the car! During the party there was a lot of swapping with regards to clothes and props – especially with regards to the large inflatable parrot that Auntie Hannah brought and the couple of inflatable pirate hats! I did buy some extra Pirate Eye Patches x8 (£2.79) but completely forgot about them until the end.

I wore a skull and crossbones bandana (£2.95) white shirt, black waistcoat and skirt, Pirate Tights – black and white with skull and crossbones (£3.48) and my black ankle boots. I also painted my nails black and wore my large hoop earrings and skull bracelet. Daddy wore the hat bought for Jamie (£5.99), a red paisley bandana (£1.74 inc.p&p), a stripped T shirt, jeans and books, a fake gold earring (£3.25 inc.p&p) and lots of my jewellery (necklaces and bracelets). The hat daddy was due to wear (£4.88 inc.p&p) turned out to be the same as Nana’s, so perhaps it was better he wore Jamie’s. I bought an inflatable parrot (£2.65 inc.p&p) which was supposed to sit on your shoulder. Unfortunately we could not get it to stay up!

I had promised a Prize for the best fancy dress! However, I forgot! So I gave an Easter egg to each of the helpers and gave the other one to the Clark family for the best family fancy dress! As usual, I did a photo book with all the pictures of everyone so we can look back – and perhaps pinch ideas if we have another pirate party! Although I spent an awful lot on the party, most of the decoration is now in Jamie’s room so it wasn’t entirely wasted. Jamie now has a rather full Fancy dress box, and he and daddy have been doing a lot of dressing up!

DECORATION
The cost of the church hall - which we previously hired for Jamie’s 1st birthday and then the Christmas party - was £26.25 (£10.50 x2.5hrs) as we simply hired the large hall and the kitchen. Although we paid from 2pm to 4.30pm we were actually allowed half an hour either side for setting up and clearing away.

I bought some skull and crossbones pirate bunting (£8.54) which now resides in Jamie’s room. I decorated the tables with skull and crossbones pirate table confetti (£6.12) and put the rest inside the party bags. On reflection confetti was not a good idea as we had to clean it up afterwards! I also put up 4 Happy Birthday Banners from Jamie’s previous parties. We had a number of Pirate Balloons (£3.29) and loads of cheap plain balloons (£1). Thanks to all those who came early to get them blown up and to help with the setting up of the hall. I did buy a bag of Party poppers (£1). Unfortunately it was a condition of hire that no party poppers or silly string should be used on the bouncy castle so we kept the poppers hidden.

I had planned to put a pirate flag (£1.70) in each of the hot dog sausages – so as to look like a pirate boat! It was so manic trying to sort the food out that I completely forgot. On reflection, perhaps giving 3 year olds sharp sticks was not the best of ideas!

BOUNCY CASTLE
I can totally recommend www.bendysbouncers.com/ and their ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ castle was superb value at £65 (daily rate). They came at 1.30pm and I requested they come and take the castle down at 3.45pm so that the children could eat their hot dogs and of course sing Happy Birthday to Jamie without the distraction. The only trouble was getting them off! There was only one accident and that was when Ella took off her shoes and slipped on the floor. It would be fare to say that all of the children loved the castle.

TATTOOS
Uncle Dean started ‘tattooing’ some of the children (£4.80) but once the older children had worked out how to do it there was no stopping them! All that was needed was a small bowl of water and a piece of flannel type cloth to soak the tattoo off the backing paper. I think most of the children ended up with one or more tattoos. A few of them even had them on their face – which I would not recommend as it took ages to get rid of the one Jamie got at Lucy’s! I had bought two types of tattoo – Fairy (36) and Scary Pirate (72). But the girls wanted the scary pirates as much as the boys wanted the fairy ones! I also put a couple in each party bag.

COLOURING TABLE
I got some super pirate pictures from www.netmums.com which I was then able to photocopy and bought two packs of felt tips (£1.85). Quite a few of the children had a breather from the castle at the colouring table and, as predicted, it was good for children to take their minds off any injuries they might have had!

MUSIC
I kept asking all week what people thought about the music and whether anyone had any tracks / mix etc. suitable for a children’s party. In the end we used Christine’s MP3 player and plugged it into one of daddy’s amps. Luckily there was lots of Abba and other ‘dance’ tracks.

TABLEWARE
I bought 32 Pirate Plates (£10) 64 Pirate Napkins (£10) a few Pirate cups (£2) 3 Pirate Tablecloths (£5) and 2 Pirate Bowls (£6) 4 the crisps.

FOOD
We gave the children Hotdogs in rolls. I bought 12 tins with 8 hot dogs in each – a total of 96 hot dogs (£7.08). There were some left over but I think all the children and any adults who wanted hot dogs did get one! I also purchased little pizzas, large ketchup, and Hula hoops and cheese balls. I left 1 bottle of squash in the kitchen and bought 4 packs of 8 Fruit Shoots at £2 per pack. I should have bought more! For the adults I provided tea, coffee, sugar, milk (6pints) and a box of wine and some little bottles of lager for the end of the party. Total spent on food and drink other than hot dogs was £46.13

CAKE
I don’t think Jamie actually realised the party was for him until he was asked to blow out the candles on his cake! Originally Kerry was going to do a pirate treasure chest for us with lots of goodies; including chocolate coins inside, but as we could not find any chocolate coins we changed the design of the cake to the one shown. About a day before the party, we finally found some chocolate coins so I filled Jamie’s bucket with them. I used Jamie’s Pirate Bucket – which we bought last year in Lyme Regis – to keep in all the Booty! I had lots of little Chocolate eggs and gold coins. I had also found some Easter coins at Asda with bunnies and chicks on. Total price of all the chocolate purchased was somewhere near £18.

GAMES
As for games; a few had been suggested such as Pin the X on the treasure, Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate, or Pin the Parrot on the Pirate, but the bouncy castle seemed to be enough!

PRESENTS
Jamie was very lucky and received a present from just about everyone who attended. He also got a lot of cards this year - 33 to be precise. He got a really cool card from Uncle Paul that made pirate noises, a pirate one from Dean and Christine with stickers, and a number of cards with badges and also pictures to colour. I never knew they made so many pirate cards!!

PARTY BAGS
The party bags (£3.80) matched the invitations. Inside I put balloons, bubbles (£2.79), a pirate colouring book (£2.49) and a pirate pencil (£3). For the older children I also added a pirate rubber (£1.05). For the boys I put in little dinosaurs (£3.80) and for the girls I had some bright sparkly gem rings (£2.50). This meant I had to ensure that we knew which bags were for girls and which were boys! Each child also had a Candy Necklace (£2.34) and some Chocolate!! I also added a few pirate tattoos to each bag. We remembered to put a piece of cake in each party bag this year and it acted as a good way to show that the party was ‘over’; handing it over to each party guest and thanking them for attending!

DON'T FORGET: String, Bluetac, Sellotape, scissors, tea towels, bin bags, camera and charger and play mats.

WHAT WE FORGOT: Candles for the cake – luckily Jack volunteered to go and get some and we had a few smokers so a lighter was easily found! Also, Nana had to pop home for a better can opener than the one supplied, but other than that we did (I think) very well.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT TIME
List of timings – what needed when i.e. food preparation, deflate castle, fancy dress prizes given out.
List of things to remember during the party i.e. extra eye patches, spare fancy dress, flags for hot dogs.
Do a pre-prepared Children’s party mix.
More fruit shoots!

So Proud....

Today Jamie did a wee on the toilet!!

So we went out and bought him some pull up nappy's and some Fireman Sam pants!!

Ages ago we bought Jamie Pirate Pete's Potty: A Ladybird potty training book by Andrea Pinnington, but although we have read it a number of times with Jamie he has been less than impressed!

It seems that Jamie has been learning by watching.  While Lucy was here, Jamie watched her on the toilet and when we went to Nanna Grace's on Sunday afternoon he actually sat on the toilet and tried to go to the toilet. All that came out was a little trump!

While on holiday in Norfolk with Paul, Kerry and 'my girls' there were a number of times when he sat on the toilet, but it was only on Monday afternoon after we had been swimming, when Jamie went into the toilet with daddy and told daddy he wanted to go to the toilet. Daddy sat him on the toilet and he did a wee!!

 

I did ask a few people previously what they thought and a number actually said that he would probably by-pass the potty stage and go straight to the toilet. It looks like this is what has happened.

Please note: we do have a little seat for him to sit on our toilet so that he does not fall down the toilet!!

 

So Proud!!

Happy Easter!

We all had a fantastic weekend away in Norfolk with Ella, Emily, Elliot, Paul and Kerry. We went on the beach a couple of times with our buckets and spades (a bit windy), went crabbing in Blakeney and as it was so wet on Easter Monday we went to a great pool in Sheringham with a wave machine!!  Jamie loved being with 'the girls'....

Month 36 (3 years old)

This from Gurgle.com: As your toddler turns three he probably doesn’t seem like a toddler anymore as he runs, jumps, hops, skips, balances and probably rides a tricycle - Jamie rides his bike with stabilisers! He can hold a conversation and most of the words he says are understood. He is developing a sense of independence and can understand fairly complex concepts, like why he feels hot or cold. Or that he wants his milk Hot rather than just Warm!

Saying No
You may notice your toddler starting to say NO back to you (and probably stems from hearing you say no too often!). There are some children of this age who are really beginning to assert themselves and therefore say No to pretty much everything! For children, saying no is a power trip and once they have discovered they can use it, it can become very frustrating for you. Try to limit situations where your child can answer with a no, for example, don’t ask, ‘do you want to get dressed?’ instead ask, ‘what would you like to wear your red top or blue one?’ Changing how you phrase sentences can also help, so instead of saying ‘go and put your shoes on’ say, ‘lets see who can put their shoes on the fastest, mummy or Oscar?’
http://www.gurgle.com/stages/toddler/your-toddler-is-thirty-six-months-old/107


Mumsnet.com say:
Your Child at Three Years
Three is the age at which your child will throw himself into being like you. You will hear him talking to his toys just as you talk to him. Jamie often chatters away to his toys. Treat it as useful feedback and modify your behaviour accordingly. Now is the time he may outgrow his afternoon nap (although you might not have outgrown yours). His nap changes day to day but it is certainly easier to get him to sleep at night if he hasn't had a nap in the day - although sometimes we both need the nap. It all depends on our activity levels!

How he behaves: He now laughs at verbal jokes, not so much the traditional 'you should see my mother-in-law' but when you repeat well-known phrases that sound funny to him. He loves funny noises and the bear at Nanna Grace's that burps then says 'Pardon Me!' He will devote his days to trying to be like you, copying how you go to work or look after the house or talk to your friends on the phone. This is the process of identification by which he will pick up all your bad habits and retain them, so your inadequacies can be revisited on the next generation. There is certainly a lot of copying but it usually doesn't last too long as his attention span is still very small! He will be incredibly curious (a rude person would say nosy) wanting to know everything, "What's that?"; "Will I ever go to the moon?"; "What are clouds made of?". The degree of difficulty reached by these questions can make University Challenge seem a doddle. Jamie is very curious and always asking questions which can sometimes be a bit of a problem if I am in the middle of something - like having a shower!!

He will make up stories, which aren't exactly true but may have shred of reality in them mixed up with a healthy dollop of wishful thinking. You don't have to point out the holes in his stories; he is trying to work out the difference between reality and unreality.

What he thinks: He may have imaginary fears, which can be really upsetting for you, as you can't immediately make them better. You'll be too wise of course to laugh at him and tell him he's a silly billy to think there's a monster behind his curtain that will run off with him. Being told to stop being silly isn't a psychologically approved way of dealing with anyone's fears. He will be able to talk about his fears and you can work out strategies, while not saying there is a monster, you can give him a torch to shine round the room and tell him to say out loud, "You are not a real monster, go away".

At some stage your child will hear about dying and anxiously ask if this condition will apply to them one day? Death is a truly terrifying concept for kids and a "not for a very, very long time etc." can be helpful. Most of us can't cope with talking about death and so it's tricky to address the topic with a chirpy child. He will understand time now, but only in terms of the past. He knows there's a night and day but cannot work out morning from afternoon.

About two-thirds of three year olds can count from 2-5 and will decide correctly four out of six times which is the highest tower when comparing towers of three and 5 blocks. He will know how old he is and be able to count three objects correctly and repeat three numbers. Jamie doing well - on occasion he has counted further than 5!

How he speaks: Unfortunately he now understands 60-80% of adult speech. Do not slag off his Uncle Harry as he may well report back to him with childlike innocence. He can make sentences of 3-4 words with surprisingly good grammar. He knows between 800-1000 words and can tell simple stories. He will recite nursery rhymes and may sing recognisable songs depending on whether tone deafness runs in your family. Jamie often sings Baa Baa Pink Sheep (which they sing at nursery) but he often tells mummy and daddy to stop singing!

He will also carry out two-part requests, such as "Pick up the paintbrush and do a big picture." Importantly he can say me, I and mine. This leads him on to say "this is mine, get off it", sometimes with a degree of aggression. Yes! He also understands the concepts of big, small and lots (of sweets). Although he recognises who is a stranger to him, he may talk to anyone, just because he can. He can remember things over the past two to three months that have happened to him and can tell you about them. Every time we pass the church hall he says that's where his party was when Santa came! He also notices inaccuracies in stories other people tell and will correct and argue with you. He can also begin to categorise, as in a cat is an animal.

What he likes to play: He loves being told stories and will make up words and songs of his own which are sometimes unbearable to listen to as they go on and on and on. He will do jigsaws, play on toy musical instruments and generally spend a little concentrated activity on some things before getting bored. He enjoys messy play with sand, dough, water and paints and joy of joy will start watching children's television. He will also love clambering on climbing frames and bouncing on trampolines. He will now interact more in play with other children by talking and sharing activities, but it remains a Herculean task for him to share his favourite toy - best not to ask him. Jamie loves his books and his television - although we need to have less TV and more books! He loves messy play and painting and got a number of jigsaws for his birthday which he loves! He still loves dancing and is a very lucky boy as he has his own play park in the garden with a climbing frame, swings and a trampoline as well as a sandpit and little house. Most of it is second hand but Jamie doesn't care! He certainly plays better than before, but when Will came to play for the day the other week there were a few 'episodes' where each of them refused to share!!

http://www.mumsnet.com/

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

After the excitement of the Pirate party at the weekend we had a quiet birthday tea with Nanna B and Grandad. Jamie had the day off from nursery with daddy, but unfortunately mummy started her new job in the afternoon so Jamie had just about opened all his presents before mummy had to go off to work. But she was back for tea and more cake before the sun set on Jamie's 3rd birthday!!