'Huggy Love' by Eliot Jude, age 7 Months. ELC Valentines Art Competition

When I received an email giving bloggers the opportunity to participate in the Early Learning Centre's Valentines Art Competition I was keen to take part. I haven't really done many creative things with Eliot so I thought it would be nice for us to take part in the challenge.

I got in touch and was sent these lovely bits to use on our collaborative 'masterpiece'.

 

Let me tell you the 'Collage Toolobox' is a treasure trove!

All these bits are a teacher's dream!

First of all I put some of the card down for Eliot to pick a colour. I also put some PVA glue in an old pot but had to improvise for a spreader as I didn't have one. So it was one of the lollipop sticks from the toolkit. On closer inspection of the lovely collage bits I also found a little glue pen, perfect for small hands and less mess! I used both in our creation.

 

 

I'll let Eliot explain the rest :)

 

I'm Eliot and I'm seven months old. I love having cuddles and have just learnt how to give kisses, so mummy and I thought it would be nice to create a card that represents these things. As my fine manipulative skills are not like mummy's yet, she had to do all the sticking and cutting but I chose the collage bits I wanted to put on my special card.

First mummy put me in my high chair to get cracking on our valentines art competition entry. I chose yellow card to for mummy to stick all the bits on.

Here I am, raring to go!

'Yes I'm sure I want yellow mum, now lets get started!'



Next mummy put some foam shapes on my highchair. I liked them all so mummy stuck them all on the yellow card.

 

Helping mum pick up a foam heart.



So this is what it looked like after we stuck the foam shapes on.

After that I needed to choose which eyes I wanted to use. I chose medium, they weren't too big or too small.

 

Next we used pipe cleaner to make some 'huggy' 3D arms and some legs. I really enjoyed exploring the feel of the pipe cleaner and how it twisted.

'Huggy arms'

Then I chose a shiny pom pom decoration.



Next Mummy let me explore the foam letters and she spelt out 'Love' & 'Hug' before sticking them on.

Here's how it looked...

It was getting close to bottle time!
 



Then it was time to choose a gem to add some more detail to the card.

 

 

 

I thought it was a good idea to fill in the foam heart in the middle. The shredded tissue paper looked excellent for this. Mummy put some glue in the middle, scrunched up some shredded paper and stuck it down.

Until it looked like this! Then she used the red glitter pen to add a mouth to our 'huggy heart'.

Finally she used the glitter pen to add more detail.

And voila...we were finished!

I think I will give this to my grandparents!

What do you think?



1st GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED) VTECH 'Moosical Beads' toy

I'm very excited to be hosting my first giveaway as a thank you!

Are you a parent of a baby, expecting or know someone that does? Then this is perfect for you!

The vtec 'Moosical Beads' is one of Eliot's favourite toys he received as a gift, so I thought buying one for my first giveaway would be ideal :)

The competition is open for two weeks and will close at midnight on the 19th February.

UK entries only

Don't forget to enter daily to maximise your chance of winning! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

miamoo Products Review

miamoo skincare products were founded by Saira Khan after years of suffering with very dry skin. At university Saira spent time researching the effects that products can have on different skin types. During this time Saira found her own self care routine to benefit her skin. You can read more of the story here.

As a child I was lucky enough to not have any problems with dry skin. As a young adult I developed a seasonal form of eczema on my hands. It occurs in the colder weather but is also extremely irritated by household cleaning products. I've been prescribed medicated creams which do the job but can make my skin feel much worse before it gets better.

 When Eliot developed some very dry patches of skin and was diagnosed with eczema I was hoping we wouldn't need to use a steroid cream but unfortunately this was one of the potions prescribed for him. I was not keen on putting this on my young baby so would only apply if it became very dry which happens on and off.

So when the opportunity came to review the miamoo travel goodies I jumped at the chance. I'm always on the lookout for products that are free from the 'nasties' to use on Eliot's skin. In all honesty I'm always dubious about whether they'll help or not. However I have been extremely impressed with the miamoo products!

It arrived...



The miamoo products have  'three steps to prevent and heal dry skin'

1. Exfoliating Wash

* fresh locks shampoo

* splashy wash for body & bath

* spritz and wipe

2. Mosturise

* huggy lotion

* cheeky cream

3. Massage

* baba oil

                                              

                                           For the bath! 'Splashy Wash' & 'Fresh Locks Shampoo'





 Bath all prepped & ready to go.

To kick off our daily bath routine I've been adding a splash of splashy wash to the water to create some bubble fun! Once Eliot is in I lather it up and give him a wash.  I really love the fresh fragrance of the splashy wash with lemon oil, soya bean, aloe vera, jojoba, chamomile and Vitamin E extracts.  The fresh locks shampoo smells just as divine with aloe vera, jojoba, soya bean, rosemary, silk and vitamin E extracts  They in combination with the other miamoo products have made a real difference to Eliot's skin.

Eliot 'inspecting' his splashy wash & getting nice                            and clean with the fresh locks shampoo!



The spritz & wipe has been a great alternative to wipes at changing times. It again smells incredibly fresh and cleans off mess easily. I have also found it fantastic for quick cleaning when Eliot has had some reflux and pongs of sick. Along with a change of clothes it leaves Eliot squeaky clean without any 'reflux pong'!

After drying off we move on to step 2. I've been using the cheeky cream mainly on Eliot's cheeks as they can get very dry and it really has made them silky soft! I 've also used it on his bum but not enough to say it's made a difference to any redness.

Inspecting the huggy lotion

 I have been applying the huggy lotion all over but have paid particular attention to his legs as that's where his eczema occurs. Finally I've been using the baba oil with its delicious scent of lavender, on his dry areas.

The first morning after using the miamoo range I noticed a significant difference to Eliot's skin. It was smoother, softer and his dry patches were not as dry. It was a very pleasant surprise as I didn't expect to see results so quickly. After over week of using miamoo products on Eliot's skin in his daily routine, the eczema has disappeared.

I haven't used it on myself but have seen a difference in the skin on my hands through applying it to Eliot.

I have no doubts in recommending miamoo skincare to anyone. Whether it's for adult, baby or child, if you have dry, sensitive skin or are just steering clear of products with all the 'nasties 'it's definitely worth trying!

When  we've almost run out I'll be ordering some more to help keep Eliot's Eczema at bay!

miamoo are offering my readers 10% off their fantastic range! All you need to do is enter Blog13 at the checkout.

* These products were sent for the purpose of this review. All opinions are entirely my own.

First Giveaway...

I hit 50 Bloglovin & over 600 Twitter followers this week which I'm thrilled about! As a thank you I'm hosting my very first giveaway this week!

If you're expecting, have a baby or friends and family that do, then this prize is perfect for you, keep your eyes peeled... :-D

The Ordinary Moments #2 A bath in a...bath!

I'm linking up my 'The Ordinary Moments' post on Katies's blog mummydaddyandmemakesthree.

I've read a fair few posts about bath times and when I took these photos on Friday I knew they had to go in my next 'The Ordinary Moments' post.

We have been staying at my parents again this weekend as we are looking to relocate to a nearby county and it's easier to travel from here than from London.

BBB (bath, bottle, bed) has been part of our daily routine since Eliot was a few weeks old. Apart from the first couple, Eliot has always adored bath time. It's definitely one of his favourite daily occurrences!
In the early days Eliot would always have his bath in the sink, when he was getting a bit too big for it we started bathing him in his baby bath at home. At my parents he has a 'mini bath' in a washing up bowl. Usually me and my mum have done it downstairs but he's bonkers about lots of splashing at the moment, so Friday we put his 'mini bath' in the bath! As you can see he has really outgrown this too but it does the function required :) So these photos are precious, as it won't be long until we can no longer do this 'ordinary moment' in the same way.