All things wheels

BOYS AND WHEELS

I don't know what it is about boys and cars or anything with wheels but don't they just love them? The smaller the better in Oscars case. 

I decided to do our next blog on something he loved - child led learning. Children seem to learn better when it is instigated by them or at least something they are interested in.

It was only when Oscar was about 1 he really began to play with cars, cars and more cars. We went to a wedding one weekend and there was a little boy playing with some 'hot wheels' aka tiny cars. Since then Oscar loves them even though they are aren't really for his age so you do need to watch them play with them. Bargin prices at Hawkins Bazaar or Wilkinsons

Books

We've read so many stories lately as that's all Oscar seems to want to do.

So to start our theme we took a trip to our local library and loved these Maisy shaped board books about tractors, trains and diggers by Lucy Cousins.

Pop up Tractor by DK

Adventures 

Every time we open the door Oscar races out to the car. I can't decide if he loves our adventures or is he just loves sitting in the 'front' of the car (when its parked). Have a look at our pictures below to see some of the exciting places we have been that have vehicles and fun things to ride on. 

Funtazia play centre in Blackburn - it's amazing. Check him out with his best friend Isaac.

Wild Boar Park in Bowland, Lancashire - Not only does it have tractors and more tractors it has amazing animals to see at the same time. 

Brockholes in Preston, Lancashire.

Local toddler and baby groups normally have plenty of ride ons.

Walks

 We went on lots of walks all around and found lots of vehicles on our way. Two of our favourites vehicles were the motorbikes and diggers especially as we have lots of new houses being built near us.

Talking to your children whilst on walks is so important, pointing out things that you see. Oscar has learnt lots of new words in this topic:

truck

tractor 

A car (2 words woop)

digger (in his own version) 

bus

Toys

There is no need to spend a fortune on toys. I found this packet of 5 vehicles in Wilkinsons last weekend for only £3. You should have seen his face when I brought them home. Hes played with them for hours already and can identify each one e.g. he points to the helicopter if I ask him where it is. 

Toot Toot track
This was another bargain from Sainsburys. When they have a percentage off check out the great toys you can get in there.

Puzzle also from Sainsburys only £3.

We also got some NUBY bath cars from ALDI baby event so we manged to bring our transport theme into bath time as well. 

Thank you for taking time to read my blog, I hope its given you some ideas to do with your little ones. As the summer holidays are now over I will try and put a blog up every month so please come back and visit to see what we have been up to.

Next blog will be all about COLOURS.

Thanks 

Samantha

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Taking a 1 year old abroad

This blog is a bit different to the rest. I have decided to share with you our first holiday away with a one year old. I'm hoping this will help any of you deciding to go away.

When we first started looking we weren't sure where to go and for how long so we came to a decision... 1 week in Majorca (Spain being one of the shortest flights from Manchester). Lots of people told us different opinions of when they thought we should fly... we decided a lunch time flight would be best for us and Oscar. Feed him when we get on the plane and then let him play/ watch the Twirlywoos on the ipad. Our little monkey doesn't like to sleep on our knees so we knew napping was out of the question. The plane journey was great... he was amazing. It was just the airport he struggled with but that doesn't surprise me as Oscar doesn't like shopping so i'm thinking they are similar in away...busy places. 

We booked Sea Club Mediteerian Resort in Alcudia - see the link below for more detail. It was perfect. 

https://www.seaclub.com/?lang=en

Swimming

2 packets of swimming nappies lasted us the week with a few to spare.

There were so many pools to choose from it was great but we mainly stayed around a pool that had a slide for Oscar and plenty of grass areas for him to play (see picture above). However sometimes we would have a stroll to the BABY pool where Oscar could walk in and out whenever he wanted. He seemed to like this one better. 

         

Don't you just love these little hooded towels? One of the best things we took with us. We would dry him in one of our towels and then put this on him and it would keep him all snuggly. Plus I think he looks adorable. 

Ice creams/ Food

Oscar has now become the biggest ice cream fan... what better way to cool you down. One day we had a stroll to a cafe and found this great ice cream bar. Oscar had the Spanish version of a mini milk. He loved it and especially liked feeding it to himself. Yes, ice cream was everywhere. 

Breakfast

Oscar had fruit and cheerios for breakfast with his bottle of milk but still enjoyed some of our toast or Full English Breakfast hehe. It was so cute watching his little hand sneak onto his Daddy's plate and steal some bacon or anything that was close to him. 

Lunch

Cheese chunks, ham, tomatoes, crunchy bread, crisps, yogurts and then one day he tried a gherkin and loved it. We would eat lunch back in our studio as we thought it was important for Oscar to be inside for a while and the air con helped cool us all down. 

Tea

I took some sachets over with us for his tea so I knew he was getting some kind of meal every night. He would have one of these plus anything else he fancied.

We would get ready to go out whilst he had his tea and then all go out together. Oscar loved to play on all the parks within the resort at this time especially the swings. A few nights we would walk down to the beach and have a play with the sand before getting him changed into his PJ's.

I just wanted to share a few more pictures of our night time fun below :)

Eating out at night time
All inclusive or self catering?
We went with self catering as this holiday was for us as well. We love to pick our meals and hunt down some quirky places. Before we went we borrowed a snooze shade  - they are amazing and a must have.
http://www.mothercare.com/parasols-and-canopies/snoozeshade---the-blackout-blind-for-prams-and-pushchairs-upf50/303869.html?CAGPSPN=pla&gclid=Cj0KEQjwo5--BRCS8ceLjv-XppUBEiQAGp15EGx7rUBj9Cb0E0aqJ_OT0uTe-Vov3dDlD86-_abMZUUaApZy8P8HAQ&CATCI=pla-215947675768&cm_mmc=Google-_-Pushchair%20Accessories-_-MC-UK-G-Shopping-Pushchairs-Accessories%2F%2F-_-%20-%20&utm_medium=CPC&CAAGID=37668367288&utm_source=Google

Once we had found a restaurant with a seat on the edge we would turn Oscar away from us with the snooze shade on and he would fall fast asleep. PERFECT.

Sun cream
Everyone has their own taste in sun cream etc but I just wanted to mention that we used this Malibu Scalp Protector. Before we went I was so worried about Oscars head burning as he won't wear a hat so I bought this protector and it was fab.
https://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/malibu-scalp-protector-spf30/prd-33l3?gclid=Cj0KEQjwo5--BRCS8ceLjv-XppUBEiQAGp15EAGMpIbX3GgN0XIl2GnNfH5dwHOgAoHPDNpKyZi_cEQaAkHB8P8HAQ


I hope this has helped anyone deciding to book a holiday with a one year old as its a very daunting thing when you haven't done it before. We absolutely loved every second and would love to do it again.

Thanks again

Sam
x