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Monday 31 December 2012

Toddlerdom

We've officially entered Toddlerdom. I can tell you this just by looking around the living room. It happened overnight and that night was Christmas night. When we went to bed, there were a few books and toys lying around. By the time we sat down for Christmas lunch, the living room floor had become an assault course.

If you wanted to sit on the couch, you risked losing a toe to get there. This isn't because Santa had been a little too generous with gifts this year; it is thanks to toddler toys consisting of many, many pieces. The soft, squidgy baby toys tended to have a handful of parts at most. Toddler toys tend to have 20+ parts that are definitely not soft or squidgy.

So it looks like it is time to say farewell to the little baby days and baby toys. I'll miss you. My feet will miss you. I wonder what else Toddlerdom has in store. See you in 2013!

Monday 17 December 2012

And The Winner Is...

As promised, here are the pics of our Christmas craft by EDtot. It looked oh so straightforward on Outside the Blue's blog to make adorable handprint snowmen, but trying to get a toddler to hold a bauble without smudging the paint is very, very difficult.

It took many attempts, but EDtot had lots of fun holding her hand up high ready for the next bauble and we ended up with half a dozen that bore a vague resemblance to handprints. Fun!



Friday 14 December 2012

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

If you like Fairs and Christmas Markets, then don't miss out on the brilliant Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park this year. Our EDtot spent most of the visit exclaiming "wow!" at all the stalls and lights. Granted her vocabulary isn't huge yet, but it was very sweet to see her so excited. If you're put off by the idea of battling huge crowds then try and head down on a weekday before term ends.

We went in the afternoon which is lovely as you get the full effect of all the lights as the sun goes down. The big bonus was that at 5pm most little kids had left and the evening crowd had not yet arrived so there were only 3 people in the queue to see Santa. This time we decided to stick it out and see the Big Man even though our EDtot was shaking her head before we had even approached him. Cue meltdown when we then sat next to Santa. He was very understanding and sweet and we managed to get a photo of EDtot mid-meltdown leaning as far away as possible from the scary man in red. They have a professional photographer, but you can also take your own picture which I thought was brilliant (especially as the photographer didn't have time to take a shot before we jumped off the chair to calm our traumatised tot).

Although there is lots to see and do all around the park, the main toddler section is Santa Land (which is where Santa is based, funnily enough) and the carousel has handy straps to keep your little one attached to the horse/reindeer whilst you try to scramble up with them. We didn't manage to try the other rides as our EDtot was already cold and tired by the time we made it to Santa Land (next time will head there first and then walk round the rest of the attractions), but the duck boat dodgems looked brilliant. Think bumper cars, but on water and shaped as massive ducks. Fab.

The stalls do tend to repeat as you go round so if you were undecided on the chestnuts or waffles when you first walked by, rest assured there will be plenty more opportunities to buy some during your visit. We had the buggy with us which was fine as the ground is covered either by wooden flooring or, on the main walkways, some clever plastic interlocking pieces of flooring that allow for a mud-free, smooth ride. Next time though, I will just use the sling so that we can both go on rides with EDtot and also try out the Carousel Bar that looked like a fun way to increase the effects of a warming alcoholic beverage!

All in all, a lovely way to spend a chilly December day and I will definitely be heading back before they close in January for a morning visit so that we can see everything in daylight.

Thursday 6 December 2012

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas.

The tree is up and slowly being decorated. The cards are all written ready for posting. The presents are almost all bought and wrapped. We are so on top of Christmas this year! This will be our first Christmas in London as a family and whilst I am very grateful for the holidays we've been able to enjoy in previous years up in Scotland and over in the Far East with our respective families, I am so looking forward to waking up on Christmas morning in my own bed and not having to drive or fly anywhere.

EDtot is a little concerned that a real life tree is residing in the spot that used to be her playarea. It is times like this that I am quite glad she is suspicious of new things as it has meant the tree has not yet been attacked or toppled. I am not sure the decorations will be so lucky. I am hoping to help EDtot make a decoration to add to the tree and if we manage to make it a yearly event, she can eventually have her own mini-tree with all her decorations hanging on it. Now I just need some ideas of what to make that a 17 month old can help with.

There are so many fabulous local events on in the run up to Christmas and the EDtots' site Calendar is filling up with Discount Shopping Days and Christmas Fairs. We attended one last Saturday, but the queue for Santa's  grotto was a little too long for us to wait so we retired to the pub instead. I was thrilled to see some pubs are branching out from the standard mulled wine. One even had Hot Apple Tuaca! I could have stayed all day.

We'll be heading off down Lordship Lane to find some scrummy chestnuts for roasting. I've always bought ones from the stalls on Oxford Street and never realised that they can taste just as good (and often a lot less  burnt) if I made them myself. Wouldn't it be lovely though if there was a stall on Northcross Road throughout December that sold them? Yum.

Send over any crafty ideas for our EDtot Christmas Decoration and we'll post a pic once we've chosen one and made it!

Wednesday 5 December 2012

So Here We Go...

Everyone's at it! Blogging, that is. I am very late to the table. I thought blogging was mainly one person's need to empty their thoughts onto t'internet and hope that other people were interested. Then I read some very funny, interesting, witty and informative blogs and realised there is so much more to it. That does not mean this will in fact be one of those blogs, but hopefully there will be something here to tickle your fancy!

EDtots, the website, was set up as a result of my decision to stay at home with my then 6 month old East Dulwich tot. I needed to find classes and activities in my corner of London that helped me escape the house and helped EDtot find a release from the stresses of baby/toddler life. Turns out there are many stresses for a tot ranging from teething to being expected to put clothes on every single day.

So as soon as EDtot slept for more than 5 hours at a time, I set about figuring out how to Build a Website. After 3 hours I gave up and created a Google Site. One day I'll learn how to Build a Website...one day. After agonising over colours and themes, it was finally time to find all the information on pre-school classes, activities and playgroups in East Dulwich and the surrounding areas. That took a while, but the site now proudly boasts a range of listings from newborn music classes to toddler cooking courses.

I've had some amazing feedback on the site and how useful it is to local mums (and dads, nannies, childminders, etc) and I'm very grateful for all the lovely comments and helpful info that has been posted. I'm hoping to use this blog as a way of expanding on all the fabulous things there are to see and do in the local area and any fun days out we have outside our little bubble in South East London.

I hope you enjoy reading it. x