Tuesday 26 November 2013

Christmas Book Round Up!

We have started the Christmas Countdown in the Morkus household. 

I know that lots of people are doing a Christmas Book Advent this year. The idea being that each evening you share a different Christmas book, film or tradition with your little one in the lead up to Christmas. I think this is a lovely idea and to help those who are doing this this year I have looked through L's bookshelves and picked out the Christmas ones to share with you all. 

Baby Christmas Books
 

Usborne Touchy Feely The Nativity
A simplified version of the nativity story and a great introduction to the story. Each page features small textured elements keeping babies and young children entertained. The page are large and robust enough and have encountered a few chews each story time.

Usborne Cloth Books Christmas
A lovely story of woodland animals getting ready for Christmas with lovely natural decorations and a surprise visit from Father Christmas (refered to as Santa which would of put me off buying this book if I had known as I am a Father Christmas traditionalist.

That's Not My Penguin and Angel
Everyone knows this series yes? Repetitive, textured pages and one for any and every occasion. L enjoys the pictures and different things to feel and these are two suitably festive titles.

Baby's very first touchy-Feely Christmas
Each page has a word and an image of something suitable festive. Great introduction to Christmas vocabulary and next year when L is talking we will use it again to teach new language.


Nativity Stories


The Christmas Story, Ian Beck
Quite possibly my favourite illustrated version of the traditional story. Starting in Nazareth this picture book is full of richly detailed illustrations. It finishes with with a traditional scene of a nativity play. A beautiful book and certainly one to read when you set up the nativity scene at home.

Jesus' Christmas Party, Nicolas Allan
Another quite different take on the traditional nativity story told from the perspective of the rather disgruntled inn keeper. His grumps are quickly forgotten when he looks in the manger and realises just how special this baby is.

The Nativity Play, Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen
One which will appeal to any parent who was in a nativity while at school or a child who is taking part in their own nativity this year. Filled with humour and musical interludes for the finer voiced readers this is a bit of a through back, especially with mention of over head projectors!

Father Christmas Stories


Father Christmas and Father Christmas Goes on Holiday, Raymond Briggs
 
The gruff and often grumpy Father Christmas of Briggs stories is how lots of parents, and now children, picture our bearded present bringer. One of the most brilliant elements of Briggs' stories is the lack of written narrative. This really gives children a chance to tell the story for themselves and for parents and children to really look at the detailed illustrations.
 
Aliens Love Panta Claus, Claire Freedman and Ben Cort

Those cheeky aliens are back and this time they are sharing the joy of Christmas pants! Helping Santa when his sleigh breaks down and bringing smiles, as well as pants, to the good boys and girls. In the spirit of Dinovember you might want to slip of pair of underpants in stockings to keep the magic alive!

Father Christmas Needs a Wee!, Nicholas Allan

My second offering from Allan and it's another funny one! This time with some additional learning fun with the whole book being a count up and count down as Father Christmas drinks lots of drinks but forgets to do something very important!

Christmas Activities


Usborne Christmas Baking for Children
 
This great book from Usborne has a great selection of Christmas treats from mince pies to Stollen this book will see you through many Christmases. The instructions are clear and there are getting started and basic skills pages, as well as decoration and wrapping ideas for giving these baked goods as gifts. I used some of these recipes in the classroom and I think this book is a great introduction to classic Christmas bakes.

I hope you find something to meet your seasonal reading requirements. What is your favourite Christmas book? How do you incorporate reading into your celebrations?
The Fairy and the Frog

Monday 25 November 2013

Forming Habits to Last a Lifetime


Daddy and Daughter sharing a favourite book. This one is Daddy's favourite. He even did voices. 

Friday 22 November 2013

A Rush of Love


This is an honest story. It is not an easy post to write or share. It is about falling in love with my baby.

 

Monday 18 November 2013

Magic Moments: Sniffles and cuddles

L is poorly. She has a cold. She has a temperature, is sneezing and miserable and none of this is magic.

But this is.

Saturday 16 November 2013

Baby wearing and me

You may have heard about a wee bit of an argument which broke out last week on the This Morning sofa. I am not going to go into it as I don't think it needs mentioning again but it got me thinking about one aspect of my parenting which I didn't get into as much as I thought I would during my pregnancy.

Baby wearing. Using a sling. Carrying my baby on me as our main form of transport. 

I was gifted an Oyster Baby sling during a visit to The Baby Show by my mum. I admit I fell for the print and super soft stretchy fabric. It felt comfy on and I liked the multi positional holds the wrap could support. 

Thursday 14 November 2013

Baba and Boo OSFA Pocket Nappy Review



When our parcel from Baba and Boo arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find they had sneaked in a nappy along side the shoes to review! Very cheeky but very exciting for this cloth loving mummy.

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Breastfeeding and me

Yesterday the news and my twitter feed was full of the story concerning £200 shopping vouchers for breast feeding mothers. The vouchers will be given in stages if mothers sign a contract stating they are breastfeeding for first six weeks and the six months. It is a small pilot currently being run in an area where breastfeeding rates are particularly low.

Now.

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Autumn Bucket List

So I wrote first about my Autumn Bucket list back in September Magic moments yet to come. And have been working on it all season. As the end of Autumn is in sight I thought I would look back and see what is left to be done.


Sunday 10 November 2013

The Week That Was Spent Finding Time for Mum

When I was part of Make Do and Push's What's in Your Changing Bag feature Hannah asked me what I do to retain my sense of self.

"How do you preserve/maintain your sense of self?I make time every day to shower and put on a bit of make up. Also writing now gives me something else to think about between baby care." 

This week I focused a lot on this sense of self and tried to do something every day. 

Friday 8 November 2013

Nappy Woes

I am a cloth bum mum. For the most part I love them and have written about my love of cloth savings here.

But.

There is always another side to the story, a flip of the coin. 

My current most pressing nappy woe is this. Dry time.

Thursday 7 November 2013

What's In My Changing Bag Now?

Two months ago I took part in Make Do and Push's weekly What's in Your Changing Bag feature

I thought a lot about this when this happened to my bag ... 

Tuesday 5 November 2013

Baba and Boo Shoes!

Baba and Boo did a shout out for reviewers for some of their shoes. As admirers from afar of their nappies I jumped at the chance to try some of their other products. Their nappies come in a hugely extensive range of patterns so I was hoping for something exciting and these shoes did not disappoint!



Monday 4 November 2013

Going Places


L has been a proficient roller for two weeks now.

She went through a frustrating time trying to work out what to do once she was on her front, but now, now she is going places. She is getting where she wants to be. In her own baby way.