To my youngest son on the eve of his third birthday

To my youngest son on the eve of his third birthday.

Tomorrow you will be three, and buried deep among all the excitement, presents, party preparation and pure hyper-ness, lies a small feeling of sadness. 

It's tiny and it's all mine. 

But when I wake up tomorrow I will no longer be a mother to a baby. When we get up, you will be three.

For me that means no more nappies, day time naps or two year old tantrums (which, lets face it, are much more acceptable than the ones that are on their way)!

Tomorrow I will have two boys and the baby phase will really be over. (Yes, I know it's a long time since you were a baby, but I could almost convince myself you still squeezed into the baby category while you were two)!

Now don't get me wrong, I am equally excited about your day and I will be jumping alongside you all the way. I am looking forward to the next stage.

But, just for tonight, and quietly to myself, I will wallow in your two year old-ness and tomorrow we begin a new adventure together.  

Christmas inspiration!

Christmas is sneaking up on us and I thought it would be a good idea to share some of our best buys to give you some inspiration. 

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Having two boys close in age means they generally play with the same toys and it's easy to build up a good collection of certain toys. They do of course have their personal preferences but all big stuff happily gets shared (and fought over)!

I think our best big toy has to be Duplo and Lego. Over the years we have built up a great collection of Duplo and have just begun on original Lego. Our best ever Duplo kit has been one which contains a whale with a huge mouth which both boys walk around stuffing with other Duplo pieces! This kit comes with loads of pieces and worth the price!

We love all construction toys so here are a few others we have gathered over the past years. Geomags are small rod and ball magnetic pieces which strongly join to make spectacular structures. Magformers are also magnetic and always join so there is no frustration! Lego is always a firm favorite and this bumper pack of bricks is a good starter pack. Build a car is a fun way to combine their need to build with their love of vehicles. 

      


We have had two climbing frames for the boys. The first we got when the youngest had just started walking and was the perfect size for him to start climbing while his brother could go up, down and under. The bonus of this slide is the little hidey place underneath. The boys have had so many picnics under there!  The second climbing frame is a recent addition to our garden environment and incorporates monkey bars, a dome shape and a top area to hang off! Now they are both confident climbers, this is the perfect addition for them and the bonus to this equipment is when you throw a blanket over it they have an igloo to play in!!!

For all train fans, this London set is perfect. Our eldest son was never much into trains but the youngest just loves this set. He enjoys all the vehicles that come with it and the millennium wheel that spins round!
This set is compatible with all major wooden train makers and comes with loads of pieces a three carriage underground train and a city of London bus!



For our family books are an important part of daily life and a must for birthdays and Christmas. We like to give a good range of topics, authors and genres but here are a few of our favorites.
               


This is just a brief list of all our favs at the moment. We are always on the lookout for new and exciting toys (especially if they aid learning) and any book recommendations would be gratefully received so just leave your suggestion in the comments below! 
For another great site to find loads of xmas ideas visit 4mysunshine.com We are part of the startup of this site and our book is already up there so do check it out and upvote 'Purposeful Play'!