The Innocence

This Christmas is something I have been really looking forward to, I have found myself falling in love with this time of year more and more as Leo has grown and began to participate in everything that we do.

This year has been the first year that he has really seen that something special has been going on. He has loved all of the Christmas lights and became so excited when the time came to put up the tree at home. He has sat for hours at the bottom of the Christmas Tree just watching his train go around and around, just simply rejoicing in the wonders that he is experiencing for the first time.

This year we have made so much more effort in everything that we have done with Leo, and that has involved seeing the grand Christmas light switch on in our local town, and even paying a few visits to see Father Christmas. Leo’s excitement at everything we have done is precisely why I am so much looking forward to this one special day this year, and I love that the magic is starting to shine through for him.

There is one thing I am really hoping to do with Leo one weekend before Christmas arrives, and it is something that I know he would be completely over the moon about. Seeing the wonders of the London Christmas lights.

I would love to sweep him off on a London bound train, that alone would be an experience he would talk about for weeks to come. Then we could spend the day taking in the London sights and retire somewhere for a mug of hot chocolate. There is one place that I long to take him, and that is to the Winter Wonderland set in Hyde Park.

Leo’s little face would be alive with the magic, and his eyes would be brighter than when we put up our tree. It is these moments that I am loving, and the magic for me is being able to see the world through a child’s eyes. Leo’s eyes. The pure innocence that allows him to see the world through rose tinted glasses.

There is so much that I would like to show Leo in the capital that I am seriously considering staying over for the weekend. Maybe Booking a room through Hotel Direct and just taking the weekend for the 3 of us.

I never anticipated when Leo came along that he would open my eyes again to the magic that exists at this time of year. But as each year passes I am seeing the world through Leo’s eyes and truly appreciating the innocence he drapes over everything I see.

Disclaimer: This is a featured post 

The Polar Express

On the run up to the festive period I have certainly indulged, I mean… it would be rude not to! Right!?

To set the scene and get into the festive mood, Leo and I have sat together and taken in Christmas films for the very first time. Granted he soon got ants in his pants but it was the perfect moment for those minutes that he was engrossed in the film.

One of my all time favourite Christmas movies is The Polar Express, and Warner Bros. very kindly sent us a copy on Blu Ray along with a whole stocking full of treats (not to mention The Dark Knight Rises and New Years Eve on Blu Ray too!)

So one evening on the run up to Christmas when Leo was tucked up in bed, I enlightened Luke and put on the Polar Express for my non believer! As expected Luke was not a fan, Scrooge seems to have stood firmly inside of him…But I enjoyed it just as much as I had done the very first time I had watched it. The next morning when Leo awoke and we looked outside to see the rain falling, yet again! I snuggled up on the sofa with my little man and I watched it for the second time in as many hours.

Leo soon became engrossed in the animation, and although he is too young to follow the story line he enjoyed it all the same.

For those of you who have not seen The Polar Express, firstly…Why on earth not!? Secondly Why, why, why!? The Polar Express is a magical film that rekindles the believer in old and young alike.

Late on Christmas Eve night a young boy lies awake in bed hoping to hear Santa’s sleigh bells so that he can re-confirm his belief in Christmas, and in Santa. Instead of sleigh bells though a loud steam engines whistle sequels outside his bedroom window.

The boy runs outside to see what all the commotion is about and is soon greeted by the train conductor (Tom Hanks) who invites him on board the magical train that is headed directly to the North Pole.

During the magical train ride the young boy fathoms whether he is dreaming, he ponders whether the magic of Christmas exists and is verging towards non believer, despite him wanting to desperately believe.

The journey to the North Pole takes the boy on the most magical adventure of his life and opens up a door of self discovery to life lessons that can be applied to each and every single one of us ‘the wonders of life never fade for those of us who truly believe’.

The very first time I watched this film was around the time it was released on DVD back in 2004, and I remember falling in love with the story then and there. It is one of those films that I could watch year after year and I still adore the story as much now as I did back then.

By the end of the movie I get those all familiar butterfly’s in my stomach, the good kind that make you feel excited and despite being a grown up lady with a child of her own, I love that I can still get excited by the magic of Christmas.

Next year when Leo and I sit down to watch it I know he is going to interact with it on a much higher level than he did this year. But we will be getting ourselves a hot chocolate and snuggling up together to watch this classic film again year after year.

You can purchase your own copy of The Polar Express on Blu Ray for £8.00 from Amazon.

Disclaimer: I was sent the Polar Express for the purpose of this feature however all views and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own.

A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas is a very special time of year, even more so for me these days with Leo around.

I love how everyone gets together and spends that one day a year breaking food and enjoying each other's company. I have to say that I absolutely adore the run up to the big day, the excitement and magic that this one day a year brings in it's wake.

Christmas Eve is pure magic, the anticipation is enough to awaken the child in any grown up and for me I just cannot wait to see the look on Leo's face as he begins to un-wrap his gifts.

This Christmas was Leo's second and in a year the differences in him are astounding.

On Christmas Eve we packed our car full of goodies and drove the 2 minute drive up the road to my parents house, the car was full to bursting and after taking a rather long time to pack it all in...I then had to un-pack it at our destination. 

Santa popped by on Christmas Eve, not that we saw him...But some gifts for Leo were left. Santa had brought Leo big boy pajamas and his very first pair of slippers in preparation for his nightly slumber.

The stockings were hung and after we put out a mince pie (home made I hasten to add!) a glass of milk and of course a carrot for the hungry Rudolph, Leo was put to bed, where he dreamed his dreams until at least 9am. In the mad house this time on Christmas Day is un-heard of, normally we are up before the sun even rears his sleepy head. With my younger siblings getting older, it seems that they now tend to sleep longer, even at Christmas.

We all arrived in the lounge to find that Father Christmas has indeed graced us with his presence this year, and the amount of gifts under the tree insinuates that we have all been incredibly good this year...Santa must have missed all the mischief that Leo get's up to and I am guessing he certainly does not read this blog! 

I had in-visioned Leo running around and opening every present in sight, the same way he devours the newspaper as soon as it is posted through the letter box. But actually Leo was very restrained, he opened a present and was presented with a baby doll. A little baby boy. As soon as he saw baby in the box Leo took him over to his Uncle and waited patiently for him to open it. Leo then brought baby and the baby's toy milk bottle over to me so that he could feed him. It was lovely watching Leo play with him and really interact, but it was clear that Leo didn't want to open anything else after that first gift!

I managed to hide baby so that we could open more presents together. A pram, a sit and ride train, a quad bike and play food soon joined his expanding gift pile, but it was far to obvious that he was not interested in the act of present opening but more the playing that followed after. It was great seeing him get the play value out of everything and you could really see he was enjoying every moment, despite the  over whelmed look on his little face.

Christmas lunch did not appeal to Leo, he didn't even devour any pigs in blankets...I thought he would love the sausages! Leo merely picked at his dinner and pushed it around his plate. However he did take to dipping his fingers in the bread sauce and exclaiming 'yum!'.

Leo discovered Christmas Crackers this year and even got to pull one with his Uncle, despite the odds of winning being against him. Leo won! He worse his crown with pride and 

Since having Leo Christmas Day has become extra busy as so many people want to see my little man and enjoy the moments of him opening his gifts. So after spending the day at my parent's we headed over to Luke's Dad's so that we could give them that special time.

Leo was reluctant to open yet more gifts and avoided the presents, and would show interest in everything but! He finally opened up the rubber bath ducks and decided the best way to play with them was by throwing them at Granddad and shouting 'B'.

Christmas carried on for Leo well into Boxing Day when we visited his Nanny and Granddad where yet more presents were waiting for him. The over night break seemed to give Leo the motivation to get on opening more presents, a tool bench complete with tools, a hop along bunny rabbit and even a nursery rhyme CD for the car. 

Santa even came along to pay the kiddly winks a visit, and as expected Leo was not a fan! He quite happily took the gifts that Santa was baring, but Leo left the rest of the detail to be desired.

Poor little Leo topped off Boxing Day by coming down with a viral infection. He went down for his nap perfectly ok and then awoke completely out of character and with a raging temperature. 

He spent the rest of the evening cuddled up and very lethargic. We had a pretty rough night with little man and had to keep bringing his temperature back down, but by the next day Leo was well on a the mend again!

Leo's second Christmas has been wonderful, and even now a week later, we still have a Santa Sack full of gifts for Leo to still un-wrap. Even now that all the Christmas decorations have come down and we are met with the bleak January gloom, we still have those special memories of all the magic that took place.

I hope you have all had a very merry Christmas and are now easing back into the day to day runnings!

Happy New Year!

Laura

xx

Dear Santa...

With each passing day we are getting closer and closer to that one magical day of the year. Christmas.

With this date coming around quicker and quicker each year, or that’s the way it feels anyway, we turn our attention to the Christmas lists written by our children so that Santa knows exactly what to bring with him on his sleigh.

I have been examining many a letter to Santa already, and I am pleased to share with you the toy’s that are going to be in high demand this festive season.

In no particular order I give you the Christmas 2012 Highly Anticipated Toys

Dear Santa,

This Christmas there are a number of very exciting toys that your elves have spent all year crafting, and I am so excited by what you may have in store for all the girls and boys.

Furby has recently been re-launched and is more life like than ever before. He dances, sings and even learns more English as your journey together progresses. He comes in a variety of bright colouring's and will be sure to add some extra excitement to Christmas day, maybe even annoyonce to many a adult!

The LeapFrog LeapsterGS is a gaming learning system for children aged 3-9 years old tailored in a robust kid's design. There is even a camera and video camera included so that you can edit your pictures or even put yourself into the game you are playing! 

The Innotab 2 is the latest creation from VTech for tech savvy kid's. There are many different apps to suit each child's taste from music, TV programmes and Ebooks, There are many children's favourites such as Peppa Pig and Thomas and Friends that you can download. 

The Mookie Scramble Bug is a unique ride on that can move in all directions due to the incorporated castor wheels. It features a fixed handlebar that your toddler can hold on to as they go along, the castor wheels mean that the Scramble Bug can turn 360 degrees with ease and is suitable for the use of children from 1 years old, right up to 3 years old. 

The Razor E90 Electric Scooter is aimed at children 8+ and reaches speeds of up to 8.5mph! It comes in a variety of bright colours and has recently been seen sported by One Directions Zayn and Little Mix's Perrie!

The Fisher-Price Wheelies Loops 'n' Swoops Amusement Park is the ultimate in toddler fun! There are play options on both sides and it stands at over two feet tall. It is the perfect height for kid's to send their Wheelies vehicles down a swirly whirly ramp filled with twists and turns and a gravity defying 360 degree loop! This action fun toy would not be complete without the many lights and that accompany!

The Mini Micro 3 in 1 Scooter  is exactly what it says on the tin! A toddlers very first scooter that will see them through until 5 years old. As the child grows you can adjust the scooter to reflect their new stage of development!

WOW Toys Dudley Dumper Truck is just one toy out of an extensive range of incredibly fun resilient toys that work with no battery's! 

So Santa please consider my Christmas list this year, and I promise that upon your arrival you will find a nice glass of Sherry and home made mince pies! 

P.s If you are still in the process of Christmas shopping, Argos Reserve and Collect is a great way to shop. You can reserve many of the above gifts online to guarantee collection in store! It really does take the stress out of Christmas shopping!

Merry Christmas!

Disclaimer: I wanted to put together a selection of toys that I have enjoyed this year that I think will be popular this year. In order to put together this composition I have been sent the toys to personally try out where possible and have or will be sharing my full experience with you. I have not been paid to write this and all views expressed are completely honest and my own.