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Antwerp

Courtney in London — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:34:53 +0000

Greetings from sunny Antwerp! We are having such silly, girly fun this weekend and thought we would share some photos with you. (And if you happened to be in the Park Avenue Karaoke bar last night at 2am, will you please erase the image of three slightly tipsy girls singing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ at the top of their lungs.) Oh my!

xxx Courtney, Esther and Emilie

A birthday celebration!

Esther in Amsterdam — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:01:32 +0000

We’re all in sunny Antwerp together celebrating our birthday! And working very hard, of course. And shopping (shh… don’t tell our husbands!), and eating (chocolates!) and drinking (Belgian beer!). Such fun!

Kisses and enjoy your weekend!
xxx Esther, Emilie and Courtney

p.s. We’ll be updating our Facebook page from Antwerp regularly. So check in!

Emilie’s five favourite posts

Emilie in Paris — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:00:24 +0000

Four years of blogging, discovering and evolving. It has been quite a ride and it has been great. I don’t think I really knew what blogging really was when we started… and look how far we’ve come! Here is my list of five favourite posts from the past year. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

Turkish Bulgur and Red Lentil Soup, as it has become a favourite staple in our household, for the kids and for me.
Teaching basic math skills – it is such an easy project and a fun why of learning with children.
The tutorial on how to draw a penguin, as we love Oliver Jeffers and I love how it teaches kids to draw a character using simple shapes.
The Kuala Lumpur Weekend Get-Away Guide as it is one of my favourite cities and I cannot wait to visit and use this guide myself!
Losing my patience, as I think it is such an honest post about something every mom goes through.

Courtney’s five favourite posts

Courtney in London — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:25:45 +0000

How fun to look back at the past year of posts! It always reminds me how much I really do love our blog. As usual, it was really difficult to narrow down a list… but here are five of my favourites from the past year:

Three children is perfect (for us) because I share the feeling completely, and because Esther so eloquently writes about a sentiment every mother must feel, no matter how many children they have.
Cabbage and Flea – nicknames for children because it’s so funny to hear all the names we call our children!
Made by Joel it aint because it reminds us to stop trying to be perfect and that craft projects should be fun for the kids to do, rather than perfect for adults to admire (and I love that Brooke Reynolds left a comment making us all feel better about her reputation as being ‘perfect’).
Nettle Quiche because HOW COOL that you can eat stinging nettles! (And we made this dish for Easter this year and it was DELICIOUS!)
La Parisienne because Emilie gave me that book for my birthday, and I have since bought about ten copies as gifts for other girlfriends. It’s the perfect little ‘bible’ of all things chic.

How to make your own Pinatas

Courtney in London — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:08:01 +0000

Who doesn’t love a piñata? They make great party decorations, they offer entertainment (if you decide to bash the beauty up), and they’re filled with candy! Such fun! Jordan at Oh Happy Day has recently started a Piñata DIY series and offers all the tips and necessary steps for how to make them. It actually seems quite easy to do — I think I might give it a go for our next party… although I’m not sure I could stand watching it get destroyed after all that work, no matter how many sweets it bears.

Images from Oh Happy Day

-Courtney

Esther’s five favourite posts

Esther in Amsterdam — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:04:40 +0000

It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since we first started Babyccino! SO much has happened in the meantime. Happy things, sad things, beautiful things, silly things… It’s been a bit of a challenge at times (and a lot of hard work!) to keep the blog going strong, but we’re happy and proud that we’re still blogging away (AND also that we launched the shopping portal this year as well).

Looking back through the posts of the last year I rediscovered so many cool things, and it was a hard job to pick five favourite posts, but here are some I thought were worth sharing again:

Customise your summer hats because I love how simple and cute this little project is!
The funny things kids say because I loved to hear all of the funny things your kids say!
Dallas Clayton’s Top Ten book list because I love Dallas Clayton and I love our book lists!
Courtney’s house on Design Sponge because it’s such a cool house and she did such a great job!
Outdoor Ice baubles because I think that’s about the cutest craft project ever.

There are so many more… Maybe we should do a favourite five every month?

xxx Esther

Wrap it up!

Esther in Amsterdam — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:03:53 +0000

Do you know that sentiment — to be almost more excited to give presents than you are to receive them? I especially have that feeling when I know I have found something spot-on perfect, which will most certainly be well received, and is wrapped with lots of love and care…
This wrapping paper from Lollipop is just perfect for such a present — so happy and stylish with the baubles, printed on 100% recycled paper with lovely veggie inks. (There are matching gift tags and labels available too!) I’m also loving the polka dot masking tape from Petite Alma — cute with the baubles paper, but also exquisite on plain white paper (readily available from your kids’ crafting corner!). More cool party ideas can be found in this week’s Top Ten!

xxx Esther

Super cute name labels from Mooo

Sara in Melbourne — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:00:40 +0000

Summer holidays are coming to an end (phew — I need a break from all the cleaning and washing a ’stayvacation’ entails). Aussie children are back to school, the start of a brand new school year. And that means labels. Lot’s of them. Especially for my son who starts his very first year of school (so exciting) and who would be prone to losing his beautiful head, were it not so well attached to his body. These adorable name labels are from Mooo. They also do the coolest personalised books which I have always intended to get for my children but which I have never got around to organizing. Also personalised bags, pencil cases, wooden puzzels, stationery, canvas art and an array of other personalised goodies, all of which make fabulous birthday present options.

- Sara

Another favourite toy: Bonz!

Courtney in London — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:00:24 +0000

Apart from our collection of Schleich animals, these Bonz must be the toy(s) my boys play with most often. We have both the Exo Bonz kit and the Sea Bonz set, and all the pieces have been thrown together into one big bin… meaning my kids can create the most unusual creatures! Every day I find at least one new creation in their bedroom — and it’s so fun to see how imaginative they can get.

The Bonz construction kits are great because each piece can be connected to the next, so the possibilities are endless. Plus, the sets come with cool pieces like eye balls, wings, jellyfish tentacles, and special connector pieces which pivot 180° to allow the creatures to pose, bend and move. Even I like playing with these!

Available from Amazon (US).

-Courtney

My daughter’s favourite toy — Baby Dolls

Mo in London — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 06:00:47 +0000

Again, no surprises here — my 22-month-old daughter loves ‘baby’ (currently it doesn’t matter which one). We have two babies in our house. On your left you will see Winnie (the winker). We bought Winnie from the Early Learning Centre for my son about a month before my daughter was born to get him into babies (which seemed to work quite well). On your right you will see Polly Dolly (for ease I have called most of my daughter’s soft-toys ‘Polly’ – we have a Polly Parrot, a Polly Princess, a Polly Polar (bear) and of course Polly Dolly). My husband bought Polly Dolly for Lioba the Christmas before she was born.

Polly Dolly is a Kathe Kruse Bade-Puppe (bath doll). Kathe Kruse is a wonderful German brand famous for dolls (but a brand I personally love for all their baby toys and music boxes*).

Kathe Kruse was an actress turned doll-maker, who started making dolls in 1905. She built her company up, whilst raising her 7 children, with the philosophy that dolls should be made for children to love (as opposed to the breakable porcelain dolls of the time). However, there is something about the typical Kathe Kruse doll that reminds me of those porcelain dolls — they are almost too beautiful. That’s why I love the bath-doll. She is a simple plastic doll (with holes to allow water out when she is bathed). But, I find her so special because she has such a pretty face. I recently found myself in the girl’s department of our local toy store and was horrified by the dolls on offer — I could not find one doll I’d want to love; they were all slightly freakish looking and in horrendous clothing (I can’t believe my fashion-snobbery has stretched to my daughter’s doll!). Polly came in a sweet blue gingham dress with a red cardy and a matching hat and we bought her this supplementary outfit from a cool Berlin store, Emma & Co, (mentioned by Judith in the Babyccino Berlin get-away guide).

* You can buy a good range of Kathe Kruse toys from Stork Gifts in the UK.

-Mo

My son’s favourite ‘toy’

Mo in London — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:00:18 +0000

For this theme week I asked my son, Elias, what his favourite toy is. Elias is 3 (nearly 4) and so it will come as no surprise to most mums with a 3 (nearly 4)-year-old boy that he answered, “my scooter”. Elias loves his blue Micro scooter and goes everywhere on it. A boring trip to the shops can be turned into an exciting adventure if his scooter comes too.

However, the unoriginality of this choice brings me to tell you about another of Elias’s favourite toys (if it can be called that). Elias likes his ’stuff’ — everyday he carries around with him 3 – 4 random objects and can not be with out these ‘things’, whether they are tied to him in some fashion or stuffed in his pockets or in his back-pack. He is lost without them, he goes to bed with them and they are always the first things he asks for the next morning.

I did find the whole ‘thing’ obsession a little strange for a while, but now I love it about him — all his ‘things’ form so many ideas for games and imaginative play throughout his day. So what are his typical ‘things’? Well I just checked his pockets (see picture for proof) — this is what I found:

A length of orange string (from my present-wrapping drawer)
An LED light on a key-ring
A small carabiner clip which has a tape-measure in it
An old pedometer
The rope part from his Playmobil police helicopter
A packet of sugar from a cafe

It is amazing how many stories and games he devises with his daily artillery and even though the ’stuff’ gets refreshed occasionally, it is always made up of ‘cheap as chips’ bits and bobs and random finds (I didn’t even know we owned a pedometer!).

Favourite Toy: Zingo!

Dina in NYC — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:00:30 +0000

Zingo was the first real board-game, so to speak, that we played at home on a regular basis. The concept is simple — it’s “Bingo” but using pictures and words. What I like about it is that it’s not only great for teaching visual recognition and learning first basic words but that it helps to plant the seeds for learning how to “take turns”, “help each other out”, and for one of my daughters, perfect the fine art of “cheating.” It’s a game that young kids like and one that an adult won’t mind playing as well. Available on Amazon (US and Europe).

Silver rattle (Ava’s favourite toy)

Esther in Amsterdam — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:04:44 +0000

When we moved to our current house in the beginning of this year, we quickly found out that we had a very sweet, very old neighbour, who has lived here since our houses were built in the 1950s! She had her three children here, sadly lost her husband here, recently turned 90 here, and still enjoys living in this house, and hopefully she will be able to for a very long time.
When Ava was born, she gave us the most beautiful and thoughtful gift: a silver rattle with a teething ring, engraved with Ava’s name and date of birth. Such a timeless present, and something she will keep for the rest of her life.
And it is this silver rattle that is Ava’s most favourite toy. She loves playing with it, looking at the reflections on the silver, chewing on the ring, shaking it to hear the bell. It is easy for her to grasp and hold, and it is the one toy she looks for when we put her in her playpen. (Similar rattles can probably be found at your local jeweller, or in Europe here.)

xxx Esther

Favourite Toys : Just what the Doctor Ordered!

Sara in Melbourne — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:00:38 +0000

This classic doctor’s bag has been, I am guessing, our most enduring, regularly used toy. Of course it helps that it is made of wood and not plastic and has withstood the test of time, over-zealous budding anesthetists included (that would be my son I am referring to!) My daughter was gifted her kit when she turned 3 and the role-playing is showing no signs of decline – it is just a little more sophisticated these days! She is now 9. Over time we have added other items like cotton wool and bandaids, a pad and pencil for prescriptions and a real but broken mobile phone/pager…

Unfortunately this lovely version from FAO Schwarz is presently out of stock (hopefully they will re-stock soon) but this gorgeous kit from Haba is just perfect. And this fabulous version for the older child from the brilliant Seedling range is nothing short of impressive with its multitude of realistic equipment — it comes with a real working stethoscope, an observation journal, medical checklist, surgical hat, disposable tongue depressors and a carabineer pen! Now, how cool is that ?!

- Sara

Our Kids’ Favourite Toys

Courtney in London — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:00:21 +0000

Can you believe we have less than 6 weeks until Christmas? Where did this year go? Suddenly it’s time to start thinking about holiday gifts! So… with the countdown to Christmas now on, we thought it would be a good idea to do a series on our kids’ favourite toys — the toys they play with every day, the toys that have lasted years and years, the ones they always go back to despite receiving something new…

So, if I had to pick one toy from my kids’ playroom, their absolute favourite toy of all time, it would have to be their collection of Schleich Animals. My boys take their Schleich animals with them into the bath, into their beds, to school in their coat pocket, to the park, to the beach, etc. etc. We always have at least a couple animals with us at all times, be it a dinosaur, a sea creature, or a farm animal…

(Image found here.)

-Courtney

DIY Goody Bags

Esther in Amsterdam — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 22:52:32 +0000

My sewing machine used to be my grandmother’s. She probably bought it in the fifties, and it’s so heavy I have to ask my husband to carry it to the table, but it still does the job wonderfully well!
These goody bags would be perfect as a classroom treat or for party favours at a birthday party (as seen on Vlijtig). I used pages from an old Milk magazine, cut out squares about 15×15 cm (6″x6″) and glued the outer ends together to make a tube. Then I sewed together one end, filled it with a mix of raisins and almonds, turned it 90 degrees and sewed together the other end. Presto! I left some thread at the ends, but you could also use zig zag scissors for an interesting twist.

xxx Esther

Sleep-over Parties

Emilie in Paris — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 20:49:24 +0000

Sometimes the simplest birthday party ideas work best. My daughter Coco is soon turning five and I don’t think that there is anything more exciting in her world than a sleep-over birthday party. Last weekend she went over to a friend’s house, and five little 5-year-olds had the best time ever slumbering away, eating cake, pretending to be ballerinas, and giggling in general (the photo is of the sleep-over posse — don’t they look like they are having a pretty good time?).
And I can understand it — sleep-over parties are great. I still actually remember my first ever sleep-over party as if it was yesterday — my parents let me and my friends stay up to watch some of the Eurovision song contest and it was the best thing that had ever happened to me!
Sleep-overs are also pretty easy to organise, as far as birthday parties go, because they are always going to be a success. And here are a couple of tips that can help for a successful sleep over party:

1. Get the kids over early so that they can eat together and play until exhaustion, a key move is to whip out a DVD for the children to enjoy and relax.

2. After breakfast, it can be fun to get the kids to do a bit of an organised activity as they might need something to focus on (in the case of my daughter’s sleep-over party, the girls made a theatre stage in a shoe box and placed some ballerinas in it, which I thought was a brilliant idea)

3. Do end the party in the morning as the kids will likely have fallen asleep a bit later than usual and very likely will have woken up early, so for every one’s sanity it is advisable to end the party while it is still peaking.

Do let me know if you have any other ideas about how to make a sleep over party even better… as I am going to be hosting one in a couple of months time.

- Emilie

Cute Confetti Garlands

Courtney in London — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:00:42 +0000

I LOVE these paper confetti garlands from the KristinaMarie Etsy shop. What a fun way to cheer up any old wall or room. I can imagine using them for all sorts of occasions — from birthdays to anniversaries, a ‘welcome home’ day or even an ‘it’s grey outside and I need a little colour in my life’ type of day…

I love the Recycled Hymnal Paper Garland (how cool!) and the Goldenrod Confetti garland… or even the Poppy. Which ones would you choose?

(First seen on Oh Happy Day)

-Courtney

Insourcing the Birthday Party — Customized Decor by Love the Day

Dina in NYC — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 06:00:00 +0000

If the idea of throwing a birthday party for your kids at home sends you into a total panic, I understand completely. For me, nothing causes more constricted breathing than the thought of having twenty some odd kids over to spend two hours at my place sugar-infused and running wild. I do have to say though, there is something really nice (and financially sound) about having a party at home — I mean isn’t that what we all grew up with?

A friend recently tipped me off to this adorable Etsy shop called Love the Day when she threw a princess-themed tea party for her daughter last month. Love the Day offers customized paper party decor and will help to develop a complete party theme — making everything from invitations, to banners, to cupcake holders to customized water bottles and these adorable chocolate wrappers, and it is all VERY reasonable and with a quick turnaround. The designs are all emailed to you directly and all you have to do is take them to your local print shop to produce the goods. If I do decide to bite the bullet and bring the party home this year, Love the Day will be the first stop in the process.

-Dina

Woodland Fairy Party

Emilie in Paris — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:00:12 +0000

Birthday parties are always fun, but for kids they take epic proportions. My girls would love nothing more than a fairy, princess or ballerina party. I think the only thing that would top it would be a fairy-princess-ballerina party all tossed together. Unfortunately, I am not as talented in organising these kind of parties as some people — I think I just lack that eye for those little details that make the party come together. But I did find this beautiful idea for a Woodland Fairy themed party on Stephmodo. What a lovely idea.

The big advantage of organising a themed party for kids is that, apart from the party looking nice, a theme gives you a focus around which you can organise games, cakes and activities. For me, at least, that makes the whole birthday party idea a little bit less daunting…

- Emilie