My 6-year-old is really into playing games at the moment… so we’ve been playing a lot of Swap, Mancala and Dobble in the afternoons after school. I must say, my favourite games are the most simple ones. There are so many games these days which have instruction booklets the length of a novel, and loads of little, plastic game pieces which end up getting lost or broken. I definitely prefer the simple, straight-forward (if not old-fashioned) games.

This 3-D Tic Tac Toe is a game I played as a child, and a game I still enjoy as an adult (even my husband and I play each other!). It’s a good game for teaching kids to count, strategise, play defensively, and try to line up all your pieces. My 6-year-old is really enjoying it, and it’s fun to have an addition to our game rotation.

x Courtney

My kids have been greatly enjoying the Yoga Pretzels cards they got from their babysitter for Christmas. It’s so cute to see them bend in all sorts of curves, or trying to keep their balance. There are 50 cards, each of them giving a suggestion for a pose. There are, for instance, balance poses, stretch poses, stand and bend poses, and, most popular with my children, the partner poses (they need each other to perform the pose!). There are also cards that give breathing or relax exercises, or suggestions for games that enhance teamwork and creativity. It’s great fun, and especially 6-year-old Sara has been able to really relax after her yoga. Pim (almost 5) loves it too, his favourite pose, of course, is the ‘Warrior’.
Yoga Pretzels is available through Amazon (UK or US).

xxx Esther

x Courtney

The temperatures over here have dropped into the -0°celsius level, which is a rare occurence. When it does happen, the whole of Paris seems to go off to hiberate in their homes. Which is where you’ll find us, snuggled up in our house! Time for some crafting…

We were recently given the Paper Wonderland book and we are officially obsessed. With some scissors and some tape, you get to put together some of the coolest creatures and little projects I have seen. Some are more complicated than others (great when you have kids of different ages) but the end result is super cute and great to play with, so the enjoyment goes beyond just crafting. I highly recommend it!

- Emilie

Finger crocheting is really easy, and a six-year-old child should be able to do it. My nearly-five-year-old son Pim was still a bit clumsy and didn’t really have the patience to learn. But he made an effort (and is very proud of his little bracelet)!

xxx Esther

PS Do you remember how to finger crochet? I put a little film on YouTube here!

We discovered these brilliant Hase Weiss creations at Playtime last weekend and fell instantly in love! Aren’t they so beautiful? The modular doll’s house (above) comes in one big box, but you can fit the rooms together in many different ways to create the perfect doll’s house. And the farm (below) opens and closes with magnetic hinges and offers quite the home for all your farm animals. My kids would go crazy for this!

It doesn’t look like these products are available to purchase from the Hase Weiss site, but they do have a shop in Berlin and it looks like they take orders over the phone if you contact them here.

xx Courtney

Who says there are no cool clothes for boys around? I know, typically boys don’t wear dresses and skirts (my son Pim being the exception to the rule — on occasions he loves to dress up as a full-on princess), which does limit the choices quite a bit, but there ARE good choices around. Like these cool jumpers by Brindille and Twig. I love how the seams turn out with those raw edges! And the colours are gorgeous. It might be interesting to know that the collection is made from organic cotton and soy fabrics which are locally sourced in the USA, and that it’s hand-sewn and hand-dyed with a non-toxic, colour-fast dye by Melissa from Brindille and Twig herself. And yes, they’re cool for girls too…
Available from the Brindille and Twig Etsy shop.

xxx Esther

How fun is this Potato Stamp Stars bedding? Stars are such a great and versatile design, perfect for both modern or traditional decor styles, and I love how the potato stamp effect gives the star print a retro feeling. The bedding is certified organic cotton, printed to Oeko Tex standards… and is as cosy as can be. This duvet cover has the star print in cotton percale on one side and a blue, snuggly t-shirt material on the other side. It’s available from Quick Brown Fox of Dulwich along with other great bedding designs.

-Courtney

The only time this has not worked out for me, is the other day when I was picking up my girls from school. I suddenly realised, watching the kids pour out of the school, that every boy between 5-15 was wearing the exact same coat as me, which I had picked up at GAP Kids in the boys department! Obviously their mothers and I have the same taste…

- Emilie

Wow! Two trade shows in one weekend! We have seen so many great children’s brands, our heads are spinning! Here are some highlights from yesterday at Bubble London:

• The new designs at Poppy feature a little girl riding around on a giraffe through a beautifully illustrated London town, and we can’t get enough. Absolutely fabulous designs and colours in the A/W collection. Much to look forward to!
• Olive Loves Alfie is launching a new range of interiors paint and their display was awesome! So many great colours.
• We were ultra impressed with the fantastic, happy collection at Tootsa Macginty. And apparently we weren’t the only ones — her stand was buzzing the entire day long! (And we loved the new haircut of Kate!)
• As always, the Hucklebones collection was stunning. And the creators, Dan and Zoe, couldn’t be more lovely.
• Seeing the hand-crafted pillows from Lettie Belle in person made us love them even more!
• Really like the sweet prints and fresh colours in the Old Rectory collection. And excited about their new baby pyjamas.
• The ilovegorgeous stand rocked our world. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
• Loved meeting Joanna from Babatude and seeing her luxuriously soft cashmere creations.
• The Spotty Otter outerwear collection is both functional and fun, and we think this is a brand on the rise (it’s already hugely popular at our kids’ schools!).
• With beautiful textiles from India, the entire Bouton collection really, really impressed us.
• It was really great to meet Helen from Helen Gordon and to see all her pieces in one place. We are big fans of her scrumptiously soft pyjamas and love her new circus print!
• The Aden & Anais collection is, as always, super impressive. So cool to see all their swaddle blankets hanging in one big row!

• Just listening to Yanina from Aravore discuss each piece in her collection makes you appreciate just how much thought and love went into each piece. Such a gem of a brand (and a lady!).
• The bright colours and happy messages in the Boys & Girls collection put a smile on our faces! That’s what childhood is all about!
• The NYC-based brand, Ode, which we first discovered at Playtime NYC last summer, featured a stunning collection and a new knitwear line. Such pretty textiles and loads of details!
• So nice to see the Dutch brand Kidscase both at Bubble and at Playtime. As always, it’s a can’t-go-wrong collection!
• We discovered the new label Beau Loves, and with their Zorro mask prints and playful designs, we think this is going to become a new favourite brand.
• We also discovered the new UK brand, Marmalade & Mash which made their debut at Bubble. This is a brand to watch for sure!
• We met the lovely Amynta from Tulip and Nettle who wowed us with her luxurious collection and beautiful photography.
• And finally, the Spanish brand Nadadelazos is super fun and funky, and we were already fans… but even more so now!

xx Courtney and Esther

]]> http://babyccinokids.com/blog/2012/01/31/bubble-london-recap/feed/ 2 http://babyccinokids.com/blog/2012/01/31/neutrogena-wet-skin-kids-sunblock/ http://babyccinokids.com/blog/2012/01/31/neutrogena-wet-skin-kids-sunblock/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:07:10 +0000 Stephanie in Auckland http://babyccinokids.com/blog/?p=27117

We are enjoying lovely hot sunny days here in New Zealand and as much as I love the sun I am so over applying sunscreen to my children’s pale white skin.  I am paranoid that they are going to get sunburnt and if it wasn’t for me applying copious amounts of sunblock throughout the day they would easily burn in the harsh New Zealand sun.  So I was very relieved to find a new sunblock on the market.  This stuff is amazing — you can spray it on your kids even when they have just stepped out of the swimming pool dripping wet.  I especially like to use it when we are at the beach and I can just spray the kids while they are still playing in the sand without trying to get all the sand off them first. Its making my life so much easier!

Steph xo

xxx Esther

PS The dress is from ‘Nils & Happy to see you‘ — the ready-to-wear line by Astrid le Provost (the same owner as ‘Citronille’), which we adore!!

PPS Astrid will include an English translation when you purchase a ‘Gilet de Berger’ pattern, which we made when we were in Antwerp last year.

Do you remember reading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid  Lindgren when you were a child? It was my absolute favourite. Pippi was our superhero: an orphan with bright red hair and incredible stories to tell, who lives on her own with a horse and a monkey and does not conform to anything.

I had totally forgotten about this book (It made me a bit sad that something that had been so special to me, had slipped out of my memory), until I stumbled over a copy of it today in a bookshop. And the copy I stumbled over is pretty special. The story of Pippi, which must have been written more than 50 years ago, has been given a face lift with illustrations by Lauren Child, famous from the UK TV show, Charlie and Lola. The illustrations are super charming and work beautifully with this story. I cannot wait to read this book to my kids. Coco, who is now 6 will be captivated by the story and 3-year-old Violette will love the pictures!

- Emilie

Some of our favourite new discoveries at the show were:

Cotton and Milk, a UK-based brand with the most exquisite knitwear and cool branding (see the animals wearing glasses below!).
Grey Area, the new maternity line from Ada Ada which can be worn before pregnancy, during and after.
Quenotte, a new French label. We really liked the jackets!
Noé & Zoë, with loads of bright neon colours (and we love their collaboration with Tannhäuser!).
Lilly Marthe Ebener, with their gorgeously soft hand-knitted pieces all in stunning colours.
Hase Weiss, with the cool modular doll houses and sweet music boxes situated right next to the wonderful Gabriela Pardo and her funky plush guitars.
Goatmilk, a cool underwear label from NYC.

And here are some other highlights:

-We LOVED meeting the girls from Elfie, seeing their gorgeous display, eating the impressively decorated cookies, and of course meeting little Elfie herself.
-Seeing the charming Charlotte from the wonderful brand Deuz. We love their playmats!
-La Cerise Sur Le Gâteau — such cool graphics and fabrics.
-As always, the Bobo Choses collection was cool, colourful, playful and super original. We loved the poncho from Peru!
-Macarons — a brand on the brink of major stardom.
-Such a pleasure to meet Hana from Mole-Little Norway and see her gorgeous collection in full.
-The entire collection from Morley. Lovely!

-As always, we were won over by Wovenplay and were excited to see a glimpse of outerwear (such a cool bubble coat!).
-The always impressive and cosy collection at Waddler.
-We had such a fun chat with the trendy ladies from My Little Day.
-The new bedding collection and flags from Smiling Planet put a smile on our faces. We love their positivity and happy, peaceful messages.
-A really beautiful collection at Noro.
-Meeting the owner of Nui Organics who flew all the way over from Austin Texas with a cosy new collection to show.
-Meeting Marie from Miss Louise and her elegant mother who served the most delicious almond cookies ever!

-Justine from Une Sardine à Rio showed us how her clever pieces transfer from childhood to adulthood.
-Popupshop – So simple, yet so stylish!
-TeenyTini by JK Lange and her colourful crochet wonders.

Phew! And now a hot bath and a glass of red wine!

x Courtney & Esther

PS It was SUCH fun meeting and talking to you all!

x Courtney

As Coco is now navigating her way through the first year of French education, I thought that an Abacus would be actually a useful tool for her to get used to the idea of adding and subtracting. I had been given an Abacus from Ikea ages ago and it had only ever been used as a toy. It now has a proud place on Coco’s little desk, and it is really interesting how much she is enjoying adding beads together, taking some away and seeing how it all works out.

P.S. Interestingly the children here in France are discouraged to use their fingers to add and substract. I guess it is so that they learn to visualise the numbers. Is it the same in your country?

- Emilie

My kids recently got a Little Red Stuga play blanket and it’s just awesome. What a cool design!! The idea is so simple, but as always with the simplest ideas there is a very talented mind behind it. In this case Little Red Stuga worked together with the lovely Elisabeth Dunker from the beautiful blog and boutique Fine Little Day, who designed the indian graphics. I love how the Bu! blanket doubles up as a comfort blanket and a pretend play dress-up device — and how it travels everywhere. So cool!

xxx Esther

• Green and white knitted jumper from Broer en Zus
• Green and white knitted doll from Dents de Loup
• Lucky Boy Sunday knitted tree from Thumbeline
• Green knitted teething ring from Unique Boutique

x Courtney

Aren’t these spinning tops so beautiful? I just love all the different colour combinations and the many elegant shapes and sizes. These Mader Tops are handcrafted in Austria from a variety of woods native to Europe. Each top is made from a single piece of wood and is then hand painted in beautiful colour combinations. (You can read more about them here.) They’re so well made that they spin for minutes at a time. Fun! And also pretty just sitting on a shelf.

They’re available from Couverture in the UK and from Pucci Manuli in the US.

x Courtney

This is another art project inspired by an image I saw on Pinterest! I knew the minute I saw it that my kids would love this one. Plus, it’s so easy! All you need are some clothespins, some card stock or thicker paper, some crayons or paint to decorate your fish, and scissors and glue. A fun project for kids of all ages — even our 2-year-old enjoyed making her fish (we drew a fish template and she coloured it in).

Also, if you’re looking for more craft projects, you can take a peek at our Crafts for Kids Pinterest board for ideas!

x Courtney