Toys R Us: Silver Cross Ranger Dolls Pram

We love love love this pram!  I have to admit that when I saw the flat box that it came in, my heart sank, as I thought it would require loads of assembling.  But it doesn't! - It just folds out, pretty much like a real pram does.

I think this pram is tasteful to look at, well made, and very realistic.  It comes with a shopping shelf underneath (which Dolly loved placing all her play food on) and a shoulder bag (which Betty loved paraded around with it over her shoulder with some of Dolly's nappies inside).

The girls loved playing with this pram, and of course they fought like chickens over it.  It definitely gets the thumbs up from us, and at £34.99 I thought this was very reasonable (and Toys R Us may even have £5 off at the moment I think)

NB: Just to clarify: my 18 month old daughter is called Dolly, which is who I was referring to throughout this post, rather than an actual doll.

Toys R Us: Explore N Grow Chase Me Critter, by Playskool

This toy was sent to us in our latest Toyologist box.  On the box it stated that it was for 9 months plus and was useful for encouraging a baby to crawl.  Therefore, with both my girls being well past this stage (18 months and 4 years), I was unsure about whether to open it up or not.

In the end, I decided to open it, let them have a play with it and then pass it on.  However, bearing in mind that this toy is aimed at a child much younger, they both went nuts for it!  They fought over it, squealed with delight, and marveled at its balling popping and moving across the carpet antics, and all whilst playing a tune.

This toy is fun, and colourful, and really attention grabbing.  It kept my girls entertained for a long time!  It has two modes - one mode keeps the critter still whilst playing tunes and spinning and popping balls out, and the other mode moves the critter along whilst doing all of the above.  The only thing I would say is that I would have liked to have seen a few more balls included in the box (it comes with three).

I would definitely recommend this toy for a 9 month old baby, and of course, slightly older children too!

Toys R Us Toyologist Competition Carnival: Dora the Explorer - We did it Dora

As part of the Toyologist Competition Carnival I am giving away a Dora the Explorer Doll - We Did It Dora (which retails at £39.99).

Do the 'We did it' dance with Dora, which is inspired by 'Dora's Birthday Adventure'. Just press the flower on her left shoe to see Dora spring into action - she does real dancing (moving her arms and legs) and singing and she even helps you learn her dance moves. This doll is about a foot tall and comes with her own hairbrush so that you can brush her locks. On the box it says:

Teach me - learn dance moves and Spanish in this new 'We Did It' dance
We Did It song - Dora sings and dances
Say It Two Ways - play a bilingual dance game
Play Freeze Dance.

For any Dora fans out there this would be a fab gift!

Just leave a comment to enter into the competition and the draw will take place in two weeks time (UK only). Good luck!

These are the dates for the next Toyologist Competition giveaways:

Saturday 30th October The Babbling Mummy
Sunday 31st October A Mother's Ramblings
Tuesday 2nd November Are we nearly there yet, Mummy?
Monday 8th November Sticky Fingers

Toys R Us: Sprayza Studio

Betty and I got the Sprayza out this morning for the first time, and we had such a fun time with it.  It is an airbrushing kit which comes with 15 different coloured pens.  You simply place a pen on the end of the airbrusher and then blow through it. The set comes with several different stencils (a lion, unicorn, fish, clown, kingfisher, dragonfly to name but a few) and once you have blown different colours over the stencil it looks really effective.  You can also be really imaginative with how you use this set, creating different effects.  The pens also double up as felt tips so that you can touch up your creation if you like.

The great thing is it is so so easy to use, and the sort of thing that your child can get on with by themselves. I think Betty surprised herself this morning when she produced a beautiful clown picture all by herself (pictured)

At £9.99 I think this set is a real bargain - it is unique, effective, and lots of fun, and I was very impressed with it.  WE LOVE IT!

Toys R Us: My Own Leaptop, by Leapfrog

When this toy arrived in our latest box from Toys R Us, Tom was horrified.  I almost didn't show it to him knowing full well what his reaction would be.  He says (and I agree in part) that it is wrong for a 3 year old to be exposed to computers at such a young age.  However, although I sort of agree with him, from my own selfish perspective, I was thinking about the long cold dark winter ahead of us, and the fact that this Leaptop may give me a bit of respite.

After a heated conversation, I agreed to give it away.  There it sat, on the hallway table waiting for a new home.  Every time I walked past it, I became just a little bit more curious about what this toy could do, having already studied the box in great detail.  Then this morning I caved.  Tom had his head stuck in some report he was writing, Betty was at pre-school, and Dolly was napping.  So I made a deal with myself, that I would open it up, set it all up, test it, get Betty to test it, and then give it away.

I have spent the whole morning playing with it and working out every function it has to offer.  And this is what I thought:

This Leaptop basically seems to encourage pretend social networking, for a child.  It has pretend email, a pretend blog, and a playlist.  I was surprised they hadn't gone that one step further and included Facebook and Twitter.  I personally think (and this is just my opinion) that at 3 years old you are too young to be subjected to things such as emails and blogs and it isn't really necessary or appropriate for a toy aimed at this age group. 

As well as these social networking functions, it also has three other modes - Alphabet (where you press a letter on the keyboard to hear the letter name and sound), Music Maker (which turns the keyboard into a music station with silly sound effects, percussion sounds and piano keys), and Animal (where you press a letter and it comes up with a clue for an animal beginning with that letter).  I liked these functions - I think they seem fun, and engaging, and educational too. 

I was really rather gobsmacked at the advancement in kids toys these days.  This Leaptop (costing £19.99) comes with a USB cable that you plug into your own PC/Mac enabling you to personalise the Leaptop for your child.  There is a facility to choose your child's name from a drop-down list so that every time they turn it on  they are greeted by name.  However, rather upsettingly, my darling daughter's name was not on the list, despite there being really really random and bizarre names on there.  I have to admit I was a tiny bit gutted - to see her little face when she turned this new toy on and heard her own name would have been great.  You can also select 5 melodies and 2 songs from their list of options to go onto your child's own personal playlist.

When Betty came home I presented her with the Leaptop.  She sat on the sofa and was completely engaged with all its functions.  She talked back to it, she loved the Alphabet and Animals modes and was intrigued to hear an email message being read out to her from 'mummy' (a setting I had previously made). 

So to conclude, Betty was rather taken with this toy, much more so than me or Tom, and when I explained to her that we were going to give it away, she was pretty upset. Although this toy wasn't for us (by that I mean me and Tom), I think it may fit very well into another home, as there is much enjoyment to be had from this product.

Toys R Us: Dressy Upsy Daisy Doll (by Anna)

As admittedly rather oversubscribed In the Night Garden viewers and fans, my two year old daughter and I were most excited to receive ourDressy Upsy Daisy.  Given that we have a number of ITNG toys already including a small plush set of the characters, we have certainly already noted our daughter’s affinity with the character of Upsy Daisy and her charisma!

On opening the doll, Lucy was certainly taken with the idea of UD having a number of accessories which she liked to name as we got them out of the package; flowers, bag, shoes and skirt all got a mention.  Despite the main purpose of the doll seeming to be a dressing toy, after this initial assessment,  Lucy did not seem to pay much more attention to the accessories and began to play with UD much as she did with her other plush toy.  This play also very much reflected her own personality and what she had seen UD do in the TV show: She put UD in her bed and said “Night night”; she woke UD up; she played singing with her; she introduced UD to the other ITNG characters and to her other toys. And, as I type, she has taken UD to her own bed and is chatting to her about her day as she goes to sleep. She has really seen her as a familiar old friend rather than a new toy.   Interestingly, however, I noted that when our 8 month old god daughter came to play, she handed her the old,small, Upsy Daisy whilst she kept the largest Dressy Upsy Daisy for herself. Maybe it’s to do with size.

If the idea of Dressy Upsy Daisy is that young begin to use fine motor control to dress a toy, my daughter is not really interested and may still be a little immature for this concept. She remains, however, captivated by her personality and characterisation which has seen her play imaginatively as she continues to develop her language communication skills. Given I have not seen Upsy Daisy dress or undress in the show, it is possible my daughter is only at the stage where she imitates what she has seen in the TV program.  I am most certain she will return and use the accessories as she matures in her play. In this respect, the toy has an element of longevity in it, so long as my child remains interested in the character.

As a parent, I have no hesitation in recommending this product to others on the grounds that it is a quality well-made product from a creative and imaginative program. I would certainly recommend it to other ITNG fans.

Anna and Lucy Thorpe (23 months)

ELC: Singalong CD Player

This  portable Singalong CD Player comes with two microphones attached, so that you can play your favourite CDs and sing along to them to your heart's content. 

My actress daughter has recently been using hairbrushes (that old favourite) as  a microphone and singing her sweet songs into it.  So when presented with these real life microphones she was pretty made up, specially as she can sing along with her mum at the same time.  Dolly even has a go too, when she is not giving us her withering looks.  Meanwhile Tom is no-where to be seen.  We are definiately going to get this out for Betty's fourth birthday party in a few weeks time -I think it will be a big hit.

This product is normally £40 but ELC have £8 off at the moment..  It does require 6 x C batteries - I personally would prefer it if it came with an adapter so that we could plug it into the mains, but although it doesn't come with one, you can buy it separately.

This is a fun product and I am loving teaching Betty new songs - at the moment we are on 'Walking on Sunshine' by Katrina and The Waves.  And still Tom is no-where to be found.

ELC: Jolly Phonics DVD

Betty has many DVDs but since this Jolly Phonics DVD arrived about a week ago it is all she wants to watch.  The DVD teaches reading and writing, and Betty sits glued to the screen and watches as funny puppets such as Inky Mouse teach her the alphabet, and how to write out the letters properly and how to put the letters together to make words. 

The set in which it is all set is not at all glitzy or hi-tech - but this somehow adds to its charm.  The DVD comes in 8 parts with different letter sounds taught in each: Lost and Found, A Fright in the Woods, A Rainy Day, The Birthday Party, The Vowel Forest, The Cuckoo Clock, The Cirucs, and Snake Writes a Book.  All these different sections keeps Betty interested. 

At £20 I first thought this seemed rather a lot of money, but it does run for 2 hours and has another 55 minutes of bonus material too - and most importantly, Betty is hooked and is learning at the same time!

If your child is showing an interest in learning to write then I would highly recommend this DVD.

ELC: Wooden trike 'n trailer

Since being presented with this trike a few days ago, Dolly has barely been apart from it - she loves it.  It is her very own little mode of transport, and it has the huge added bonus of a trailer that fits on the back.

Yesterday she merrily rode around all day, proudly dragging an old Chocolate Orange box that she found in the bin, behind her.  Today she was transporting Betty's slippers around the place.  In my experience most kids love trailers, and loading them up, and pulling them around, so this is a great little product.

The trike was easy to assemble, it looks good, with a fun and tasteful colour scheme, it has already provided much enjoyment to my darling daughter, and it is reasonably priced at £38.

Toys R Us: Playskool Step Start Walk n Ride

This product was obviously sent to me with Dolly (17 months) in mind.  Dolly however, has many ride-on toys, and so we we decided to open up the box, put it all together, test it, and then pass it on to a young deserving child who doesn't have such a thing.

When I casually say that I put it together, it wasn't that easy with Dolly as my helper, and in hindsight I should have done it well away from her watchful eye.  We got into little arguements about where she had hidden the bag of screws, and the various other accessories that fit onto the toy.  Anyway, finally, the toy was assembled and was good to go.

My Dolly, like most children her age I am sure, loves a ride-on toy and off she went, speeding across the sitting room, and twiddling various knobs and gear sticks and rollers as she went.  She had a lot of fun on it, that is until her big sister Betty came home from pre-school and wanted to be part of the action.  A fight broke out between them, and so the toy was promptly confiscated. 

I think this toy will be very appealing to a baby/toddler - it is colourful, with lots of things to turn and fiddle with.  And the great thing is that goes from being a baby walker, encouraging your baby from around 9 months to pull themselves to standing and then eventually walk holding onto the handle, and then with just one push of a red button and a pull, it turns into a ride-on toy - easy peasy!  I was rather imnpressed with just how easy the transformation from one to the other was.