Finley's Fab Personlised T-Shirt

Firstly before we get going how amazing has the weather been so far this week! Wow! We had our first BBQ yesterday lunchtime and even got the paddling pool out...even though in the end the water was far too cold to get in! Any tips to heat up a freeezzzzing pool let me know.

Anyway lets get cracking with chatting about one of the most exciting packages I received for Finley in a while. A few weeks back a lovely lady called Vikki from MiniMe Baby sent me over a tweet and asked if I wouldn't mind reviewing a lovely piece from her fab website. I love finding new websites especially those that stock such great products (especially with a quirky edge) and introducing them to you all, so I happily said yes. After a chat and a browse I chose this amazing personalised T-shirt for Finley....isn't it amazing?

I am a sucker for anything with a name on it and would happily wear 'Kayleigh' T-shirts all day everyday if I could get away with it, so my next best option is to let Finners take the lead in the personalised stakes. 

I asked if we could pop 'Finners' on the front instead of Finley, you know me, I love anything a little different and quirky. I chose a worm for the main picture for the simple reason that he never ever sits still and we always call him a wriggly worm. You can choose your design from the selection they have, anything from cutesy blossom trees for little girls to chunky dinosaurs for those cheeky boys. You can pick from a number of coloured T-shirts and colour schemes but I left this up to Vikki to chose, I do love a surprise.

The whole design is hand appliqued direct onto the T-shirt which amazes me, I watched Kirstie Allsopp's homemade homes once and she was saying how time consuming and intricate it was. And boy can you tell how much effort and care has gone into the design, from the little button for the 'i' and the tiniest bead for the worms eye :D Plus check out how even the stitching is!! And it has a patchwork look....need I say anymore. 

The T-shirt itself is 100% cotton which is perfect for this hot weather and for the tiniest of babies who's skin is still soooo sensitive. I have washed this over and over (around 12 times) to put it to the test because lets face it that's what us mums are interested in...the practicalities of how it stands up in the washer haha. And it has come out perfect, it will need an iron but hey what doesn't! Finley also had a mini accident with a fruit squeezy but with a little vanish the stain came out perfectly! The sizing seems pretty great too, he is in the size 1-2 T-shirt and is currently just growing into 18-24 months clothes, he is only just over 16 months and has very broad shoulders so I'm happy to say the sizing is spot on.

I even emailed asking if you could add a number to the t-shirt and yes you can...how great would this be for a birthday T-shirt for the party or even as a surprise prezzie for the birthday boy or girl :) You can choose anything you want up to 10 Characters so why not get creative. We always call Finley Mr Bun or Mr Sausage....they have stuck since I was pregnant so they were next on my list after Finners. They even said they might be able to get a shark for Fin Yay. What name would you choose to have on a T-shirt? 

Overall I am so pleased with this and would happily purchase another for me Finley :) the total cost is £17 and for all the hand crafting and time that is clearly input it is so worth it, and postage is free. I am even going to frame Finley's once he has grown out of it. These would be perfect for presents, party's and just general fun!

You can check out the MiniMe Baby website here and follow them on Twitter here for all the updates and any new promotions.

Vikki was kind enough to include some extra goodies for Mummy which I have been putting to good use and also a fab organic shampoo body wash combo for Finley that I may actually review separately we are loving so much. Thank you :D

Finley showing off his new bestest top

I just want to say a massive thank you so much to MiniMe Baby for sending us such a wonderful item to review, we are so lucky and Finley is extra happy he can show off his fancy new top. Please head over there and show them some love, the company is a supporter of small businesses and other mums like us, they source UK handmade items so not only will you receive an amazing item through your door you are also helping out the little businesses who could be part time crafters or mum's setting up their business on Maternity leave.

Hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any questions or would like to see any more pictures please let me know and I will be more than happy to help.

Love Kayleigh x

Finley's Birthday Trip to the Zoo

I have a feeling that January may involve quite a few 'birthday' posts, everything from tea-parties to a birthday haul. Today's post is a little look into what we got up to on the big day itself! We decided that because he seems to have a soft spot for animals at the moment we would head to Blackpool zoo.  

The weather was lovely, cold but lovely. You may be looking at these pictures thinking 'where is his hat, where are his mittens'....well in the pram basket! He hates anything on his head, hands, even feet! We kept persisting which lead to him crying and whinging in the 'shhhhhh must be queit' enclosure! I wouldn't mind too much if he had a little more hair to keep that bald head warm but somehow that tiny wisp just doesn't cut it. We kept trying to sneak his hood up but he just wasn't having it!

Anyway, we had a lovely walk around the park admiring all the animals that ventured out into the cold January air. I have to admit that Finley wasn't the least bit interested in anything but these little monkeys. I think he somehow related to them and their cheeky ways.

His little face lit up just looking at these tiny furry mites, I spent ages knelt down propping him up so he could smile and 'talk' to the little monkeys, its a shame I didn't take note of what breed they were so I shall be googling that! Unless anyone is a nature enthusiast and can help me out? :D We even bought a souvenir monkey teddy for him to snuggle with less chance of destruction, we already have one cheeky monkey running riot in the house, we definitely don't need another haha. 

We wandered through the park and in total took nearly 300 pictures, sheesh! Here are just a few and one of the cutest monkey I ever did see.

Note the lemur in the first photo

 - it was sat legs akimbo meditating in the sun! They were all in a huge open enclosure, they ran free climbed trees and I felt much more comfortable with that environment. I love to see the animals running as free as they can, rather than behind cages and high fences. I was surprised that there was so many species of animals there and how much space they all have, I admit now I haven't always been the biggest fan of Zoos for the 'caged' element but I am happy to report back I found it really well layed out and all the animals seemed as free as they could be.

Here is a little picture of Finley and I at the end of our Zoo Adventure, both windswept....Mummy a little more so! Yikes! I wasn't sure whether to include this pic because of the very serious 'hair issue' I am having but hey, that's life! That's what happens when you spend hours walking around the Zoo, delving in and out of the deeply filled changing bag for a Sippy Cup 20 times and getting your hair tugged by a very excited Birthday Boy! 

He had a lovely Birthday morning....yes there is more to come! In the afternoon we opened prezzies, had a balloon party and played with toys! Wow - such a busy day for us all. 

Can you believe he is one! 

See you all soon

Love Kayleigh x

Happy 1st Birthday Finley

I knew this day would come along but yikes it has whizzed around much faster than I imagined. 

 

To be honest I was quite emotional yesterday, reminiscing about times he was so tiny he fit in the crook of my arm, times when he was swaddled up so snug he dreamed all day. But today I have come to terms with the fact that he will never be that tiny boy so fragile that 1 year ago today we were scared to pick him up. But look what fantastic things we have 1 year on, today he is that strapping boy that loves to let Daddy fly him through the air, that cheeky sausage that is just the right combination of loveliness to cheekiness! That cheerful boy who when he smiles his nose wrinkles and scrunches.

Today our son Finley turned one. Happy Birthday :D

 Love Kayleigh x

Our Little Finners

I thought I better make a post to properly introduce you all to Finley. 

Finley Christopher Derek Bamber was born on Sunday 15th January 2012 at 11:45pm.

He was a little eager to meet us all and ended up being just short of 3 weeks early. He weighed in at 5pounds 15ounces (which has always baffled me because I thought the scale topped off at 14 Ounces?) Anyway he was a lot smaller than expected, I think the highest weight guessed on the sweepstake at work was knocking on 11pounds! Crikey - I must have that look about me haha. 

Anyway I will write a more detailed post on the lead up to labour and the delivery itself soon :) 

I will leave you with some lovely snaps of the one and only Finley

Love Kayleigh x

Only a few hours old - look at those milk spots :)

A couple of days old - wrinkled and crinkled

     

Cheeky Chops 6 months later