Monster has been begging for a puppy ever since his god daddy brought his black lab pup round for a visit before Christmas but no amount of fluttering eyelids or cute smiles will make me relent; we simply don’t have the time a new puppy requires. So I’m sure you can imagine the little man’s delight when The Toadstool sent him the Haba Hound Leo Play set to review which along with the cat play set is part of the brand new 2013 Haba dolls range.

The Haba Hound Leo Play Set comes inclusive of a super cute puppy soft toy which is a lovely size for little hands, a small blanket, a soft bone not to forget a melamine bowl for puppy to eat out of.

Now I think it’s fair to say that this is a low tech toy, there are no flashing lights or sound effects or in fact anything which requires batteries of any sort, this lovely toy is all about the imagination and thankfully the little man has bags of the stuff and a little bit more to boot!

Monsters first task was to name his new canine friend and after much deliberation (about 15 seconds) he finally settled on the very original name of Daddy Dog so Daddy Dog it is. Daddy Dog has quickly became the little man’s favourite companion and is included in most of his everyday tasks evening joining him at the table during meal times, using his special dog bowl of course. However I can’t say I was thrilled when Monster insisted that Daddy Dog had his own ice lolly for pudding before proceeded to eat them both!

Daddy Dog has been on lots of adventure with his proud owner, from trampolining in the back garden to trips out to feed the ducks not to mention snuggles on the sofa with his blanket whilst watching Monsters favourite Disney films, he has simply become part of the family and a part which I can’t see the little man letting go of anytime soon.

Priced at £16.70 the Haba Hound Leo Play Set may seem a tad expensive however the toy really is one of those that becomes whatever your imaginative Monster makes of it and thanks to the blanket, bowl and bone accessories there is certainly lots of fun to be had .

If you’re looking for a toy which is of excellent quality and sets imaginations on fire then then this play set is certainly worth taking a peek at.

Play Patrol Agent ready and reporting for duty… attention!!!

As you may have seen we are very excited to be part of the Bigjigs Toys Play Patrol team and Monster is certainly looking forward to putting fun to the test whilst checking out some of the gorgeous, colourful and ethical toys created and produced by Bigjigs Toys.

Monsters first mission was to see how much fun could be had with the Bigjigs Toys Farm Animal Shape Sorter and this Play Patrol Agent was ready and raring to go!

Now when I hear the word puzzle and Monster in the same sentence it makes me shudder, you see Monster is a super active toddler and getting him to sit still long enough to eat his dinner is a task and a half never mind trying to get him to settle down and concentrate on a puzzle however from the moment he set eyes on the traditional style wooden puzzle he was intrigued.

The Bigjigs Toys Farm Animal Shape Sorter features four colourful animals including a pig, sheep, horse, chicken and a cow each of which is made up of chunky wooden and colourful shapes which are a great size for mini hands to pick up and slot into place.

Now on first inspection you may, like me, be fooled into thinking  that this durable puzzle is just that, a funky shape sorting puzzle but as Monster  played it was clear to see that this wooden puzzle has so much more to offer. From animal, colour and shape recognition to counting and stacking skills there is certainly a whole heap more fun to be had than first meets the eye and more play potential that I thought possible from a simple puzzle.

Like I said the little man is not known for his concentration skills but this is the first  puzzle he has actually wanted to sit down and play with and the little dude has had lots of fun counting the shapes and telling me all about each colour before slotting them into place and of course tipping them all back out again!

Maybe it was the crazy animal noises that he MADE mummy make each time he got a piece in the right place of maybe it was the fact that the puzzle wasn’t overly difficult which gave him a sense of achievement and therefore captured his interest but whatever it is the Bigjigs Animal Sorting Puzzle has certainly been given a huge thumbs up by this Play Patrol Agent!

Priced at just £10.99 and aimed at Monsters aged 2 years plus this tradition style wooden puzzle is a great buy and would make a perfect present for any troublesome toddler.

You can check out the entire Bigjigs Toys range here.

We make no secret of Monsters book worm tendencies, reading is a huge part of our daily routine and something which we have always encouraged and it’s lovely that the little man seems to enjoy books as much as we do.

Whilst at just 2 ½ the monster is way too young to be reading by himself  however it’s lovely to spend time looking at pictures and reading books as a family so we were delighted to be asked if we’d like to review two brand new Zoe and Beans Board Books.

A few months ago my 4 year old niece took a peek at Zoe and Beans; Hello Oscar and absolutely loved it so I was excited to see if Monster would enjoy the Zoe and Beans board books entitled ‘How Many pets?’ As well as ‘Look at Me!’ as much

Zoe and Beans; How Many Pets?

This lovely sized board book sees Zoe, Oscar and Beans counting their way through 10 pretty pets and with lovely illustrations and bright colours throughout Monster was kept more than entertained. The book has been great at helping us to encourage Monsters counting skills and now all we need is a sequel which helps in our next mission of teaching him to count to 20!

Zoe and Beans; Look at Me!

This cute book shows Zoe, Beans and of course Oscar having a whole heap of fun in their dressing up box.  One minute the trio are dressed up as bumble bees and the next they are playing pirates and robots; it certainly looks like a lot of fun and according to the Monster the trio are silly billys!

Created by dynamic duo Chloe and Mick Inkpen these beautiful board books have the younger reader in mind with fewer words and bigger pictures however they are both still extremely well written and beautifully illustrated and in my opinion a true reflection of the entire series.

With an RRP of £5.99 per book these fun stories are great for mini monsters.

When I was a little girl I had one of those Mr Frosty slushy makers and as cool as he looked no matter how hard I tried all I ended up with was a big block of ice. However Mr Frosty did not put me off my quest to find a fab slushy maker so when we were asked to take a look at the new ChillFactor  Squeeze Cup Slush Maker from Character I was about as excited as Monster gets when I take him to the local sweet shop!

The ChillFactor Slushy Maker comes in three easy to assemble parts; Colourful cup, transparent lid and a cool straw/spoon- perfect for slushiness!

Whilst this funky gadget may look like an ordinary cup It has a whole different dimension. Simply unscrew the lid, pop the silicon cup into the freezer and leave it to freeze. Whilst the instructions state to leave the cup for 4-6 hours, I’d recommend leaving it in there overnight as it took quite a long time for ours to freeze properly.

Once frozen pour in your favourite drink (make sure it’s pre chilled or it won’t work) and squeeze the sides and amazingly it turns into a slushy. But here’s the best bit –  you can pop any kind of drink in there including fruit juice, fizzy pop, milkshakes and even an alcoholic cocktail or two once the Monsters are in bed!

The ChillFactor Slushy Maker really is simple to use and makes some lovely tasting icy drinks which will be perfect if the sunshine ever decides to make a much desired appearance this summer!

Available in four funky colours including red, blue, green and yellow and priced at £12.99 ChillFactor Squeeze Cup Slushy Makers are well priced and completely reusable (after a good old wash) making them fab value for money especially when you add up how many pennies you’ll save by not having to buy slushies’ from the local store!

As I mentioned in my previous Sonic Blasting Iron Man review I am a very newly converted Iron Man fan although even before I’d seen the brilliant film I was excited to check out the Iron Man 3 Arc FX Nerf Gun which I sorry Monster was sent to review.

The Arc FX Nerf Gun came in three easy to assemble parts, even this DIY dunce of a mummy managed to pop it together with no help although Monster did have to help me locate where to pop the 3 AA batteries which the toy requires.

The Iron Man Nerf Motorised Gauntlet comes complete with 10 foam disks and has the capability to fire them over 6 meters in distance and believe me when I say that they come out at quite a speed.

Monster was keen to pop the Gauntlet onto his tiny arm and whilst  at 2 ½ he is quite a lot younger than the recommended 5 year + age range thanks to the adjustable strap we managed to secure it on his little arms fairly securely. Gauntlet attached the little man was ready for action and with a pull of a trigger foam disks were flying around my front room at record speed.

The Iron Man 3 Nerf Motorised Gauntlet has proved to be a huge hit with both the kids and the adults in the family, it’s amazing how much fun can be had shooting the other half with foam disks when he leaves his washing next to the washing basket rather than in it for the umpteenth time that week!

The Gauntlet is lovely to look at, well designed not to mention a whole heap of fun and whilst it makes quite a loud noise when in use you can barely hear it over the shrieks of joy from the little Monster.

Priced at £19.99 the Iron Man 3 Motorised Gauntlet is a brilliant toy and one which we highly recommend.