Optimist

Water resistant Woobees

Heather sent me an email and introduced me to her company Woobee Kids. She was originally inspired to design the uniquely practical Woobee products after the birth of her first daughter. An outdoor enthusiast living is Seattle, WA, she wanted a highly effective and functional product line that is cozy for children and cool for parents. Woobee products promise to be water resistant and you will find blankets, bibs and burps. Woobee products are available at retailers in the USA and Canada and online at SnazzyTots.

Take-g Toys

Via Olivelse I found Take-g Toys. I think it is from Japan, but I am not 100% sure. It is more a piece of art than a toy (which you would definitely conclude after looking at the prices). I absolutely love the shape and the different colors of wood being used. I have no idea where you can buy these wooden wonders from Take-g, but maybe you will find out when browsing the site. There is a small part in English.

Etsy's Friday

Now that I have decided that birds will be theme in the nursery, I searched on Etsy for bird mobiles. A lot of choice: Right mobile is from Peaceswirl and made of vintage metal and bamboo. The red and white mobile is from Australian Lynnet123 and the lower left is from Lupin from the UK.

There are many more choices. The origami birds are from HiphipHooray. The red birds are from Flying Star Toys about which I posted before. The lower right mobile is from Sian and made of recycled fabrics. A difficult decision: what to choose?!

LipFish from Sweden

LipFish from Sweden: design to make you happy!  That's what happened when I saw these fun shirts and play-suits. LipFish is sold in a few European countries or you can buy directly from their website.

An impression of Sicily

Although we stayed in a resort, we have made a few trips and explored the island . We were surprised by the size of Sicily. I just saw on Wikipedia that it has 5 million inhabitants and covers an area of 25000 km2 (10000 sq. miles). Because we stayed in the southeast, we did not visit the volcano Etna (which had some eruptions this year!). The pictures above are from Ragusa Ibla. A beautiful village which has been completely rebuilt after a major earth quack in 1693.

What would we do without Ikea?

After a week of doing absolutely nothing, I have problems to getting used to the daily routine...
Just before our holiday I went to Ikea to buy a few things for  the baby room. My parents, who stayed at our place and looked after Jort last week, have been so kind to assemble a few things and to help with the curtains. There was already an Ikea curtain rail system in the room, but I wanted to have different fabrics to brighten up this relatively dark room. The red curtain can be bought ready-made. I bought the fabric with the birds also at Ikea and my mom has cut it into the right size. This adorable fabric has set the theme of the room, so in the coming weeks you will see more sneak previews in this style. 

Etsy's Friday

Sarah Jane Studios: She just opened her etsy shop and offers the 50 customers a free Happy Halloween card. She creates these wonderful drawings based on her own childhood memories and day-to-day experiences of her little ones. Also have a look at her blog.

Mamax2: Another mom who recently started. She makes these prints based on her original art which are all displayed in her baby's nursery.
I am going to enjoy one week of son, sea and sleep on the island of Sicily next week. Just my husband and me (my parents are so kind to take care of our son), so no posts next week. Will be back on Monday 22nd.

Barts: to cheer up your outfit

When I picked up my son from daycare around noon today, most other kids were wearing a hat. I was surprised because it is 15 degrees and sunny... maybe it is a German thing. Anyhow, I felt a need to buy at least one and I just checked if the brand Barts is sold in Germany and yes it is! Barts is a Dutch brand with a beautiful range of accessories for summer and winter. Of course I also have a special feeling for Barts because my husband's name is Bart and he had a Barts cap a long time ago... Barts is sold in most European countries, all shops are listed on their website.

My son's favorite toys

Maybe you noticed that I do not write often about toys. The main reason is that I only want to highlight things that children really enjoy, not just adults. E.g. most adults like me love wooden toys, but my personal experience is that it does not apply for most children. I would love to get feedback about wooden toys that your kids love and have endless fun with. I think it is good to share experiences with other parents, because there is so much out there!

At the moment my son (2,5 years) is mostly playing with his Lego Duplo toys. It is amazing  how long and intense he can play with it. He likes the fact that all cars (police, fire truck, tractor) can be attached to eachother and the attributes can be used for different events (a hose to put out a fire or to fill up gas). I think Lego Duplo is great too because it's sturdy, it is not too easy nor too difficult to play with and it stimulates creativity.

Ozo Bone

I also found these unique kids' chairs at Kidsfactory. Ozo Bone is multi functional chair for children in the age of 3-7 years. The Dutch designer, Eric  Wijffelaars, studied at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. He designed the chair in such a way that it can be used from all sides. Because the Ozo Bone is super light, children can carry it around themselves! Retail locations can be found on the website. For locations outside Holland, send Atelier Ozo an email.