Here I am again, writing this type of post that makes me so uncomfortable but is always really popular and well received; sharing what Taya received for her first birthday.
We found this birthday so difficult to choose gifts for her, only 6 weeks since Christmas and almost everything she could need we already have from when Amelia was a baby.
Even though it was hard to choose items for her she was very lucky and everything she received is so lovely.
Here we go then;
From Mummy, Daddy and Amelia
Three of these items; Vtech Chase me Casey monkey, the musical turtle and the Fisher Price train with carriages I actually bought from a friend who was selling them on Facebook. I knew they would be in great condition and she saved me an absolute fortune on buying these sorts of toys brand new.
The teddy bear at the back is handmade from Taya’s baby grows that she wore in the first few days of her life. I ordered it from Grace’s Creations and it’s the second bear we’ve had from her. I did the same for Amelia’s first birthday and I just love the sentiment of these bears. Unfortunately the lady who made these bears has closed her shop but there are plenty of others who do the same thing.
The rainbow blanket was also handmade from Pure Cotton Studios (Insta and Esty) I bought it because I love the rainbow print and I’ve ordered other items from this seller and they are all beautifully well made.
The Tele Tubby selection at the back; a soft talking Tinky Winky to go with the Po she’s inherited from Amelia and I just picked it up in Tesco. The smaller figures are a set of 4 and when you twist their waist they make a sweet little chiming noise. Taya just enjoys chewing on their antennas at the moment.
The phone is from Vtech and this is just something small we can take out and about with us, it sings songs and says numbers and phrases. Amelia has a phone similar to this but she’s not fond on sharing it so now they have one each.
The blocks were part of a 16 piece set from The Hungry Caterpillar that I bought from the Aldi toy event and I didn’t even realise until we opened them that they have really sweet little animal pictures on as well as letters and numbers.
From Nana and Grandad
The Fisher Price Gumball machine is Taya’s favourite toy at the play group we go to on a Friday. She learnt to put the balls inside and will spend ages doing it. I asked Mum and Dad to get one for her birthday but it looks like they don’t make them anymore. I ended up finding one on a discount toy store online but it was brand new whereas all the other stores I found online were second hand.
The little pink robot is also from Fisher Price, a Bright Beats Juniors BeatBelle which isn’t a mouthful at all. This was actually meant to be a Christmas gift but we forgot to give it to her so decided to keep it back for her birthday. It’s actually really sweet, it sings songs and the light on the tummy flash really lovely colours. We’ve been taking it out with us as it’s a really good size to go in the change bag.
As a main gift I said I would love for Taya for her own first dolly, Mum said she wanted to get one that looked like Taya because most dolls in stores are white with blond hair. There were a few black dolls around but they didn’t look very nice, the colour of their skin seemed really fake to me and they didn’t have hair like the other ‘white’ dolls, just painted hair. We found this one online from Early Years Resources which seems to be a site for supplies for nurseries and schools etc but she is the most beautiful dolly. Her features are really realistic and her hair is curly and soft. Amelia has actually played with her more but I’m sure Taya will get into playing with dolls when she’s a bit older.
The other items are a pink jumper from John Lewis and some PJs from Next.
We’ve also ordered a handprinted money jar but when I took these photos it hadn’t arrived. We were a little late ordering it but I’ve just picked it up from the post office so I’ll add a photo at the end of this post.
From Friends
The Mickey Mouse hammer toy and Le Toy Van rainbow were gifted from Taya’s Godparents and I’m not sure if they like us or hate us. The hammer toy is the work of the devil, it is so loud in the hands of a 3 year old. Don’t buy it for yourself or for anyone you actually like. My friend is going to read this so just for the record I’m not mad about it, stuff like that doesn’t bother me. I just hide the hammer.
The rainbow though is amazing, I love the open ended play and different things we can use this toy for. I’ve had my eye on this type of wooden rainbow for a long long time but they’re so expensive I never bought one.
Another ‘payback’ gift is the Chad Valley drum. Nice and loud to make up for the noisy toy I bought their boy for Christmas. I think I’m still owed one more revenge gift before we’re even. This one is actually really cool and isn’t even that loud compared to the hammer toy.
Sticking with Chad Valley is the tub of wooden bricks, these are great for tower and house building although that’s more Amelia’s scene at the moment. We did recreate the castle on the box which Amelia was very proud of. Taya at the moment likes to take one out at a time and throw it has hard as she can but she also likes to get a spatula from the play kitchen and stir the bricks which is adorable.
Taya’s also been gifted a matching personalised dressing gown so she can match her sister. This one is from My 1st Years and I love them. It’s so soft and fit really well.
The little dog is a wooden pull along toy from Rex London and I love the simplicity of it. Taya mostly chews the chord at the moment but I remember Amelia getting really into pull along toys once she started walking so I wonder if Taya will be the same.
I mentioned earlier the money box that my Mum and Dad bought for Taya, we also met a friend at the weekend who couldn’t make it to her birthday party so she also received an extra gift when we met up for coffee and cake.
The money box is from Pixie Cottage Crafts on Etsy and it’s so beautifully hand painted. On the back is a little jack in the box and her name.
The nesting boxes are such a brilliant idea. When my friend asked what to get her all I could offer as help was she likes knocking down towers and put things in and out of boxes; and so she bought her nesting boxes. You can make towers and then they all stack away inside each other and it’s perfect. I love the patterns and colours too, such sweet little animals. The box says they’re from The Magic Toy Shop and I think they’re on Amazon.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and if you have a little one expecting a birthday soon maybe it can give you some ideas.
Rachel xx
No Comments