I steer clear of anything remotely rodent related; mice, rats, the lot… they really creep me out!  But today I came across a mouse that I loved.  It’s the Maileg mouse, made by an imaginative Danish company.  This Maileg mouse comes with a mouse house that has a roof designed to look like cheese, a matchbox bed complete with mattress, pillow and knitted blanket.  For daytime fun the mouse (you can choose boy or girl) has a cotton reel table with tablecloth, chair, teapot and tea cup.  And the doorway even has a little bell and crocheted doormat.  It’s these tiny details that really appealed as they’re great for encouraging imaginative play.

If you don’t want the whole mouse with the house then they also have some lovely Maileg matchbox mice.  The mice come with a matchbox containing mattress, pillow and blanket.  Or you can even buy the little mice by themselves… so cute! Prices start from £7.75 and White Shore has a big selection. 

If these mice have appealed to you, then check out these whimsical mice mobiles for babies… they’re cute and unique!

I recently came across this book by Polly Dunbar and loved it so much I bought, it even though ebabee no. 1′s a bit young.  It’s one in a series of ‘Tilly and Friends’ stories but I haven’t yet bought the others.  This ones about a handbag thief on the loose and Pretty Pru’s the victim.  The handbag of course contains make-up, after all which lady wouldn’t have make-up in her bag? Pretty Pru’s no exception! The illustrations are superb and compliment the text very well.  The best bit though, is this book manages to be happy and cheerful without any annoying over – sentimentality.  This is definitely up there in my list of gifts for older toddlers.  The hardcover one costs £6.39 with free delivery.

Don’t forget to check out ebabee, our little auction site

Much as I hate to admit it, autumn’s in the air.  Where did the summer go?  On a positive, I’ve found some super snuggly and stylish sleeping bags to look forward to.

Aden and Anais create soft and beautiful sleeping bags in muslin.  There’s something very innocent and pure looking about them.  Designed to be worn over pyjamas, they come in a single layer of muslin for warmer nights and 4 layers of muslin for the chilly, wintry nights.  I had the pleasure of feeling these softies recently and they didn’t disappoint.  The classic comes in 0.5 tog and costs £22 while the cozy 1.7 tog ones cost £29.50 with standard delivery from £2.50.

Calling all eco mums… a cot made from recyclable cardboard.  I like the white one which you can customise with stickers, drawings, paint it or whatever takes your fancy.  Its made by Kids Gallery and they donate 5% of the price to Unicef.  I haven’t tried it but am seriously tempted… if ever there is an ebabee no.2.  They say that the cot is the same height as an adult bed and measures 75 x 56 x 62 cms.  It costs about £66 with the mattress and is available form the little fashion gallery .

I’ve just spotted these and had to share.  They’re the new Somnat cots from ikea available in blue, a limey green and pink.  I do love coloured cots and these are no exception. They’re sure to liven up any baby nursery, and the best part, wait for it… they’re just £49.  They have 2 sleep positions, the mattress isn’t included and so far it’s only available in store, not online.  Talk about style on a budget… it doesn’t get much better than this!

How cool are these?!  Giant lego storage boxes that click together exactly like lego (they’re made under license from Lego).  They’d look great under a bed or cot bed or just stacked up high in a toddlers room. They’re not yet available but I hear that they will be very soon.  They come in 2 sizes and in many colours including red, yellow, dark green, white, fuchsia pink and more.  The medium one costs £17 and the large costs £26 with delivery at £5.95 from A place for everything.

I often talk about daddy no.1 but today I speak of another daddy.  Joel is the name and super creativity is his game!  He’s an artist and daddy of twins.  The man is seriously creative and makes the most amazing craft projects with his little ones which he then shares on his blog. Checkout his vintage wood figures.  You can do exactly the same with coloured wooden blocks which I’m sure are aplenty in most toddler households. 

I love the blackfish cafe colouring sheets which are printable so you can colour away at home.  There are loads of cool craft projects on his blog which are do-able by us mere mortals.  And the best news of all – he’s bringing out a toy/craft making book.  Rest assured, we’ll tell you when it’s here.  When he’s being an artist he creates some extremely cool and colourful paintings which are pictured here.

We mean exactly that – rock-on Rosa and Olga as they’re 2 seriously cool rocking horses.

Rosa’s sleek lines made of smooth tough ash wood with a stainless steel handle all combine to create a simple yet stunning horse.  I could go on raving about this wooden beauty but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  It costs 110 euros  + 16 for delivery to the UK, and is suitable from 18 months plus. I’m seriously thinking 2nd birthday present for ebabee no.1.

Olga is Rosa’s pretty cousin! The curves of this wooden horse give it softer feel. Olga costs £109.99 with free delivery and is suitable from 2 years on. Some may even say it resembles santa’s sleigh so the ideal christmas present?  These wooden horses are so wantable that you may even be tempted to leave them out to be admired by your visitors!

Checkout our auction site ebabee

Got a robot mad toddler? An American dad had 2 who slept with their pointy, plastic robots. He decided they needed soft robots that were cuddle-able but cool.  Not finding any he made them, and Bunk Bots were born. There are 10 of them, 5 good and 5 bad.  As the story goes, the good ones left work after lunch one day and never returned.  Instead they decided to hang out in toddler bedrooms.  The bad ones with red eyes want to take over the world but till they do, they too snuggle up with the kids.  The bots are surface washable and have a spot on their tag for name writing.  They cost £12.99 each and are the perfect cool soft toy for all the robot lovers out there.

While we’re talking cuddly robots, we couldn’t not tell you about Mr Robot cushions. They’re sure to be a hit with robot fans or give them as a gift to earn super cool status.  Mr Robot comes in 2 sizes, measuring 40 and 50 cms and costs £22 and £29. They’re made by the Danish company Ferm Living, started by a lady after a visit to a clairvoyant!