A Second Birthday Wishlist

Well here we are, mid way through September already and I'm really rather anxious because this time last year I was super duper organised and had almost every detail of Willow's first birthday planned and ready to go, where as right now at this very moment in time, there have genuinely been zero birthday preparations going on at all.

And by zero, I really do mean absolutely nothing at all has been sorted out.

There are no birthday party plans - although I think we will wait until her third birthday for a proper shindig - there has been no birthday cake ordered (there were two specifically designed last year!), there is no birthday outfit planned (last year there were two different ones, both of which had been made especially for Willow and they were personalised too), and perhaps the most important, there has been no birthday presents decided upon either.

I'm totally stuck for ideas, so this post is kind of a "getting ideas for Willow's second birthday at the very last minute" kind of a post - something to help me out a little bit I suppose.

So...what could be on my beautiful little lady's "My Second Birthday" wish list...

~ Dress Up

This is quite a new love of Willow's really, she's gone from absolutely hating having her clothes changed to really enjoying all the cute fancy dress costumes within a matter of days really...

And now that she doesn't mind a bit of fuss and faffing around with outfits I'm really looking forward to having lots of cute little costumes - things a lot more OTT than any day-to-day outfit ever could be - all hung up on a little dressing up rail for her.

~ Super cute ~

~ Learning and Educational Toys

Willow is also just beginning to get into puzzles and jig-saws and will actually sit down long enough to have a proper go at them now and I really want to push her on with this as much as I can.

Anything that will get her thinking and her brain working, but that is still fun, is a sure fire winner.

~ Books

Can children ever really have enough books?

We have so many in our house and Willow has reached the point where she loves having stories read to her...

Her attention span hasn't quite reached the point of us managing to have a full on, word for word read through of any book substantial in length though, but short, snappy stories with interesting, colourful pictures are her favourites right now - oh and anything with a "lift the flap" option gets the thumbs up too.

I think we must read her four most beloved stories, oooh, at least a dozen times every day.

So a few new books are a birthday must too.

~ Arts, Crafts, Stickers and Messy Things

Now I'm not going to lie, I'm not a messy play fan - paint and gunky glue all over just isn't for me - mainly because whenever we try it Willow wants to eat the paint or the glue before we've even begun the activity and then she cries and doesn't want to bother with what we had planned anyway.

But I know I have to do better for Willow's sake.

She was really fussy with any sort of mess when she was younger - before she could walk anyway (which wasn't too long ago really) - and she hated having paint or mud or sand or shaving foam or even play dough on her hands at all.

And back then, well I wasn't a fan of mess and mud at all but now, well now I just go with it and Willow is much better too - she loves a good puddle jumping session in the rain and will happily dig in the mud.

So we really do need to be getting the paints out more often and I need to invest in more crafty type things - and stickers, the girl loves a good sticker book.

~ A Bike

Now myself and the Hubby are divided on this - I really want Willow to have a cute little bike, something like a smarTrike maybe, because a girl's never too young to own her first set of wheels now is she, but her Dad thinks we don't need to bother just yet; that we don't have the space in the house or the garden for one; that the weather will be too miserable to use it that often soon; that it will be just wasted...

* sigh *

I mean I suppose he is right, on all accounts but still, they are really rather snazzy aren't they...

~ A Cabbage Patch Doll

Willow has a few "proper" dolls already (not the teddy or soft squishy type), not lots, maybe three I think...

...but she has fallen a little bit in love with a little bald, unclothed Cabbage Patch Doll that lives at a playgroup we attend a few times a week.

She has started to search it out and then will spend a good amount of time carrying it around, planting kisses on it's little hairless head.

It is all too heart meltingly adorable really.

~ Anything And Everything CBeebies Programme Related

Do you reckon Sid, Andy or Justin are up for home visit birthday appearances?

We've had a total change of TV Loves recently and whilst Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly do still get the occasional look in, we are all about the CBeebies train theses days...

It's really nice actually because most of the programmes - and most of the presenters - were around when Charlie was about one year and loved all of the shows himself.

It's lovely watching them all again now, a whole decade later, with Willow.

And I really do love my daily "Duggee Hugs".

And so, I wonder what will actually end up landing at the birthday girls feet come October