A rainy rhyhm kind of afternoon

I have got quite a bit to tell you all in this post including exciting news, a spectacular review and a cheeky competition you can enter so lets get comfy and have a good ol' Chin wag shall we?
If you follow me on Facebook (you can find me here if you fancy a look) you will have seen that back in March I entered a competition to be one of a group of Bloggers to work with a company called The Toadstool and become one of their 'Toad Testers'. I completed my entry and submitted my form and didn't really think that I stood a chance with such popular bloggers entering but guess what, I received a lovely email from the managing director Niki advising me I was one of the lucky bloggers to be picked :D Wahoooo! If you fancy checking out the other bloggers you can see all the other Toad Testers here, I am always looking for new reads and there are some fab bloggers in the group. Keep your eyes peeled for more upcoming reviews from The Toadstool and if you would like to be a Toad Tester for 2014 head over to the website and send them an email asking for them to let you know when to apply - Exciting times! Plus if you sign up to their newsletter you automatically get 10% off your first order.
That's the Exciting News now onto the review.

We have had these beautiful wooden instruments for a while now as Niki knows how much Finley loves his music...I think its just making any noise possible to be honest. haha. As well as the Haba Rythmik set she even added a wooden shaker to the mix!

Well as the sunshine has been out since the weekend so have we, soaking up every last little ray we could and have hardly been indoors. But as the weather took a turn for the worse yesterday, we decided to delve into his music box once again and start making some music.

As you can see from the pictures they are lovely and chunky perfect for his little hands to grab. They look seriously cool, Finley has other little maracas etc but they are all plastic, nothing as fancy as this set. Plus they are wooden!! Wooden Toys = a very happy Mummy. I am a little old fashioned that way, Matthew and I love wooden toys, the look, the feel and also the durability.
We all sat down and grabbed an instrument each, which Finley then swapped with us every 2 mins until he decided he would tap the drum with the triangle..hmmmm! But its not about being perfect, what I want for Finley is to improve his fine motor skills, teach him about rhythm and the biggest thing - have a whole lot of fun. Another major benefit of musical toys is they keep him so occupied, he is one of those children who is only still when he sleeps....seriously! I want to encourage his concentration and 'sitting still' play, I love chasing him all over and that he loves bouncing from me to his dad but when he starts staying with the grandparents I'm not too sure they would love chasing him for hours on end haha! The set itself says that it is best suited for little ones aged 2 but Finley is just shy of 16 months and I personally think it is perfect for him and a toy he can definitely grow with...getting your moneys worth! All for a bit of money saving!

Another great point is they sound beautiful, not like some of his toys we have...does anybody else own a rather annoying CD player with a women singing nursery rhymes a little too over eagerly! Wow *crosses fingers the batteries run out soon* haha. I'm sure there is always one toy in every house like that. But the great thing is you decided what to play, how to play it and what songs to sing along too. My favourite was the triangle, it took my straight back to primary school. Finley was in charge of the drum, he banged it with the triangle, the little sticks and his rattle...anything that made a noise he liked. And for when he is a little older the set came with a booklet of songs we can play all together, fab idea!

Finley and I are seriously loving this set and I cant wait to see how he develops from his now random bangs and shakes to hopefully copying rhythms and learning little tunes. If you fancy buying either the Rhythm set priced £21 at or Rattle shaker priced at £7.90 you can here and here.
We had a great afternoon but unfortunately the weather hasn't improved today, in fact it was worse - Shucks! So I am off searching for more indoor activities to keep that little mind of his busy and occupied until the sun is well and truly shining again.

Here are a few snaps of Finners playing with his toys and also Matthew drumming with Finley's head...which randomly he quite enjoyed.

For some reason Finley was not feeling the 'photo vibe' and the only face on shot I got of him was this one. His little hair tweedle sprouting out and a tiny pouty lip...that boy!

And Finally who fancies entering a competition :)
The prize is £20 off any Haba Summer toys at The Toadstool, they include some very cool sand sculpting toys...like a sand cake!!! I want one haha. So if you have a sandpit or fancy some new funky cool toys its worth an entry.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

I think that is just about everything for today folks, thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely day whatever you are up too!
Love Kayleigh x