We have really been enjoying watching the Olympics with the kids. Specifically, we have been loving watching the gymnastics. They all do their best to imitate what the girls do on the television. It makes for some great entertainment. (Unfortunately, Jacob has also taken to the idea of climbing on top of the sofa and making a flying leap.) We've also watched some rowing, running, and diving. From the moment they introduced the "Fabulous 5", I was completely captivated by Gabby. How wonderful it was to see her win the gold! I even got teary eyed (which is not like me at all)!
We've also enjoyed teaching Ella more about London. She was most impressed with seeing the Queen in the opening ceremonies...not that that is surprising. Andrew and I pulled out a few of our old photos from when we went to London back in 2004. We love the UK and hope we can go back one day with the kids to see more. I think the kids would really love it in another 5 years or so. We also pulled out our "Katie in London" book (one of our favorites!).
So, we obviously have London on the brain because this is what we got the twins for their birthday (which is in less than a month!) I was super excited to bid and win these two items on ebay:
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| ELC Happy Land Royal Wedding Set (for Audrey) |
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| ELC Happy Land Great Britain Set (for Jacob) |
ELC is basically the British version of our Little People. Since Audrey really loves the Little People that we have, I thought she would enjoy the wedding set. Of course, when Ella saw that, she was very excited to play with it as well. I promised her they could share it. The other set is perfect for Jacob because it has a taxi and bus...and that boy is all about things with wheels! It was pretty hard to get these items. I've had my eye on them for awhile, but you can not buy them here in the USA. My husband and I have a joke that all the good toys and children's books are from the United Kingdom...which is actually very true. The only place you can find them is on ebay from an international seller. A lot of sellers were selling that wedding set for almost $100! Yikes! I'm happy to say I won it (brand new in the box!!) for about half that price (and that included shipping). The Great Britain set was a good bit cheaper than the wedding set. I guess every little girl in the world wants a little toy that looks like Princess Kate and Prince William. Anyway, if it something you are interested in, you just have to keep your eye on ebay for deals. I saw lots of other ELC sets that were awesome as well. I might have to get a pirate one for Jacob for Christmas. Again, almost all ELC toys are sold only in the UK.
Besides the toy, they each are also getting a book. Once again, sticking with the British theme, here are the two we got (which you can purchase on amazon or most local bookstores here in the USA).
A Walk in London is such a fabulous and educational book. We had previously checked it out from the local library. Ella loved it (and so did Andrew and I), so we decided to add it to our own little library. And of course...who doesn't love Paddington?! I remember really loving those stories as a child and we have enjoyed reading the ones we have found at the library to Ella. So, we thought these would be some nice gender neutral books to start getting. We have so many stories about little girls, that we need to start finding some decent books that Jacob can also enjoy. Not that a boy can't read stories about princesses, but I am sure he would appreciate a break from all the girly things now and then.
I was originally thinking of making sailboat cupcakes for their birthday, but now I think I might need to do something related to Britain. That would be fun, different, and gender neutral I think. That is the hard thing with boy/girl twins...thinking of birthday ideas that are neither too masculine nor feminine (at least for now). Any ideas? Maybe little British flags? Or maybe an Olympic theme and get them little Olympic t-shirts? I think I've seen some at the Gap marked down to $6 with little British Flags on them. Anyway, that's all my ideas for the big 2nd birthday. We are going to enjoy our last few weeks of cable. We are getting rid of it after the Olympics are over (we really don't watch much cable...we almost always watch movies from Netflix and the kids watch movies we can check out from the library for free).
So how many little girls do you think will be signing up for gymnastics this fall? I'm guessing a lot of little girls will be asking their mommies! Go Team USA! And thank you London for being such a beautiful city and hosting these amazing athletes!
1 comment:
Why was I not a child now and could have a Royal wedding set of Little People? Love them and I know the twins will enjoy them too.
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