With the cold months starting in full swing something very important to me is keeping mine and my kid’s cold feet warm and comfortable. Around the house, in the car, you name it. The last thing I’m going to make my kids wear around the house on our hard wood floors or traveling for hours in a car is a pair of bulky boots.

I’ve recently been introduced to Tiddle Diddle-a handmade shoppe for baby’s (and toddlers). Here you can find the perfect little pair of handmade shoes for your little boy or girl as well as several other handmade items that make the perfect gift. My children with my help each reviewed a pair of shoes.

Now first I will tell you and to me this is a good thing, the sizes run a little big. There is elastic in the ankle portion so you do not have to worry about them falling off of little feet, the larger size just gives them a little room to grow. For Olivia who is 17 months and wears a size 4.5 we received a size 6-12 month shoe. I was hesitant with Ryan because the sizes go up to a 2.5-3 year old and Ryan is 5. I decided to give it a shot these being these are soft soled, and they fit. He normally wears a size 12 in most shoes. Now these were not loose on him, but they did work. Ryan loves his. He said “These are comfy and warm.” Olivia is very comfortable in hers and they both wear them around the house on a regular basis. The fabric is top notch, easy to clean, and a nice color that coordinates with just about anything.

The shoes come in a nice pouch, that can be reused. Ryan stores crayons in his that he takes on car rides, and I like to keep small stuff separate in our diaper bag with the pouch that came with Olivia’s.

You can also find adorable aprons for that budding chef in your home, gift sets including a bib, burp cloth and booties, and more. I can assure you that you will be pleased with the quality.

To me, Thomas and his friends of Sodor are simply classic. My brother used to have a Wooden Thomas the Train set that we put hours and hours of play time into. Now, 20 years later, Thomas is still around with even more to offer.

When the opportunity arose to review the Thomas Wooden Railway Talking Railway Series Farewell at the Docks set, I thought this would be the perfectlove Christmas gift for my son. Or even my son and daughter combined. I was going to test it out myself to share with you all until Christmas. Instead, I couldn’t stand the anticipation of them opening it and trying it themselves, so much to my kids’ enjoyment we put it together the night it arrived. They it. I decided what I am going to do instead is purchase more pieces and have a giant track set up around the Christmas Tree Christmas morning, courtesy of  Ol’ St. Nick.

On to our thoughts. First, I would like to say that this toy is not recommended for children under 3, and many of you know that my daughter is under 3. She is 17 months. We do not let her play with this unsupervised. When we are with her however she has just as much fun as Ryan does driving the trains around the track and filling and un-filling the “Party Supplies” or cargo.  Ryan has enjoyed creating several different shaped tracks and he loves using the crank on “Cranky” to load and unload the cargo which in this set happens to be “Party Supplies”.  As Thomas or Spencer travel past Cranky and Sir Topham Hatts’ station the child can push the button where Sir Topham Hatt will recognize each engine.

From a moms’ perspective I love that not only does this let their imaginations soar but it is excellent for the hand eye coordination. I watched Ryan piece together the tracks in a fashion that still makes it go around and watched Olivia put the cargo in the trailer just so. I love that it’s not too noisy and they use their own words when pretending to be one of trains. I love that it completely comes apart not only for the set to be put away nicely but for a fresh start the next day.

For more information you can view this set and other fabulous educational but fun toys at Learning Curve. There you will find further details in general and where to purchase.