Florence was bought a trike for her birthday by her Grandparents & and Great Grandma and I really wanted to tell you all about it, because it makes such a great gift for little one’s and Florence absolutely loves it.

The Little Tikes 4-in-1 Trike is suitable from aged 9 months to 3 years with evolving features to grow as your child develops and learns new skills. We’ve only used the first position so far, in which little ones use the foot rest as they’re pushed along rather than the peddles themselves but Florence absolutely loves this alternative to the pushchair!  Since she was given it, we’ve basically taken it on pretty much all of the little trips we’ve made around our village – toddler classes, pops to the shop, dog walks to the park and even to the doctors for her 12 month jabs. I think if I could guarantee she wouldn’t need a nap, I probably would have taken her into town on it too. She loves being able to sit upright and look all the way around on the go and it puts her in the perfect dog watching position.

When it comes to safety, it very much feels like every base has been covered. There is a five point harness and safety bar to prevent little ones from falling or climbing out on the go and as well as the non slip pedals and fold away foot rest for littler legs, there is a fully adjustable sun canopy designed to protect up to 99% of UV rays. 

It is very easy and light to guide and push with either one or both hands and I was really surprised how well it copes on all sorts of terrain. It’s actually easier to push on gravel than our pushchair and just doesn’t seem phased by any changes in terrain. I was initially a bit concerned about the lack of brakes but having tested it, the trike tends to just stay put when you let go rather than roll away which I think is a genius feature. It’s also quite quiet when you push unlike others I’ve seen so that’s always a bonus. 

The trike also has a handy storage bucket at the rear which can hold everything you and your little one could need for a trip to the park, including dolly – of course.  There’s an ideal little drink cup holder too which seems to hold a whole host of different kids cups (we’ve tried the munchkin 360 cup, the Nuby Incredible Gulp & a Skip Hop straw bottle). 

Overall, the Little Tikes 4-in-1 trike is a super sturdy and practical alternative way to get around for toddlers. I love that it offers plenty of opportunity to learn as Florence grows and she seems to absolutely love trundling along or even just sitting in it! I have lost count of the amount of times we’ve wheeled her around the garden on it too! 

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Last week, in preparation for Florence’s first birthday we headed out to a local park for a little DIY First Birthday photo shoot and an attempt at a cake smash. Having turned to Pinterest for some inspiration, I knew exactly the look I was after.

Florence wore a pink stripe romper from H&M. We borrowed a white teepee from our friends and took along a white bed sheet to use as a blanket. I laid some pink roses close by and hung some ivy around the entrance to the teepee to symbolise her name – Florence Ivy. We took two balloons – a giant silver ‘1’ and a pink latex balloon.

Florence adores Teddy bears & soft toys at the moment so I thought it’d be a nice idea to include some of our favourites in here too. I set them up like a little teddy bears picnic. Each of them have their own little story as to why they’re special to us – one used to be mine as a little girl, one is a collectors bear that Sean and I bought years ago for our future babies, another is a bear from my childhood and the bunny is Florence’s First Build – a – Bear that my mum bought her.

And then for the cake. I chose this pink rose celebration cake from Sainsbury’s for our cake smash and placed it upon a white cake stand. Despite our best efforts, when it came to actually ‘smashing’ the cake, Florence just wasn’t interested! She just looked at us as though we were bonkers.

Instead though, we just let her play with her bears and the balloons which made for some beautiful captures, even if I do say so myself.

I shot these using the SCN, kids setting on my canon 750d. Some are zoomed in but most are not. I edited them, just a little, in PicMonkey adjusting the clarity and exposure.

And there we have it, our attempt at a DIY Cake smash / first birthday photo shoot.

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