What Little E has been up to this month: April

Time for a round up of what 3yr old little E has been up to during April.

Magnetic reward chart, Amazon.co.uk

Little E has been: Earning rewards

Little E's behaviour hasn't been fantastic since Little I was born. To try and focus her we have been rewarding good behaviour such as going to bed nicely, staying in bed until her Gro Clock sun comes up and listening to instructions. We bought a chart which doesn't have days on but simply has 16 steps to get to the castle. When Little E reaches the castle she gets to go horse riding on her favourite horse Chester.

Luckily the kit comes with a magnetic horse (well, unicorn) so the chart illustrates the reward on offer really well. It also comes with a butterfly and a princess so you can use it for multiple children at once. We decided to reward positive behaviour and, therefore, she doesn't move back steps when she is naughty. It took Little E 2weeks to reach the castle and at the weekend she went for her first solo lesson on Chester (usually she just goes for a walk). She was very excited and did really well in the lesson practising balance techniques such as riding one handed and riding backwards! We are very proud of her and her behaviour generally has improved dramatically.

Little E has been: Watching Frozen (non-stop)

It is an obsession. She absolutely adores it. The only other film she acts this way with is Beauty and the Beast which has been her firm favourite full stop. Elsa is her favourite character and she sings along to 'Let it go' waving her arms about and stomping her foot imitating the snow magic. Hilariously she also mimes along with the songs overexaggerating the words. I should make a film of her and she'd become a YouTube sensation! Husband is as obsessed with the soundtrack as Little E and she often tells him off for singing along. Luckily the songs are damn good (which makes up for the slightly weak storyline) so I'm not suffering like I did when The Swan Princess was flavour of the month.

Little E has been: Obsessed with dresses

This has become a bone of contention as she wants to wear dresses everywhere. Most often weather inappropriate garments made from thin cotton when it is raining outside. It coincides with her interest in dollies and being a mummy. Often the mornings are a battle to get her into leggings or jeans if we are off to the park only for her to pop up to her room ten minutes later and reappear in a party dress and sparkly tights. We spend lots of time bargaining over what is acceptable to wear that day and I'm getting flash forwards to what it is going to be like when she is a teenager. The other obsession is plastic heels. She totters about everywhere in them and can walk better than I can in heels! We have had to implement a 'no heels on the stairs' rule as more than once she has nearly tripped up. If a quick punishment is required confiscating her heels seems to be the most effective method of discipline. I worry for her future bank balance if this dress and shoes fascination continues...

Little E has been: Drinking new Ribena Plus Orange and Mandarin squash

Unfortunately Little E won't drink plain water and is obsessed with juice. So when we were asked to try the new Ribena Plus Orange and Mandarin she was the perfect guinea pig. The juice does not contain added sugar and is fortified with vitamins A, C and E. The colour looked amazing, like freshly squeezed mandarins but the taste was quite disappointing. I had to use loads of juice to make it taste of anything. I'm not sure if this is because I have been using concentrated juice for a while now so my ratios are off but regardless the bottle emptied pretty quickly! Little E quite liked it but said blackcurrent is still her favourite.

£2.89 for 850ml

Little E has been: Eating Easter chocolate

By the bucket load constantly since Easter and we still have loads calling to me from the fridge... My diet has suffered.

We were sent a bottle of Ribena Plus for review purposes but all opinions are our own.

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