Our Christmas Montage with a Graco Twist

As part of my review of the Graco Symbio, we decided it would be fun to add a bit of festive cheer and music to the proceedings.  This is our video "A Graco Symbio Xmas"...please give it a watch and enjoy our rendition of a whole host of Christmas favourites...with a twist!!

Oh Christmas tree...Oh dear!!!!

It's still ten sleeps until Christmas.  The Christmas tree is still standing, but only just.  Freddy adores baubles.  He thinks they are brightly, coloured little Freddy sized balls, hung tantalisingly on the tree just for him.  His delight in removing them from the artificial bows is palpable.  The grin that spreads across his little face, is a physical reflection of the joy he feels, at the moment when the shiny projectile is hurled across the room.  The satisfying sound as the plastic sphere hits the nearest wall, has Freddy literally jumping for joy, as he runs on the spot on his tippitoes.  It is an activity that has not grown old.  The novelty which I thought would wear off in a couple of days, hasn't!  However many times I return the now rather battered baubles to the tree, I know that within minutes they will be removed again in the same exuberant manner!  Consequently, to a height that is equivalent to Freddy's reach, the tree is pretty bare!  But, who I am to dictate how a 17 month old expresses his love of Christmas!

However, I think even by Freddy's standards, things have been taken to extremes.  He managed to get a hold of his Graco Symbio pushchair and, thanks to its super easy manoeuvrability, wheeled in straight into the tree!  Does he love his new pushchair so much he wanted to put it on the tree alongside his newfound favourite toys, the baubles??  Was he trying to share his new game with his new wheels?  Who knows what goes through the mind of a toddler...but he was very pleased with himself for doing it!

I wonder if the tree will be standing by Christmas?  Only time will tell.  But I'll be keeping the brakes on next time I leave the Symbio indoors!

Best Sleigh'd Plans (see what I did there?)

Today, we thought it'd be a lovely treat for Freddy to take him to the Local Garden Centre to visit Santa.  At the weekends it gets so busy, so when a midweek window became available, it was too good to resist.  We planned to get some lunch in the lovely restaurant and look at all the wonderful Christmas displays that Bridgemere had to offer!

It's only six miles from our house.  We had our annual festive compilation CD playing.  The gorgeous rural setting was a wintry wonderland wrapped in shimmery frost and the sky was blue.  A beautiful day. 

On arrival, we realised Freddy had just dropped off.  We expected the cold air would wake him up when we popped him in his Graco Symbio.  However, once in the comfy, moulded seat, with his fleece lined foot muff toggled up to his chin, the lure of sleep was too great. 

So, with a slumbering baby we made our way into the garden centre.  I love the effort they make to show their wonderful range of gifts, food and decorations in such eye catching displays.

However, the comfortable seating of the Symbio was just too comfy!  Freddy slept on!

In the nativity scene, the donkey seemed very interested in the Symbio with the sleeping Santa Baby inside!  Meanwhile Fred snoozed some more!

Even the big guy himself wasn't enough to wake up my little boy.  His peaceful slumber was uninterrupted. 

Not even Frosty the Snowman with his festive tune blaring, could disturb Fred from his dozing!

We left to go back to the carpark.  We enjoyed looking with wide eyed wonderment at the displays and would have loved to have seen Freddy's delight too!  But, sleep in such a vital part of a toddler's day, that his uninterrupted restful slumber was worth its wait in gold!  The Symbio is the comfiest pushchair I've ever owned, and the seating position lends itself perfectly to napping on the go.  So even if our best laid plans didn't quite turn out how we expected, Fred had a lovely kip!!

The Award Winning Graco Symbio

Graco Symbio Wins Mother & Baby Awards

As one of the reviewers of the Graco Symbio, I am enjoying putting this pushchair through its paces.  I am genuinely loving the Symbio, and think Graco have come up with some great innovations.  So I was not surprised when I heard that the Symbio had been recognised in the annual Mother and Baby Awards 2010.

Now in their 18th year, The Mother and Baby Awards are the Oscars of the nursery industry and the most trusted brand approval mark for consumers.  Winning an M&B 'Gold' is the ultimate recognition of excellence.

When the winners were announced at the ceremony on November 18th, the Graco Symbio scooped the Gold Award for best travel system and the Silver Award for best pushchair.

Congratulations to Graco!  It's nice to know I'm entrusting my son's comfort and safety to your award winning product!

The Graco Symbio at the Lakes!

With all the drama that befell us this weekend, one thing that proved completely reliable was our Graco Symbio!  The unbelievably cold weather could have made things difficult when out and about with a young baby.  Thankfully for Freddy, Graco's cosy toes proved second to none for its warmth and comfort.  The temperature dropped to 3 degrees below zero during the afternoon, but Freddy was able to sleep in the Symbio completely unbothered by the cold.  The thick fleecy material totally cocooned him and was incredibly insulating and the design of the cosy toes allowed us to button it up right up to his chin.  Pulling over the hood protected his face from the wind.  This really was the ultimate test for this feature of the Symbio.  The success of this was paramount to the comfort of my baby and I was so pleased that it lived up to and exceeded my expectations.  He slept peacefully during our walk of the grounds and stayed asleep after we returned to the house.  Obviously, this is one comfy ride!!

The Graco Symbio at the BBC Good Food Show

My last post is all about our day at the BBC Good Food Show.  Not only was it a great day out, but it also provided us with a unique opportunity to test our Graco Symbio.  A busy, crowded event with a toddler in tow can prove to be very difficult.  Thankfully, many of the features of the Symbio turned out to be a Godsend!

Firstly, the comfy, snuggly cosy toes helped lull Freddy off to sleep and he remained slumbering peacefully for a good hour after we arrived.  This gave Daddy a chance to sample the alcoholic beverage freebies on offer!

The basket underneath the pushchair was deceptively spacious.  We filled it with magazines, leaflets, a book, giveaways, some Christmas gifts we bought and our freebies.  I was surprised by how much we were able to place in the basket and nothing fell out or got squished!

When he first woke up, I think Fred would've felt quite intimidated by all the people crowding around at the show, milling around his pushchair.  A flip of the handle ensured he was looking at us when he awoke, so he felt safe and confident and happy.

On the courtesy bus, the compact size of the pushchair, coupled with manoeverability of the swivel wheels at the front, allowed us to get Fred onboard and positioned with minimum fuss.  He sat happily and safely while we made our way back to the carpark.

Facing out to watch the world go by, snuggled up against the chilly weather, we returned back to the car after a successful day out assisted by the unique design of the Symbio.

A Big Sister's Perspective on the Graco Symbio

The Graco Symbio Put Through Its Paces By Freddy's Big Sister

There would be no point in having a pushchair that did not get the seal of approval from 8 year old Kizzy!  She is my canny, discerning daughter who likes to have a hand in all household purchasing decisions!  She has a very mature head on her shoulders and likes to be involved and have her say.  She is also a fantastic big sister, who cares deeply about her little brother's comfort, welfare and happiness.  So today we put the Graco Symbio through its paces to see if Kizzy approved of her brother's new mode of transport. 

She wanted to push him and decided on the outward facing position so Fred could watch the world go by, pointing at cars, cats and other children!  I was very impressed at how well the Symbio handled.  With the wheels in full swivel mode she had no trouble manoevuring around the pavements.  Consequently Fred had a nice, smooth ride.  Kizzy broke into a run at one point to see how well the Symbio coped at speed.  They worked up quite a head of steam which Fred thought was very funny!  Kizzy said that because the Symbio was so light, it felt like she was just running along and not pushing the pushchair at all!  So if I'm ever in a hurry or have a bus to catch I know that it will not pose a problem (although if you've ever seen me trying to run, you'll realise that the pushchair is the least of my worries in that particular scenario!) You can check out her speed test using the link below...

The Symbio Speed Test

Kizzy loved the cosy toes!  It is very soft and fleecy on the inside, an absolute necessity in this cold weather.  Kizzy was happy to know that her baby brother was warm and snuggly!  It met with her stringent approval.  The colour is a real positive feature.  Black and red is a fabulous colour scheme, reminiscent of race cars with go faster stripes.  Kizzy liked that the pushchair and the cosy toes matched and that the cosy toes looked like an integral part of the pushchair and not an after thought.

The reversible handle mechanism was another feature that Kizzy liked.  She was easily able to hold down the button and pull the handle across to change the Symbio from frontward to rearward facing.  It really is incredibly simple to do.  She saw how useful it would be to change the orientation of the pushchair if Freddy was tired or sad. The caring, big sister side of her was pleased by this feature!

So, overall, Kizzy approved of the Graco Symbio and is looking forward to putting it through further paces, all the while keeping her discerning big sister's eye on the proceedings!

When the Graco Symbio arrived....in pictures!

Freddy got stuck in when his Graco Symbio arrived this morning!  Daddy was away in Leeds so Freddy had to help me build his new wheels.  What a good little helper he was!


Oooh...big box!!




What's inside???





Red and sporty...looking good!




Just get this plastic off!




Read the instructions!




I like the look of the seat...comfy and soft!



Nice metal chassis..looks cool!

Just need to put the two together!

The finished pushchair...I'm going to like my new wheels!!

Graco Symbio Challenge No.1 Completed

Constructing My Graco Symbio!

Well, I am quite pleased with myself...even possibly a little smug!  I have before me a brand, spanking new Graco Symbio Pushchair...put together with my own fair hands! 

Now, I have to be honest, it really wasn't difficult.  Has my husband been exaggerating the difficulty factor of pushchair building for the last 22 years just to impress me???  Or have Graco designed their Symbio to be user friendly from the moment it arrives?

The construction was very intuitive with the parts simply clicking into place.  It went together easily and feels sturdy.  I sat Freddy in it and he was quite comfortable and safe...so I think I've built it correctly!

I had a little play with the reversible handle and it was such a simple process to switch from rearwards to forwards facing...there'll be more on that fabulous feature in later posts!

I really like the look of the Symbio.  It's not like any travel system I have had before.  It has big chunky, swivelling wheels and a really modern looking metal frame.  The seat is reminiscent of a car seat and is very soft and comfy.  The straps are secure and easy to do up and undo...not at all fiddly which is a plus with a wriggly toddler.  The raincover fits on with poppers and a zip...I love that idea.  Quick and easy!

Everything seems to have been thought out to make the Symbio user friendly.  My first impressions are very positive.  I look forward to looking at the features in more detail when I put it to the test.

I am now raring to go...just need to figure out how to fold it up to fit in the boot of the car and the world's our oyster!!