baby love

i stumbled into this lovely blog dear baby in one of those clicking frenzies where you don't remember where you started or how you got to the page you're on, but it doesn't matter because you're so glad you found it.

the pictures of the writer's perfect little children are so beautifully, softly taken and her words are the same. her sentiment really speaks to how lucky i feel to have such special siblings, because there truly is nothing like that in the world. here is what she says about watching her two babes together.

My kids are absolutely crazy about one another. Watching it unfold is one of those experiences that I knew would be special, but I couldn’t have fully grasped until it happened. Like when you’re pregnant and everyone says - “Just you wait until you have that baby is in your arms!” and you think you understand love until the moment happens and it knocks you down with such force that you can barely catch your breath. It feels like that.I love when they rouse from an afternoon nap and blink sleepy eyes in each others direction, recognition sets in and they stretch their small arms out to touch hands and faces. They belong to each other in a way no one else in the world does. There is so much tenderness, joy, and intrigue in their interactions. The beauty in what is growing between them leaves me dizzy sometimes.

24/7

in the vein of my much-discussed love for adult-suited products at childrens' stores...i am loving loving loving this clock from land of nod, but to my dismay, it's gone from their website. 

how sweet would it be in a kitchen, a study, a reading nook, a bedroom, a sweet hallway, and yes, certainly a nursery or toddler's room.

maybe they'll restock. my heart is aching for it now. isn't that the way sometimes?

retro innocence in three pieces

 

i love how retro and innocent this childrens' place setting is. it makes me smile when things for kids look like they could have been around when we were kids and in this case, the print was designed in 1975, so it's the real deal. thanks to marimekko at crate and barrel for keeping it going.  

i think this is a great gift for a brand new baby, don't you?

trick or treat

not to be messagey about something as innocent and fun as halloween, but i've given it lots of thought this year. i don't want to ignore it (like our crazy neighbor who thinks kids shouldn't worship the devil), but with obesity an epic epidemic in this country, especially in children, i've decided to make this year's candy bowl at our house full of everything but candy. add to the equation that i'm two weeks off a gastric bypass, i would find it a strange message to be doling out funsize snickers while i can still hardly bend over. feel me?

i hope my little trick-or-treaters will be pleased, and if not, maybe when they're grown-ups they'll remember that they have options the way i remember the people who gave out nickels and spider rings.

image from therabreath

baby soft

with baby gifts, it's always hard to decide (at least for me) which route to go - sweet and cute or functional? and then i discovered aden + anais's muslin swaddles, which are both. these impossibly soft and cozy blankets are so lightweight and natural feeling that they stopped me dead in my tracks when i was visiting with a new mommy and her baby last summer. add to that adorable prints and color schemes and before you know it, you want one of each set. for you! forget the baby!



these come in four-packs, two-packs and singles and in addition to the classic collection, they also have an organic collection, a bamboo collection, and a cozy collection, which is double layers of muslin for the colder months.




i recently told a mom-to-be about these, and when i saw her after the baby was born, she told me she has 24 of them and that she and her husband constantly marvel at their softness and comfort. DONE.



buy buy baby carries slightly different variations on the sets of four for less than the aden+anais webiste, so they're worth checking out, though i think the website itself has the cutest prints.

images from aden + anais

a lovely hand

i love this vintage penmanship sample i once saw on the jayson home and garden website. it's no longer available, as is often the case with items in their flea section, since they're one of a kind and limited in nature. but i just love to look at this piece because it reminds me of little boys and girls learning to write - forming letters and numbers so carefully, so focused on creating just the right forms. i can just see the concentration on their little faces in my mind's eye.


even now, when someone has a beautiful signature or handwriting on a thank you note or even a grocery list, it strikes me. how lovely it is to be able to create such beauty with every line you jot. mine is more like a scrawl, at best. that's something i want to work on. perhaps i'll look into a penmanship class. or just practice really intently, like the little boys and girls.


script sample images courtesy of iampeth

the magic kingdom

have you heard this one? a few years ago, while searching for pictures for their wedding, an engaged couple discovered that their paths had crossed as children at disney world. in the foreground of this picture is donna and her brothers, and in the background is alex in a stroller being pushed by his dad.

at the time, alex's family lived in canada, and donna's in florida. they wouldn't meet until many years later when they found themselves falling in love at work.

it reminds me of this michael buble song i'm in love with that i posted a few months ago. it feels so good to watch this video, just go for it again. it makes me smile in a can't-stop-smiling way.

the universe works in funny ways - don't you just never stop being amazed?

photo from mouse info

tasty harvest

well, i love all things tori and dean, so i might be a little biased, but i really think this might be one of the cutest ideas i've ever heard of. for liam's birthday celebration at school, T assembled mini terra cotta pots filled with hummus (one for each kid) with baby carrots sticking out of them, as if they were growing out of the pot. i only wish i had a picture of it, but you can imagine how great looking they were. i love this as a cute, healthy alternative to the standard cupcakes or cake, don't you?

i think it would be extra cute if you did it with mini carrots with some green still on top...as if you're literally harvesting them to eat!

although i totally love this as a children's snack idea, i'm sort of obsessed with it as a grown-up idea too. i just know they're the type of little touch that charms a house or yard full of guests.

UPDATE: in response to this post, concern about choking was brought to my attention, so that should be carefully noted with this idea. perhaps carrots are best suited for kindergarten and up, with something less hazardous like crackers or pretzel sticks for really young children.

photos from whos dated who, thermopakdirect, sabbah, health tips, and amy surf

simple abundance

while we're on the topic of bracelets this week, my attention has been drawn to the silly bandz craze of the last few months. i'm sure you already know about them, but just in case - they're thin silicone bracelets (much like the jelly bracelets of my childhood) in fun shapes when they're off your wrist, but conform to a regular bracelet shape when on.



kids across the country are collecting and trading them like crazy, so much so that they've been banned from all schools in certain states. i'm less interested in that whole debate - obviously if they're creating too much of a distraction in an educational environment, they've got to go, though i think some teachers' strategies of using them as rewards for good behavior is pretty genius.

what i do care about, and am really thrilled about, is that, at about $5 for a package of 24 bandz, this trend is something so affordable that most kids can participate. on top of that, i love that it's age-appropriate and that it engenders interaction and playing together, rather than each kid having their head buried in an iphone. not only are they getting peer interaction, but they're having fun and learning important social skills along the way, something that lots of kids' trends used to teach, but the digital age has, in many ways, taken away. i love the simplicity and innocence of this for today's kids, don't you?

the today show did a cute story on the fad, and i was really touched by the anecdote one mother told. she shared that the children were often known to each give a couple of bandz to the children who didn't have any...i think it's very nice evidence that when children are happy and having fun, and secure in the abundance they are lucky to have, they feel compelled to give that feeling to others even if it means having less themselves.

would it be weird to get a package for myself? okay, yes, it would. but i do love it for the little guys and gals.

top photo from flickr, 2nd and 3rd photos from as seen on tv guys, 4th photo from amazon, 5th photo from american cheerleader, 6th photo from daily news

wrapped in wishes

since the baby shower i threw a few weeks ago, i've had baby gifts on the brain, and one of my all-time favorites comes to mind. it's called the 100 good wishes quilt from red envelope and it's one of the nicest baby gifts i've found. it's inspired by a chinese tradition and is meant to symbolize the energy, good fortune and loving wishes of the gift givers. isn't that lovely?

silk-screened in a cozy font onto soft quilts in pink or blue are all the wishes you'd bestow on any life, at any age (i love that they include "uniqueness!") and it can be customized with the baby's name and birthdate as well. i adore this idea...isn't it sweet?

all photos from red envelope

the luckiest

mitchell and i realized something really great recently and here it is...between the two of us, we've been to 25 weddings (some together, some apart). of those marriages, 21 are still together. that's 84%.

now resist the urge to explain it away (we're young and in another ten years, etc..) - some of the 25 weddings were almost 30 years ago, and the ages of the brides and grooms have varied significantly.

join me in just appreciating the simplicity and hopefullness of that ratio. it makes me think of this song (video is unrelated) which made me cry on the train by myself a few sundays ago (piano just kills me).

picture from the essential man

baby love

i have to share the most precious pictures in the world with you. i can not take any credit for them whatsoever, as they're taken by an omaha photographer kelley ryden featured on the today show and they were brought to my attention by my kelly. so you see? the only credit i can take is that i am posting them for you to see and enjoy.

kelley and her twin sister (who poses the babies) only photograph babies in their first two weeks on earth because that's when they're the sleepiest. how cute is that? all these pictures and more are featured in their book sleeping beauties: newborns in dreamland. how incredible a gift would a session with these photographers be for the very beginning of a new beginning?

here's a great video clip about the photographers showing how they work. definitely worth watching.

can you believe?

all photos from www.msnbc.com