Book Mobile

Bea loves to read and I'm always looking for books to add to our collection.  We currently have a combination of books that were mine growing up and ones that we've purchased or were given as gifts.  So, I thought I'd list a few she likes every week and would love to hear back from you on what your kids love!

My Good Morning Book

My Good Morning Book was a book of mine growing up.  I don't really remember it but Bea is constantly drawn to it.  If you have a toddler (or are going to soon) you will quickly find out they love repetition and this definitely includes books.  This is a sweet story about a little boy and his morning routine.  Nothing fancy, but really cute.  We're currently on the hunt for My Good Night Book!  

Pat the Bunny

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt is a children's classic.  I read this a lot to Bea when she was much smaller and she's had a renewed love affair with it in the last few months.  She loves to point out Paul and Judy and do the things that they do.  In fact, she has loved it a little too much, we're now missing the front and back covers and I fear the rest is soon to follow!  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on favorite children's books of yours and your kids!

Heather 

The Worst Parent Ever

You know when you do (or say) something and then immediately think, "now why on earth did I do/say that?".  Just over a week ago I had one of those moments (I probably have many more, but this one is particularly painful).  A friend of ours had told us about an amazing garage sale and since we needs tons of furniture for Bea's room and the baby's new room we arrived early to check it out.  Travis was taking Bea out of the car and I went ahead.  I walked right by a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe and thought to myself "Bea would love that, she's always enjoyed them at other kids homes" and, like an idiot, kept on walking.

I went straight to the kids clothes and picked up a ton of baby legs, still in the package (the seller evidently used to own an online store) and went over to find Bea running at full speed towards the Cozy Coupe.  She immediately opened the door, jumped in, and closed it.  Now, this would be so bad except for the couple with a much smaller little girl who were hovering over the car.  So T goes over and asks if they are going to buy it and (of course) they say yes.  Cue desperate crying and Bea yelling "No, No, No" as we had to physically remove her from the car so they could purchase it.  And the entire time I'm thinking to myself "what an idiot, I walked by, thought she would love it, and kept on walking".  The only thing I can say to justify my actions is that my pregnancy brain has gotten the better of me, but I can tell you I've thought about little else since then.  I've scoured Ebay and Craigslist for a Cozy Coupe and am shocked how few there are.  But, today we had SUCCESS!  We found one about 20 minutes away and you can see how happy Bea is.

The only crying from today was when we had to go inside and stop playing with it.  And I feel much better (although I am still kicking myself for missing out on a $4, yes, $4 toy like this).

Heather

Playroom Picks

Fortunately we were spared by Irene's power outage and flooding this weekend so I had plenty of time to browse online looking for pieces for Bea's room, playroom, and the baby's new room.  Here are a few items I'm putting on our wish list.

Loopty Loo Teepee found here

How cute is this tee pee?  I love the fabric and the fact that you can personalize it with your child's name.  Of course I don't know if the pink floral really works if Baby No. 2 ends up being a boy and the price tag is a little high, but this is still adorable!

Library sign found here

And this would be perfect over the corner of the playroom with bookshelves and Bea's green/white floor cushion.

Heather 

The Addition of One More

Via

Since we're under 3 months until the due date of Baby No. 2 I've started to seriously think about what kind of an impact our newest addition will have on Beatrice.  I feel like I've read countless articles and heard from countless other mothers what worked for them and what didn't, but I know in the end it's going to be a big change no matter how we approach it.

Thankfully the hospital we're using this time allows siblings to visit.  I can't imagine what kind of shock it would be for me to leave for a few days and arrive home with another baby.  She would probably never want me to leave the house again!

So, as of right now our plan is to have Bea come and visit shortly after the baby is born.  The "baby" will bring her a few gifts (numerous mothers have told me this was such a good thing for them) and neither of us will be holding the baby when Bea enters the room for the first time.

She's actually really good with younger children, in fact, some friends were over this weekend with their 9 month old and she cried and cried when they left.  So I'm not too worried about that, but having another baby around 24/7 is a difference than a short visit.

Any ideas or plans that worked for you?

Helpful Hint

I've always found it helpful when other mom bloggers pass along info that apply to my life as a mom so I thought I would start sharing a few of my own helpful hints.

My first helpful hint is how to clean bibs.  While I know this might not be life changing, I do find it extremely useful.  After struggling with fabric bibs for the first few months of solids I quickly moved over to the waterproof ones (we mainly use Bumkins).  These are so much easier to clean but one big problem is that even after a soapy wash in the sink they can start to smell.  Especially if your little one likes milk (and happens to spill some).

The most effective way I've found to deal with this is by soaking them in a bowl with equal parts distilled white vinegar and water.

I usually vary the soak time depending on what I'm doing but I would suggest at least an hour if you have the time.  After this I just rinse with water and the smells are gone!

Hope this helps!

Heather

Stroller Time

I'm on the hunt for a stroller suitable for 2, my daughter Beatrice (who will be 22 months when the baby is born) and Baby No. 2.  I know this isn't a must have before the baby arrives, especially since it will be the beginning of winter so I doubt we'll be taking any long walks, however, I've been looking at strollers since we found out I was pregnant and am basically at the same point I was 28 weeks ago.  I think I've found one I like and then I read both positive and negative comments about it and am not so sure.  Also add to the fact that at the beginning of my pregnancy I was looking for a stroller suitable for the city and now we are in the suburbs, which is an entire different animal.  Our current stroller for Bea had to be almost like a car, big enough to hold a shopping trip plus all of her necessities for a trip out.  I completely bought the wrong stroller for Bea so I'm determined not to make the same mistake twice, especially considering the price of them.  I'm currently (seriously) considering the following:

Uppa Baby 

City Select

Of course there are pros and cons with both, I've read a lot of people love the ones like Phil & Ted's, but I just think that Bea will hate sitting in the bottom seat and I really don't want a fight every time we need to go somewhere.  Plus, I wouldn't want to sit facing someone's bottom for an entire afternoon, so I kind of understand that.  Now, in my ideal fantasy world I would have this stroller:

Bugaboo Donkey

But, seeing as it starts around $1500 for the double and we won't be using it in as heavy a rotation as before I'm going to have a difficult time justifying it to T.  And to myself.  We have a lot of things that the extra $700/800 it would cost could go to.  So for now I'll just have to admire it from afar.  Although I may just drop by and see it in person this week.  You know, just to add insult to injury.  

At any rate, I'd love to have opinions on double strollers that worked or what didn't!

Heather 

Playroom In Progress

Bea's play kitchen arrived this weekend and her pots, pans, dishes, and some food arrived today.  I had originally wanted to paint over the red (back when I thought I would do the playroom in greens and blues) but now I'm thinking that I'll do a rainbow of colors instead.  So, here's a shot of the kitchen and Bea checking it all out.  It's not staying put in front of the window, we have a lot of rearranging to do, but at this point I can't make up my mind about anything.  I'm going to attribute that to pregnancy.

I'm also thinking about storage options for all of those dishes and food pieces.  I remember seeing a few small bins at Target today that I think will work.  I would love to have her playroom done in the next week or so, but I'm having a hard time deciding on a rug, I never knew how difficult it would be to find a good striped rug.  So far I have about 3 choices, with Dash & Albert in the top spot.  I think we'll try and find a store in our area so I can check them out in person.  But here's the one I have my eye on:

Dash & Albert Palm Beach Ticking Rug

But, I also found this again today (I had spotted it online a few weeks ago and completely forgotten about it):

Dash & Albert Steps Wool Hooked Rug

I'm just wondering if all of the primary colors will gel with this one?  Of course, there's always the Missoni for Target collection that will be out in a month.  I'm sure they must have some good rugs.  Ah, how I miss being an Editor when I was privy to all of these things before they hit stores!

Heather 

Home Sweet Home

Bea enjoying her new backyard

We finally moved and our in our new house.  The switch from Brooklyn to the burbs of New Jersey has been a little difficult but there are so many things we now enjoy, space being number 1 on my list.  Since baby no. 2 is due in about 3 1/2 months I'm feeling a ton of pressure to decorate and organize before his/her impending arrival.  First up is Bea's room.  We put up 4 paint testers yesterday in both Bea's room and the soon to be nursery.  I'd always thought that I wouldn't want pink as a main color for her room, but what do you know, I found the most adorable inspiration images over at Making it Lovely and I think I'm going to do Bea's room in pinks, oranges, and greens.

 Eleanor's room over at Making it Lovely

I mean, how cute is this?!  I'm going to have a hard time not copying it exactly.  

I'll make sure to post before/during/after pictures as we accomplish things!

Heather