Gift Guide: for the toddlers (and other little ones!)

I’m going to be sharing two gift guides this holiday season, for two areas that I think I know a good amount about - sewing and tiny humans! haha. Today is all about toddlers (some work for babies or older kids, too!). These are some of Penny’s tried and true favorites.

Bookroo

This is my faaaaaaaavorite gift idea to share for kids every year! Bookroo is a children’s book club subscription box service. You can choose from 1, 3, 6, or 12 month subscriptions, personal or gift for someone else, and you can choose from board books, picture books, or chapter books. So it works for any age from 0-10! And you don’t have to worry too much about receiving books you already own - their mission is to find and send out hidden gems rather than classics. If you do happen to get one that you already have, take a picture of you gifting it to someone else, and receive $$ off your next subscription! Oh, and Penny’s favorite part? Each book inside the box comes individually wrapped like a present. So each box that arrives in the mail is like Christmas morning!

Use the code MERRYDARLING now through 12/25/19 and get 15% at Bookroo.

*** I received a Bookroo box in exchange for review and blog post, but all thoughts are my own. We have been receiving Bookroo boxes in the mail for years (seriously! search my blog!), and we honest to god love them. Penny flips out when one comes in the mail!)

June & January

when she’s not wearing something handmade, June & January is my go-to clothes for P. They have the cutest basics in all sorts of fun colors. And so incredibly reasonably priced! Everything P is wearing in the first photo, including the bow and sneakers, is from J&J. And we love their pajamas, too!

Micro Kickboard Scooter

Penny owns both a scooter and a balance bike. And while she likes both, she definitely favors the scooter a lot! She got it for her second birthday and its still a huge hit with her - she asks to go out and scoot aaaaaaall the time. The Micro Kickboard scooter she has comes in a whole bunch of colors, and the handles can be adjusted up and down to accommodate for their growing height!

Nelly Lou

shameless plug - my own Etsy shop is filled with handmade headbands and turban hats in sizes newborn - toddler. I also have scrunchies that work for toddlers- adults!

toddler-friendly digital camera

This is something that Penny is getting under the tree this year! She has a a pretend camera and has always loved to pretend to take our pictures, she says “saaaaay cheese noodles!” haha. And recently learned how to take photos with an iphone, so the camera roll is filled with photos of her stuffed animals.

I found this tiny little, silicone covered, toddler-friendly digital camera on Amazon, and I’m so excited to give it to her. I know it’s going to be a hit! She’ll be able to take real photos just like mama and daddy, and connect them to the computer to see them. It also comes in blue!

Tubby Todd

We’ve been using Tubby Todd products since P was a baby! Penny asks for lotion every night before bed, and we’ve gone through a few different brands. Tubby Todd is still my favorite. We also use the all over ointment for her eczema/dry patches in the winter, and the bubble bath is a hit with P, too!

handmade Paw Patrol dress-up costume

If your household lives and breathes Paw Patrol like we do, skip all the little plastic toys (no judgement though, we own all those little plastic pup figurines and toys, haha) and go for a handmade dress-up outfit instead! I got this Skye dress-up kit for P for Halloween, and it was a hit. If you search on Etsy, you can find a whole bunch. Here’s an example of a Skye one (not the one I purchased, but very similar), and you can find ones for the other pups too. Support a small business/maker this Christmas and buy handmade!!

(and p.s - that pink leotard is from June & January that I mentioned above!)

Penelope Flora is 3 years old!

Penny turned 3 years a couple weeks ago, and I realized I never posted any photos from her party here! She requested a rainbow and kitty cat party. Actually, she’s been telling me that that’s the kind of birthday that she wanted for months. And she never waivered. 

Zach made her pretty rainbow cake, and I made the kitty cookies. I found a contact paper rainbow craft on Pinterest for the girls to do, and for extra decorations, I hung up a bunch of the rainbow paintings and drawings that Penny has done over the past few months. I’ll link as many of the other supplies as I can!

Penny’s rainbow dress: Old Navy

Penny’s cat ears: Target

Penny’s sunglasses: Gymboree

cat plates, rainbow cups, 3 and cat candles: Meri Meri

rainbow napkins, rainbow wrapping paper, pom Pom garland, rainbow balloon, 3 balloon (dollar section) - all from Target  

letterboard: oak & made

cat cookie cut outs: Amazon 

Holiday Gift Guide: Bookroo

Hi friends! I have a fun gift idea to share with you today. This is Penny’s third time receiving a Bookroo subscription box (you can see the other two reviews here and here), and we are just as in love with it as before. I love this idea as a gift idea for little ones! Especially if your child loves books and presents like Penny :)

So, Bookroo is a monthly subscription box for kids founded by 3 sister-in-laws. With a subscription, you get 2-3 books in the mail that come individually wrapped. That’s right - wrapped up for them to rip open. Like Christmas morning every time a box comes in the mail. That just adds to the excitement! Presents to unwrap AND new books to fall in love with. And it’s fun for so many ages - you can choose between board books (ages 0-3), picture books (2-6 years old), or chapter books (ages 7-10). The books that are chosen are hidden gems that go through an extensive review process, so don’t worry about getting duplicates of something already in your collection (but if you do, take a photo of you gifting it to someone else, and get $5 off your next box!).

Whether its for your own child or someone else, you can choose between personal or gift subscriptions at varying lengths of time (1 month, 3 months, etc, up to a year subscription). See what I mean about it being the perfect gift?

Use the code DARLINGGIFT now through 12/31/18 and get 15% at Bookroo.

——————-

P.S - our book boxes were gifted from Bookroo. But we seriously do love this woman-run company, and all these opinions re my own.

Owl Love You 2 The Moon : Penny Turns Two!

If you follow me on Instagram, then you've probably seen all of these photos from last weekend. But I wanted to document them here too, because my baby is TWO! We had a small birthday party with friends over MDW, Daddy made her a galaxy cake, Mama went overboard decorating with balloons, and Penny got a scooter, binoculars, sit-n-spin, and so many toys. 

We love our big girl, and I'm still in denial that she's already two. Wasn't she born, like, yesterday?

P.S .....

Penny's dress : hadmade

Penny's turban: Nelly Lou

2 the moon balloons: Studio Pep

leterboard: Oak & Made

pink tray (under the cake): Target

Mama & her Little

Sometimes the bathroom just gets the best light ;).

So you know how me and P adore Mama & Little. Well now they have paci clips that match all your favorite teething necklaces and bracelets! Which is perfect because P just so happened to lose her clip recently, and you know she can't go anywhere without that thing nearby. Oh, and these tees are available, too! I'm completely obsessed matching with my little. My little Mama heart could just burst when we wear these together. 

Twistshake

In collaboration with Twistshake.

P was such a ham while taking these photos, I couldn't stop snapping. Waving and laughing at the daycare kids out for their walk, taking sips of her water and saying "MMMmmm" with the funniest face. This kid, man. And she was loving her water so much because it tastes like strawberries! Have you heard about Twistshake? They make sippy cups in different sizes with a "fruit mixer" to infuse fruit into their water or milk. They also make bottles with a mixer net to catch and dissolve clumps. 

If you want to try one out, you can use discount code hollyjollydolly20 for 20% off.

P's outfit:

dress: Old Navy

turban: Nelly Lou

Moccs: Freshly Picked

Cup: c/o Twistshake

Bookroo

Subscription box c/o Bookroo, but thoughts are all my own.  

You know all of your beauty and food subscription boxes that you're obsessed with? Admit it, you are ;). Well did you know that there is a subscription box for your little ones too? If you haven't heard of it, it's called Bookroo, and they sends you a curated monthly collection of 2-3 books. You can choose board books or picture books, depending on what level your child is at (they even just added a junior box for ages 7-10!). We all know reading with your babies is important, and Bookroo is making it so easy and simple to build their library. 

Not to mention, they go one step further and gift wrap each individual book. Because you know how much kids loose wrapping paper. Plus, it makes it more of a special event, having a gift arrive for them. Penny ripped these things open like it was her job. I'm pretty sure she'll light up when she sees the next box arrive.  

P.S - her favorite one from this month is the 'I Can Dance' book. She loves the little holes for her fingers. I can't wait to see what comes next month!

Our First Year Baby Essentials

Ok, so this post might be a little over due. When I was pregnant, I loved reading other blogger's baby essentials posts, and seeing what else everyone loved. It felt a little weird writing my own too soon, though. Being a new mom and everything. How much did I really know? But now that I'm over a year in to this motherhood thing, I feel like I'm finally able to truthfully tell you what items we honestly couldn't live without during that first year. 

This list could be a lot longer. Of course you need a good carseat, stroller, swing, diapers (we love Target's Up&Up, btw) and a lot of other things.  But these are the smaller items that have gotten so much use over and over during her first year (and some still!).

And P.S - this is in no way a sponsored post. Just items that I really love <3.

1. &  2. Beaba Babycook and WeeSprout Reusable Pouches - I was determined to make P's baby food from then start, and this made it so simple. Even though she no longer needs purees as her main food source, I still use it almost daily to make smoothies and fill squeeze pouches.

3. Freshly Picked Moccasins - Obsessed. They were her first shoes, and still almost the only the only ones she wears. We've had other shoes for her from big name brands. But no shoes stay on her feet like these do. And they're soft soled, which is better for her developing feet. 

4. Owlet Baby Monitor - this may actually be my #1 most recommended baby item. Love love love. They wear it on their foot and it monitors their oxygen level and heart rate while they sleep, setting off an alarm if their numbers get too low. P never had any scary sleep incidents, but that doesn't mean I didn't have some major anxiety about it. Especially with her sleeping in her own crib in a different room from so early on.  She actually JUST stopped wearing it every night.

5. Nest Cam - Honestly, I've never tried any other baby monitors, so I can't compare. But we love our Nest Cam, and that we can access it from our phones and iPads. Wherever we are.  When I was hospitalized last September and P was at home at night with Zach, I was able to tune into her bedtime routine from hospital bed and actually slept with my phone next to me with the camera pulled up. 

6. Tubby Todd - P has some mild baby eczema that flares up every now and then. Their all over ointment helps with it a lot. We also use their every day lotion (omg smellsI so good), their hair and body wash, and their bubble bath. They just released bath bombs that I can't wait for P to try!

7. Mama & Little teething jewelry - P started teething early and chewed on eeeeeeverything. Some teething jewelry is kinda.... eh. But Mama & Little's is so stylish. And i found myself wearing it even when P wasn't with me. 

8. & 9. - Solly Baby Wrap and Sakura Bloom Sling - Baby wearing. A LIFESAVER. Seriously. I love wearing Penny. The Solly wrap was our go-to when she was smaller. I got the sling secondhand, and have been using it a lot now that she's bigger. We also have an Ergo carrier that gets a lot of use, too. 

10. Nested Bean Swaddle - Penny was a little finicky when she was really small. She liked to be swaddled, but that little beast would break out of almost every swaddle and then get really mad. Except for Nested Bean. It was our go-to. And the weighted center that felt like a a parent's touch is a bonus. 

11. Baby Deedee Sleep Sack - She's been in a sleep sack from the moment she outgrew the swaddle. She loves her Baby DeeDee (we use the lightweight one in warmer months, and the heavyweight one in winter). But Nested Bean makes a sleep sack tonal would love to try that as well!

12. Gathre Mats - these things are genius. We have a medium mat that we take with us everywhere, from the park to the beach to camping, etc. As well as a high chair mat for underneath her chair.  Water just rolls right off, and they wipe up and clean up so easily. 

13. Comotomo Bottles - I know this is one of those things where every baby is different. There are a lot of different options out there and different babies take to different bottles. P would only take to these ones. I would recommend giving them a try if you're trying to find the right one for your baby!

14. & 15. - Muchkin 360 cup and Lollaland Lollacup - P didn't really like sip cups at first, until we tried the 360 cups and now she's hooked. They don't spill, and she'll be better prepared when its time to drink out of a regular cup. And The Lollacups we use for her smoothies. They're so cute! Plus the two-part straw is weighted and easy to clean. 

Penny's OOTD

I feature Penny's outfits on Instagram all the time, but I just had to show you this one here, too. Lulu & Roo sent us over this freakin' adorable matching sweatsuit, and omg you guys, I jus't CAN'T. EVEN. Probably my favorite outfit on her ever. And the comfiest looking. You know how you always say, 'I wish they made that in my size' when looking at kids clothes? Yeah, well, Lulu and Roo does. And I think I'm going to need that now, too. 

Also, I don't think I've ever shared pictures of her nursery on here, so here's a peek. You can see some more on Instagram under #seepennysroom.

hoodie and sweatpants: c/o Lulu & Roo

headband: Indie Littles

cats: Bla Bla Kids