Holiday Shopping Deals For Littles

Obviously, I have a great deal to share with you for Nelly Lou! Have a baby or toddler on your shopping list? I have some cute tee's for both boys and girls, turban hats, and headbands (and a few items for adults, too!). Today through Monday, 11/24-11/27, use the code HOLIDAY20 for 20% off your order. 

Remember Bookroo? They're a children's book subscription box, and Penny is in love with it! They have board book boxes for the littlest ones, and picture book boxes for toddlers. They even have a new junior box for ages 7-10. From today, 11/24, through Monday, 11/27, you can get 25% off with the code HOLLYGIFT. It's their biggest sale of the year!

And lastly, our favorite diaper bag company, PacaPod, has a rally great deal! They have up to 40% off select styles today through Friday, 11/24-11/27

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

Nelly Lou

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then this isn't new. But I realized I forgot to post here. My new shop  - Nelly Lou - is now open! I've switched gears and have decided to venture into baby and toddler nothing and accessories. I've started this first collection with just two style t-shirts in 5 available prints. There are also turban hats and headbands for your little girls! Aerated I still have a few things for women, including sleep masks and hair ties. My hope in the future is to also add matching turbans and headbands for women, too!

I'd love for you to check it out:

shop on Etsy

find us on Instagram and Facebook under @shopnellylou

Family photos // Year 5

all photos by Stephanie Rita Photography

You would never know it from these photos, but Penny was very uncooperative for this session. Taking photos with toddlers is no joke. But Stephanie worked some serious magic! I couldn't be happier with how they turned out, and she looks like such an angel haha. 

P.S - I made my dress and Penny's top. My dress is Simplicity 8341. Her top is a mishmash/self drafted kinda thing. 

Apples & Sunflowers

After having to cancel our second camping trip last weekend, we decided to turn the day around and get our fall activities started early with a trip to Applecrest Farms in NH. There was apple picking, frolicking through sunflowers, way too many cider donuts consumed, and bags of fresh corn and other veggies packed in our car for the ride home. 

P was an apple picking champ! We seriously only had to show her once what it was all about. She immediately understood that she was supposed to pull them off the tree and put them in the bag. We were actually pretty amazed about how fast she picked it up. She pretty much filled our bag all by herself!

P.S - see that little turban she's wearing? It's one of my new items from my new shop, Nelly Lou! The shop is still in progress, but I'll have more on that later. 

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!

handmade wardrobe // babydoll

New Look 6518

Alright, while my last handmade top was a pleasant surprise, this one was.... eh. 

For one, it's a tiny bit out of my comfort zone. I have no problem with tank tops and even off the shoulder tops, but there is something about thin little spaghetti straps that has never really been my thing. Second.... I was in too much of a hurry. I just wanted to get it done and over with, and I didn't do any pattern fitting. And yeah, it ended up being a little bit too big in the bust. Not that bad, it still works being a little looser fit. It just would better if it fit right. 

So yeah, I dunno. It sewed up quick and easy and I actually like the look of it in general. Maybe I can force myself to take the time and salvage the fit? We shall see. 

top: handmade / New Look 6518

pants: Loft (old)

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 first camping trip // Acadia National Park

Zach and I have been making a couple of trips each summer to Acadia to camp (see previous years), but this is the first time taking Penny. I was a little nervous about it, you know, tent camping with a 14 month old. But it wasn't quite as bad as I thought! Girl looooooves being outside. And could just play with and collect rocks all day long. And she did great hiking. 

Sleep was.... ok. She didn't take naps. Only quick cat naps in the car and carrier. And man, I know why we don't co-sleep (props to those that do!). P moved around so much, and would wake up and just want to play with us in the middle of the night. I mean, at least there was no screaming and crying. So it definitely could've been A LOT worse. But when we go back next month, we will be trading in our tiny little tent for a larger one that fits a pack and play.

But really, it was an awesome quick little trip. Take your baby on adventures! Even if it seems impossible or like too much work. Do it. I promise it will be worth it. 

If anyone has any questions about what we used for her or how we did things, let me know!