Toddler Hat

We recently visited Florida (you can see our pictures here) and this meant I had to get The Girls' summer wardrobe ready a little earlier than usual.  I bought dresses, shorts, a bathing suit and a hat!

I'm not sure what genius decided that someone wearing a size 2T hat was mature enough to leave their hat on without a strap, but that seemed to be a pattern with all the hats I liked.  Seriously though, the second it goes on, The Girl throws it off.  This didn't stop me from buying the hat I wanted,  but I did need to added one.

I started with this...

Found the seems on the inside and hand stitched some elastic I had at home to the inside.

 Stays on perfectly and didn't change the shape at all!

Am I the only one LOVING yellow and navy these days?

Christmas Shopping for a Toddler Girl...

Christmas is my MOST favourite time of year.  

I love it even more than Fall!  

I think its because, unlike any other time of year, we make time to spend time with family, friends and co-workers to celebrate the season.  

Even though The Hubby is American, and it is against his inner core to start celebrating before Thanksgiving weekend, I have softened him a little so we start Christmas music and Christmas shopping as soon as Halloween is over.  

He even lets me decorate the weekend before Thanksgiving.  

What a guy!

All year long I have seen things I want to buy for the girl but have been holding out for Christmas.

It makes it more fun right?

I know thinking of ideas can sometimes be tricky so I thought I would share some of the beautiful things I am thinking of for the girl.

She will likely not be getting all of them but here is a starting point.

Happy Shopping!

1. A baby stroller for her to push her babies in. Pottery Barn Kids $79.00

2. Minnie Mouse Ears for everyday play. The Disney Store

3. Could these moccasins be any cuter? I would wear them inside and out. Target $14.99

4. Hand stamped silver baby bracelet. Julie the Fish Designs $54.00

5. Toddler size back pac for her stuff when we are on the plane. Skip* Hop $19.00
6. I absolutely adore this jumper.  Add bright tights and a long sleeved-t. Baby Gap $39.95
7. Every girl with growing hair needs some clips to keep it out of their eyes. Target $2.49
8. Baby Stella has magnetic accessories that attach to her mouth. Manhattan Toys $32.00
9. Child size table for crafts or tea parties. Ikea Table $39.99, Chair $19.99
10. Stylish yet cute to keep her warm in our cold weather. Target $10.00

Linking up here:

Baby Tights

The weather is turning cool hear and so las weekend I had to dash out to the store to buy The Boss tights to wear to church.  Last year I posted about Baby Tights here, but it's that time of year again and I think this is hugely important for Mama's of Baby Girls to pick the right pair! There is nothing more annoying than saggy tights...think about it, when your tights sag you feel like you have filled your pants, so uncomfortable.  Now, think about if you are wearing a diaper and likely have filled your pants...ugh terrible.  No wonder babies in tights are crabby.  I think there's no reason girls can't look fabulous and be comfortable while doing it.

So incase you missed my first post on this or don't feel like clicking here, these are my tips!

The key to great tights is not the store you purchase them from it's what the tights are made of.  I have purchased two very different pairs of tights from the same store and love one and hate the other. Here is what I've learned.   The tights that fit the best are mainly cotton (70%), with spandex (25%) and a small amount of nylon (5%).  The tights I hate have lots of nylon and lycra.  My favourites also have the shape of feet cut out this helps them to cling to the Boss' legs and fit comfortably.  The mainly lycra ones bag on the top of her feet instead of clinging making them baggy all over.  When you find a pair your thinking about buying flip them over and read through the materials.


Here are little girl tights I am LOVING this season!

The Gap has really done a great job with their tights.  I love the colour of these dark violet tights, and these cute striped ones.  I also love the ruffles on the bum.  The Boss had a pair of these last year, they were awesome.

 

I am also loving the pink thin stripes, and multi-striped tights from Old Navy.  How cute are the hearts on the bums?

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I also LOVE these from Target.  They only go up to 12 M but if The Boss was younger I would for sure be picking these up.

What Baby tights are you loving?

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Blankie

Meet Blankie...

This is The Boss' prize possession.  What started as a beautiful, clean, pink blanket is now a grubby, hamster smelling, security item.  I literally have to peel it out of the hands of her and plan my laundry loads to ensure it is washed, dried and back in her crib before she even notices it's gone.

While I should be happy she has an attachment item, especially because we travel so much, this blanket stresses me out.  Since the timing of washing it is tricky when I work I always feel self conscious sending her to my Mom's or my Mother-in-laws with it at it's hamstery worst.

I didn't want to replace it, maybe just throw in a sub.   I made the same flannel/minkie blanket for her that I made for my best friends baby here.  I thought if I could sub it in maybe, just maybe I could wash Blankie during nap time.  In an effort to get her to fall in love with it I let her play with the material and Blankie at the same time.

  I was trying to go with the get a puppy to like their crate by feeding them in it idea...you know...if she plays with it with something she loves, maybe by default she will also love it?  No such luck. Oh well!

Happy Bee-day

One of my good friends recently celebrated this sweet girl's first birthday.  Isn't that the cutest little face ever?  I remember clearly the day Julie and her husband called to tell us she was pregnant with Baby A.  We were just a few months pregnant ourselves and so excited for their growing family.  One year later, they are celebrating their sweet girl with a Bee themed party.

She made this adorable flag banner.  It reads "Happy 'Bee' day" how cute!  You can find a tutorial for a flag banner here.  She just sewed her triangles onto a ribbon and then hot glued white felt letters on.  She said she started it a week before the party.  Did I mention she is a busy mother of two?  How in the world do you pull this off when you have two kiddies to take care of?

She made Baby A's dress and headband as well.  The dress is a pillowcase dress with the bee made out of felt and sewn on.  The bee and flower on her headband were just hot glued together and pinned on.  You can find a tutorial for the dress here or here.  I love how the yellow just pops.  Baby A looks gorgeous in this colour.  I think her Mommy is pretty cute too!

Dollar Daze

I've had my eye on these cute growth charts at Chapters (Canada's Barnes and Noble) for a few months now.  Since I had no immediate need for them,  at $19.99 a pop, I couldn't really justify purchasing them "just in case".  When I was walking through the other day I notice they were on sale so I stopped to check the new price...ONE DOLLAR!  That's right these super cute growth chart decals were marked down from $19.99 to $1. 

 For that price I couldn't figure out how many I needed!  I was considering purchasing one at $19.99 so realistically I could get 20 and still come out about even right?  I tried to practice restrain and picked up three of the Safari Round Up and one of the Blooming Tree in pink (the tree also comes in blue).  My plan is to put the Safari Round up in our basement/family room since it doesn't go with the Boss' room decor.  The two left overs will be saved in case I ever have to design a boys nursery and for a baby shower in the future!  It's cheaper than a bow.  I picked up the Pink tree for my Besty who's having a Girl in August.  She is using the Penelope Pink and Brown nursery bedding from Pottery Barn Kids.  This will either look adorable with her decor or for a dollar I thought she could even put it in the baby's closest?

Do you think I should go back and pick up some more?

A Special Baby Girl {Part 2}

The other day I mentioned that my best friend was having a baby and I posted about one of my gifts for her here.  Along with the blanket I also made her some baby girl headbands.  That's right...don't invite me to a shower for a baby girl and think I am going to show up without a headband.  Don't worry baby...Auntie Chelsey has you covered!

Anyway, my best friend is working on her baby girl's nursery (I'll get her to guest post when she's finished) but right now she is struggling with the final touches.  She has a beautiful chandelier that I am envious of.  It is gorgeous glam for her baby girls room. The walls are light, the furniture is dark and the chandelier adds some glam.  She invited me and our other Besty over to help with a curtain crisis, once we worked out the drapes we were trying to figure out how to bring the room together.   It was decided that we needed some glass elements to add the girlie glam.  While I was at my local thrift store I noticed these GORGEOUS mason jars.  So I wrapped them up and gave them to my girl at her baby shower with the blanket.  I know, totally random!  Here's my thought...I put the baby girl bands on these and thought she could display them on a shelf.  The glass would pick up the crystals on the chandelier and be functional in holding baby girl bands.  I told her to give it a try on her shelf and see how it looked.  I am secretly hoping she returns them to me...look how nice they look on my dresser.

*Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of the jars with the headbands on them (Ugh I know)...but they were the perfect size to display them, they were pretty cute!

First Birthday Party Project #4- Birthday Hat Flare

I wanted to do something fun for the little girls invited to The Boss' party.  Since I am obsessed with baby girl headbands and hair bows, see here, I thought it was only natural to make the girls hair bows!

To make your own bows follow my tutorial here.  I made these bows pop more by using a different coloured ribbon in the center of the bow.  Once the bows were done, I simply used a hole punch and cut two holes  in the girls' party hats and attached the bow.  Cute, cute, cute!  The girls got to take these home with them after the party.

Below is a picture of The Boss and her buddy sporting their bows.  The cutie beside The Boss was the best little party go-er...my poor baby was teething bad and not too cooperative.  I believe the song "It's my Party, and I'll Cry if I Want To" suited her for about the first 1/2 hour, so unlike her.  The great part about these hats was when The Boss refused to wear her hat,  the bow was a great compromise.  She still looked sweet sporting just the bow!

DIY Baby Leggings

There is nothing I love more than a baby in a onsie and leggings.  I love their little bare feet and just how easy it is for them to squirm and play but also make diaper changes a breeze.  A few months back we returned to Virginia to visit some of our friends and my friend Julie gave me this pair she had made for The Boss.  I'm not sure if she followed a tutorial somewhere or thought of them on her own but she showed me how to make them.  Here's The Boss sporting her pair from Julie.

I was shocked how easy it was to do.  Here's how to make your own pair.

Purchase women's knee high socks from target.  They generally cost about $2 a pair.   I also bought a Paul Frank pair which was on sale but a little bit more.  The Boss has had a few Paul Frank things throughout her little life so I couldn't pass these up!

Cut out the toes and the heels.

You will use the main section of the sock (the leg) for your legging and the section from the foot as the cuff at the bottom of the legging.  Since I was having problems with my sewing machine this is where I stopped taking pictures (wasn't sure I would get around to finishing these), so I will try my best to explain the rest.

Take the longest section (the leg) and flip it inside out.   Then take the foot section and fold it in half with the inside of the sock touching itself.  I took a picture of this completed pair.

(Sorry for the terrible picture...it was taken at night...no natural light...Photography 101)

Pin the folded section to the leg of the sock with the bottom of the leg section and the open end of the folded piece attached.  Use your sewing machine to stitch around this edge.  I did a regular stitch and then re-inforced it with a zig-zag stitch.  

Done and done!  Look at The Boss.  She LOVES them, and look how nice they look with her onsie.  Love this onsie from Old Navy.  It says "I Love Hanging out with Mom".  We had to buy it when we saw it since we often call her my little Koala.  She loves travelling with Mom.