Tea For Two... or More

It's Will and Kate's BIG day!! Our DVR recorded the wedding and I will be watching it later today when I am more awake. Aliyah and I have our own royal invitation to a princess party! Mommy Shop is hosting a story time with Cinderella.

We also plan to make a stop sometime during the day for a cup of tea to celebrate. Speaking of tea... look what I found online:

Oh Heavens!! What a cute tin cup tea set from Hearthsong. So Lovely.

Need some ideas for a good cup of tea in Kansas City? Check Out Happybottomus

Easter Weekend: Part Two

A good friend of ours, Stephanie Campbell, shared this special Easter dress with Aliyah. I was so excited when we got it. Isn't it just perfect?! I love the pink ruffles and brown bunnies - it is so unique!! I really can't say enough how much I love it.

Ruffles must have been the theme of Aliyah's Easter this year. Her YaYa made this amazing Easter blanket!! It is so very cute and also has adorable pink ruffles. SO much time and love that went into making this - it is such a special blanket. Not sure if you can see this, but there are little hearts that her YaYa cut out and hand-stitched on each end - amazing!

On Saturday, Aliyah's great aunt Terri (let me emphasis the great part... and that goes for all her great aunts!) surprised her with a few cute summer outfits and this ducky duck! This guy has us laughing our heads off over here. He sings, but if you tickle him under his wings, he stops singing and laughs and laughs and laughs.... Aliyah loves him and dances every time he sings.



We spent Saturday and Sunday visiting between families and celebrating Easter together. It was a lovely weekend even if the skies were gray. Thanks to everyone who made our Easter so great!

Easter Weekend: Part One

Fridays have been so much fun these past three weeks since Tyler has been able to get off work early. This past Friday, Aliyah and I picked him up and went to Crown Center to see the Easter Bunny. I can sum up this experience in two words - Stranger Danger!

Aliyah and her friend, Matthew, had more fun playing with each other and sharing Cheerios than visiting with the bunny.

Aliyah took a better picture after the Easter Bunny went on break, although I wish I wasn't hogging the middle of the bench - oh well.

The three of us decided to go exploring for a new cafe and ran into this cute strip of shops with Cafe Europa on the end.

Aliyah had a "costume change" and then we all had lunch. It was really good! There is something about hanging out with Tyler during the afternoon on a weekday that feels a little like we are breaking some kind of rule... or skipping class... not that I know what that feels like...

Toward the end of our meal, we were the only people in the cafe, so we let Aliyah down to do some exploring of her own.

Being a cafe/bakery, we had to grab a pastry before we left. Tyler ordered a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing and I devoured an apricot bar. We really are doing a great job of changing our eating habits so every once-in-a-while we don't feel guilty to treat ourselves.

Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow to see more of Aliyah's sweet Easter dress, a beautiful handmade blanket and other fun goodies!

Birthday Girl

Oh darling, darling - You’re the Birthday Girl!

I can’t even believe Aliyah will be a year old one month from today. I still have days when I have to remind myself that she is not a newborn any more. I feel like we just carried her all bundled up and sleeping from the hospital yesterday - or last week... maybe last month - but almost a year ago?!?

Despite my denial over how old she really is, I have to admit that I’ve been pretty excited about planning her first birthday party for awhile. I had all the time in the world to think about it because it was so far off. Except now the calendar tells me that it is one month from today, I better have my ducks in a row because our house will be full of folks celebrating our girl’s first year of life.

Here’s What We’re Planning:

Theme: You Are My Sunshine (with a little vintage flare)

Colors: pinks, orange and yellow

Food: glass mason jars filled with pink lemon aid, pulled pork in honor of Aliyah's favorite first bites of a "real" meal, and Tyler's famous yellow lemon cake. I plan to enlist the help of a few fabulous family members to make most of the food - I will work on a few delicious sides.

The Fun Stuff: a homemade photo booth, sidewalk chalk love notes, sunshine themed music, and an exciting twist to a traditional birthday party (more about that later!)

Decorations: I'm (with huge help from my mom) making a few pretty handmade paper lanterns/tissue paper flowers, colorful party hats in her birthday colors, sunny cupcake decorations, a fun way to display photos from 1-12 months, tasty party favors for our guests to take home and possibly a vintage birthday banner (if time allows). And balloons - lots and lots of balloons!

Love this from bopeepbaby

We decided to keep our celebration intimate by only inviting family and two close friends. We have a decent size house (for the three of us, anyway) but we also have a pretty big family. So I’m crossing my fingers it is a fairly nice day and we can make use of our deck and yard too.

I am so in love with how Aliyah's invitations turned out!! They were designed by my mom and myself. Because they are handmade we were able to easily customize them with her birthday colors, theme and a photo. (I will post a picture of them later - I haven't mailed them yet, and don't want to ruin the surprise for any family members reading the blog.... BTW family - don't plan for dinner on Saturday, May 28th)

So there you go - a sneak peek at my sweet girl's sun shiny inspired happy, happy birthday celebration.

We’ve still have a lot to do before the big day arrives!

Amber Teething Necklace

First off, let me say how much trouble our cat is in right now for chewing up the cord that connects the camera to the computer! I was planning on posting Easter pictures today, but I guess that post will have to wait.

As you know, Aliyah’s first tooth finally popped up last week... and we had no idea!

No drool - No sleep loss - No extra crankiness - No runny nose - No fever - You get the idea?

She had absolutely no typical symptoms of teething. Have you noticed this necklace on Aliyah before?

Our completely natural way of dealing with teething symptoms causing ZERO side-effects: Amber Teething Necklace

How It Works: These necklaces are made to wear, not to chew. Because Amber is not a stone (it is a fossilized resin produced by trees) it is easily absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream when warmed naturally by wearing it against the skin. The external layer of Amber contains 3%-8% of succinic acid (not the type of acid most people think of). Succinic acid is natural to the human body and works with the body to support the immune system, reduce pain/infection/inflammation (can even help with eczema), calms nerves and restores overall health.

Who’s It For: EVERYONE!!! Girls AND Boys!!! The colors don’t affect the amber whatsoever – many people use the darker colors for boys and lighter colors for girls… However, Aliyah  wears light & dark beads (I don’t think it matters one bit). Amber is good for adults too!

Care: A necklace can be cleaned by using a soft cloth to wipe each bead. You can also rinse with clean spring water and dry in the sun. Take off necklace when swimming or bathing to help the string hold up longer. They last a long time – Some Amber necklaces have been passed down through generations!

Safety: Necklaces should be removed when children are without supervision. There is a knot between each bead so if the necklace breaks, only one bead should come off. The beads are small so if one did happen to be swallowed the child would be less likely to choke. The clasp is plastic (not silver) so if there is strain on the necklace it will easily give way and allow the necklace to break off. Round beads help the little ones wear this necklace comfortably – Chips of Amber should be worn by adults only.

Aliyah sometimes reaches up to touch her necklace right when I put it on her, but once it has warmed up against her skin, she never messes with it. I really do believe that this necklace has helped Aliyah through her first tooth and will continue to help her through her toddler years & beyond (I also think it helped her when she burned her hand on our last vacation).

WARNING: This month the FDA changed their recommendations that now children under 2 years old NOT be given products with benzocaine (like Orajel) in them because it "may cause a serious and possibly fatal condition" (list of OTC Benzocain products from FDA website)

We have not had to use anything besides Aliyah's necklace for teething so far and she looks super stylish!

We got Aliyah's necklace from Happybottomus.

Do I Have Something in my Tooth?

Check out this little bugger - the reason our sweet girl spends most of her day trying to fit her entire hand into her mouth to chew on it. So far we have had no loss of sleep, no drool, no extra fussiness or runny nose due to this tooth! Is it luck? Could it be the Amber teething necklace? I will keep you updated.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!! What are you doing "green" today?

She Called Me Mama

I’ve been mouthing those words to her for months. “Ma ma. Ma ma. Da da Da da”

The word was so blatant. Not an accidental combination of syllables. Not a “I think she said...” Mama. Clear as a bell.

I had heard this sound come from her lips before, but never had it been directed toward me. I had stepped out of the house to run a quick errand. When I came back home she smiled, reached out to me and said "mama" - In that moment, she wanted me to hold her. her mama. me.

What a momentous occasion in the life of a new mom - the very first of a million times I hope to hear mama floating from her small lips to my ears.

she called me mama. she called me mama. she called me mama!!!

A Peek Inside Aliyah's Easter Basket

Even though Aliyah will not find any jelly beans or chocolate in her basket this year, I think she will enjoy the treats left behind by the Easter Bunny. All she needs now is a basket!!!

A few sweet little things I had tucked away:
Easter BabyLegs - yellow canvas sneakers - a soft pink blanket

We picked up some new (technically used) cloth diapers at the Happybottomus diaper swap this past Saturday. I love the bright colors and fun pattern on these Fuzzibunz. We are looking forward to adding another brand to our cloth diapering adventures.

 Wee Can Too has some incredible natural products for kids. Aliyah is getting these edible finger paints (just add water) made from organic fruit & veggie powders - safe enough to eat! I'm looking forward to posting more about this next week.

Because I am so excited about the products that Wee Can Too has to offer, I am also adding these edible veggie crayons since Aliyah has shown some interest in scribbling lately - plus if they do make it to her mouth they are 100% safe.

It maybe a little ridiculous that I want to have matching pink toenails already, but the girlie girl inside me just can't help it... Piggy Paint is advertised as "natural as mud" and is non toxic, odorless, water based and kid-friendly. Safe for babies and pregnant mamas. Aliyah is also getting new yellow nail clippers since I have seemed to misplace her other ones - oops!

I thought that an egg shape sorter fit the Easter theme well. Aliyah loves to take off lids and put them back on. She will really like the different colors and shapes. This is recommended for 18 months and up but with good supervision, I think Aliyah will be okay. I found this in a toy store on our last vacation in Colorado.

We will be hanging this swing under our deck for Aliyah to enjoy this spring/summer. My friend Jill owns 3 Kid's Closet sales around the metro. We found this swing at her Lee's Summit sale. I can't wait to get outside and try this out! Check out the Kid's Closet fb page if you are interested in her upcoming sales in Bonner Springs or North Kansas City.

Flash Back

Does this picture look familiar?!?!
It was taken around one year ago last April...

I thought it would be fun to see how much difference a year can make... check it out!

"Father and Daughter"

I'm gonna watch you shine

Gonna watch you grow

Gonna paint a sign

So you'll always know...

As long as one and one is two

There could never be a father

Who loved his daughter more than I love you

~Paul Simon

A Tisket A Tasket

I still need to pick up an Easter basket for Aliyah... I was planning to get a really nice one from Pottery Barn Kids:

BUT I started thinking back to what Easter was like for me when I was little. My brother and I had so much fun filling our baskets and I think my parents had even more fun coming up with creative (and really hard-to-find) places to put the eggs. I loved my Easter basket/bucket! It wasn't necessarily special or fancy, but the fact that it held all my eggs (and was pink) was good enough for me.

I am thinking of hitting up some garage sales to find something fun with some character for this Easter. Wish me luck!

If you are looking for something fun to do with little ones this weekend or the next, there are plenty of Easter egg hunts around the KC metro area - check out my post today on happybottomus. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

withLOVE

I am so incredibly excited to announce that a local Kansas City store, Happybottomus has asked me, along with a few other local mamas, to help support their active blog with frequent posts on cloth diapering, baby carriers, healthy living, natural birthing, natural products and more!

Sounds interesting? You can...

follow the blog at live.happybottomus.com

shop on-line or visit the store on Metcalf and 91st St
in the same parking lot as Whole Foods.

"like" Happybottomus on Facebook

The owner, Brookie-Lee, was a stay-at-home-mom who started looking for a way to help her family with income while keeping the kiddos with her when she became pregnant with baby number two. She saw a need in the cloth diapering community - buying cloth diapers is mainly done online which means you don't get to actually see what you are ordering until it arrives to your house.

Her goal with Happybottomus is to provide moms a way to touch, see and compare cloth diapers in person before they purchase them. Her other goals are to connect the community and provide alternative products.

I chose to blog under the username, withLOVE because I felt that it was a good fit for how I live my life... how I try to impact my community and world... how I treat others... how I support my husband... and how I raise my child. withLOVE.

I just submitted my first post for review and it should be up sometime today!

Super Cute Kid Stuff

A Few Fun Finds...

woven straw fedora Baby Gap

reversible pinafore teaganandbaily

roll up trousers mini Boden

Benton red thatch shoes Keep

chambray romper Crazy 8

spin cycle dress MOSS

hand-dyed dino onsie SquishyBee

floral romper Baby Gap

belted paper bag shorts Baby Gap

lady bug flower sun hat Melondipity

metallic gladiator sandal Gymboree

vintage alphabet cards Mini Social

Love Letters

... just for fun

I’ve yet to read a greeting card that sounds better that what my husband can scrawl in his messy handwriting on a piece of paper. Not a single one I’ve come across speaks to us and what we know to be true and how it feels to be married to one another compared to the beautiful poetry and love filled notes that I have received through the years.

For that reason and the fact that Tyler hates buying greeting cards, we have a new rule when it comes to celebrations of love in our home. All cards for the occasion will be handmade - even if it’s just written on the back of our electric bill. The art of the hand-written love letter seems to be dying out in our technology age and so it’s our small way of trying to keep it alive.

In the afternoon, we set to work writing our love letters.

Aliyah and I danced around the living room to Stevie Nicks while we waited for Tyler to finish his in the other room.

We’re saving all of them in a box as a tangible part of our history together.

Tyler and I have also decided to make our wedding anniversary an official family holiday. We’ve promised that we will always take the day off from work/school to do something fun together with our children. We feel it’s really important to instill in our family that being married takes hard work and commitment but it’s also something that should be celebrated. We hope our children learn to look forward to April 8th each year in the same way they might anticipate a birthday or vacation.

A Celebration of Love

On Friday Tyler took the afternoon off. Aliyah and I headed downtown to pick him up from work and had a delicious lunch at Cafe Trio on the Plaza.

After lunch, we met Tyler's mom in the AMC movie theatre parking lot so that Tyler and I could sneak away for a couple hours. However, at the ticket counter, we weren't impressed with our options so we just decided to walk around. The weather was amazing - we spent a little time at a book store, I bought a pair of more comfortable shoes at Target to replace my high heals, we stopped to get some ice cream and headed off to the park... just the two of us.

We went home early to fit in a family nap with our little girl before dinner. When we woke up, we headed back to the Plaza at PF Chang's to meet up with Tyler's parents for dinner (they offered to take us out to celebrate). We all had such a great time reminiscing our special day 5 years ago.

Saturday, we spent the morning at the KC Zoo supporting "Pancakes for Penguins" with Aliyah's Uncle Russell and Aunt Jillian.

Tyler catching a flipped pancake from Chris' Cakes

We walked all over and were even able to see behind the scenes of the new polar bear's penthouse and learned a lot about Nikita. After the zoo we went over to my parent's house for lunch and spent all afternoon visiting on the back porch.

Tyler and I were a bit hungry on our way home so we decided to stop for a quick bite at Chipotle for dinner. We ran into Tyler's brother and his wife there - completely unplanned! It was amazing that this weekend we were able to see our whole family!!

Sunday was another gorgeous day. We did a lot of cleaning, dusted off our bikes and decided to try out Aliyah's bike trailer. We rode to dinner, grabbing some veggie sub sandwiches and back home. We loved being back on our bicycles and were happy to share one of our favorite family activities with Ali J.

She is excited for her 1st bike ride!!

Chubby legs are SO cute... completely relaxed enjoying the ride

I love how Tyler matches the trailer :)

Two Big Smiles!!

We truly couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend to celebrate our anniversary.... perfect!