Easter Basket

Oh jumping jelly beans (though you won't find any in this basket) I'm so joyous and excited for Easter!

Brooklynn is fifteen months old and this will be her second Easter. I couldn't contain my excitement to build her Easter basket, so I got started at the end of  February a little early.(; So, being that she is fifteen months and not quite walking yet (we're hoping the starts hopping for the Easter egg hunts!), there weren't a lot of things marketed towards her; she's not quite ready for chalk or bubbles, but she's past the bunny rattles and duck teethers too. We also haven't allowed her to have sugar or really any junk, so filling it with candy was out of the question! So I had to think outside the basket, errr box, you know what I mean. Also, something I've learned about myself from motherhood, (believe me the list is a thousand pages long) is that I enjoy stuffed animals that are a little less typical, or if they're going to be your everyday teddy bears and bunnies, that they have some sort of unique flair to them. No offense to the more common ones, we still love them, I just look for original fellas when shopping for B. So here it is, a breakdown of the goodies for our sweet girl...

"Tickle, Tickle, Peter" book:

Brooklynn loves touch and feel books, and who doesn't love good ole Peter Rabbit?

Sparkling Baton:

Because I may or may not have played with it for a few fascinating minutes in the store, Brooklynn loves all things glittery and colorful. Bonus: it gives her something else to play the drums on things with.(;

Duckling Plate:

Because you've got to have festive dishes for all of the Easter yummies to come. 

Bunny Cup:

And the plate wouldn't be complete, without this adorable bunny to drink from. 

"Bunnies" book:

Because I couldn't pass up "a Golden Book" book, my childhood nostalgia made me do it, that and the adorable guy on the front. 

Light Up Ball:

She picked this one out herself while were shopping. She kept pointing at it saying "ba" "ba", and well it's perfectly pink/purple and cute, how could I not? Thank you Target dollar spot.

"Turtles Take Their Time" book & "Follow That Bee" book:

While shopping for her Valentine's presents, I discovered these sweet little books, yet again a win for the Target dollar spot. They seemed like a perfect spring time fit. 

Bunny Socks:

I mean, obviously! She also happened to get a pair last year, so I'm thinking tradition! 

"Peekawho" book:

Because she loves flip books just as much as touch and feel. The characters in it are just too stinking cute too!

Pastel Dinosaur & Speckled Unicorn:

These would be the previously mentioned "not so typical" stuffed toys. I mean everyone expects a stuffed bunny at Easter, just trying to keep her on her itty bitty toes. Plus, I think I managed to get enough bunny action in there with the other stuff. And, if that's not enough, check out how incredibly adorable and Easter colored they are! Don't worry, she'll still know it's the Easter Bunny that brings the treats, not like a zebra or anything.

Well there you have it. I certainly enjoyed creating it for her and can't wait to see her hoppy, I mean happy face light up at all her new treasure!(:

Fifteen Months!

Age:

15 months... WHAT?!

Stats:

Her next appointment is this month, so I'll get back to you on measurements, but she's definitely getting heavier. My arms are getting tired, and that's saying something, because this Mama lifts. That molar I mentioned last time has come all the way in, and is helping her to chow down even more food. She's able to wear quite a bit more in the 12-18 months category, without being completely swallowed by them.

Favorite foods:

She's still our super eater, and continues to love everything we've previously written about here and here, and that's pretty much what her diet consists of. Meat, beans of any kind, sweet potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, oatmeal, Geek yogurt, hummus, and salsa seem to be inhaled the quickest. She certainly knows what she wants, and when she's hungry she is on a mission. That's when her 'tude really comes out. She will scream politely request food until you give her a bite. We end up forfeiting letting her just feed herself, regardless of the mess, because it's better than the fit. ha.

Least favorite foods:

She stopped eating the actual flesh of mango, but goes to town on the peel? Weirdo. I don't know if this counts as "least", because she doesn't have it, but we still avoid sugar, white wheat flour, processed junk, and most dairy.

Look who's talking:

She's repeated us saying a couple things recently, but then won't do it again when we try, go figure. So she's said "besuuu" (bless you), "esspees" (yes please), "li" (light and lion), and "uvlu" (love you). She's definitely saying "mama" more often, which melts my heart. Then there's "NO!" which is accompanied with the cutest little pout face and adamant head shake. Little stinker. I'm not sure where little miss gets her sass, Mama certainly isn't a diva. We try our best to say "not for baby" or "please don't" or "not nice" as opposed to just "no", yet she's got the word down pat. Here we go...

Favorite things:

She still loves all of the things mentioned in Thirteen Month Faves and Fourteen Month Faves. She's also a huge fan of making toys out of things that aren't actually toys... you know slamming cupboards, clanking pans, the dog's water bowl, basically anything she can get her hands on an throw and bang around. When they say the kid loves the box more than the toy inside, they're not lying. For the record, I don't know who "they" is.

Favorite activities:

Being an adventurer; she is constantly crawling, cruising, and climbing around at the speed of light. Opening all cupboards and drawers (latches and locks are where they need to be.), and pulling everything out of them. She follows us from room to room, and gets a big kick out of it when "she finds Mama or Daddy!" She still loves just going to town with her toys, both with us and by herself. Story time is definitely still a favorite too, again in our laps or reading to herself. Bath time is still a big hit too and she's learning to brush her teeth with us. Of course, going to basketball games is one of the best things ever. As you may have seen in our post here, she absolutely loved the swings! Most of all, she loves to spend time with us, she's definitely a love bug that would take being in our arms over anything, and we wouldn't have it any other way.(:

Least favorite activities:

Still NOT a fan of diaper changes, having her hands and face wiped clean, or getting in her car seat. We've also hit the toddler stage I think, because she doesn't like being told "no" or "not for baby", she tries to test the waters and when we tell her not to, at first she lets out a half-wimper-half-smile thing, which is so cute you want to let her get away with it that she's trying to see if you'll laugh or stay stern. Once she hears no again, she usually starts to cry and it's so sad, but does fortunately stop whatever it was she was doing. She also doesn't like to sleep much, and pretty much only falls asleep in my arms or sometimes a long car ride, that's okay though, because I love her snuggles and I can catch up on zzz's in later years.

Signature moves and skills:

She's a speedy little one; crawling, cruising, and climbing at the speed of light. She's definitely got the coordination and skill to walk, as she proves when slamming pushing her walker toys around the house, she just needs to learn she can let go and do it on her own. We're really hoping she decides to do it in time for Easter and the egg hunts to ensue. She has THE CUTEST laugh, and I'm not just bias, that naturally sends everyone else into giggle fits too. It's a crinkled nose, big grin, with laughs that range from sweet little giggles to gremlin cackles, with a full on snort here and there too. She's always amused and proud of her actions, we are too, so it happens a lot. Still clapping, waving, pointing, dancing, nodding yes and no, and high fiving all the time. A newer thing she does, is tilt her head to the side and lean on something and shake her shoulders back and forth when we say "do you love your [insert toy/person/etc] here?" It's absolutely precious. She also really likes to share her toys, and playing pass it back and forth, saying "taay-uu" (thank you) as she does. What a polite little kiddo. She tends to stand on one leg and extend the other to the front, side, or back... my little ballerina in the making. A couple baby genius moments happened when she mimicked us by dipping her veggies in the salsa with the scoop motion and everything then feeding herself. As well as now being able to identify things in a picture, like "where is the dog?" and she points to it in the book.

Mom's proudest moment:

Well, let's just say I've come to the realization I need to lose my sailor mouth choose my wording better, she hasn't repeated anything, but I need to nip it in the bud now. Oopsies.

 

Dad's proudest moment:

If you could hear the conversation we just had...

Me: "Honey, have you done anything dumb this past month, you know like "dad's proudest moment" type stuff?"

Him: "No way, I'm perfect! What're you talking about lady?"

...Thinking he's perfect, that'll work. haha. I kid, he truly is an incredible father.<3

 

Baby girl, you are our sunshine on a cloudy day. Each day that goes by, you add something new and adorable to your repertoire and we can't get enough. Your brilliance is proven over and over, through all your baby genius moves, your sweet heart shows in all of your kisses and cuddles, your amazing personality shines in all of your goofy bits. Words really can't express how much happiness you bring us. We love you to the moon and back Brooklynn Rose.<333 

Nature Box: Part Two

 

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Our second Nature Box has arrived. This is exciting stuff people, once you've signed up (because you're obviously going to, duh!) you too can feel the same anticipation and excitement when your treasure chest arrives.(:

 

Everything Bagel Stix:

So if you're a normal human being like me, you could scarf down an "Everything Bagel" from Einstein's with a cream cheese smeared grin on your face. Well, unfortunately bagels and cream cheese don't fit into my clean eating habits, but these guys do the trick. They have all the same flavors as the bagel, with no guilt attached. Obviously, they'd be fantastic dipped in cream cheese... I'm still on the hunt for some guiltless YET tasty variety of that though. Points for the first person to direct me to it. Until then, they are awesome on their own.

 

Seaweed Pops:

 

These were a must on hubby's list when creating the box, and he loves them! I dig them too. We both appreciate umami flavors, and if you know what that word means, you'll be a fan of these.

 

Mango Almond Bites:

So mango is my favorite fruit and almonds are my favorite nut, this was an obvious pick. They are DELICIOUS! They're like little rice cake bites with chewy mango and almond nestled into them. Brooklynn also gives her baby thumbs up to these.(:

 

Dark Cocoa Almonds:

So if you read my previous Nature Box Post why wouldn't you have read it?, you may have noticed we got these last time. They somehow made it back for the second round... What can I say this mama withdrawals for dark chocolate and these give me fix.(;

 

Bombay Curry Cashews:

 

These were another must on Travis' list, and man am I glad they were. Poor guy, I hope he gets some before I devour them. So, I do admit I'm not a fan of cashews and pick them out, more for him right? However, the rest of this mix is amazing, as I love curry flavor... and almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and dried fruit. They appear savory, well they are, but they can also oddly satisfy a sweet tooth... and inspire the decision to get Indian for dinner. YUM!(:

 

BE SURE TO GET YOUR OWN SUBSCRIPTION TO NATURE BOX HERE!(:

www.naturebox.com