a small update

happy summer, folks! check out oliver.handmade in the recent issue of small magazine...i am featured here, in the 'superheroes for a day' article. it's such a fun magazine, enjoy!

i'm still here...somewhere...

greetings everyone! yes, i have come out of hiding, though i'm not sure for how long...

there are many big changes going on behind the scenes here, which have forced my time and attention away from this little blog space. if you'll allow me to be mysterious for a bit, i promise that i'll share what all the excitement is about soon. but as a result of said mysterious changes, i feel myself being pulled away from regular blogging these days (just in case you haven't already noticed). this blog has been a wonderful outlet for me over these months of early mothering, and i am so grateful for all the other blogging mamas that i have met and discovered in this blogging world. i expect to return here periodically, and maybe will come to a point of regular posting again...we shall see!

until then, i wanted to share something fun with you. my friend jorg and i recently did a little swap - he is a fantastic photographer and offered to take photos for my business use that he could also use for his business. he does a lot of photography for children's businesses and needed some baby shots. so guess who the model was! my little one held up fairly well, being that it was her first photo shoot. the most challenging part was keeping her looking at jorg, who was mostly sitting right at her level, yet at the same time keeping her away from diving onto him, or more specifically, the camera - a most intriguing item. that, and after the third costume change, keeping her happy with lots of graham crackers.

here are a few of the results...

just a good idea

good day, all.

i got hit with the stomach flu and am still in recovery...but just wanted to share...how cute is this?

toys for the first year

as my baby girl's first birthday approaches, i have found myself sucked into hours of perusing the internet for toy ideas for her. as i've mentioned before, i put a lot of thought into toys, thanks in part to my montessori background. but like most moms, i simply have a desire to provide quality, safe, developmentally-appropriate toys for my child. the challenge is finding such toys! the toys that can be found in the typical chain store tend to be much too plastic-y, electronic-y, and made in china-y for my taste (though i admit, you can sometimes find some hidden gems). smaller, independent shops, which i would rather support anyway, offer some more unique options, though usually only a small selection. thankfully the internet offers many wonderful online shops, such as nova naturals, willow tree, rosie hippo, and many indpendent toy makers on etsy. but even with these wonderful resources, we still face one challenge: becoming overwhelmed. what does my child really need?

this is one reason why i love reading blogs...they can be a fantastic way to get some non-biased, seasoned advice. i have gleaned some great tips and ideas from other blogging mamas, and in return, i'd like to offer a list of some toys that my little one has gotten lots of fun, meaningful, good use out of during her first year of life...
{haba pipapo}

{geomags}

{manhattan toy put & peek doghouse}

{under the nile veggies}

{plan toys shape & sort it out box}

{lamaze mortimer the moose}

{baby einstein baby's photo book}

{sensory balls}

{madame alexander huggums baby doll}

{cookie dough pull toy}

{wee baby art cards}

my list of book recommendations really needs to be saved for a separate post...but i have included these two here:
{old macdonald finger puppet book}

{dotty dog stroller book}

and finally...yes, it's fisher price, yes it's plastic and electronic, yes it's probably made in china...but what can i say, my little girl loves it...
{fisher price fun-2-learn cell phone}

of course, a cabinet chock full of dishware and cookware; a cardboard box; any book (including mom and dad's magazines and novels); a door; and our dog trumps all these toys put together!

i'd love to hear what toys you would recommend, either for the first or second year...or beyond!

a day in the life...

...of a toddler does not have to be full of power struggles and mom constantly picking up piles of toys and other messes. really! take a look at this video, "edison's day," that meg posted today. this is a half-hour long glimpse into the day of a 20-month-old being raised in a montessori-inspired environment. it gives some great ideas on how to set up your home and gently guide your child along the road to independence. and sweet little edison just melts my heart...
Edisons Day -

i'm back!

well, hello hello and so sorry about the unannounced hiatus! i did not intend to go a week and a half with not so much as a link to a fun place to have a look around. we had family in town, and the weather has been incredible. so we have been focusing on some very important things, such as checking out another new, local restaurant and introducing a certain little one to her very first earthworm...

 

this could be very dangerous

how am i only just now learning of this?

celebrity baby blog.

that's right: celebrities and babies. two mild obsessions of mine. see you all later...