Two weeks ago we ditched our pleasant-smelling, all natural Burt’s Bees baby shampoo for what was supposed to be some hard-core de-tangling baby shampoo “for curly hair.” But that stuff didn’t stand a chance against Jax’s bedhead. We were better off with our previous routine of Burt’s Bees shampoo followed by grown-up conditioner followed by conditioning styling oil meant for the silky smooth hairstyle of an adult woman. Oh yes, and several long minutes of combing and squirming and applying more product. All this for a 17-month-old boy? We decided to let Jax get into a complicated hair routine on his own time and for now, give him a new, much shorter hair do. {Not to mention he had his bangs permanently in his face.}
Now I understand why my sister and I had borderline mullets until we could do our own hair. We have the crazy hair gene.
Here’s the before:
I know, he is so cute with his robot PJ’s and emo hair! I’m starting to feel nostalgic, but have to remember he’s making that face not because he’s trying to translate emotional angst into a guitar riff, but because he is trying to get the bangs out of his eyes so he can see the blocks he’s stepping on.
Here’s the after, dreadlock-free in the back:
Some shots in action, just before bedtime tonight:
I think we’re all happy with the new haircut, even if it will take us some getting used to!
I’ve been having fun using up scraps of material and ribbon pieces I’ve collected to make Taggie-like baby toys for friends’ babies. If you haven’t seen one before, check out the professional version here. If you have a sewing machine and can stitch a straight line with it, try making one yourself. I’ve made a couple of small versions as well as receiving-blanket-sized ones for twins born in November.
This donkey-covered mini blanket was for friends Meg and Steve’s baby. The fabric is from our old neighborhood haunt, Purl Soho. They’ll let you buy as little as 1/4 yard, which is enough to make three sides of a mini tag blanket {so go ahead and splurge on the fancy designer prints}. Check out the donkey one here.
I like to use at least one side of fleece to create an interesting textural experience, as well as give the blanket some weight. The back:
I made an almost identical one for Amanda and Jonathan’s baby, only I used a squirrel fabric for the front. I don’t think I have a picture, but here’s the fabric swatch:
The baby blankets I made for the twins had fleece on both sides:
My biggest tip is to use a variety of widths, lengths, and textures for the ribbon “tags.” So many versions I’ve seen are matchy-matchy and use a lot of pastel colors. In my experience with babies and toddlers, the more contrast the better. Once you start saving ribbons from various places (handles from fancy shopping bags, packaging for household goods, gifts, trim from old clothes) you’ll be sure to have an interesting mix of colors and textures that will hold a baby’s interest. I use satin, velvet, lace, ridged, and sheer ribbons – whatever I have on hand!
Give it a try and let me know if you have one to show off!
We hosted a baby shower yesterday for friends Amanda and Jonathan. It was a blast, from the planning with a cool friend of the mom-to-be to enjoying the company. And the parents-to-be took away some nice loot and heartfelt well-wishes that I hope helps them feel prepared – and maybe even more excited! – for the arrival of their baby girl.
Doilies don’t seem like the most modern of party decorations (and I was trying to avoid anything over-the-top girly, since that’s not really Amanda and Jonathan’s style), but I thought they contributed an interesting visual element to the dots and circles in the ribbon and other decorations, inspired by this modern baby shower.
I made the mobile-esque hanging decoration out of an embroidery loop and some paper circles glued to ribbon.
Honey Baked Brie: Just bake a honey-drizzled round of brie on parchment paper at 350 for about 20 minutes. It sounds weird and looks weirder, but trust me on its tastiness! I meant to add thyme as well but forgot.
Inspired by this product found via Ohdeedoh a while back, I grabbed an old wine box we had laying around, added $4.50 worth of casters, and voilà! Toy storage for the den:
With a little more time and research, we could score some awesome colored skateboard wheels to resemble the $100 original, but for now, we’re pretty pleased with the result.
Our toddler is growing and growing! We couldn’t get a proper 1-year doctor’s appointment (our new pediatrician is crazy booked), but we were able to get him in yesterday for a check-up. Here are the stats:
Weight: 22 lb 12 oz (55th percentile)
Height: 31 inches, or 1 inch short of half my height! (75th percentile)
So this explains why his 12-month sized separates still fit, but any one-piece article of clothing has to be at least size 18 months. He’s tall and skinny.
I’m getting back to my chapter now (chapter 2 revisions, and I’ve also finished about 25 pages of chapter 3!), but can’t sign off yet without a few snaps of our favorite 59-week-old! Photos from a recent walk:
This is the talking face: “baaaaaaaall” “dooooooog” Other words he can say (in order of appearance): turtle, sock, shoe, blue, please
Well, last night we finally decided to cut Jax’s hair. I have very mixed feelings about it, but the poor kid constantly had hair in his face and was such a good sport about the nightly de-tangling, we thought we’d give him a break. It’s still kind of long and it’s still curly {yay}, but it is definitely a different look! It’ll just take some getting used to, and perhaps we’ll go with a professional next time and avoid the Audrey Tautou look, but in all, we are pleased with the result.
The dining room setup: even the high chair was put to use.
The den is just to the right of the living room and on the way outside. We had The Red Balloon movie looped and playing in here (at my desk) to set the scene. Because there is very little dialogue in the movie, it served as background music as well. Balloon garland and paper lanterns from Pearl River.
These “red balloon” mini sandwiches were an idea I got from the wonderful Party Perfect blog, the readers of which helped me brainstorm. These photos show the toddler-friendly cream cheese version. Paris plates from Marshall’s.
I also had an adult version: ham and swiss cheese with French mustard on pain au levain (French sourdough bread we are lucky to find at our farmer’s market, along with those olives in the foreground).
The inside menu: cupcakes, mini “red balloon” sandwiches, the all-important fromage plate, salad, and sangria.
I made the pennant bunting myself out of heavy scrapbook paper and embroidery floss. It was easy to divide the 12×12″ pieces into triangles, dividing in half lengthwise and in thirds crosswise and drawing long diagonal lines from top to bottom (does that make sense?), resulting in 10 triangles per sheet. The whole bundle of paper, cutouts, labels, stickers, and punch-outs were in vintage 50s prints. I used less than a quarter of the stack and created a whole party from it: liners for the invitation envelopes (above), the “Happy Birthday” garland hanging from the window in the center, and photo “frames” for baby photos adorning the wall.
Outside we had the non-alcoholic drinks: lemonade served in a this dispenser, Orangina, Perrier, apple juice boxes, milk boxes, and sippy cups for the little ones. Our wonderful next-door neighbor Jane let us borrow the beautiful folding bamboo chairs. She even had a 1-year-old-sized version. {I didn’t take any photos during the party, so I’ll post more outside pictures when I get them! Edit: See below!}
The red balloons were a huge hit with all the toddlers.
{Hint: when mylar balloons are popped, they don’t become choking hazards as the rubber ones do.}
Update: Some more photos from Grandma & Grandpa Weintraub show the scene outdoors!
Toddler sized French bistrot chair
One of the most fun activities for the little ones was to smash those balloons!
They played in a band, too
A lone balloon at the end of the driveway let arriving guests know they were in the right place.
Me, circa 1979
