my style, lifestyle, kids

#passthebag: donate clothes to benefit schools!

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and just like that, it’s 2015! we had a nice few days off to enjoy with our little family, but now it’s back to the grind. we’ve been cleaning the house and clearing out all of our christmas decorations to embrace the new year with a clean slate. adam has gone through yet another growth spurt, so we’ve been sorting through his clothes and saying goodbye to the last of his little onesies. he’ll be one year in just a week, but he’s already wearing toddler sizes! i was getting ready to drop them off at the local thrift store when schoola contacted me and asked if i’d be interested in donating some of our gently used kids’ clothes as part of their #passthebag campaign to generate funds for schools. if you’re not familiar with the site, schoola is an online, gently-used clothing retailer selling kid’s clothing, sizes 1 year and up (and will be introducing a women’s clothing category late this year). all the clothes they sell are donated by parents, and $2 out of every $5 spent on the site goes right back to schools!

here’s how it works:

step 1: go to schoola and request a donation bag.
step 2: once the bag arrives, fill it with gently-used children’s or women’s clothes, and send it in for the benefit of your child’s school.
step 3: challenge at least 3 friends or family members to do the same by posting on facebook, twitter, or instagram and using the hashtag #passthebag.

adam helped me pick a few items to send in, which will soon be for sale on the site. so now it’s our turn to #passthebag! i’ll be nominating a few friends on instagram later today!



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kids

making memories

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over the weekend, we made the first of our annual trips to the christmas tree farm as a family. which was really just a glorified trip to the petting zoo. adam doesn’t care about christmas trees or presents, and he’s absolutely terrified of the man in a santa costume, but he can not get enough of the petting zoo.

i know he’s too young to remember these moments, but i certainly won’t forget them any time soon. and it’s really got me thinking about all of the family traditions we will get to create together over the years. oh man, parenthood has turned me into a big ol’ sappy mess! insert happy crying emoji here.

adam is wearing the most adorable cat shirt that we received as a gift from electric collective, a handmade cycling cap from niko’s naptime, sweater by neige , and osh kosh jeans.



lifestyle, kids

at the apple orchard

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we’re spending time with family for the holiday, so i thought it would be fitting to leave these here. some photos from a recent trip we took to the apple orchards in oak glen. adam’s great-grandpa proudly held him in his arms and showed him around. we ate apple cider donuts and drank warm apple cider, and got to watch adam as he squealed in delight over the animals at the petting zoo. and funnily enough, we didn’t get any pictures of apples!

adam is wearing: hat handmade by niko’s naptime, american apparel baseball tee, gap sweatpants, old navy sneakers


lifestyle, kids

little lion

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my poor little baby was having a rough time teething last night, but he was still a good sport and let us dress him up like a little gentleman lion for halloween. our neighborhood here in redlands takes the festivities very seriously. we live in the downtown historic district, and several main thoroughfares close to traffic to accommodate the over 17,000 trick-or-treaters who flock to the area to get a look at the fantastic halloween decorations and haunted houses lining the streets. that and the candy, of course. it was actually a little too hectic for my taste. we walked down the street to let adam look at all the excitement, but the crowds were so large that we decided to go back home to enjoy the lighter trickle of kids passing by.

lifestyle, kids

making necklaces

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i’ve never really had a huge jewelry collection, but since adam was born, i’ve really had to pare down my already sparse collection. most days, i can really only get away with wearing dainty rings that won’t snag on baby blankets. a bit of consolation came in the form of this cute necklace by mama and little, but it really only fueled my desire to find more baby-friendly jewelry that doesn’t look like it was, well, made for babies. i started browsing around online and collecting various baby-friendly beads: food grade silicone beads in subtle colors, unfinished wood beads, break-away clasps, waxed cotton string. and i finally got to experimenting with some designs a couple of weeks ago at a ladies craft night with rubyellen, melissa, and lauren. i made a couple of designs that evening, and then a few more later that night at home. and since then, i’ve become a necklace-making machine! i’ve already ordered more unfinished wood pieces, and am patiently waiting for a shipment of eco-friendly, natural baby paints by natural earth paints so that i can try my hand at painting baby-friendly wood beads and bangles. i’ve even concocted a natural beeswax wood finish to protect the paints once they arrive.

i like the look of them, and adam has been happily teething on them when i hold him in my arms. he does this silly little singing voice while he chomps on them. and i feel good knowing that my jewelry doubles as an awesome baby toy, made with unfinished wood, food-grade silicone, and waxed cotton.

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kids

adam’s apple

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as much fun as i’ve had keeping a record of weekly adam photos, i think i’ve finally decided to move on from the rigid structure of it. especially now that the holidays are here and we’ve been documenting all of our activities with so much fervor! so from now on, i’ll just be posting without the constraints of a week-by-week numerical structure, and will just be sharing some of my favorite photos as we go along. i’ve never been good about following “the rules,” even when i set them for myself!

so here’s the latest photo of my little guy at 9 months. i can’t even keep track of how many weeks old he is anymore! on this particular day, we took a quick drive up to snow line orchard in oak glen to enjoy some fall weather and bundle up in sweaters. adam isn’t quite old enough to go apple picking, but he did get a kick out of his teeny tiny apple!

wearing: unisex bandit in hazel grey courtesy of petite soul, hello onesie courtesy of hello apparel, weathered brown handmade moccs courtesy of freshly picked.

kids

adam: 33 weeks

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i usually post my photos of adam over the weekend, but i was so busy the past couple of days that i wasn’t able to get to the computer! so here is a belated photo of my little dude at 33 weeks, decked out in autumnal hues in celebration of the season. it’s still too warm for all this layering, but we usually go out on early morning walks, so i take advantage of the opportunity to bundle him up before the chill burns off. that’s just what we do in california, we wear sweaters purely for the novelty of it!

he’s also sporting a silly little face courtesy of all those new teeth he’s been growing. he’s always chewing on his lip or making some other silly contortion as he gets used to his new chompers.

wearing: pact organic cotton trail stripe bodysuit and pants with matching trail stripe socks courtesy of pact, and a gap cardigan and knit beanie.

lifestyle, kids

adam: 32 weeks

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there’s just something about a baby in a fresh white onesie, all cozy and wrapped up in blankets… here’s my little guy at 32 weeks. you can see that his two bottom teeth were just breaking through. i didn’t even know he was teething until i felt his gums and noticed that a tooth had broken through! to be fair, i didn’t know what to look out for, and i did have an inkling that there was something going on because he kept making these funny faces, sucking on his bottom lip. thankfully he didn’t get sick or feverish or even especially cranky about it. i can’t say the same about his top two teeth that are now growing in, but he’s still all smiles most of the time, even when you can tell he doesn’t feel too great.

kids

adam: 31 weeks

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here’s my little guy at 31 weeks. the week prior, we discovered that he could pull himself up into the standing position on his own! if you ask me, it’s a little soon for all that business, but this boy really wants to walk! he’s hated tummy time since he was born, but give him a chance to hold onto the edge of something or assist him with a few steps, and he’s all smiles.

wearing: gap cable knit beanie, smock shirt courtesy of willaby, koala baby pants, handmade moccs courtesy of freshly picked.

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