Lay Baby Lay - Nursery Inspiration & Delights!

I’m so excited we have our pictures from my sweet friend Alea!  We had some taken in December after Vivi turned one, and it was so fun.  I never knew it would be so difficult to get family photos taken – there are only three of us, but it felt like I was trying to coordinate ten calendars!  We were hoping to have them taken the week of Vivi’s birthday, but between her getting sick a couple of times, rainy afternoons, and Chip’s work schedule, it didn’t happen until the week before Christmas.  I’m so glad we finally were able to coordinate all of us – Alea and Kim managed to capture some great shots of Vivi and us as a family!  The ones of Chip and Vivi are my absolute favorites.  It was towards the end of the day and very close to supper time, so Peanut started getting a little fed up with the whole thing, but I pulled out my current secret toddler weapon – blueberries – and that kept her satisfied for a bit.  (See the blueberries in the corner of her mouth in the top picture?)  We ran out all too quickly, so I had to pull out my last resort – the snack trap of cheerios, and she was a happy camper once again.  Thanks, Alea and Kim, for being patient with us and helping us capture such a sweet season of our life!!  Go here to see the rest.

I have gotten questions from some of you about Vivi’s kitchen, and she and I did a little photo shoot today.  Chip let me borrow his camera, so we’ll see how they turn out!  I’m hoping to get them up tomorrow with the details!

The latest edition of Vivi’s favorite things (links found in margin to the right):

(1) Balls: Vivi has a little kickball (a bit smaller than the version pictured above) that I bought from a local baby boutique.  I can’t find the manufacturer online, which is just as well because I paid too much for it.  We walked in the store, I showed it to her, and she promptly licked the whole thing.  So I had to buy it.  Lesson learned.  Anyway, it’s become a favorite.  She calls it the “ba”.

(2) Booties: Ok, maybe these are my favorites.  She received these as a Christmas gift, and they fit so well.  These shoes have a soft but durable sole, and the velcro holds them securely on her feet, making them great for walking.

(3) Elephants:  I taught her how to make an elephant noise (kind of by accident – it was one of my tricks to keep her happy on the changing table) and now whenever she sees one, she makes the elephant noise.  She has two stuffed elephants and several books with elephant pictures and she just loves them!

(4) House: It pains me a little to put this up, but these Leapfrog people know what they are doing.  She adores this house.  Seriously.  There are these little birds in the chimney and one sounds like an old man, which is kind of hilarious.  The birds also sing a couple of songs, and for whatever reason, the melody and the rhythm are just right for her and make her do the baby dance.  I can’t say enough good things about it, and it’s also quite small, so I give it to her in the car sometimes, and it also can be put away nicely at bedtime (at which point I go to bed singing the song in my head because it won’t go away).  We also saw another baby carrying one around Ikea, so she isn’t the only fan!

(5) Kicks: Ok, another one of my favorites.  I bought these in a fit of desperation when we were out of shoes after she threw one of her Target booties out of the stroller to be lost forever.  I actually bought her some of the Riley Roo mary janes, but I would have gotten these if they had been in the store.  They had boy versions of this style, which come in red and dark blue, and they looked so adorable but wouldn’t go with any of her clothes.  Since these shoes are pricey, I had to get some she would wear more often, and I love them.  They fit well, stay on her feet, are easy to walk in, and I feel like they will last for a good while because she has room to grow.

(6) Records: My parents brought up my old Fisher Price record player, and Vivi thinks it is the greatest.  She doesn’t really get how to change the records, but she likes handing them to me to change out, and the songs make her dance.  She also likes to carry it around the house by the handle.  Apparently, the re-released version isn’t quite the same, so finding a vintage player might be a good idea.  It’s always a good distraction and makes her happy if she is a bit cranky.

(She is wearing my favorite tee of hers in this photo – from Farm Burger.)

I keep getting inspired by all you lovely people creating these adorable camper re-dos, which you then use for sweet trips with your babies.  I keep thinking about it.  Anyway, here’s to you adventurers who make camping look fabulous!

One part preppy, one part ’60′s palm beach, this board is fresh, clean, and bright.  If that gorgeous Stray Dog pendant is a bit of a splurge, go for a less expensive pink drum light.  Also, these curtains from Pottery Barn Kids would make a smashing addition.

I never envisioned myself to be a mama who put lots of bows in her daughter’s hair.  That all changed, though, when to my surprise my baby was born with a headful of dark tresses.  It didn’t take long before I was hooked.  Then, I was doubly surprised when I actually liked the extra large bows and now Vivi never leaves the house without one.  (They are really necessary at this point to keep the hair out of her eyes!)  I keep getting questions about where they come from, so hopefully this will be helpful to those of you on the bow search.  All of her grosgrain bows I have purchased at local boutiques, but those pictured above are very similar.  My favorites are made with thicker grosgrain ribbon, and attached to alligator clips.  Bows Alamode (#2 above) will let you choose whatever color you want, and as I’m sure you can tell from Vivi’s pictures, turquoise and aqua are my favorites.  Somehow it seems to tone down the girly a bit, and it’s my favorite color, so I’m wearing it out until Vivi can declare her favorite.  I’m also really loving the felt bows.  They are extra sweet in the cold weather, and I love the structured look they give.  Lulu’s felt clips have the contour/snappy clips on the back, which really work well if your baby has finer hair.  Vivi’s is much thicker now, so the alligator clips seem to work best, like the Shay.Jay Love clips.  Also, check out Abby’s Shop Lovelay store (#7).  She gives hair accessories to little girls in the NICU at Vanderbilt Hospital – so sweet!  Vivi has one of her clips, and it is really darling.  Please feel free to comment with links to any of your favorite bow sources!