Current New Baby favorites

My new baby is two weeks old and there are a few things that have just made life better or easier this time around and I thought I'd share:

1. DockAtot -- A sweet friend is letting me borrow this and it has been a lifesaver!  I've always had the baby beside the bed and I've always been extremely anemic after giving birth so I would end up with bruises all over my arms from trying to pick her up from the Pack N Play or co-sleeper.  This is the first time I've put the baby in bed beside me and it has been so wonderful!  I know she is safe in there and it is so easy to check on her or pat her back or adjust her swaddle without even having to sit up!  

2.  Nutbutter squeeze packs -- My doula gave me some of these to eat during and after labor for some quick protein and I just loved them!  Now they are my favorite "middle of the night nursing snacks."  I seem to always get hungry around 3am when I'm nursing. 

3.  These soft, stretchy pants -- My last month of pregnancy, I got so big and uncomfortable that I just hated wearing my maternity jeans.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on maternity pants since I was so close to the end of my pregnancy, but I needed something cute to wear that was more comfortable.  I found these on Amazon and liked them so much I bought a second pair!  Now that I am two weeks postpartum, they are stretchy enough to still stay up and they continue to be my favorite pair of pants!

4.  Miracle swaddle -- Now I have probably posted about this sometime before because I've used it with my last 4 babies, but it is such a lifesaver that I had to mention it again.  This is the only swaddle that could possibly last through 4 kids because it doesn't have any velcro.  This swaddle is genius because it uses the baby's own weight to keep it in place instead of velcro that weakens with use.  I actually forgot to pack it in my hospital bag and thoroughly regretted it when my baby kept wriggling out of the hospital blanket swaddle several times a night!  I was so thankful to get home and find it so we could get a better night's sleep!

Lice and Tick Prevention Detangling Spray

Lice seem to be a major problem in the schools this year.  Not only are they everywhere, but they seem to be harder to get rid of than they used to be.  In one of my daughter's classes, there was a major lice problem before Christmas.  I thought for sure the 2-week break would clear things up, but after a week back at school we got another letter saying they were still finding kids with lice!  We happen to have 6 girls in our family with lots of hair so the thought of lice is absolutely horrendous to me!  Thankfully we have avoided it so far and I truly think the detangling spray I make them use a couple times a week has kept the lice at bay.  I actually started using it two summers ago as a tick deterrent and then added the essential oils that deter lice when the girls started school. I didn't really find this recipe anywhere; I just started mixing things that made sense to me together to make it.  I don't ever measure so I will try to guestimate what I do for readers but feel free to tweak it to please your own kids.  My girls do not really like the apple cider vinegar smell but neither do ticks and lice.  The smell vanishes quickly enough and it is great for hair so they have gotten used to it. The rose geranium oil is expensive but we haven't gotten a single tick in our hair the 2 summers we have used it and the summer before that we got them every single time we visited the grandparents or went to the lake.  It lasts a long time and is totally worth the price!

(*Note: I don't want to get into any debates about essential oil brands.  I have used Young Living, Do Terra, Edens Garden, and Plant Therapy all with great success.  I currently primarily buy Plant Therapy mainly because of the affordable price, great extensive Kidsafe line, and because of two day shipping on Amazon, but I love the others as well.)

Ingredients:
small water spray bottle
1/2 tsp moisturizing oil (I usually just use olive oil because it is what I have on hand but almond, jojoba, or any other liquid oil will do)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
5 drops Rose Geranium oil (for tick prevention)
5 drops tea tree oil
10 drops Plant Therapy "Get 'Em Gone" blend
water filled the rest of the way to the brim of spray bottle

Directions:  Shake well and spray on hair.  I use it on my girls' hair every time they wash it and any other time there are tangles.

Just a few new favorite baby products

Babies really don't need much but it seems that every time I have a new baby I find a few things that help make my life easier.  Here are the ones I've loved this time around:

1. Baby K'tan original Baby carrier - I've always loved babywearing, but with 5 kids, it is an absolute necessity to have my hands free!  I formerly used the moby wrap or just a simple sling for the first 6 months until the baby was old enough to really use my favorite Ergo carrier.  And they were super helpful.  But the sling restricted one of my arms, making it hard to carry out many household chores or hold two different hands while crossing a parking lot. And as much as I loved the moby, it was honestly a pain to deal with all that fabric.  The K'tan solves both of those problems and is easy to put on and comfortable to wear.  I don't know what I would do without it.  The only downside is that I have used it so much out of necessity that my baby is slightly addicted to falling asleep in it!  I bought mine brand new on ebay but for the half the price of Amazon or the nearby stores that carry it.

2.  Arms Reach Co-sleeper -- This thing was a life-saver the first 2 weeks!  We usually just use a pack n play beside our bed but I am always highly anemic after giving birth and I get bruises all over my arms as I reach over and down to pick the baby up all night long.  I love this co-sleeper because the baby is completely safe so I can sleep in peace but she is so much easier to pick up!  We got ours on Craigslist for about  1/4 of the price.

3.  Tiny Love Take Along Mobile -- My last toddler destroyed our mobile and when I went online to search for one for our new baby, I was horrified at how expensive they were!  But this one is awesome because not only is it half the price of most of them, it is portable and can easily go on the carseat or pack n play for trips.  It can clip anywhere!  I also like that it is more simple than  lot of the over-stimulating mobiles available.

Homemade liquid laundry detergent

I was recently given a used but like-new HE washing machine!  Such a blessing!  The only downfall is that HE detergent can be pretty expensive, particularly since I like to buy natural, chemical free detergent.  Now, I still like to use my soap nuts and they work fine in an HE washer.  The only problem is that they need warm or hot water to work well.  With my old washer, I would start the water on hot to get them working and then switch it to cold when I threw in my clothes.  But my new HE washer doesn't work that way.  So I like to have an alternative for when I wash a cold load of laundry.  I found this recipe and was pretty pleased with it.  I love that I can use whatever essential oils or scent of castle soap that I want my clothes to smell like!  Also, most recipes contain Borax and I've read many debates on whether that is truly good for you so I liked this particular recipe because it didn't contain Borax.  I ended up using 4 half gallon containers to store it in and it works nicely.  I put my  re-cap for pouring on whichever one I am currently using and it cuts down on spills.  With my family of 6, I have been using up about one of the half gallon jars a week.  This recipe was a bit messy to make, but not expensive and it lasts almost a month.  I highly recommend checking out the original recipe for the first time because she has great pictures and tips.

Ingredients:

• 2 gallon bucket
• 2 gallons water
• 1/2 cup Super Washing Soda (found at any grocery store I believe!)
• 1/2 cup Baking Soda
• 3/4 cup castile soap 
• 30 drops of your favorite essential oils
• Large wooden/plastic spoon to stir (not pictured)
• 2 1-gallon glass containers

First, measure out 1/2 cup of the Super Washing Soda and pour into a 2 gallon bucket.  Add just enough hot tap water to cover the washing soda, and stir well to dissolve.  Measure out and pour 1/2 cup of Baking Soda into the water/washing soda mixture, and stir well to dissolve. Fill up your bucket all the way to the top with hot tap water, only leaving about 1/2 inch of room on top. Make sure you do this BEFORE adding in your castile soap, or you’ll have a bubbly mess! Measure and pour into the bucket 3/4 cup of castile soap.  Pour in 30 drops of your favorite essential oils. Carefully stir everything together until well mixed.  Pour the detergent into jars or bottles
TO USE: 

Pour 1/3 cup of the detergent in with your dirty clothes and wash as normal. Contents might settle to bottom or clump, but just give the bottle a good shake before you use it.

Some Random Favorites

This is going to be quite a random post, but I just wanted to share a few things that have made my life easier lately:

1.  Bandette Cup Labels -- I've gotten rid of most of our plastic ware and my girls primarily drink out of  8-oz. glass jelly jars.  They are heavier and thus tip over a lot less than my stainless steel or leftover plastic cups.  We have found that we have ten time less spills with these, as well as being more healthy to drink from.  However, the biggest problem is that the girls would forget whose glass is whose and I would end up washing them at every meal.  I stumbled upon these cute drink bands on Amazon and they have been a life-saver!  Now each girl has her own color and I only have to wash them once when I fill up the dishwasher at night.

2.  Boon Animal Bag Stuffed Animal Storage -- This one is a little pricey, totally worth it because it serves 2 purposes:  We had been going crazy with stuffed animals all over the place.  My girls LOVE their stuffed animals and sleep with many and play zoo/ pet shop with them all the time.  But we get so tired of finding them all over the house!  In addition, I've thought many times about buying them a bean bag for their reading nook.  This is less expensive than most of the nicer (won't burst easily) bean bags. So I decided it was worth it.  We probably stuffed 50 stuffed animals into one of these and then the girls had a blast jumping onto it from their bed :)  Very cozy!

3.  Knot Genie Detangling Hairbrush -- This hairbrush is amazing!  It totally works better than any other hairbrush I have tried on my girls' crazy hair.  Now it does come apart easily (like if I drop it on the floor) but goes back together very easily.  

4.  Fossil Key-per large shopping tote bag/ purse -- my awesome sis-in-law told me how wonderful this purse was and how handy it was and I am so glad I listened to her!  This bag is the perfect solution to someone who doesn't want a diaper bag but still needs some extra space.  I can easily throw in a sippy cup, Abbi's bear softy, my smaller Bible for church, a book to lend to a friend, my planner, water bottle, an extra diaper and small bag of wipes, small medicine kit, etc.  And it wipes off easily if I set it down somewhere dirty.  I've been using this purse for about a year and a half and it has been a lifesaver!  But don't pay full-price for it... I found my on e-bay for a great deal!  And I looked at the Fossil website and  don't like the newer versions as much.  

5.  Norwex cleaning supplies --  These are also expensive but I have been slowly building up my supplies over the last few years.  These are perfect for my girls to clean with because the silver and microfiber make them naturally antibacterial without the use of chemicals.  Each day my girls have "chore time" and I set them to work with these things.  The household package is the perfect starting set.  My girls love the mitt for dusting, they go all over the house wiping down baseboards and door knobs and cabinets with the everyday green enviro cloth, and I seriously have never had such streak-free windows as when I use the purple shine cloth. My husband was a skeptic but now borrows them to clean the windows in his car :) 

Some Current Favorites

Today I am going to share some of the things that are our favorites this week at our house. This is a completely random list of what we have been enjoying this particular week and I hope you will share some of your favorites in the comments!

Music most often requested: Questions With Answers -- we have recently started doing Doorpost's children's catechism again with the girls before bed and they love the Songs for Saplings Cd's that answer most of the same questions. I actually prefer the wording of the CD's (although I really like the catechism as well) because it is simpler and often contains the scripture that goes along with the question. We recently got the 2nd volume on itunes and the girls ask to hear it all day long. The songs are quite mellow with just a guitar and the girls love that children sing the answers to the questions. It has also opened up some really good conversation with Karis as she asks questions about the theology described in the song.

(We also absolutely love Seeds Family Worship and Sovereign Grace Children's Cd's)

Favorite read-a-louds -- Betsy-Tacy, A Bear Called Paddington, and One Morning in Maine

Favorite Kid's Series -- Ladybug Girl Books -- While these are not the classic books I usually request at the library, my girls absolutely love them and I love the fact that they spark their little imaginations and they run around the house all day pretending to be Lulu or Marley :)

Favorite Book on CD (for naptime): Little Women (Karis) and Blueberries for Sal (Karlie)

Chicken Lazone -- my current favorite, super easy, fast, and absolutely delicious recipe. We eat it over quinoa.

Farmer's breakfast Hash -- My husband's current favorite breakfast... super filling and delicious!

Homemade cereal -- what my 3 year old wants to eat at every meal :)

Like-Lara Bars: My favorite snack!

My favorite book -- Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches -- I know we've mentioned it on here before, but I just got around to reading it this month and I keep reading it over and over again because it is that good and easy to read. It is such as easy read that I read it all in one evening and then decided that I wanted to actually remember all her ideas and continue to be encouraged and convicted so I then read one chapter a night before I went to bed each evening. I love the fact that she is still in the middle of mothering little ones and experiencing the exhaustion and sometimes overwhelmingness of our task. I feel like she is reading my thoughts and encouraging me and convicting me at the same time. This will be my "go-to gift" for mothers of multiple children!

Watching old home video clips with the girls -- my husband recently found some old cd's we made from when we got our dog and our first beach trip with our two littles and when Karlie was born. We showed several of them to the girls and they just had the best time watching them! I think we are going to have to start having an old family movie night once a month because it just makes them smile so much to see what they looked like so little and how much we loved them and enjoyed playing with them :)

This Melissa and Doug Play House Reusable Sticker Pad -- Nina brought this the last time she came and the girls ask to play it all day long!

Nap-time Solutions

My girls are getting to the point where they don't always go to sleep at nap-time. They take a good, long nap about 75% of the time, but they were getting frustrated with staying in their beds for two hours the other 25% of the time. I grew tired of fussing at them to be quiet and wanted them to do something productive with their time if they were awake. I also did not want to lose my time to rest or get things accomplished uninterrupted each afternoon! So we came up with a new plan that is working well for us and I thought I'd share. I'd also love to hear how you handle disappearing naps in your home!

My girls undoubtedly need to have "quiet time" in order to happily make it to their 7pm bedtime. So they are required to stay in their beds, resting, with the lights off for 45-60 minutes. I do allow them to talk and sing quietly with each other during that time. Most of the time they drift off to sleep, but if not, I go in and put on a book on CD for them to listen to for about 30-45 minutes. They have been so excited about this! They are currently listening to the Adventures of Peter Rabbit and plan to do Winnie the Pooh next and then Charlotte's Web. All of these are available for free at our local library. After listening to a book on CD, I then turn on the lights and let them look at books together in their room for another 30-45 minutes. I love to hear them in there talking about what they are looking at and singing together. Now, I must admit that my girls are not perfect and there have been a few days when I have had to go in and break up an argument about who gets a particular book. But overall, this has been a great plan for us.

Something else that has greatly helped us with nap-time and morning wake-up time is our little friend,Momo. This cute monkey cost about $35 but was worth every penny! We had a hard time finding a kid's clock that wouldn't wake the girls up if they were actually sleeping past the time it was set for, but Momo is perfect! His eyes simply open at the appropriate time. He glows for a couple of seconds, but not brightly enough to wake them up. He does play a little tune, but we turned the volume all the way down and the girls can't hear it. The girls know that if they wake up before Momo wakes up, they should just talk quietly in their room until his eyes open. Then they are free to come out of their room. My girls LOVE their little monkey and are always reminding us to "close his eyes" (set the alarm) when putting them down for bed. We've had "Momo" for 3 months now and they still excitedly chant, "Momo's eyes are open," Momo's eyes are open" every morning as they come out of their room.

So what about you? What have you done when your little ones start to outgrow naptime? And do you have any good recommendations for books on CD for a 2.5 and a 4 year old?

A few more natural solutions to add...

1. While I still use coconut oil for EVERYTHING, I found that it wasn't quite enough to moisturize my dry skin during the winter. So I came up with my own home-made lotion. Now I use it for my face, to keep stretch marks off my humongous preggo belly, and everywhere else. And I can't wait for Abbi Grace to get here because I'm going to smear it all over her tiny body as well. I love it because the ingredients are natural enough to eat. (And I did (by mistake); I licked the spoon out of habit after stirring it in my pot :)

There are a number of oils you can choose from in making your own lotion; these just happened to be the ones I had on hand: coconut oil, almond oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. You definitely want to use coconut oil because of all the antibacterial, healing properties, and the shea butter is very important as well, because it makes the lotion more thick, rather than just a thin coating of oil. Cocoa butter is a pain because it is so hard, but I wanted to use it since I had it and I do think it helped the consistency of the lotion.

I have no recipe; I just dropped spoonfuls of each of them into my pot on the stove and left it on low for a while till I could stir it up together. (You definitely want to keep the temperature on low so that you don't destroy all the healing and nourishing qualities of the ingredients!) Then I set it out on the counter to cool and finished by putting it in the fridge for a while to solidify. I've done it a several times now without measuring and it always turns out a little differently, but it always works. And my skin has never been happier! I clean my face with olive oil and then put this concoction on it and it just feels so good!

*If you are one who likes to measure and prefers a more precise recipe, you could try out THIS one or THIS one.

2. I started making home-made deodorant. This is probably one of my biggest money-savers because I made just a small amount about 6 months ago and I still have a ton!! I used Lindsay's recipe and it works fine for me. I do believe your body goes through a little change as it gets used to not having the chemicals of store-bought deodorant because I needed a lot when I first started but now only a tiny bit will work just fine.

Ingredients:

6-8 Tbsp Coconut oil (solid state)
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch (arrowroot is preferred)

Directions:

1. Combine equal portions of baking soda & arrowroot powder.
2. Slowly add coconut oil and work it in with a spoon or hand blender until it maintains a firm but pliable texture. It should be about the same texture as commercial deodorant, solid but able to be applied easily. If it is too wet, add further arrowroot powder/cornstarch to thicken.
3. You can either scoop this recipe into your old deodorant dispensers or place in a small container with lid and apply with fingers with each use. Makes about 1 cup. This recipe lasts about 3 months for two people with regular daily use.

For a picture tutorial placing this recipe in an old deodorant container, visit here.

Lastly, I invested in a Norwex enviro cloth and window cloth to simplify my cleaning. I still use my tea tree oil or vinegar solutions for some things, but I am loving the simplicity of these two cloths for everything else! I chose it because it is made out of microfiber cloth with an innovative design that uses anti-bacterial silver particles integrated into the synthetic microfiber, ensure (according to their website):

• Single-celled micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, and viruses cannot survive or adapt in silver exposure

• Surface-to-surface cross-contamination is eliminated

• Rapidly drying cloths prevent bacteria growth in the cloth itself

(Read THIS review to learn more about it)

Practically , it has worked really well for me! I have seriously never had such clean, streak-free windows before and I love the fact that I didn't have to use any chemicals at all! I love wiping my sinks down with it and knowing that there will be no gross mold or bacteria growing in my towel. I simply rinse it out and hang it out to dry after each use.

Some Favorite Preschool Resources

We haven't done a lot of preschool with Karis yet, but there are a few things that she and Karlie have really enjoyed. (When you have two littles, the youngest seems to learn everything right along with the older!)

1. This Melissa and Doug magnetic chalkboard/whiteboard with wooden letters and numbers:

It comes with some letters and numbers, but I went ahead and bought the extra set of letters because I think it is so important for them to learn the lowercase letters along with the uppercase ones. I cannot tell you how much fun they have had with this! I started with just one letter pair a week and slowly added the alphabet (the vowels first, then adding consonants), along with the numbers. We sit on the bed and I ask them questions as they take turns taking the letters and numbers off. For Karis, I ask questions like, "Which letter says, 'buh?' and "which number is first in line" or "which number is beside the 2?" or "which number is between the 4 and the 6?" With Karlie, I ask more simple questions like where is the "Jj?" or "what sound does the 'A' make?" or "what color is the 2?" They get really excited about their turn and after all the letters and numbers are off, I just let them play with them all. I love that it is magnetic and the letters are wooden rather than cheap plastic!

2. A calendar :

My girls really look forward every day to putting up the new number for the day, singing our days of the week and months of the year songs, and picking the weather for the day. I just use painter's tape that comes off easily to stick everything up there. I love doing the calendar with them because they learn to recognize numbers up to 31, and it helps them look forward to special days and visits from grandparents. I have tiny pictures of their grandparents that we put on the calendar to show when they are coming to visit each month and we will count to it each day. They also get really excited each month when I print out a different (seasonal) picture to use for the numbers. I plan to start doing patterns with the numbers soon (like alternating two different colors for an AB pattern, then adding more colors or shapes when they start to find that too easy). Sometimes I just let them play with the calendar (which is why the weather is all messed up right now :) The calendar has definitely been a fun and easy way to help my girls learn!

3. Tactile Letters and Numbers:

As a former pre-school teacher who saw too many energetic and busy little ones forced to sit down and practice writing letters before they really needed to or could even do it without frustration, I have not been in any hurry to teach Karis to write her letters. I want her to find learning fun! So I was excited to find these sand-paper letters on Amazon and quickly incorporated them into our letter book. As we discuss a new letter each week, I make a page for our binder that has a picture of different ways they will read the letter in a book, a little rhyme to help them remember the sound the letter makes, the sandpaper letter, and directions to help them learn to trace (and eventually write) the letter. We pull the book out a few times a week and chant the rhyme and directions and they practice tracing the letter with their fingers. That way, it will be very simple for them to know how to write it when they get the patience and coordination. They love the feel of the sand-paper letters and tracing them is probably their favorite part of looking at our letter book!

4. Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row books -- These books are pricey, so I would recommend getting them at the library, but I really like them. The author chooses some of the best books available, recommends that you read the book 5 times with your child, and gives you ideas of activities to do with them. The B4 book is very simple and a lot of the ideas I could come up with myself, but it saves me the trouble of trying :) The actual 5 in a row series is great, and tries to bring in ideas for all subjects, such as geography, Bible, and even cooking! My girls have really enjoyed each book selection and the things I have pulled from them.

5. Matching puzzles like THESE -- I could have probably posted these with the toddler products because Karlie has been obsessed with them since about 18 months, but the older topics like "opposites" and "rhyming" are great for preschoolers as well. Keep your eyes open because we actually found some similar ones at the dollar store! We currently have "pairs" (things that go together like a hat and a glove or bread and butter), "animal Mamas and babies," "uppercase and lower case," and "rhyming."

Favorites for Toddlers

Baby dolls and accessories -- My girls just love them! I think Karis got her first doll when she about 7 months old and it has been her favorite thing ever since! My girls carry them around and put them in slings and pretty much take care of them all day long! We simply can't do anything around the house without a doll baby :) My girls have been given many different dolls, but they particularly love the Little Mommy Newborn Nursery doll. Keep an eye out for consignment sales, because you can find really good deals on fun accessories like baby doll strollers, swings, pack N plays, and play mats.

Fisher Price Little People and animals -- Oh, how my girls love them! I think they are way overpriced at the stores, but if you factor in how many hours my girls have spent playing with them, they are well worth any amount of money :) But once again, these are easily found at consignment sales and we haven't paid more than $5 for any set. We currently have the Noah's Ark, School Bus, Farm, and Alphabet Zoo. We usually only have one set out at a time, and switch them out every few months.

Here are a few of my girls' favorite things:

Puzzles, esp. Melissa and Doug -- Both of my girls have been obsessed with puzzles, and it started at the toddler age. They pretty much taught themselves their letters, numbers, and shapes by doing puzzles with us and asking us to tell them the name of each piece. I especially love the Melissa and Doug puzzles -- they have ones with big pegs for babies, little pegs for toddlers, and big floor puzzles for the older ones. My girls have loved them all!

Books -- My girls would read books with me all day long if I let them. They are always following me around the house and bringing their books with them to look at as I cook and clean. They've always loved books byBoynton, Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, any Mother Goose collection, Raffi and other "singing" books, Curious George books, 5 Little Monkeys books, and Biscuit books. We've really enjoyed the Alphabet and Pre-reading Skills Bob books, as well as the Big Picture Story Bible. They are currently obsessed with "Alfie and Annie Rose," books by Jan Brett, and "I Spy" books. I could go on and on about our favorite toddler books, but I think that is plenty!

Doll house and people -- Definitely something else that my girls will play with for hours! I love to hear them talking to the people, imagining all sorts of scenarios, and telling me about what each character is doing. We started out with a worn old Fisher Price dollhouse that we found at the consignment sale for $5. Then my folks got the girls this beautiful wooden one with cute wooden people (from Cracker Barrel) for Christmas. Oh, they love it so much!

Kitchen set/food -- My girls love to cook just like Momma! Kitchen sets can be pricey, but just keep an eye out at yard sales and consignment sales :) I LOVE the Melissa and Doug wooden food and this stainless steel pots and pans set that the grandparents gave my girls. My girls have also been known to take their play-doh into their kitchen and make their own food :)

Dress-up clothes -- It is a very rare day that my girls don't wear something from their dress-up bin! Karis is currently obsessed with a ballerina outfit my folks gave her for Christmas and Karlie loves some purple sparkly butterfly wings. They are always putting on their tutus and they generally wear about ten different hats over the course of the day!

Stickers!  These are definitely one of their favorite things to do at the table while I am making dinner. Karlie still has trouble getting them off the page sometimes, but luckily Karis is at a stage where she likes to help Karlie with her stickers. Nina bought them each these awesome Melissa and Doug sticker books last weekend and in just two days, they have almost emptied them! They especially love the "dress-up" stickers (kind of like paper dolls, only they stay in place!) They also LOVE the foam stickers, and my youngest seems to be able to get the backs off them more easily. but get them at a dollar store; they are expensive elsewhere.

I'd love to hear about some of your toddler favorites!

Favorite 6-12 month products

Oh, this age is so much fun! While I don't have any products that I wouldn't want to live without (other than the Ergo, which Hollie already mentioned and is by far the easiest, most comfortable, and hands free baby carrier I've tried), there are several products that I really enjoyed using with my girls. So here they are in no particular order:

Munchkin Blow-up ducky bath -- As soon as they were able to sit up, I switched to this bathtub and the girls just loved having the freedom to take a "real" bath and splash and squirm to their hearts' content. It fit right inside my tub and even left enough room for my oldest to take a bath beside my little one without the fear of her getting mistakenly pushed over under water.

All natural, wooden or cloth teethers -- With my second baby, I started trying to get rid of all the plastic teethers in my house because I didn't know if they contained BPA or not. There are so many great natural teethers out nowadays! They are definitely more expensive, but you don't need that many and they are totally worth it to me. Karlie loved them! Here are a few options: Ringley Teether, Green Sprouts Blankie Teether,Little Alouette Teethers, Dad's Wooden Toys, Maple Teethers, and there are tons more if you search Amazon or Etsy. Oh, and how about this idea for a teething necklace for Mommas to wear? (Since the baby is going to try to eat any necklace I wear anyways :) I found one on a great sale and it is perfect for when I'm wearing my baby in the Ergo!

The best teether ever: Zo-li Gummy Stick -- The baby can hold it so easily and the ingenious design keeps the teething part from hitting the ground when it falls.

Mesh feeder -- This thing saved me many a meal time when my baby was too little to eat something we were eating but so badly wanted to! She could chomp down and chew as much as she wanted without worrying about the food being a chocking hazard. If she was teething badly I would fill it with frozen blueberries or peas and she would be a happy camper!

Leap Frog Music Table -- I'm not usually all about things that make a lot of noise, but both of my girls absolutely loved this! The legs come off easily, so when the baby was too little to stand, she could still have fun climbing on it, pushing buttons, and making music. Once I put the legs on, it quickly became a favorite thing to pull up on because it was so so sturdy. And it made for a slow walker as well.

Books! I start reading to my little ones from the time they are born, but around this age, they really start to enjoy looking at them on their own. Little chunky one are the best for such small fingers. They also really enjoy books that have texture and/or flaps. Some of our favorites: Touch and Feel Animals, That's not my... Usborne Series, Pinwheel Peekaboo puppet books, Karen Katz books, Brown Bear and Friends, Dr. Seuss Bright and Early Board Books

Exersaucer -- Both of my girls would go wild in this thing! We always put it in our kitchen and it definitely helped me to get dinner made :)

Munchkin plates, bowls, cups, utensils -- Although I am slowly trying to weed out the plastic in our life and are saving up for this cute stainless steel collection , the inexpensive Munchkin dinnerware is at least BPA free and my kids have loved the colorful designs.

What I learned on our last vacation

This has been a very unusual beach trip for us: a completely new place and without grandparents. So I thought I'd share a couple things that I've learned :)

Traveling in the evening does not ensure that my girls will sleep at all on the trip. Regardless of the fact that she is normally sound asleep by 6:15 every night, Karlie will probably not quiet down in the car until at least 10:00pm!

Stickers are my best friend. The only 30 min stretch of peace in our 6 hour trip was when I was feeding Karlie stickers to decorate our van with :)

A van is a wonderful and amazing thing. Never before have we been able to bring so much on a trip. The most important item that we can now bring is our wagon. I cannot begin to describe how useful it is on the beach!

A beach trip is a lot more relaxing when you bring grandparents along :) We have had a blast, but the only relaxing Mark and I get is when the girls take their super-long naps after coming back from playing all morning on the shore.

Food is the only way to keep the fussiness down when the girls are utterly exhausted and are too sandy for their nap yet. A special snack makes a huge difference!

There is no such thing as a perfect family beach picture with my family (Lauren, you are so incredibly blessed to have toddler who loves to pose; your beach pictures make me jealous :) There is simply no way to get both of my girls to even look at the camera at the same time, let alone be smiling at the camera simultaneously!

It doesn't matter how many cute outfits I pack: if they aren't pink sundresses, Karis will not wear them!

Little swimmy diapers are not leak free and my cloth diapers actually do a better job!

Cod liver oil and a healthy diet really does make a difference in not needing sunscreen! I have never used so little sunscreen in my life! I really should be a lobster right now, but I am not!

My girls are so incredibly different. Yes, I already knew this, but this trip has been a constant reminder. Karlie is a dare-devil who fears nothing. She saw the beach and ran into the water as fast as she could and would have kept going if I had let her. It took Karis about 4 days at Karlie's age to even let us put her feet in the water! And Karis was still initially hesitant this trip! Karlie will also try to walk right into the pool at any given moment. I never even had to worry with Karis because she wouldn't go near the water unless we talked her into it! They are just so different!

We really should invest in a GPS. We say this after every trip because we are notorious for taking a wrong turn. It would probably be a worthy investment for us.

The Singing Bible is fun the first time or two, but when your 3-year old is utterly obsessed with it and doesn't want to hear anything else, it is a BAD thing! 

You can NEVER have too many beach towels!

I should never hold my squirmy Karlie and my camera at the same time! NEVER! Once again, I have dropped our camera and it is currently out of commission :(