I am continuing on my mission to create to tasty recipes that are toddler-approved, while still being enjoyable for the adults at the table too. Jane, like most kids (and adults), is a big fan of macaroni and cheese. I recently made my classic homemade macaroni and cheese recipe, and stirred in some leftover butternut squash pieces and a few dashes of cinnamon while the pasta and cheese were still piping hot. The butternut squash melted into the sauce and created a sweet, seasonal spin on my favorite pasta dish. It was such a hit that I made it again for a family party this weekend, and it was a hit with both the kids and the grown-ups at the party. read more

Dinnertime can be a challenge on a good day, but add an infant or a toddler to the mix and it can be down right exhausting. Our daughter is 8 months old and diving head first into the world of solid foods right now. More than anything, she always wants to be eating what my husband and I are eating, which is great, as long as we’re eating something that’s appropriate for a toothless baby. read more

We shared a quintessential New England tradition with Jane this weekend and took her on an inaugural apple-picking trip. My in-laws live nearby several apple farms outside of Boston, and with the sun-shining on Saturday, we took a drive over to Honey Pot Hill Orchards for the afternoon. Everyone else in the state must have had the same idea because it was packed, but we trekked a little farther into the orchards and plucked a few bags of fresh, juicy apples. Jane loved trying the apples, working on her standing at the apple tree ladders, and her favorite part was checking out the farm animals. These pictures I snapped are killing me, because she looks like such a big kid hanging on the fence and holding the apples — our little baby is growing up! read more

This post was created in partnership with buybuy BABY. All opinions are my own.

We have been on the road for what seems like the whole summer. Jane has been buckled in her car seat and hitting spots all over New England since she was born. We took our first trip with her to Vermont when she was just two months old. Last month we spent several days at my parent’s house in New York, and she was on the road again this weekend for some slumber partying at my in-laws house as we headed to a wedding in New Hampshire. We still haven’t tested her travel-experience on an airplane, but she’s been putting some miles on that car seat! read more

This post was created in partnership with buybuy BABY. All opinions are my own.

In general, food is pretty much universally my favorite topic to talk about. When Jane started to show interest in solid foods I was so excited, because it means we get to talk about food even more than usual. With that big transition came lots of research and questions and frantic Googling (can babies eat greek yogurt?!), so I thought it would be helpful to share a little bit about our experience with Jane and food for others going through the same thing. We have found some products we swear by, and a few favorite foods that helped Jane make the solid food transition jump pretty seamlessly. read more

I’m having a mild panic set in that Jane will be 6-months old this week, how does time move so fast? Yet I’m writing this post at 8:30am and feel like day has been going on for hours upon hours. What’s that saying about children growing up? The days are long, but the years are short. That is exactly how I feel right about now. At 6-months I still feel like everyday is a new challenge, a new discovery, and even more fascination with this tiny human than we ever thought was possible. When Jane was first born I wrote a list of blog post topics that I found helpful during my pregnancy internet-research bonanza, and noted a few that I’d love to write myself once I had a bit more experience (in fact, I started a new baby section of the site with a few of those posts already!). One of them was a comprehensive review of everything we registered for — all of the baby gear we’ve loved using and the random things that I didn’t even know existed while we were trying to survive those first few weeks. read more

This post was created in partnership with buybuy BABY. All opinions are my own.

I was having a conversation with a family member this past weekend about how I get nothing done with Jane around, because even when she’s sleeping or sitting and playing, I just want to watch her and see what she’s up to. My spying on her has only increased since she’s gotten a bit better at playing with her toys independently. I love to watch her examine them and carefully choose which one to pick up next. It’s fascinating to see her make those decisions and really start to engage and explore them. read more

All right guys, we’re talking about something a little bit out of the ordinary here today: working out. This blog is usually a space for my latest adventures in putting donuts on things. I’m also the farthest thing from an expert in health and fitness. I do however love to share things here that are relevant to what’s going on in my life. Working out has been a new addition to my lifestyle, and I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about how I worked out before having Jane, and how I’ve found some ways to reintroduce it back into my routine post-baby. read more

This post was created in partnership with buybuy BABY. All opinions are my own.

I was talking with a group of moms this week about the juggle of working with a baby, and each mom commented on how incredibly lucky I was to be able to stay home with Jane while working for myself. I’m coming up on two months since I officially took the blog full time and the work-from-home life has been both challenging and amazing. Hearing those moms share their perspective gave me a much-needed reminder of how wonderful it really is that I get to do a job I love and still get to spend all day with Jane. My “new normal” has not come without it’s challenges though. I’ve been working hard these past two months at finding my work/mom rhythm. Jane is three and a half months old, and only in those past two weeks have I finally started to feel some normalcy in our routine. Reading about other working mom and business owners’ workday routines is one of my guilty pleasures; I gobble up those articles and dig for tips I can apply to my own life. I thought it would be helpful to share a bit about what’s worked for us in our own routine, in the tools I use, and the products that are making my life a bit saner. read more

I am getting way too excited for Jane’s first Easter this year, it’s really her first big family holiday. I have her outfit all picked out — the cutest smocked floral easter dress and some little bunny shoes (these things are so darling and a total steal at Old Navy!). I also got a few little treats for an Easter basket even though I know she has no idea what’s going on– a soft book, some critter knee socks, and a cozy pair of bunny jammies (which I’ll pack for when she inevitably gets her Easter dress dirty). Let’s be real, it was a great excuse to buy things that I wanted for her! In my hunt for these Easter treats I found so many other darling Easter basket ideas for babies and toddlers that I thought I’d share them here, I’m earmarking a few of them for her basket next year too!   read more

 
 
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