random cuteness and favorite baby clothes

The girls have been up to all sorts of cute things lately:

-This weekend when we were driving home, Claire randomly started tickling her own feet, we noticed because she said "ticka ticka ticka".

-When the girls want to play outside, they go up to the patio door and say "wheee".

-Audrey loves to share with Claire- she gives her food, sippy cups, pacifiers, you name it.

-This morning, Claire took Audrey's hand and led her all around the house, it was adorable!

We had family pictures over the weekend, once again Amanda did a fabulous job! Here is a sneak peek:

And now that I am an experienced baby clothes shopper, I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

1. Hanna Andersson is hands down my absolute favorite. I think people close to me probably get sick of hearing me talk about my obsession! But seriously, the fabric is awesome quality, it washes and wears incredibly well. The sizing is crazy too- the girls fit into it forever! Claire is still wearing dresses from last summer. The only downside is that it is pricey- a set of pajamas runs about $40 and the site rarely offers free shipping. I'm hoping to scope out the sale section the next time we go to the city and also stock up during their Black Friday sale (jammies are half price then). I've also had some good luck on ebay- I've been able to get dresses from $5-$10.

2. Tea Collection has the most beautiful printed dresses. The girls have a handful of these dresses that I've scored at rummage sales and once upon a child. These dresses also wash quite well- the fabric is thick, but not quite as durable as HA. Thankfully it is fairly easy to find these dresses on sale- right now their website has a few choices for $15.

3. Baby Gap- this is where I find most of my bargains! Sign up for their emails to catch the best sales! I've found that my local store tends to have better prices than online, so it pays to stop by every so often. My favorite time to buy is when you get an extra 40% off clearance. I recently picked up some jeans for Claire for about $5 a pair, which is less than what they sell for at OUAC! I'm a bit mad at myself over that purchase though, there was a gap cash promotion going on- in the past I was awarded gap cash for the amount I spent pre-discount, but this time you actually needed to spend $50 to get the promotion (for those not familiar, you get $25 off a $50 purchase with gap cash). The only downside of the gap cash is that it can't be combined with other % off promotions. My way around this is to scope out the clearance section and only buy from there- that way I still get a double discount.

4. Target- some of the girls' most adorable clothes are from Target. I've found that these clothes tend to wear a bit quicker than the other brands I've discussed. My way to counteract this is to only buy things when they are 50-70% off. Most of the items I've picked up at Target have been $5 or less.

party prep

I'm making preliminary plans for the girls' golden birthday. I fell in love with the dress the flower girl was wearing at my cousin's wedding last December. I'm not sure why I didn't just order the dresses from Gymboree last year, but at any rate they are out of stock now and I have been stalking ebay. I ordered Audrey's dress, it arrived today and is gorgeous! I haven't been having as much luck finding smaller sizes for Claire, but since I'm preparing ahead of time hopefully I will encounter one.

I have some rough ideas for the rest of the party- obviously I will be incorporating lots of gold! I also like mint and pink. I've came across some adorable invitations on etsy as well. I figure this will likely be the last year that I have complete creative control of the party, so I am going to take advantage before the girls insist on Dora and Doc McStuffins!

18 months

The girls are at such a fun age right now- it seems like they are learning new things every day. Audrey is really picking up on new words- recent additions are ears, duck, and quack.

Claire loves playing ring around the rosie- Audrey isn't as into it, and Claire gets very upset if Audrey refuses to hold her hand.

The girls are becoming more grown up everyday- they love using their forks! We went out to eat on Monday and Audrey insisted on using a fork. The girls are also very interested in whatever we are drinking! We frequently walk over to caribou for their happy hour. Last time we went Audrey was insisting on trying my drink- I figured she wouldn't like it so I could just let her have a sip and she would lose interest- that plan backfired! I had to put my coffee away and finish it after she went to bed.

Their favorite toys are little people, play food, and books. Audrey can't get enough of her books- she would be happy to have someone read to her all day long. Claire is a bit more active- she likes to run around, twirl, and dance.

The girls continue to be great eaters- they went on a bit of a banana strike, but after giving them a bit of a break they are eating them again. There really hasn't been anything that they have refused yet.

The girls are both getting molars- I'm not even sure how many teeth they have these days, it is hard to get a good look in their mouths! I know they have 10 for sure... maybe even 12? They insist on brushing their own teeth, but I'll have to investigate. Audrey has had a bit of a fever with this teething business so she has been alternating between irritable and snuggly.

We are going to start potty training soon! I ordered some basic gerber training pants, but then spoke with my cousin who is a cloth diapering genius and got a few other ideas. I'm going to bypass the whole pull up business- I think I'm going to order blueberry training pants and rumparooz diaper covers. I won't use the diaper cover when we are at home, but I think it will be helpful when we are out running errands and when we are traveling.

I'm also waiting for Hanna Andersson to have free shipping- they are one of the only places that offer undies in Claire's size, plus I am obsessed with HA- it is such great quality! They are pricey, but the girls are young enough that they won't know the difference if they get socks and undies for Christmas :)

things you need to buy- nordstrom anniversary sale edition

There are a few more days left to the Nordstrom anniversary sale and I thought I would share a few must haves. And these are totally practical things. Like undergarments.

1. Natori Feathers Bra

Not to be presumptuous or anything, but you are probably wearing the wrong size bra. Especially if you are under a size 6 and are shopping at Victoria's Secret. I know when I first learned about bra fitting, you were supposed to measure your rib cage and add 5 inches, but that's not how it works anymore! You just measure your rib cage- no adding inches necessary. So my real band size is 2-4 inches smaller than the bras I had been buying at VS. For reference, I take a 30" band, I'm petite, but not super tiny. Here is a great overview of proper bra fitting. There is even a link to a you tube video. Basically one of the most important things to remember is that the band should be super snug fitting on the first set of clasps. Remember that your bras stretch out as you wear them, so this should help prolong their life. In my opinion, you need 4 every day bras (apparently it is best practice to let them rest a day in between wearings, but sometimes I find a favorite and wear it every.single.day), but 2 nude (not white- white shows through white tops, nude does not) and 2 black and you should be covered and you should be covered. Add fun colors as your budget allows. The feathers retail for $68, but catch them on sale for $44.90 and they are about the same price as what you would pay for something from VS.

2. Zella Live In Leggings

These leggings are amazing! They are thick, high waisted enough to contain any lingering baby weight, and reversible to boot! I ordered them in the regular legging $33.90 and capri $28.90. I plan on wearing the capris as lounge wear/athletic wear and the regular with boots and sweaters (I love summer, but boot season gets me excited. Good thing boot season is 7-8 months long around here! PS, the official start of boot season is after school begins... so you may start to wear your boots in August, but best practice is to wait until September).

3. Frye Boots

Frye boots are incredible. These are not cheap, but taking into account the length of boot season, these work out to about $1.75 per wear, and provided that you take care of them, they will last for years and will end up being just pennies per wear. I'm craving a pair of cognac booties, but if you are getting your first pair of boots, I would suggest a cognac riding boot. PS, Frye's appear to have gone up by $100-200 in the past year, so grab them on sale when you can. 6 pm is also a good source for Frye's (I snagged a pair for so cheap last year that when Justin was bragging about my shopping prowess to a coworker she didn't believe they were really Frye's).

4. J Brand Mid Rise Skinny Jeans

Ok, so these aren't technically part of the anniversary sale, but you need them. True story, the first time I bought a pair of J Brands, I was so impressed with how my backside looked, I contemplated texting a picture to my friend (I tried, but it took more coordination than I had. Justin's friend took me on this shopping excursion, and was wondering why it took me 45 minutes to purchase 2 items. Probably because I spent a solid 10 minutes trying to get a good selfie...). I loved these so much I bought a second pair... and I'm usually not one to buy multiples of something. I also have a pair of wine colored J Brands, these are similar, but mine have rock-star esque zippers on the front, making them even more awesome. In all honesty, the only jeans I need are my 3 pair of J Brands, 7FAM dojos for those rare occasions I feel like wearing trouser jeans, and Joe's skinny jeans for everyday running after the girls/around the campfire. Oh, and my Joe's Provocateurs for sentimental reasons (the first pair of premium denim I ever purchased- my bff and I talked each other into buying them and then wore them out that night so the other person couldn't wimp out and return them later).

5. Philosophy Purity Made Simple

This is my most favorite cleanser ever! It is super gentle, and actual takes of your make up. True story, not all facial cleansers remove makeup. If you are using a targeted wash for acne or another skin condition, it probably isn't getting all of your makeup off. The product I linked is the best value, but if you are new to this product, you can pick up a mini bottle for around $10.

fresh berries

Enjoying fresh berries from the garden.

Audrey says "yum, yum"

words with babies

The girls have been little chatterboxes lately- they have quite the collection of words! Things they say include:

"No, no puppy"- Claire started saying this before she would say Daddy consistently.
"No"- Although Audrey doesn't attach meaning to this- she just responds with it sometimes when we ask her a question.
"Shoes!"- I'm surprised this wasn't one of their first words.
"Sissy" - Melts my heart- so cute!
"Mama"
"Daddy"
"Puppy"
"Baby"- Everyone under the age of 12 is a baby to Audrey- she says it whenever she sees another child.
"Nana"- For banana. Sometimes Audrey will even grab a banana from the table.
"Ball"
"Cow"
"Car"- Although they typically say "car car"
"Night night"

They also have a collection of animal sounds, including "roar", "baa", and "la la la" (that is what the pig says).

17 months

We have been up to lots of fun things around here! We went to the lake last weekend- Audrey got in the water with me, but Claire was content hanging out in her tent and eating watermelon. 

One of Audrey's newest tricks is giving kisses- here she was kissing the pretty baby!

The girls love getting into cupboards! My mom has a few cabinets that she lets the girls dig in and it keeps them entertained for so long. Claire loved taking the granola bars out of the package and putting them back it. 

The girls are very busy these days! They have mastered going up and down the stairs- Audrey often goes down to the basement by herself to play kitchen. It is nice that they are getting more independent, but we now have another area of the house that needs to be baby proofed. The basement used to be a bit of a sanctuary, but now it is a toy explosion! One of Audrey's favorite games is pulling absolutely everything out of her kitchen.

Claire and Audrey both give kisses, blow kisses, and wave bye-bye. It takes me a lot longer to leave for work now, because the girls do all of their tricks for me before I go.

Bedtime is still around 6:30 and they pretty consistently sleep until 6:30. Although, this morning they woke up at 5:00, had some milk, and then slept in until 8! We didn't wake up until Justin came home from work.