Mommy Daughter Dates

My girls are best friends, but I still feel it's important to have some one on one time with my oldest!  Her favourite activity is going to the park and she loves to play in the sand.  Every day she asks if we're going to the beach (she remembers that best from our vacation in July) and always wants to bring her bucket and shovels to make sandcastles.  I think she could stay there from the time she woke up til she passed out from sheer exhaustion! 

This Wednesday, little sister E fell asleep right before we got ready for our playdate at the park.  My husband was home sick that day and I left little E napping while we went off on our own little adventure!  The local mamas that go to our church started the weekly playgroup again and we decided to give it a shot.  Unfortunately, Pippi's only friend moved and there is no one her age, so she didn't have a the best time while the other kids where there...  So I told my husband we'd be later than expected and let P stay as long as my allergies would allow. 







We had a blast!  We went up and down the slides, "climbed" the tree next to the picnic table, made pretend birthday cakes, and took a bunch of pictures.  The time together was great for both of us and I hope we can keep having opportunities to enjoy each others company for many years to come!

Snugabug

My toddler is not a fan of being wrapped.  She knows that it's non-negotiable in some situations, like when we have to park a ways off at events or in bad weather, but she definitely doesn't like being wrapped at home!  She is far too busy for being restrained!  Sometimes I can bribe her into trying new carries with her paci or a special treat after, then she gets all excited and finally consents.  Just because she doesn't like to be wrapped on me, doesn't mean she's not a fan of wrapping!  Every day, she asks to go snugabug (her words for "snug as a bug") and picks a different wrap for her mood.

Wraps are great play toys and food for imagination!  Not only does it help break them in, but it helps justify the cost for me.  One of P's favourites is "Red Riding Hood" and she'll play it for hours.  "Make me a hood mama!" "Where's my riding hood mama???"  Then she runs around the house and pretends that baby sister is the big bad wolf, "No catch me Evahlee!  Eeeeeeek!"

This busy little toddler is also not a fan of naps...  She hasn't napped regularly since E was born (I would lay down and nurse her to sleep) and some days that can be hard!  There's been a few days where she'll be playing in her pack n play and fall asleep, but this was one of my favourite crash naps.  The handsome husband is pretty much the only one who wears Erna right now, so I like to keep it out for P to play with and make me feel better that it's getting used frequently.  One day she decided she needed the wrap and hauled it over to the couch.  I thought she'd climb up on the couch and play with it, but no!  She decided she was going to just play on the floor in front of the couch.  "Sleep now!"  Wiggle wiggle wiggle... "Wrap me mama!!!"  *I cover her up from head to toe* "Thank you!"  I wrapped the very cranky E up and started walking around to put her to sleep.  Once she had settled down, I noticed it was suspiciously quiet...  *Peek under coffee table* P was out like a light!  Wraps even come with sleepy dust without having to be worn!

Small Town Traditions

Every year we go to the next town over to celebrate "Founders Day." We live in a little valley with a bunch of small towns that each have their own mini holiday and it is one of my favourite traditions. This year, the weather wasn't very cooperative, but we still had a good time. 

The main event we go to is the parade. I swear every year it gets longer and longer! Of course you have the usual police cars and fire trucks, but this parade also has many horse or mule drawn wagons and a special twist. Half the community that participates dress up and represent the settlers and townspeople while the other half that bring up the rear of the parade reenact the "savages" that originally made the valley their home. There is much shooting of rifles and shotguns, war whooping, and your colourful locals that may or may not be wearing anything under their deer skin chaps... My toddler's favourite part is the vintage tractors! She really enjoyed them last year as well. Listening to her little voice narrate the parade was the cutest thing!

After the parade, the settlers and Indians reenact the battle on the elementary school sports field. We haven't gone since having the girls though. Usually we wander on over to the booths put up by local vendors. There's your typical booths with purses, hair bows, and tutus for the little girls made by moms, as well as a local favourite, food storage! Only in Utah... We didn't look at them this year since it started sprinkling as soon as the parade ended and it's a good thing! As soon as we were in the truck buckling the girls in, the torrential downpour started. It will be very much needed for the crops and local wildfires! 

All in all, we had a great day hanging out with family and relaxing at home. We played quite a few games with the blocks, chased each other pretending to be a tickle monster, and couldn't have had a better day!

  

Silent Sunday

Review: Lila Hemp Indio

Let me just start by saying purple is my favourite colour.  Somehow, my stash ended up very pink for a while and I had to fix it!  In the babywearing groups I'm in, there is a LOT of talk about Didymos Indios and their awesome wrapping qualities.  I'm also a huge fan of hemp!  Soft, supportive...  It's a great blend for toddlerwearing as well as comfy enough for little squishes.  I had a hard time picking between Lila and Flamenco hemp Indio, but due to the pinkish nature of my stash, I took a chance on Lila.  There's not a lot of information and reviews of Lila out on the web, so hopefully this will be helpful to someone out there!

When I bought Lila, I had already gotten three other wraps of various blends and thought I knew what a "crunchy" new wrap felt like.  Everyone talks about how cardboard like Natibaby linen blends are and I had found my Notes pre-order to be very easy to break in.  Warm wash and dry on low had done a lot for it, I hadn't even felt the need to steam iron it!  Even freshly out of the bag from Wrap Your Baby, it hadn't felt too crunchy.  It wasn't quite as easy to wrap with as my 100% KoKaDi had been, but it was still very workable and comfortable.  KoKaDi wraps are exceptionally soft even before washing, so I didn't want to compare my Merlin (hemp/cotton blend) to Lila right away.

My sweet husband had bought Lila for my birthday and it arrived about a week before then.  I had originally told him I wanted him to put it away and make me wait, but I just couldn't!  We had ordered it from Heart Hugs and I am super impressed with their customer service!  It shipped the next day and arrived two days later.  She had put a handwritten note attached to the decorative string tied to the box, which she had wrapped in crepe paper.  I was very impressed!  When I opened the box and had my first feel of Lila, I finally understood why people say an unbroken in wrap is like drapery.  It would make very good drapes or upholstery!!!  I am a very tactile person and was immediately put off my the Indio texture.  It was the most BEAUTIFUL colour in real life, but I was starting to feel like I had made a mistake in picking her.  Luckily I knew I should take a few weeks to fully make a decision and popped her in the wash to start breaking her in.

The first woven wrap I had ever used was KoKaDi Erna, a buttery smooth 100% cotton.  It was very easy to wrap with, not grippy at all.  Even my Nati linen could be considered smooth to wrap with, but has enough grip to hold where I wrap it.  So when I first wrapped with Lila, the grippiness was quite different for me!  Like the texture, I wasn't sure I liked it at first.  As time goes by and I work more and more with her, I find that the grippiness is a huge bonus!  When I finish my carry, I don't have to worry about constantly re-tightening and adjusting.  This baby sticks!  The grippiness makes it a perfect rucking wrap with my seat popper.  However, if we're doing our favourite hip carry (Poppins hip carry), I find it to be a bit hard to adjust and tie behind my back.

Since I am going to be a full time toddlerwearer in the next week, I am very particular about the comfort and support qualities of the wraps I buy.  I love cush, enough support for single layer carries to discourage sagging...  Shorties (wraps in a 1-3 size length) are also my go to right now, so I purchased a size 3.  I am currently wrapping a 27 lb 33 month old and a 16 lb 11 month old.  I loved the weight of my Merlin, but knew Lila would be a bit thinner when I bought it.  That didn't make me any less anxious when I felt how thin she was after I had washed her.  I have quite picky shoulders and many times ruck straps cause me some discomfort.  Erna was starting to get diggy and I was looking to avoid that!  Lila definitely surprised me!  Her first test was rucking my toddler to the county fair and I was pleasantly surprised.  Even in the heat, she was cool and breathable due to her thinness and airy weave.  But the best part was she was SUPER comfortable on my shoulders!  Not diggy at all, yet thin enough to not be a massive amount of fabric bunched up on my narrow shoulders.  Lila is the first wrap I reach for when my P needs some uppies and always goes to town with us just in case I need to contain her in the store.

All in all, I would highly recommend Didymos's Lila Hemp Indio for someone looking for a simple, stunning, and supportive wrap.  Shorty or full length, this breathable and airy wrap is sure to impress anyone wearing their toddler or infant for any length of time.  I am truely feeling the Indio love and hope to expand my collection thanks to this amazing wrap!

Just a little Introduction!

My husband keeps encouraging me to start writing and keep a blog for the adventures of our busy little girls!  I finally decided that he is probably right as usual, so here we are!  I want to keep memories of our little escapades, share information that is important to me, and have a better way of keeping myself accountable with my goals.

*wave* Hi!  I'm Anna, work at home mom to a very energetic pair of princesses.  I have a little hobby business making cloth diapers and am addicted to wrapping.  If it involves fabric, I'm probably obsessed with it!  My business started as an innocent way to save money while pregnant with my first and has definitely evolved into a much larger project than I ever intended.  I now have my own space at home to work in and my own machines, so much easier than going over to my mother's house.  Luckily she still comes and watches the girls while I work!  They really enjoy seeing her frequently and I enjoy having a few quiet moments to myself.  I recently got into the wickedly addicting world of woven wrap as well.  I have always tried to maintain a natural way of parenting my girls and wearing them was always something I did.  We've had the carrier my mom carried me in, an Ergo, a ring sling...  I even tried the Moby and was an epic failure!  But since having my second baby grow up and needing the use of both hands, woven wraps really intrigued me.  I finally took the plunge and have been loving every minute!

The biggest influences behind my blog and, of course, the biggest stars are P and E.  P is a Christmas Eve baby and one of the smartest kids I know!  She was born a month early due to pre-eclampsia and has been a wonderful addition to our family.  Because of her, I am learning that life never goes how I plan it!  We had planned a homebirth with her and instead got a preterm induction, she was also tongue tied and has food allergies.  Amazingly enough, she "nursed" til 20 months and was totally on donor milk from 8 weeks on.  E was my healing natural birth, it was truly an enjoyable experience!  This time we were armed with knowledge of ties and we were able to make it 8 weeks bottle and paci free.  After visiting a highly recommended pediatric dentist in NY, I finally had the breastfeeding relationship I had longed for until her food allergies became too severe to continue.  She is now on elemental formula and thriving for the first time in her life.  As the younger sibling, E is very determined to keep up with big sister P!  This tiny little mite is always on the go and met every milestone very early.  She is a joy to be around and such a funny little creature!  We hope to see our family grow and continue to be AWESOME!