Harper's 15 Month Pictures

So excited to share some new pictures of Harper that were taken as part of my Mother's Day gift! 

These pictures were done by the oh-so-talented Scobey Photography in Atlanta. Talk about a photographer that can get lots of smiles & cute poses out of my little Harpie Doodle! :) Plus, this entire shoot was only an hour, perfect for a toddler with a teeny-tiny attention span.

We had such a fun time & will cherish these pictures forever!!

Love this sweet little grin, this is so my little Harpie girl.

 

As always, saved the best for last!

Sources
Photos by Scobey Photography

White Tassel Top, Rainbow Tissue Garland

Black & White Maxi, Gold Striped Bow Headband

White Ruffle Sleeve Dress sold out (similar here), Feather Headband, Teepee

Memorial Weekend Recap

 Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Over the last few days, I have read so many personal stories from friends about loved ones they have lost while serving. It breaks my heart into a million pieces just thinking about it. I can't help but quote the perfect lyrics by Zac Brown Band in honor of Memorial Day.

I thank God for my life, and for the stars and stripes. May freedom forever fly. Let it ring.

Salute the ones who died, The ones that give their lives so we don't have to sacrifice all the things we love.

 We spent most of our weekend at the pool & nights in the hammock. Harper is becoming a total outdoor baby, she stands by the door saying "side. side." Which is totally fine with me! Although I think we are going to run our local Target straight outta bubbles.

On Memorial Day, I made these fruit & donut skewers for breakfast. I quickly became obsessed with them & totally want to make it more often! This would be so fun to make for brunch if you have guests or with other colored fruit with toast or mini muffins for different holidays.

I also made some festive sangria for our cookout in the evening, which was AMAZING. I had heard of people using Fresca in their sangria & I wanted something super light, almost more like a spritzer. So I used one bottle of white wine (pinot grigio), two cups-ish of Fresca (let's be honest, that is a total estimate, I just poured some in) & three cans of sparkling water.

Pitcher, Glasses, Straws

The light, bubbly mixture combined with all the flavors of the fruit turned out to be fantastic. I used blueberries, blackberries, strawberries & pineapples (cut into star shapes of course).

Red Nailpolish

I'm not much of a wine or liquor drinker at all, so this was the perfect little cocktail for me. I have a feeling it would be amazing even without the wine, the pineapple & strawberry gave it the best flavor!!

 Harpie Doodle Do just wanted to drink out of festive straws like mama! Love her so much.

 

Tassel Top, Headband

Memorial Day will forever hold a special place in our heart for another reason totally unrelated to the real meaning of the holiday. If you've been reading my blog since the beginning, you may already know where I'm going with this.

We moved to Georgia in April of 2011, knowing absolutely nobody in the area. We had big plans to move downtown, explore the area for a year or so & make lots of new friends. In the mean time, it was just the two of us. Just the two of us trying to hang out at the pool that Memorial Day weekend, when the unthinkable happened. We ran out of beer. 

We hit the nearest grocery store only to find out that Georgia does not sell alcohol on Sundays. 

SAY WHAT?

You're telling me that there is no work tomorrow, it's beautiful outside & we can't even buy beer? Have no fear, we found a solution. 

Patio drinking at our nearest bar, live music & all! :)

A couple hours, a few beers & a possible jager bomb later, we made a baby.

 
Well played, Sunday Funday. Well played. 

Let me note that this was the BEST unplanned surprise of. all. time. You can read more in this post.

The (pine)apple of my eye!

 I am a sucker for all things pineapple. So delicious (tasting) & summery (looking). We buy them fresh here in the spring/summer & eat them all the time, totally inspiring me to make some Hawaiian pizza & coconut pancakes just so I can incorporate them in recipes.

When I saw this Pineapple Print Top for Harper, I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough! Apparently she loved it too because I got some of her best smiles out of it! :)

 

 

 

 

I have been buying Harper 2T sized clothes from Crewcuts forever, they have fit her since she was 8 months old, they run so small. Even if the tops are long, she just wears them as a tunic/dress! They also shrink pretty well if you want to size something even smaller, which I'm obsessed with doing just so Harper can wear their cute stuff! (They often have 30% off & free shipping on kids stuff!)

For those of you who have asked how I get Harper to keep her headbands & sunglasses on, I have two tricks. I started putting her sunglasses on outside when it was really bright, she obviously realized that they helped her see better, so she never took them off. As soon as we walk inside though, she usually takes them right off. For headbands, I distract her when I put them on. Like hand her the remote or my phone while I put it on, then she doesn't even notice. If I try to adjust it after it's been on for a while, she will realize it's there & instantly wants it off. So I get only one shot to get it right! ;)

 Pineapple Top

 

 Here is a collection of my favorite pineapple inspired pieces this season! I am obsessed with the ombre straw hat + pineapple swimsuit combo!

Ombre Straw Hat | Sunglasses | Pineapple Pajamas | Flower Headband

Pineapple Swimsuit (matching one for mama!)

And of course, there are fresh pineapples getting cut into star shapes to throw in our festive, patriotic sangria for Memorial Day! It's easier than you think, if you buy a container of fresh pineapple that is cored, cut it into long strips rather than rings. The thinner & further towards the outside of the pineapple, the easier to cut. Then just take your favorite mini cookie cutter & go to town! 

This process is messy & sticky as hell though. You have been warned. But also delicious. So nobody is going to judge you if you decide to lick it off the counter top.

Happy Weekend!

Memorial Day Planning

Memorial Day is just around the corner, a time to thank those who serve, their families and our Vets & to remember that freedom isn't free. We always celebrate Memorial Day with family & friends, grilling out & playing games. You can never go wrong with Burgers, Booze & Bags (cornhole). How about you?

 I am also very excited that this weekend officially kicks off the summer! I love a festive outdoor party, so my ideas for this year would include some fun streamers, string lights, lots of yummy drinks (with striped straws of course!) & hot dogs on the grill! A friend of mine puts crushed potato chips on hot dogs, have you ever heard such a thing? Sign me up.

 I also love the idea of a S'mores bar at the end of the night, such a fun thing to incorporate into Memorial Day festivities!

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

(Other sources & ideas can be found on my Memorial Day & Fourth of July Pinterest Board)

You can really dress up any foods on Memorial Day or Fourth of July by adding strawberries & blueberries, which we already do almost every day.

You may have already caught wind of all the French Toast goodness that is going on at our house if you follow me on Instagram (@jlgarvin). Grandpa is in town this week & he has a sweet tooth, just like me!

 

My favorite way to eat French Toast is to make it using sourdough bread. I add cinnamon & vanilla to the egg mixture, cook it in the frying pan with a little bit of butter & top it with fruit and whipped cream. What up. Looks like somebody just found a way to eat dessert at eight in the morning. 

Of course Harper loves it too, I cut hers into little strips and add bananas & blueberries on top.

Harper has also been a big fan of whole fruit bars, we have been sharing one each afternoon when she wakes up from her nap. (I was addicted to these things when I was pregnant, you can read more about that here).

This has me thinking about all of the amazing popsicles I could make with the Zoku, so of course I am dying to order one! Everything tastes better frozen in the summer, right? :)

Happy Friday EVE!

PS. Coupon code 30OFFCHALK is back in action for 30% off chalk prints in my Etsy shop until the end of the month! :) New prints have been added!

Weekend Recap

 Friday night, Brandon came home early from traveling for work, which is totally backflip-worthy, so we kicked off our weekend by heading into the backyard with the cooler. I know, we are totally predictable. Some good jams, our hammocks & these two babes made for a pretty perfect evening.

 Swing, Lace Headband

 Saturday morning, we celebrated a belated Mother's Day by going out for breakfast at my favorite spot, the Original Pancake House. I couldn't help but take pictures of Harper's HOT MESS HAIR. We were dying at how crazy her bedhead was, I tried to tame it with a bow but failed miserably.

 

In case you're wondering, her wild hair totally matched her personality that morning. 

Purple One Piece, Headband

 Saturday night we celebrated a friend's birthday out at our house, which consisted of cupcakes, burgers & beer pong. Always classy.

  Green Tassel Top, Giraffe Necklace, Maxi (Soprano from Von Maur last year)

We woke up again to thunderstorms on Sunday morning, but finally got some sunshine in the afternoon to get outside for a walk, bubbles & sidewalk chalk. Harper also got to eat a piece of bacon two days in a row. This is a sure fire way to make your kids picky eaters, nobody is going to be impressed with Cheerios after that.

Do you see that big curl in the back of her hair?! I can't stop touching it.

It was all fun & games until Harper took a bite of the blue chalk. Remember when I told you that she hates the word "no"?

Dress, Bow

I don't think she'll be too pleased to hear that as a child, I once scraped an entire piece of yellow sidewalk chalk along the rim of a water pitcher to turn it into lemonade & then drank the whole damn thing.

Summer Vacation Favorites

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on our beach pictures, we really had an amazing time & can't wait to do it again! :) Overall, Harper did extremely well on the roadtrip & dealing with a messy schedule. As promised, I've compiled a list of our favorite products, tips & tricks for traveling with a baby for your summer vacation!

 

4Moms Breeze Playard. The absolute best & easiest to use playard, hands down. Literally, a breeze. You will not regret traveling with this beauty & being able to pop it up in a quick second when you need to use it.

Boon Snack Container. Nothing is worse than smashed baby snacks in a ziplock. We have a few different ones of these, but I like the little sliders that open so Harper can get snacks out easily herself, plus it is a cute little critter!

Babyganics Sunscreen, Burt's Bees Bug Spray & Baby Powder. All three are must haves. I'm sure you all know the baby powder trick by now, but if not, just dust it on your baby's skin after the beach to remove sand - works like a charm! :)

iGuy for iPad.We borrowed an iPad from my husband's work & popped this cover on it for Harper to play with during the long roadtrip. Kept her entertained for hours. Another trick? Check out instructions for Guided Access for your iPad or iPhone so your kiddos can't exit the apps you put them in & end up rapid-dialing your boss or deleting all your rap music. Eff.

Swimways Pool Float. A summer must have for your babe to float in the pool with you under a little shaded canopy.

BAGGU Bags. We packed a few of these in one of our other bags so that we could fill them with dirty clothes, sippy cups, things we bought, etc. for the trip home. Packing to come home from vacation is always such a mess, having a few extra empty bags with you will save you so many headaches.

iPlay Swim Diaper. You don't want your kid to be the one clearing out the hotel pool because they shit through their disposable swim diaper. These had the best reviews & worked for us. (If only Harper had been wearing it in the hotel room.)

Here are some of the other things that we found to be helpful when traveling with a baby/toddler:

• Stock up on excessive amounts of large ziplocks, they help you stay organized & sanitized (if at all possible). 
• A few new toys or items they have never played with before will entertain them more than you'll ever know. Even if you don't want to spend money on more toys, pick up some random things like a glowstick (these work WONDERS), a hairbrush or a calculator & you just bought yourself an hour.
• On a long road trip, plan to take breaks to get out & stretch your legs. Letting Harper run around a coffee shop or Target for a few minutes makes a world of difference for everyone.
• Skip fast food or heavy meals so you don't get tired. There's nothing worse than the full/fat feeling after eating & then having to get back in the car. Our favorite go-to roadtrip snack is smoothies! They are filling & refreshing, and baby can sip on it too! Be sure to have lots of kid friendly snacks as well, cereals, fruit pouches & bananas are perfect for snacking in the car.
• Bring extra pacis. So many extra pacis. They will disappear right before your eyes, along with your sanity.
• You can never have too many sanitizing wipes or hand sanitizer. Grossness is lurking everywhere. 
• If you're spending a lot of time at the beach, look for hotels that offer beachfront cabanas for rent so you can keep your babe in the shade. Dragging a tent or umbrella along with your baby & all the bags/coolers/etc. is just an added pain in the ass.
• If possible, get a suite if you are staying in a hotel, sometimes they are only a few dollars more or even the same price if it is a weeknight. This way, your kiddo can sleep soundly in a room separate from you. And don't forget bedtime necessities, like your noisemaker & monitor.
• Take advantage of playlists! We make separate CDs for when Harper is sleeping & for when she is awake. Calming music turned up like Kenny Chesney & Joshua Radin keep Harper sleeping & allow us to still talk in the front seat. Then when she is awake, we all jam out to ZBB, Eric Church & OAR to regain our energy.

If all else fails, stick cheerios to your kid's face for entertainment.

We have also flown with Harper a few times & other than most of the things I have already mentioned, the best advice I can give is to feed them when you take off or land (to help with their ears) & try to plan flights during nap times. Another thing we learned is for just one of you to take advantage of priority boarding with your stroller/carseat/bags (if you are traveling with both parents of course) & to have the other person stay off the plane with the baby until the last minute. (We had her sit on our laps, not in her carseat on the plane since she was so young) Sitting on the plane waiting for others to board can add another 15-30 minutes to your time spent in your seat! Last time, Brandon went ahead with our bags & got everything situated, while Harper & I walked around a little longer & grabbed a snack. Then we waited until the very end to board & it helped so much.

I think that just about covers it, feel free to ask any questions in the comments section & I will do my best to answer or update the post! :)

 Romper, Bow