Family Pictures 2015

It's that time of year again... Family photo season ;)  

Choosing outfits for family photos has to be one of the most daunting tasks known to man.  You don't want to be too matchy matchy, but still want the outfits to flow together.  

That said, I'm happy with the clothing combo we came up with this year!  

Grey, Black and Chambray.  Simple, but oh so sweet.  

These are photo's we'll cherish for years to come! 

Michael: shirt

Me: dress // shoes

Beckett: tee // jeans // hi-top stompers

Ellia:  similar dress here// similar vest here // mini melissa cat shoes

Photography by Lora & Ted of Swinson Studios!  

They are absolutely wonderful to work with and we highly recommend them! 

Nuby Review: Sippy Cup

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!          

This morning I'm back with another Nuby review, possible my favorite thus far ;) 

I think we've bought and tried just about every sippy cup out there.  So many leak, break, or for some unknown reason, the kids don't like it. 

As soon as I pulled the Nuby No Spill Soft Spout out of the packaging, Ellia was all over it.  Girlfriend loves the color (she's such a girly girl already!)  

Unlike other spouted sippies we've tried, we didn't have to wear down the spout to get her drink flowing smoothly.  With other cups I've purchased the kids get so fed up (or I get frustrated enough to cut a hole big enough to drink out of), because until you wear in the spout a little bit,  fluid does not flow smoothly.

This might be the 'easiest to clean' sippy cup we own.  I generally purchase straw sippies.  Those are a bitch to clean... Especially if you forgot it in the car over the weekend and you have milk turned cheese stuck in it.  I love that I can put a little dish soap in the Nuby cup, shake it up, rinse, and I'm good to go in a rush.

Probably the biggest pro of this cup is that it doesn't leak, at all.  Even after being thrown from Ellia's high chair onto our tile floor countless times!  Because of this, the Nuby No Spill Soft Spout is the only sippy I will bring in the car.

Basically, we loved this sippy so much that we went out & bought another! 

If you'd like to try this cup for yourself you can find it here.

Thank you, Nuby, for another wonderful product! 

If you're interested in what else Nuby has to offer, check them out on the follow sites :) 

www.facebook.com/nubyusa

www.twitter.com/nubyusa

www.instagram.com/nubyusa

www.pinterest.com/nubyusa

18 months of Ellia

It seems absolutely unbelievable that you're already 18 months old!  You're walking, taking on your brothers old puzzles and doing everything in your power to keep up with him! 

 Like Beckett, you're pretty quiet and seem to be taking in as much as possible before you decide to verbalize your thoughts.  Also like Beckett, you are very expressive with your hands and instead of asking for things, you express your needs with your hands, or even do what you need on your own!

You LOVE our pets and you LOVE trying to lock yourself in the kennel with them.  You sneak their food every chance you get, sometimes for yourself & sometimes for them.

You are the definition of a spit fire!  We were out to dinner one night and a woman stopped me as we were walking out.  She said, "You've got your hands full with that one!"  I replied that yes, you are a very spirited child and the woman smiled and stated, "All the best girls are."  Truer words have never been spoken ;)

Changing your diaper requires the skill of a professional acrobat.  If I don't strategically have your diaper in within 2 seconds, you're ready to roll.  Sitting still is something you don't care to reconcile with!

You've also recently decided you don't like being restrained in your carseat.  Which makes for some rather unenjoyable car rides.  When Ellia ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

Your favorite food:  BANANA.  You would eat banana's for every meal of every day if I'd let you!  & you eat them in record time.  It's practically a magic trick.

You live for bath time and love to splash around with Beckett!  We're hoping you love the pool as much as the bath ;)

You are the sweetest snuggler, ever! You bring all your favorite dolls and stuffed animals before you crawl into our bed 

Milestones Worth Mentioning:

You're a little peanut (19.5 lbs) and you just out grew your 6-12 month outfits.

You just popped your 4th molar and you now have 12 teeth in all!  I got to count them after you sunk them into my shoulder about a month back.  Stinker.

You outgrew your very first pair of shoes.  Truth be told, you probably outgrew them some time ago... but the leather has grown with your feet a little and I got about an extra month out of them ;)

& while we're on the topic of shoes, you LOVE shoes.  You get really frustrated trying to put them on and already pick out the pair you want.  In fact, if I select a different pair of shoes for you to wear after you've got your hands on a pair, you'll throw a hell of a fit.  I thought I had some time before you started picking out your outfits lol

The words you use most are:  "mama" "dada" "b" "wow" & "boo".  As I mentioned above, you're pretty quiet and you only speak when you want to.

You are my all star sleeper!  You go down at 7:30, wake at 7:30, Nap from 10-12 and then from 3-5.  And just like mama, you don't like having your sleep interrupted.  You're also very stubborn and refuse to sleep anywhere but your own bed. 

RECENT ADVENTURES:

You and Beckett LOVE the zoo!

You love pointing at the animals and getting to walk with Beckett from exhibit to exhibit, 

but your favorite part of the day is the carousel. You would ride it all day if I'd let you! 

You also went to the museum and had your first adventure at the pool! 

Ellia Belle, we love you more each day!  Your spunky personality is one of a kind and you keep us on our toes each and every day.  It's such a joy to watch you grow into the beautiful little lady you're destined to be :)

Summer Love

It's been pretty darn rainy in CO & this is the first weekend all year that we've been able to spend in the sun! 

On Saturday we set up in our back yard.  Our friend Ashley came over and we sipped beergaritas while the kids (and dogs) splashed on a splash pad we picked up at Target!

Learning a thing or two from Norman

They pick up all their best tricks from the dogs ;)

On Sunday we met up with friends at the pool.  Beckett could hardly contain his excitement over the flamingo!  (and neither could I)  We blew that thing up months ago and have been dying to use it! 

We finished Sunday with a little trip to the park.  

The kids are at the sweetest ages right now and we're loving that they appreciate being out in the sun as much as we do! We can't wait for more weekends just like this one all Summer long!

Beckett's THREE

Our sweet Beckett Bean is 3 years old! 

zara tee

Since starting preschool in January you've become much more talkative!  Which is a bit of a relief for us.  Honestly, it felt like you would never talk.  You can sound out the whole alphabet and you recognize letters on packaging.  But "A" is always "Apple", for example:  "C" "R" "APPLE" "Y" "O" "L" "APPLE", it's pretty cute! 

You are fricken counting.  You count out our breakfast in the morning, (5 waffles, 3 sausages, 6 berries, etc).  The first time you told me, "Mommy, there's 4! 1 2 3 4!"  My jaw dropped.  Better thank daddy, you certainly don't get your math skills from me ;) 

All of your little phrases are pretty damn cute:

"Love You" is "Ove Jew!"

You always say "YEP!" instead of "Yes" & you just recently started pronouncing "NO" with a "N" instead of a "B".

You call me "Mommy" unless you're feeling insistent, in which case I am, "MoooooooM!"  Daddy is always "Dad" or "Daddy" and you call Ellia, "Ewle", "Ewwie" or "Belle Belle".

As of late, you've picked up on manners.  You always say, "ank jew, mommy" after I give you something & my inner mama is oh so proud!

Whenever you want berries, which is every day, you ask for "jupe jews"... I have no idea where that came from!

You've started calling your grandparents by name and Grandma Jonna is now, "Joosh", Grandma Sally is "GaGa", and Grandpa Scott is "Grappa".

Our dogs are "Lolo" "CharChar" "BellBell" (which is often confused with "Belle Belle" on my end) & Chew.  You call both the cats "Meows" and only sometimes refer to Knox by name.

Every time you gas you stop in your tracks, laugh & say "Beck tooted!"  It's so adorable!

Some other things you love:

You LOVE puzzles and your most recent favorite is constructing things with your magnatiles!  It's amazing to watch your mind expand and see what you construct each time you play with them!

We generally pick a movie to watch each day for quiet time while Ellia naps.  Your favorites are Toy Story, Cars, Scooby Doo, & Planes.  Although you change it up every now and then and choose my fav, Peter Pan ;)

There isn't a word to describe your love for books!  You LOVE to read.  You'd have us read you your entire shelf of books every night if you had the choice!  It's hard for me to pick your favorites, because you really love them all.  But if I had to choose your fav's, They would be Room On The Broom, Little Blue Truck, and you've recently started to love the Ispy collection!  We picked up 'Goodnight Yoga' a few weeks back and it's become apart of our nightly routine.  You ask for "Oga" every night!

Some other sweet moments:

02/15 We came down with a cold this week and it made us all pretty stuffed up.  So whenever Beckett calls for me his congestion turns it to, "BOB!" Mom, Bob, who knows the difference! lol!

02/15 We've now entered the "why?" stage.  

Me: Beckett, get your jammies! 

Beckett: why?

Me: because it's bedtime..

Beckett: why?

Me: because the sun went down.

Beckett: why?

Me: because the earth is rotating.

Beckett: why?

Me: because that's how the solar system works.

Beckett: huh.

He then walks away to get his pajamas, lol

Beckett loves to help me make waffles first thing in the morning.  He asks to make them every. single. day.  Michaels over it, but I love using them as transportation for syrup, so I'm always in.  As B & I make waffles he says "wee!" As he pours each ingredient into the bowl, I can't help but laugh!

You called me "mommy" for the very first time 3/6/15.

When we went to Vail in March I turned the TV on for you while we brought in and started unpacking bags.  The menu screen was different than at home and you ran up to it & tried to use it as a touch screen.  You even had the concierge laughing!

3/25/15 Your favorite word is now cookie.  And I've realized that all I have to do to get you to eat something is to call it a cookie... Last night you ate spaghetti with spinach & kale after I used this tactic... I wonder how long this will last! 

4/16/15

"Beckett did you pee all over the floor?!"

Beckett as proud as can be, " YEP!"

(added note:  you were 100% potty trained before 3.  no more nighttime diapers, no more pull-ups. something I never thought would happen before 4!)

You LOVE to be outside. LOVE. 

"Dono's" have become a weekend tradition.  If there's donuts involved, you're in!

Looking handsome for Valentines day at school

You fight naps like crazy, which often results in you crashing in some odd places!

Sweet Beckett, you continue to amaze us every day!  We are so blessed to be your parents and literally cannot imagine life without you in it!  You are such a generous soul, always sharing your toys, candy, snacks, etc with Ellia, your friends and even new faces.  You show compassion towards animals, friends and even random folks we meet out.  Your curiosity is baffling & you're constantly problem solving and creating new things, whether it be drawing, building, or molding.  (it won't be a surprise if you go into the family business of home building ;)  You are destined to be great, my love!  We love you and cannot wait to see what's in store for year number 3! 

Kitchen Nook Inspiration

anthropologie table runner sold out.  similar here//here

I'm going to start off my saying, this has been the most difficult space to decorate in our entire house.   The simplest way to describe it is uninviting.  We (and our guests) tend to avoid this little space of our home, which is absolutely ridiculous considering the whole point of having a nook is to create a cozy inviting place to eat or converse.  Over the last month I've made it my mission to complete this space and make it the cozy little nook we envisioned while building the house!

Not too long ago we stopped in at a custom upholstery shop and walked out as quickly as we had in once we learned how much it would be to have a bench cushion made.  After eyeing some ready made bench cushions my plan is to order a few and line them up along the bench.  I have to say though, I'm most excited about picking out some fun pillows to spice this space up! 

After scoping out Pinterest (if you don't already, feel free to follow me along here), I found these spaces to be most inspirational.

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I love that all of these spaces used pillows instead of a back bench cushion and I love how simple they all are.  It makes decorating seem so much simpler than I had built it up to be in my mind ;) I mean really it's just a few complimentary pillows and the space is good to go!

Bath Time

Bath time is without a doubt one of the kids favorite past times.  It's seriously a cure all.  Restlessness before bed, crappy weather,  raspberries smeared through their hair, fussiness... You name it, it can be cured by 20 minutes in the bath.  Having clean kids is just a bonus ;)

Trying out our new Nuby bath products were reason enough for a midday bath!  

The Octopus Ring Toss is too fun!  Beckett was stoked the second I pulled it out of the box.  We set it up on the table and he tossed the rings from the couch.

  Ellia loved splashing it around in the bath and gave the rings a second purpose as teethers ;)

I think what I love most about this toy is that there's no hole in the bottom like most plastic bath toys.  Water can't get trapped inside and create a moldy mildew mess you definitely don't want your babe teething on.

I jumped at the chance to test out the Tear Free Rinse Cup!  When it comes time to wash hair bath time goes from blissful to a complete shit show.  

The kids don't want water or soap on their face or in their eyes so its a battle every time they bathe. 

Ellia avoided the rinse cup at first, but as soon as she realized she didn't have any soap or running water on her face, she went back to playing while I washed her hair.  Seriously, a jaw dropping change from our normal end of bath occurrences.

I can't wait to try it on Beckett... That'll surely put this product to the test ;)

Happy hump day everyone! 

Check out NUBY on the following sites:

www.facebook.com/nubyusa

www.twitter.com/nubyusa

www.instagram.com/nubyusa

www.pinterest.com/nubyusa

This is a sponsored post.  All comments and opinions are my own. 

Nuby Review: Tough Teething

Some of you know I've been making some huge changes within my etsy shop.  In the last month we've rebranded from Jumping+Jellybean to Beck & Belle AND as of today, we are officially Beck & Belle, LLC!  

Taking this step has created a lot of extra work on my end and coincidentally, Ellia is in the process of popping 3 molars.  THREE.  Poor girl is miserable.   Aka we're all miserable.  Needless to say, it's been pretty difficult to manage time between teething baby & my growing business.  

Rewind a few weeks.  We recently joined the NUBY family (yay!) and were sent some fun products to test out.  One of which being these adorable fruit teething rings:

While teething, Ellia has a lot of trouble napping and staying asleep & when nap time isn't an option, it's impossible for me to get any work done.  

Enter Nuby teething rings.  

Over the last two weeks or so I whip these out of the freezer anytime E gets overly fussy & can't nap.  I kid you not, these have bought me as much as an hour of uninterrupted work.  I roll her highchair up to the computer where I'm working, hand her the rings and BOOM, I have at least 30 minutes before I need to come up with another toddler entrancing activity ;) 

I owe 90% of my progress over the last 2 weeks to these sweet rings.  They are literally the only thing soothing my sweet girl and her aching gums!  

I'm all about any product that takes my baby from unhappy & miserable back to her sweet happy self!  If you'd like to give these teether's a try you can get them, here.

& if you're interested in what else Nuby has to offer, check them out on the follow sites :) 

www.facebook.com/nubyusa

www.twitter.com/nubyusa

www.instagram.com/nubyusa

www.pinterest.com/nubyusa

Until next time, Molly 

This is a sponsored post.  All comments and opinions are my own.