CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT: Stars Love Kicky Pants! February 26, 2013 13:44

In an interview for Baby Couture magazine, mom Kourtney Kardashian sheds some light on her baby fashion preferences. We aren’t the least bit surprised that she loves comfy Kicky Pants pajamas for her son Mason!

On her favorite places to shop: “For clothing brands [for Mason] I like Ralph Lauren, H&M, Petit Bateau and Kicky Pants for PJ’s…”

 

We love Kicky Pants for the line’s bamboo knit fabric. Bamboo Viscose is an eco-friendly and breathable fabric for EVERY season. Kicky Pants clothing comes in the cutest fabrics and styles to fit every little one. Below are a few of the fashions available in our Threads and Sleep sections. 

 

 

-Nadia

DIY Baby Photos - Get Your Inspiration Here! February 4, 2013 15:01

I'll admit that I've spent a lot of money over the years on professional photography for my family. We blogged about Seattle-area-based Molly Vaden on a recent Mom of the Month post, and I love her work. I'm also in love with Arizona-based Cameron + Kelly Studio - Cameron Clark photographed my wedding and I've stayed in touch with her over the years for pregnancy and baby photos. It's been awesome to have two talented photographers - who are moms and somewhat at the same stage in life as me -  to go to capture our family memories. I don't regret a penny spent on the photos from these ladies, and I look forward to working with them again the future. 

That being said, it's not practical for everyday families to hire a photographer for every stage of babyhood and childhood (trust me, I've tried to make a case to my husband for how we can budget in quarterly professional sessions!). So we've collected some of our favorite baby photos from around the web (thank you Pinterest) and from the photographers I mentioned above to help inspire your at-home DIY sessions. I've even included a couple that I shot myself. If I can get a decent shot, anyone can - I'm completely camera illiterate.

A few tips we've collected for getting a good shot: simple clothing (a Kicky Pants footie or FuzziBunz diaper would be perfect!), simple background, natural lighting, shooting at eye level, experimenting with black and white, trying lots of angles and shooting during bath and playtime. Ultimately, unless you are really good with your really good camera, your shots aren't going to be as nice as what you'd get from a pro. But, at least you can try some of these out and end up with a handful of photos that are frame-worthy.

 Enjoy your babes! 

 

 

This one is from Cameron + Kelly Studio. Cameron says to get this type of shot yourself, you'll need a lot of light in the bathroom. She also says: "CRANK the ISO to the highest number it will hold. I think I shot that at f1.4 at a 1/30 of a second." Thanks Cameron!

I took this one - this is a genuinely happy moment. 

Oh, these moments are too fleeting! 

Such a great idea!

Love that smile! 

Another one of mine - captured all four personalities perfectly. I am still learning what to do with all the settings on our camera, but I do know that I shot this one with the room lights off - the only lights on were the string lights. No flash, highest ISO I could get and I used auto focus. I did a little editing in iPhoto to adjust shadows.

Be still my heart! 

I wish I would have gotten a shot like this of my hubby and my babe's little piggies.

-Ashley

Being A Poser Mommy October 24, 2012 11:01

As the proud Auntie Issa of 3 adorable nephews (and two more little ones on the way), I think ‘my’ little boys are the best things to ever hit earth.  But despite this unconditional adoration, I do have a bone to pick with one of them. For the last year or more, my almost-two-year-old nephew has endearingly selected a not-so-endearing nickname for his Auntie Issa. Somehow his mommy – my older sister – still finds a way to torment me even in adulthood. Let’s start at the beginning.

As you might have seen from our picture on the site, Ashley and I look kind of similar, in a way sisters do.  If you know us, or have ever spoken to us, you know that our voices and laughs sound exactly the same.  Understandably, this can be confusing to a baby, who doesn’t quite know what to think of this person he sees a handful of times a year, who sounds and looks like his mom, but is definitely not his mom.

For my nephew, this confusion turned into stranger anxiety, with the stranger being me. Every time his loving auntie tried to pick him up, he started to cry, at which time my sister would chime in with “Uh oh Poser Mommy’s got you!!”.  And born was my new nickname, ‘Poser.’  And although the kid now knows my real name, and has gotten over his anxiety about me, he still refers to me as Poser. Even better, now when I go to pick him up, he shakes his head and says ‘I don’t like it,’ referring to me of course. Who says toddlers don’t know how to mock?

Really though, poser mommy is a pretty accurate nickname for me.  My role as Auntie was a natural fit, in part because my sister and I are practically the same person. But above that, I have the highest respect for my sister’s decisions as a mother.  As aunt, I know that what she says goes. I might spoil those little boys any chance I get, but I would never undermine the ruling that mom and dad have enforced.

And this is the boundary. It’s often hard for aunts, uncles, grandparents and other relatives to respect the parents’ choices, and most families struggle with these nuances. I think it’s so important for families and friends to be supportive and reinforce a mom’s and dad’s parental authority. From what my sister tells me, having children is hard enough work, without having to constantly defend your decisions as a parent. For me, if mom says no sugar, ‘my’ boys aren’t getting sugar, but you can bet this Poser will be stopping by the train store on the way home to pick up a new Cranky the Crane.    

-Alyssa

 

Ash & Alys Signature Babes: The Pre-Launch Photo Shoot September 28, 2012 15:43

I could sum up our pre-launch photo shoot in three words: cute, cute and more cute! How lucky are we that we got to host nearly 10 babes, play dress up with them, give them new toys to explore and watch them soak up a beautiful sunny Seattle day?! It could barely be considered work.

But amidst all the overwhelming cuteness, was some serious chaos. Major kudos to our very talented photographer Molly Vaden, who has great vision and was totally flexible to bounce from kid to kid getting all of the photos we needed, and making them gorgeous to boot. It certainly helped that she has four of her own babes, so she was in her element! Alyssa and I were zipping all over the place throwing outfits at moms and asking them to change their babes over and over again, and then hurrying to make sure we weren’t missing any good candid moments that would capture the essence of our site.

The kids did surprisingly well, and we averted any major meltdowns. There were definitely a few naturals who may have a future in modeling; Charlotte, Ester and Julieta, three girls you will see all over our site, were charming, happy and playful throughout the whole process. Even my four-year-old son, who tends to be touchy about getting dressed, was a trooper and it was only at the very end of the two-hour marathon shoot that he finally refused to change again.

Ultimately, the photo shoot was a celebration for us. A major milestone in the long road we have traveled to get to this launch. We brought together a big portion of our support system and reveled in what we love most: the precious little babes that have inspired this entire business.

-Ashley

 

From the Kids: Great (and Inexpensive) Gift Ideas – VIDEO September 24, 2012 13:10

For holidays, I always like to have the boys give their aunts, uncles, grandparents and each other gifts that are from them, not just from ‘all of us.’ Since we have a pretty big family, this can get very expensive if we’re always buying double gifts for everyone. Pinterest can be a life-saver for great ideas, but the recent Grandparents Day provided me with some personal inspiration. 

Grandparents Day was in early September, and I really wanted to have the boys do something special for their Oma, Grandpa Joe, Grandpa and Grandma. We always have oogles of art to give people with how many projects my oldest brings home from preschool, so I wanted to do something a bit different. With technology today, it is so easy to share video, and grandparents never tire of seeing their little grand-babes. So, I recorded a video of the kiddos singing ‘Happy Grandparents Day To You,’ and they said all of their grandparents names in the middle of the song so it was really cute and personal.

It was such a short clip, I could have texted or emailed it or put it up online to share it with them and that would have been a totally free and thoughtful gift. Since we had some blank DVDs lying around, I burned copies and put them out in the mail a few days before the holiday, with a little note written on the front of the disc so they would know what to do with it. Needless to say, the surprise was appreciated, and the boys and I had fun doing it together. They were really into it and knew they were doing something sweet. This idea would work great for any holiday, or just to make someone feel special.

If you do have some cash to spend, or want to mark a significant holiday/milestone, you could take it one step further and give a professional video gift to a loved one. One of our specialty vendors, Collard Story Albums, creates personalized ‘movies’ for special occasions, incorporating favorite music, pictures and video clips into a beautiful keepsake that everyone in the family will enjoy.  The pricing is accessible and ranges widely – you can check it out here.

I’m including one of the ‘outtakes’ from our recent video project, for a little laugh.

-Ashley