March 23, 2018

Girl Toddler's Easter Basket


 One  //  Two  //  Three  //  Four  //  Five //  Six  //  Seven  //  Eight


At 22 months, I realize Abby isn't quite old enough yet to dye Easter eggs with me, swap and share all the pink jelly beans, or munch on PEEP marshmallows (actually these last two could be a good thing!), so I decided to get creative when it came to the traditional Easter celebrations, by making them as toddler friendly as possible. 

So here what's in her basket this year.


I ordered this one with the intention that she'll use it year after year until she hits middle school (yes, I still plan on doing Easter baskets then because I'm THAT kind of mom and proud of it!). I plan to remove the bunny ear liners as she gets older.


Instead of dying eggs, I chose to cut around these fun little stickers and place them inside these pink eggs. 22 month old Abby LOVES stickers. So I thought this would be a great way to make the traditional Easter egg hunt toddler friendly. I don't know which one I'm excited for more, seeing Steve hide the eggs or watching Abby find them?



This is one trend I'm all about! There's only so many years we can put bunny ears, bows, and silly sunnies on our babies. Abby might judge me on this one down the road, though I'm confident all moms everywhere like the idea of there little one dressed up as a bunny. You agree? I'm sure one day she, too, will do the same to her own kids. And then I’ll get to hear her say, “Mom, I get it.” 

We've really been into felt play food for Abby lately since she loves being in her play kitchen. Abby "cooks" in it almost every day, and Steve and I are beyond satisfied that she's enjoying our little DIY project. I recently spotted these darling felt donuts, fruits and veggies during our errands this last week. Into the Easter basket they go! 

I'm sure you've seen Abby's love for accessories on Instagram. “Sunnies” are her latest obsession. When she started to put them on all her stuffed animals, I knew another pair was certainly going to go in her basket. I was so excited to find these purple sunnies since they match perfectly to her Easter dress.



For the second year in a row, I've purchased an Easter dress that can be either dressed up or played down. It's what I like to think of as, a "spring-into-summer" outfit since Abby gets to wear it more than once. I love the flow of the fabric for the purple dress I got her here. The cute cut out in the back is what really made me place it into my cart.



I can't seem to help myself each holiday by gifting Abby something practical, like jammies. She wears a pair each night, so when I think of it this way, having at least 4-5 pairs on hand to rotate through each week with our laundry feels smart. Plus, these rainbows jammies here were just too cute to pass up for spring. 


Six // Book
There are so many good books out there, and it's been really fun the last 1.5 years to  add onto our collection including our favorite series, Fancy Nancy. Steve and I prefer reading this series over a lot of her other since they are beautifully written and educational. We like Fancy Nancy becuase it helps Abby learn challenging words through cute stories and vivid illustrations. I highly recommend this series if you have a little girl. For Easter, Abby is getting this one.

Grandma started Abby's love for these bubble wands though I have to tell you, a toddler’s love for bubbles only gets stronger and stronger. You have been warned : )

Maybe it's an 80's/90's mom thing, although getting my daughter a pair for $8! and reliving my own favorite childhood shoes is really fun. Every time I hear Abby say, "jelly shoes, jelly shoes!" my mama heart soars. So these jellies are going in her Easter basket. 


I love that as moms of toddlers we can still celebrate just as much with them as if they were six years old by getting a little creative. 


From me to you, happy hopping! : )


Warmly, Steph

March 14, 2018

Blog Take Over With Happily Ever Mock


Hi friends! 

I am Kelly Mock, and I blog over at Happilyevermock.com  I'm a momma to 3 1/2 year old Hallie.  My husband Christopher owns a franchise custom T-shirt shop, and I run the social media accounts for his shop! We have a 8 year old Mini Aussie Puppy named Stella, she was our first baby, and very loved!

Hallie is my ninja ballerina! She takes ballet and karate and enjoys jumping in mud puddles dressed up in her favorite princess costumes! She is rough and tumble, but also the prettiest princess you ever did see. When I am not Momming, I enjoy baking, reading thriller novels and any reason to plan a celebration! I live on coffee and carbs! You can often find me perusing Target or belting out Journey songs in my car!  Feel free to follow me on social media @happilyevermock 

 A huge thanks to Steph for letting me take over here on her blog today! I can't wait for you to get to know more about me through the questions she asked, so without further ado:

1) Why did you start your mom blog?


I wanted a place to document Hallie growing up. To be able to save photos and memories. To write about the funny things she says and does so that we can look back on it together one day! One thing I didn't expect was meeting such an incredible group of fellow moms here in cyberland that I feel so connected to!  I have watched so many families grow and change over the last 3 1/2 years and it has been such an incredible experience! If you are thinking about starting a blog, do it! You wont regret it!  


2) Exciting up coming plans for you? And or your family?

I love this question! I'm super excited because Easter weekend my Dad is getting married to the most incredible woman! I am just so happy for my Dad and thrilled to welcome Linda into our family. Not to mention her precious kids and grandbaby! Hallie is going to be their flower girl and she's pretty excited too! She has been practicing dancing around with her basket and throwing invisible flowers, it's just the cutest! 


3) What do you wish you knew about motherhood before becoming a mom? 

I wish I knew how much having a child would change all the other relationships in my life. Not that my husband, my family or my friends are less important to me now. That's not it at all. But having a child is so time consuming, that I need to remember to make time for the other important people in my life. Lunch with the girls, date night with the hubby or brunch with my dad. Taking the effort to plan these things is so important.  


4) What is your most embarrassing motherhood moment to date?

Ugh I can't believe I'm about to share this, and to make it a little less embarrassing I'm going to have to do it without naming any names! It's an embarrassing secret I've been keeping since Hallie was a baby!


So before Hallie turned one, we were driving to an event with a family member. Said family member was inside a store and I decided to take that moment to change Hallie's diaper. Hallie had a serious constipation problem as a baby, so  I wasn't expecting a dirty diaper.  I had her laying on the seat of the car on the changing insert from the diaper bag. What could go wrong right? Well as I opened the diaper a small pellet of poop rolled out of the diaper, onto the seat of the car, and in a little crevasse between the seat belts. Mortified and noticing the family member walking out of the store and into the parking lot, I freaked out and spent what seemed like an eternity digging for the poop pellet with a baby wipe! Seriously in the nick of time I was able to grab it and shove it into the diaper like nothing happened and finished changing the diaper! Of course I am sure this family member was unsure why it took me so long to change a diaper, but thankfully they didn't say anything, and it has been mine and Hallie's secret ever since!



5) What is something you wish moms would talk about more often on Instagram and their blogs? 

For me at least it's getting in front of the camera. I want to make sure Hallie has plenty of photos of us together as she grows. Not to sound morbid, but when I am no longer here  I want her to not only have memories of our time together but photos to cherish as well. I wish everyone made this a priority! 



6) What are three words you AND your friends would use to describe you?

I had to poll my besties to help me answer this one. We came up with: Loyal, thoughtful and creative...and I pretty much almost cried hearing them describe me, so I'll add SENSITIVE for a bonus 4th word! 

Thanks again Steph for letting me take over today!  
Be sure to head over to Happilyevermock.com today to learn more about Steph!