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Fall Wardrobe: Toddler Edition.

Published on November 2, 2017October 30, 2017 by Darlene DeeLeave a comment

September was the kind of hot that made me doubt Fall even existed. October gave us a few less-than-scalding days, but it was still too warm for a jacket. Or socks. FINALLY, now that is is freaking November, cooler weather has descended upon the us here in the DC area. Praise be. Hallelujah. Amen. Blessings to the Horae. All of it.

Babystar is super lucky; she has a Grammy that loves to shop. And by that I mean that WE are all very lucky that Grammy loves to shop, because we get surprise boxes of clothes throughout the year. Last month we received a box full of 3T leggings and a few other random outfits.

Fun fact: Grammy (aka my MIL) has started removing all of the tags before mailing so that I cannot exchange anything. And almost everything she sends is pink. Or flowery. Or pink and flowery. Grammy is also on board with the star theme so we get a lot of star prints too. I love it. I really do love it. But the tag thing is hilarious.

So obviously, Babystar is SET on leggings this fall. In fact, the leggings drawer literally overfloweth. AND YET I BOUGHT TWO MORE PAIRS OF LEGGINGS ANYWAY. Partially to balance the pink and partially because Target was having a sale on Cat and Jack but mostly because LOOK HOW SWEET. ($3.75 each! Cat and Jack was 25% off of already stupidly low prices. COME. ON.)

We also bought a few long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts that should last the season. (Maybe. I do love a good sale. And I kind of hate laundry.)

Clockwise from the rocket ship: $5.99, $8.99, $4.50, $5.99, $5.99, $3.75, $5.99. Everything was 25% off except the Ghostbusters tee. But obviously we had to buy the Ghostbusters tee. With tax, everything was $51.62.

I will probably buy her a coat or something this winter. (Probably this one.) If my lovely MIL doesn’t send a box of various coats in various lengths and various weights and various fabrics first. (I love it. I hope that is coming through. I really do love her thoughtfulness, and she waited a long freaking time for a grandchild.)

Unrelated (always related): I have been encouraging the toddler to choose her own clothes. That is my version. Her version might be different and include the phrase “I do what I want.” But the end result is that I have learned a fashion secret. Nobody but NOBODY can mix patterns like a Toddler.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $22,020.55

Gymmie Jammies.

Published on September 6, 2017September 1, 2017 by Darlene Dee3 Comments

Carter’s, Imma let you finish, but Gymboree has some of the best toddler pajamas of all time. Of ALL TIME.

I totally love cheap baby clothes because babies are just gonna grow, y’all. And if I cannot have hand-me-downs, Carter’s seems to be the next best thing. Their clothes are suuuuper cute and always on sale. And if you can shop the clearance rack, you are basically paying thrift store prices.

However.

I am in love with Gymboree’s Gymmies, which is the uber twee name for their line of pajamas. The Gymmies are so soft AND they are 100% cotton. Those two qualities are often mutually exclusive, especially after a few rounds in the washing machine. Plus they have a bottom cuff so Babystar doesn’t trip during her nightly run-round-the-house before bed ritual.

I have expressed my love of Gymboree pajamas before. Last year, it was all about the cute patterns and awesome sale prices. The pajamas were the same sort of stretchy slightly ribbed cotton as the kind found at every other mall brand kid’s clothing shop.

But this is 2017, and now Gymboree pajamas are made from the cotton of some sort of artificial GMO sheep. Probably. They are marked $24.95 per set, but you have to try really hard to pay full price at Gymboree. Everything is always on sale.

I have a Toaster Baby that likes to kick off the covers and sleep perpendicular to my face. She needs short sleeves and long pants. Most pajama sets are long sleeves with long pants or short sleeves with shorts.

Quick question: WHY DO PAJAMA SHORTS EXIST? Who is putting their child in pajama shorts? Either a diaper or underwear will do just fine, and it is certainly more comfortable. The whole point of pajama bottoms is WARMTH. Right? Or am I missing something?

I refuse to pay more than $10 (ish) for a set of pajamas and I refuse to buy two pairs to mix and match (unless they get under $5 each and then I might). Gymboree has exactly three sets of pajamas with short sleeves and long pants. They were marked down to $17.99 each, and then they were 50% off of that. Score. We bought one of each for $28.60 total.

They are so soft and wonderful that I tried to buy more at another Gymboree store two days later but they only had one size 3 (and the price was different which was weird because it is literally the exact same pair of pajamas as one of the three we purchased two days earlier) for $11.44. And now they are on ‘sale’ online for about $13 each. Strange. But I totally bought the other two again, so we have six pairs now. But only three designs. Which is fine — I did that with the airplane pajamas last year.

BUT SERIOUSLY THO, WHO WEARS PAJAMA SHORTS? PLEASE ADVISE.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $21.029.71

Baby Leash.

Published on August 21, 2017August 20, 2017 by Darlene Dee33 Comments

At least it’s not a muzzle.

(BRB going to google if toddler muzzles are a thing. No? No. Ok, cool. I didn’t want one anyway.)

Babystar is an unpredictable little ToddlerMonster. As is to be expected. I love the unpredictable things she says to me all the time. I love most of the unpredictable things she does all day long. I do not love the sudden unpredictable public sprints.

Like many good parents, we tricked the trusting little monster. She wanted her very own backpack. Mommy has a backpack. Big Sister and Big Brother have backpacks. Her cousins have backpacks. I borrowed one of the Skip Hop Zoo collection backpacks (with safety strap) from a friend for a trial run. She loved it, and barely notices if I have to grab the safety strap. Not a leash. A safety strap.

Whatever. It’s a leash. And I don’t care.

She loves that she can carry around a few books and a toy car or tiny Care Bear or whatever. I love that if my own backpack gets too heavy I can fit her water bottle into HER backpack and help her become an independent human and build a strong character and mostly take some weight and bulk out of my own bag. I don’t always attach the harness but I always have it with me. When we are walking near a road or in a big crowd of people, I like the peace of mind that the harness gives to me. I don’t lead her around by the safety strap. I do loop it onto my wrist and then hold her hand. It’s a great backup for when she gets OH SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT THING WAAAAY OVER THERE HURRY HURRY MAMA! (It is usually rocks. It is always rocks.)

When the safety strap is not keeping her super safe, I can loop it around the backpack’s handle and give her a little free range chicken action. She doesn’t even notice or care that it’s there. She is just excited to have her very own backpack.

And, ok, she picked out her very own backpack all by herself. But since it does have a LEASH, I find it absolutely hilarious that she chose the dog.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $20,526.63

CONFESSION TIME: Who has used a baby leash? Who hates me now?

Superbabystar!

Published on August 2, 2017July 30, 2017 by Darlene Dee22 Comments

It’s a Baby! It’s a Star! It’s SUPERBABYSTAR!!

OMG YOU GUYS! This Cat & Jack cape from Target is EVERYTHING!

Babystar totally spotted this and picked it out all on her own, although it does seem like something I would want her to wear. She loves it. I love it. Huge win. ($24.99)

I love that it is size XS-M so she will be able to wear it for years. I love that it is reversible so she can have pink or blue, depending on her mood. (It was in the girl’s department but not in the boy’s department, which I found annoying because PINK IS NOT JUST FOR GIRLS. But the fact that they did not sell pink OR blue but rather pink AND blue is a step in the right direction.) And I love that it attaches with a single (largish) spot of velcro so she can pull it off herself in a pinch.

And she’s off!

RAISING BABYSTAR: $20,361.20

OMG With These Shoes.

Published on July 26, 2017July 24, 2017 by Darlene Dee7 Comments

I AM THAT MOM.

I totally paid $47.70 for a pair of shoes for a toddler. She will fit them for MAYBE five months, if I’m lucky.

And they aren’t even expensive Stride Rite super-supportive first-walker shoes either.

THEY ARE WAY BETTER!

Y’all. Babystar was SO EXCITED to get shoes like her big sister. She knows these are ‘Fifi’s shoes’ and she tried them on and was strutting around in the store and holding her feet out one by one to show us how cool they were. She even said, ‘SO COOL’. I had to buy them. I had no choice. My entire body and soul was melted into a puddle at the shoe store and all of my willpower leaked through the cracks in the floor.

Plus. For real. I totally thought they were on sale for $29.99. But nope. The GOLD and white Adidas were on sale. But her sister has the BLACK and white Adidas. So black and white Adidas for Babystar.

She said that I should ‘no tell Fifi picture shoes — shoes airplane airport’. Her sister was out of town and she didn’t want me to tell her or send her a picture. (I speak Babystar LOL.) She was so excited and wanted to surprise her by wearing the matching shoes when we picked her up at the airport.

YOU GUYS OMG. But she really is growing out of her size 6 shoes. And these are a size 7, so, um, totally necessary.

The Universe was looking out for me on this one, though. Less than a week later, Myrtle Beach Grammy sent three pairs of size 7 shoes PLUS an additional $45 cash (in the mail — I know) for a pair of yellow shoes. Yes, yellow shoes. Because Babystar told Grammy on FaceTime that she wanted new yellow shoes. Grammy sent THREE pairs of awesome Mary Jane velcro-style Stride Rite shoes, but none were yellow. So she sent the baby some money to buy yellow shoes. My MIL is awesome and crazy. Maybe we will find yellow shoes next time but I think four pairs of size 7 shoes for the ToddlerMonster will be plenty. And one pair is the exact same pair of pink waterproof shoes that Grammy bought her in a size 6 and they are perfect for summertime. THANK YOU GRAMMY (that doesn’t read this blog)!

MAYDAY MAYDAY: Is it just me? Have you ever bought something that you KNEW was a bit silly and/or overpriced for your baby/toddler/dog/child/self but you did it anyway?

RAISING BABYSTAR: $19,625.40