Alright, confess. How many Peeps have you already eaten this year? Our first batch is currently “curing” on top of the refrigerator for proper crispness (open the packaging and dry them out). Meanwhile, we’re loving all the pastels and spring things that are popping up and looking forward to spring break and Easter fun. Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays (who a I kidding, I love them all!) because I love the way it unfolds the new season–chicks and bunnies, new life, lighter colors, brighter sun, bluer skies.

We love our Easter traditions, and I’ve already tucked away some treats for the baskets this year–to help the Easter Bunny out, of course. As always, Tiny Shit is my specialty, so I bring you a list of fun and pretty things for kids’ Easter baskets this year.

 

1. Little Bunny On The Move. New books are perfect additions to Easter baskets, especially because they are valuable investments and will outlast the jelly beans and lip glosses and marshmallow Peeps. This book whispers “spring” with its sweet little bunny, and the gray scale illustrations are anything but boring–simply enchanting.

2. Decorate Your Own Rubber Duck. Kids will love decorating their own rubber ducky, and this gives them something creative to do after discovering their baskets and finding all the eggs.

3. Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck. Nothing says spring like the classic Peter Rabbit tales. These plush toys bring the characters to life and are the perfect size for Easter baskets.

4. Hop & Peep Kid Hair Products: Kid hair products formulated by the Easter Bunny in his burrow. Just pour your favorite kid products into travel size containers and add this printable label.

5. Calico Critters Baby Puppies. I’m not going to lie. I want to buy these for myself. I want to put them in my purse and pull them on bad days. Kids love puppies and tiny things. Put them together, and you have these adorable critters. And as if that adorableness could be topped, they threw in a teeny tiny baby bottle. Take it to the moon, why don’t you, Calico Critters!

6. Ice Cream Truck. Warmer weather and barefoot days are ahead…start dreaming with this adorable ice cream truck toy, a perfect addition to your child’s Matchbox car collection. 

7. Flying Wish Paper. Bring them to the table for Easter dinner, pass them around, let everyone make wishes and watch them float into the sky. An easy inexpensive addition to the Easter basket, one the kids will love!

8. Handmade Engraved Harmonicas. These gorgeous personalized harmonicas from Indie Bambino are less than $10 and wood-burned by hand. Great keepsakes that last long past Easter. Check out other products in their shop–they’re amazing!

9. Alex Chalk Pastels. The sidewalks are warming up and begging for some spring drawings. Up the ante on your kids’ sidewalk chalk with real pastels–so many vibrant colors! They last longer than regular sidewalk chalk but still wash off with water.

10. Unfinished Wood Eggs. Drop them in the basket just as they are and let your kids paint them or use Sharpie markers to decorate them later, or personalize them yourself for the baskets.

11. Plush Bunny. My kids got these bunnies in their baskets last year and loved them so much, they still play with them. Super soft, looks real–and yes, we’ve hooked a leash to their necks and dragged them around the neighborhood (throw it in the wash after). Don’t want to deal with the poop and hassle of a real bunny? This one won’t let you down!

12. Growing Pet Chicken. We’re obsessed with things that grow in water over here. Drop this egg in a glass of water and, over time, a chick will hatch from it like magic.

13. Meri Meri Dress Up Bunny Set. Simple and sweet, this set will transform your little to the cutest bunny on the block for Easter. Also, anything by Meri Meri is extraordinary. Make blueberry muffins for Easter breakfast and serve them with this beautiful Peter Rabbit cupcake kit, also by Meri Meri.

14. Bunny Ear Clip-on Barrettes. These brilliant little bunny ears clip in hair and stand up straight for a hint of Easter festivity.

15. Window Markers. Best thing you can give your kids? Permission to deface the windows. These window markers turn any window or sliding glass door into a large canvas and clean up easy.

16. Tortoiseshell Kid Sunglasses. I love tucking bits of sunshine and warm weather goodies into the Easter baskets–sand toys, flower seeds, new sunglasses. These stylish tortoiseshell glasses look just like Mom’s but are made for kids. 

17. Peppercorn Kids Accessories: Fabric Covered Ball Necklace or Bow Collar Necklace. We LOVE Peppercorn Kids accessories. My girls wear their head scarfs a lot in summer (they stay on!), and their knotted fabric necklaces take any outfit to new levels. And their felt bow necklace: WOW factor.

18. Wind-up Wooly Walker. This lamb is killin’ it. Watch the video of him walking across the table. Your kids will think he’s the coolest. 

19. Indoor Gardening Kit. Kick off spring with your kids with this eco-friendly gardening kit–everything you need to grow zinnia, basil or teddy bear sunflower including soil pods, seeds and even the little shovel.

20. Watercolor Postcards and Watercolor Field Sketch Kit I love Easter baskets filled with creative tools. Your budding artist will love designing his/her own postcards with this watercolor kit that includes a refillable water brush.

21. Fuzzy Bunny Slippers. What’s Easter without bunny slippers? These super soft Hatley slippers work for any season and can be found at bunnyslippers.com. Who knew there was an entire site dedicated to the art of bunny slippers?! Genius.

21. The Tale of Peter Rabbit Coloring Book and new crayons. Freshen up the coloring book collection with this spring-themed classic. Peter Rabbit makes everyone happy.

Happy Friday, little chicks.

In the archives of posed family photos from my childhood, there are stories buried in 3 x 5 prints and the occasional Olan Mills 8 x 10 splurge. Stories range from “Dear God, why were my lips always chapped?” to “Turtlenecks Are Awesome” and “Argyle is the New Black.” But less obvious and more important, were the other stories buried in those photos–we were trying to hang on, sometimes for dear life, to what we knew was the greatest thing we had…family. I wonder how many of those photos were taken during the rough times–when, without a clue of what else to do, our parents curled our hair, coordinated some outfits, dragged us to Olan Mills and paid for a 5 x 7 that would be framed and put on their night stand so that they could look at it every morning and think “that’s it right there–that’s why I’ll stay and that’s why I’ll try harder.” That and they needed something to put next to our name in the Free Methodist Church directory. Our family didn’t end up staying together–rightly so–but I wonder if that break-up–the years leading up to it and the hard ones that followed–could have been softened if there wasn’t so much pressure to fulfill the image of what a family is supposed to look like.

For our own family now, it’s been over a year since we’ve had an organized family photo. It’s just harder to make it happen with grown kids and two different homes and busy schedules. But as a photographer and photo-lover, I believe in documentation and capturing love in all our different places in life. And there are some walls in our home that beg for big prints to remind us “This is it right here.” So the stars aligned last week and a quick photo shoot was organized.

For all the pretty pictures I share–that anyone shares–there are accompanying stories. It’s easy to believe that those stories are all glossy and perfect and cozy, but I know better than to assume that. In fact, part of what I love about following friends even with the most breathtaking photos where life seems nothing but light-filled scenes of dreams–is knowing that those moments are earned through unseen moments of really hard work. There are so many stories we don’t share–stories of humor and heartache and beauty and joy and messing up and fixing it and hoping and trying and love…lots of hard work.  That’s the real beauty of family.

So here we are. Our Family. A blended mix of pasts and presents, figuring out a little more each day how to make it. Sometimes it’s really hard. But we love each other and that means everything.

And I may have tried to coordinate outfits for a somewhat cohesive look, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: life doesn’t follow your coordination plans.

But bring your color anyways. Show up. Make it interesting. Tell a story. Love the ones who have been given to you.

We’re not perfect, but we show up. And that’s all it takes for a perfect family photo.

I love these people.

And my favorite photo in the whole bunch…

 

Top that, Olan Mills.

Thank you to Heidi for capturing our family…and for always showing up.

After waiting what seems like forever for Friday, I’m kicking this week to the curb and welcoming the weekend with open arms. And if we’re kicking anything, let’s do it wearing cute shoes. Fun Friday calls for favorite kid sneakers, and after three kids, many years of growing feet, and a slight shoe obsession, I feel slightly qualified to suggest these. In the words of the great Carrie Bradshaw, “Men I may not know, but shoes? Shoes I know.” When it comes to casual playtime sneakers for my kids, I love classic shoes that can be worn with dresses, shorts and jeans alike; anything that’s easy to slip on; and unexpected fun details like cute prints. These are favorites my kids have worn and loved, and several of these we’ve loved so much, we buy the same shoe in the next size up. I have a thing for red sneakers as well. I actually have to stop myself from only buying red sneakers. Gotta branch out from time to time. With no further ado…

1. Ked’s Classic Sneaker. Red Keds are the IT shoe in our house. We’ve had them in just about every size from the teeniest tiniest pair they make, and I especially love the white rubber toe-kick on the infant and toddler sizes. These sneakers look adorable with dresses, take jeans to a new level and pair with sailor suits for perfection. Like wine, they get finer with age–the more scuffed and weathered, the better. They never go out of style, and if they ran for president, I’d totally vote for them.
2. Converse Creatures Sneaker. Dash and Nella each have a pair of these (alligator and zebra, respectively), and we get so many “Love those shoes!” comments. They have 3-D features and velcro open and shut for quick and easy removal. They’re the most character-filled sneakers for kids I’ve seen–sometimes I think they’re actually alive. Also available in shark, puppy, fish, bunny, toucan and more.
3. Camper Casual Sneaker, These comfy feet-huggers feature wide pre-tied elastic laces, so they slip on easily. I love the classic look and the contrast of canvas/laces/white toe-kick. They’re super durable, and I can’t wait for Nella to fit in Lainey’s old ones.
4. Keen Coronado. I searched for the perfect sneaker for Lainey’s first year of kindergarten like it was my job and found it in these adorable Keen Coronados that come in so many different colors and prints. We had little owls, but there are rockets and palm trees, flowers and sharks, polka dots and airplanes and more.
5. Vans Strawberry Slip-on. Craving spring? These strawberry slip-ons ooze happy weather vibes and add a sweet kick to any outfit. Our Vans passed the full-day-walking-around-Epcot comfort test, so WIN.
6. Toms Paseo. These are my favorite shoes for Dash right now and come in both low and over-the-ankle-styles. My favorite part? The hidden velcro that makes taking them on and off a cinch. They’re also available in several prints including buffalo check and stars and stripes.
7. Saucony Toddler Jazz. I love the retro look to these tennis shoes and the fact that they too have a secret velcro panel that makes them quick and easy choices for getting out the door.
8. Vans Banana Sneakers. Spring, spring, spring! The softest sweetest pink with a fun unexpected print. When in doubt, go with bananas.
9. See Kai Run Sneakers. I discovered See Kai Run when Lainey was a baby, and they are solid durable shoes that last. These sneakers are easy to slip on and off and come in several colors.
10. Adidas Samba. Everybody looks good in these timeless classics. Everybody. But of course, babies look cuter than everyone else in them.