My first baby will be turning six next week. She excitedly whispered with her cousin the other day about how it will feel to be six... so much promise in a new number, a new year. She has been talking about what she will do when she is six, how she will be able to read this book, or reach that dress from her hanger "when I'm six." She is probably right. She is growing like a weed, and practicing her reading whenever she gets a chance. She is going to conquer fears, dream big, and attain goals in her next year. She makes me so proud. She is beautiful inside, and she is kind.
I want time to pause. I want to hear this five-year-old voice a little longer. I want to have these dear, innocent conversations about her days at school for all of her school days. The day after Thanksgiving, almost six years ago is etched in my memory so clearly... every moment I labored for her in the hospital, and the moment my terrified 26-year-old self heard her cry and realized my entire life would be changed for good in that single breath. The day we took her home after clumsy attempts at latching her in her carseat for the first time... her first tooth, when she first grabbed a toy, the first time she rolled over, her first bite of real food... babyhood seems so long when you're sleep deprived and attempting to cook a reasonable meal with a teary baby on one arm, buuuut...
Suddenly I blinked and here we are. Those beautiful days of minute after minute watching my babies sleep, and coo, and wanting cuddles are past, and we're in a new beautiful phase of life.
One baby is almost six, and the other is three- talking up a storm and expressing very real {and fabulous} opinions of her own. Babyhood is so fleeting, but so lovely.
I was not entirely equipped on baby goods when we had Sophie. We were spoiled to bits in the area of gifts, but knowing what works and what doesn't is a tricky balance for brand new parents. All I knew was what I thought was cute and what might work, and I'll tell you- I could have used a few more baby toys for both of my baby's first years. Babies get active and alert and ready to play far earlier than I had expected!
I'll tell you new parents, or friends of new parents: one thing I loved then and love even more now: Plush rattles. The rattles we had were not the best for babies to grab and grip, but I would shake them over my babies and get them giggling in no time. Now there is a better place to get rattles: Estella NYC. I've wanted to purchase these rattles since I first saw them on Pinterest a year ago, and I don't even have tiny babies anymore. Plush hand-knit rattles in THE most adorable shapes!! Taxis! Fire trucks! American Flags! Annnd my favorite: milk and cookies. Yes, milk and cookies! Genius. There are creative shapes for all, AND as a bonus, they look entirely adorable styled on a bookshelf when your babes no longer need rattles to hold and chew {that's where this taxi is going!}.
This post is getting long, but I cannot talk about my favorite baby products in the world without at least bringing up my two favorite babies of all time, so do pardon my trip down memory lane. I must show you before I go... these have literally been baby tested and approved. My friend was over earlier this week, and her sweet babe smiled and coo'd over them all through the play date. Success!
Photo credit Karla Quiz. Thanks Karla for the perfect little model!
She is tooooo cute!
SO, the moral of this Friday post is: if you have a baby who needs a gift {Christmas is coming!}, please visit the Estella NYC site, use this fancy coupon EST15OFF31 for 15% off, and get yourself some perfect little rattles for all the cuties in your life!
xoxo and happy Friday to all!
*Rattles were provided for review. All opinions are my own. I do not accept gifts unless I really love them and I really do love these, and so will you!