3.30.2019

TOYS FOR TINY LOVES

This post is sponsored by Tiny Love. I received compensation including free product in exchange for this post and the promotion of Tiny Love and its products. Thanks Tiny Love for sponsoring this post, and thank YOU my readers for reading and supporting my sponsored posts! Sponsored posts such as these help pay bills, buy cloths for our kiddos, sometimes goes into our small savings fund for home stuff for when we buy a home and help our little family do fun things like take zoo trips throughout the year! As always, I only partner with brands that align with our lifestyle and only share about products that we actually love and that I would truly suggest as a great product if we were real life friends chatting in person! :) #momentsofwonder
 
I'm a big fan of things that put smiles on my little ones faces, and Bodhi is currently all about toys. Bella liked toys a little around this age, but Bodhi just can't get enough of them. He's always holding his little rattles, moving them around trying to get them to make noise, hugging his stuffed puppy, chewing on said rattles and puppy. He just really loves toys, so when Tiny Love Toys recently sent us their new Black & White "Magical Tales" Gymini Deluxe Infant Activity Play Mat, we were all a little excited!


He just LOVES playing with all of the little toys that hang down and he is absolutely enthralled with the soft take along book that comes with it, he stares at it for the longest time. He loves laying on the soft mat and looking up at the toys hanging from the arches of the overhead gym, and especially loves reaching up and hitting the rattles and hearing them make sounds! He especially loves the wind chime rattle!


As a mama, I'm loving how uniquely versatile the Magical Tales Gymini Deluxe is! The adjustable moving arches that adapt to baby's age and stage of development and encourage fine motor skills from day one. Features like the baby activated musical toy, the different textures, colors and shades.. it all keeps our baby boy engaged and excited to learn! The little ribbons on the side of the mat  are great for drawing babies attention during tummy time and the mirror is great because we all know babies love looking at other babies, even if that "other baby" is themselves haha. Though we just got it, I already regret not having it sooner and I feel like we're going to get a lot of use out of it!


To be honest, I hadn't heard of the Tiny Love brand until recently, but I'm loving them now that I have. Have you heard of them? Maybe you're already a fan of their products? If not, here are a few fun facts I learned about Tiny Love: Tiny Love is an award winning international children's brand creating developmental toys and baby products designed for the growth and development of little brains. I also learned and love that each of their product collections feature their "tiny pioneers" family which encourage discovery and exploration of the world around us. each character inspired by real people in history that paved the way for great discoveries, like Nikola skunk (named after Nikola Tesla), Marie hedgehog (named after Marie Curie), Isaac bear (named after Sir Isaac Newton), and more!


Tiny Love also also includes features in their products that that meant to encourage the growth of what they like to call "the 7 Developmental Wonders" (more on that below) which are a set of comprehensive guidelines for baby development milestones and the perfect tool for helping parents grow with their babies and both learn along the way.

Okay, so what exactly are the 7 Developmental Wonders? Here's the official list:

Cognition – Cognitive skills are the mental processes through which we understand our world. Understanding the stages of cognitive development can help you guide your child through the wondrous adventure of learning.

Language and Communication – Language and other forms of communication enable us to share our ideas, thoughts and feelings.

Fine Motor Skills – Fine motor skills are related to the hand, palm and finger muscles
as well as to the muscles surrounding the mouth and eyes. As baby grows, it is important to ensure that fine motor skills develop in sync with emotional and physical maturity.

Senses – Through our five senses, we receive information from our surroundings and process it through our cognitive skills. Our senses open the world before us and help expand the scope of our understanding at every turn.

Gross Motor Skills – Gross motor skills are related to the muscles in charge of the less delicate functions our bodies perform, such as sitting, crawling, walking and more. Learn all about this significant aspect of baby’s physical development. 

Imagination and Creativity – Imagination is our ability to mentally produce images, ideas, thoughts and even feelings that do not exist in reality and that are not available to our senses. Creativity is the process of transforming imagination into reality and the ability that allows us to improvise, take initiative and solve problems.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) – Social and emotional intelligence has a profound influence on future success. Understanding the basics of EQ can help you encourage your child’s emotional development and create a healthy basis for growing and learning.


So in addition to all of the great things I mentioned above that we love about the Tiny Love brand and their Gymini Deluxe product we chose, we also like that with the magical tales collection, you don't have to choose between products that have style and fit into your home and products that feature interactive development features. The Magical Tales Collection has both with it's stylish monochromatic black and white design that fits perfectly with any style. Oh! I almost forgot to mention the 3 different modes that the Gymini Deluxe offers:

Lying: While on their backs, babies will enjoy the overhead gym and practice reaching out and batting the cute little animal rattles and hanging toys to promote motor skills, understanding of cause and effect, and great cognition development.

Tummy Time: the awesome mirror, fun little satin ribbons, contrasting design and other features are perfect for helping extend tummy time and encourage gross motor skills.

Sit and Play (we'e not quite ready for this stage yet): When sitting up, baby can continue exploring the toys and enjoy their more complex features.


While I'd love to be able to hold Bodhi constantly (I'm a mama who likes to keep her babies close), with also being a mama to a 5 year old little girl, having a home to keep in running order and trying finding time to take a quick shower every now and again it's just not always feasible. So the Gymini Deluxe is the perfect way to entertain our baby boy for a little bit while I load the dishwasher or make dinner, and all of the features that help his little brain grow and develop are the biggest added bonus in my book. Another thing that's great for this busy mom is that the Gymini play mat is machine washable so win-win, if it get's covered in drool or spit-up on, all I have to do it un-snap the overhead gym from it and throw it in the wash, so convenient!

Which feature of the Gymini Deluxe Play Mat most caught your eye? Make sure to head here to find out all about the Magical Tales Collection and head here (to amazon) to check out the Gymini Deluxe and grab one for your little one or as the perfect baby shower gift!

3.20.2019

STYLISH LITTLES | TOP PICKS FOR SPRINGTIME FROM TEA COLLECTION

I have no chill when it comes to baby and kids clothing. There. I finally admitted it. Okay, so really if I take it a step further in complete transparency, I have zero chill when it comes to all things kid related haha. Anyway, let's talk clothing. I've shared previously how much we love Tea Collection, their designs are so unique and super cute, but most importantly, they're affordable AND high quality! While some brands sell clothing that looks great, but wears out fast and looks worn out after a few washes and wears, I love that all of the clothing we've we owned from Tea Collection still looks nearly new after being worn consistently for months. Quite an impressive fete if you ask me, especially when 5 year olds are involved.


We recently chose some new Tea Collection items to add to both Bella and Bodhi's wardrobes so I'll share a little about them below!

For Bella, I chose items with springtime and lots time spent outdoors in mind, she's been begging for super cute this chambray jumper since last year so I was so excited to finally get it for her. This sweet sparkle hi-lo tie waist dress is a new one from Tea Collection and it caught my eye as soon as I found it on their website, I love the little silver waves on it and it's perfect for our ocean loving little girl. Lastly, it feels like she's always in need of new pajamas (somehow all our others seem to get stained with paints or chocolate milk haha) and I can't wait to put this adorable ice cream pajama set in her Easter basket (if I can wait that long to give them to her that is) since it will be perfect for those warm summer nights that will be here before we know it. She's going to LOVE them!


For Bodhi, it seems like he outgrows everything we buy him 5 minutes after we get it (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but not by much lol). He's been growing like a weed and is so tall, he outgrows everything mostly lengthwise so I wanted to get him a few new cute clothing options. I am obsessed with this wrap romper, I love how unique it looks and it gives off African mudcloth vibes (which I simply love) and it's so neutral and goes with everything. I also chose this sweet simple gray and white striped bodysuit, because a baby can never have too many onesies and this one is SO soft, not to mention super cute on him. Even though he seems to outgrow footed outfits quite fast, I still buy them for him because I just love them, they're so convenient since it's only one piece, plus I think they're adorable too. This lion printed one is beyond precious!

Do you have you eye on any of the new items from the spring collections over at Tea Collection? So many options, so little time, don't mind me while I... add all to cart. Lol!

3.19.2019

STYLISH MAMA | BREASTFEEDING ESSENTIALS WITH LOYAL HANA

As a mama with little ones, I always shop for clothing with functionality and comfort in mind, but now that I'm breastfeeding a little one again, those things are even more important for my wardrobe. Unfortunately as I've discovered in the past few months, options for stylish breastfeeding friendly clothing is sometimes rather limited. That's why I was so excited when I found the brand Loyal Hana right before Bodhi was born. I was immediately drawn to their simple look, stylish designs  and most of all, great range of functionality for both expectant and nursing mothers. This past week, their Christy speckle long sleeve top in cream showed up in my mailbox and now that I own a piece of their clothing, I love Loyal Hana even more!


While technically nearly any shirt can be breastfeeding friendly (just lift it up right? lol) there are times, especially when I'm out in public that I prefer to be a little more discreet. Breastfeeding isn't easy (goodness it's so worth it though), but all of the super cute clothing choices that Loyal Hana offers make it easier for sure. This long sleeve top is perfect for that with it's beautifully sewn in side zippers that aren't even noticeable unless you're looking for them. This top is so comfortable and I've loved wearing it this past week, which by the way I've definitely worn it more than once because it's just that good! The hidden zippers are so easy to maneuver unlike some nursing friendly clothing items I've worn in the past, making nursing my little one, or using a breast-pump so much easier for this busy mama.


I have my eye on a few more pieces to hopefully add to my wardrobe soon because allllll of the Loyal Hana pieces are simply perfection, basics to statement pieces, they have something for every mama / mama to be. I love that with Loyal Hana I don't have to sacrifice style for functionality, because us mamas already sacrifice so much for our little ones, we shouldn't have to with our style. If you're like me and already have your eye on some super cute pieces, use my promo code JOYFULTRIBE30 for 30% off! Make sure to send me a DM on instagram letting me know what you got!