I hear a lot of people groaning about Valentine’s Day…but when I walk into a store to buy some mundane household item and I’m surrounded by pink sparkly hearts and expressions of love…well…I’m in heaven! …and all that chocolate! Like whoa…!
To top it all off, my son Dre came home from preschool with the cutest Valentine art project! I’m not a big jewelry person…but this necklace could give Cartier a run for their money!
Wishing all of our amazing readers a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!
What’s more delicious than the cheeks of a 1-year-old? Dressing those cheeks up in a tutu + a side of balloons!
(And is it weird that I’m jealous of a 1-year-olds closet? Srsly, like, just supersize everything for me please!)
Walking, jibber jabbing and trying her best to keep up with her big brother, this one is growing up too fast! Happy ONE year, lil Miss ‘L’!
Brother showed up after Preschool + had to join in on the fun!
Seeing that I’ve decided to retire from DIY birthdays, Simon blew out his candles at SkyMania this year. It was well worth having a place for the kids to bounce off the walls that wasn’t my house!
This kid is an active one. When he is not participating in Track, he’s playing Basketball or tearing it up in Running Club. The last 5K we ran as a family (let’s be real, I walked) he left us all in the dust!
Years ago when explaining to my boys about the different love languages, Simon was able to determine that one of the ways he felt most loved was ‘quality time’. This has proven to be true. This past year he is happiest when convincing one of us to play a board game or cuddling up together to read a book. His love of reading this year has blossomed and he often has 3 different books on the go.
This past year he has shown great resilience. New city, new school, new friends and for that I am so proud. Happy 8th Birthday!
Simon took his questions very seriously this year…
What is your favorite food? Caesar salad + spaghetti + meatballs
Favorite restaurant? Red Robin
Favorite animal? Panda
Favorite school subject? Math
Favorite sport? Track + Basketball
Best friends? Caleb, Jay, Hunter + Gryffen
What do you want to be when you grow up? I keep learning about new things but right now I want to be a teacher
Where would be a cool place to vacation next? I want to do Edmonton again
Where would you like to live someday? Canada
What makes you happy? Playing board games mostly
What would you do with a million dollars? Xbox One, Wii + the latest 3DS
How do you know we love you? Lots of hugs + kisses
What is the best thing about being 8? Finally for a few months, Noah + I are 2 years apart again
Noah’s love for animals has not diminished. At 10 years old he is still trying to convince us we need to buy a teacup pig, a parakeet or another dog, just to name a few. Our web history is filled with ‘animals for sale’, ‘funny animal videos’, and ‘silly pet pictures’. He very much misses the animals from our spot in California but has turned his efforts into rescuing animals from the drainage pond by our house here in Washington.
He’s a romantic, wearing his heart on his sleeve. He’s bestowed flowers on many a teacher, auntie, grandma and…hold on…
This is going to sound like I’m making it up but no word of a lie, Noah is frantically yelling at me to find a tub. A duck was going into the road and he HAD to rescue it because it couldn’t fly. You’ll have to go excuse me while I go convince him to put the duck back and clean up the duck poo off my floor.
Where was I? Oh yes, flower picker. He loves to gift people with whatever is handy…stuffed animals, rocks, drawings, old candy. He really has the kindest, most empathic heart for anything living and breathing.
So much will change in the coming years. For instance, our web history will go from baby chicks to cute chicks and he’ll give flowers to different women but his love for animals and the human race makes up a large part of who he is and for that I am very proud.
You recently moved to Seattle. What is your favorite thing so far? We are closer to family
Where should we move next? Canada. In the middle of both my grandparents. Or California
Your favorite subject in school? Art
What do you want to be when you grow up? Photographer + Animator
What is your favorite food? Lobster
Your favorite sport? Soccer + Football
Your favorite song? Crawl by Chris Brown (Someone got into some old playlists!)
How many crushes did you have this year? 5
What is the best thing about being 10? only 6 more years until I can drive!
Your favorite thing to do in your spare time? Hang out with friends or play video games.
What would you like to be your next pet? A red panda. You can ACTUALLY adopt one. I checked on WWF.
How would you spend a million dollars? Half on animals and half on technology
Where would you like to live someday? Alaska or the Amazon
What makes you happy? When I get spoiled by my Dad
How do you know we love you? You guys hug me and lay down with me at night
When I first saw Summer Bellessa’s blog go viral (the one where she let her toddler dress her for a week), I immediately texted my sister and said WE HAVE TO DO THIS! I love the way kids view clothes…similar to the way fashion designers see clothes…no rules, nothing holding them back, no judgements.
My 3.75 year old son, Dre did great…I LOVED his outfit choices…but…he got bored after 3 outfit pulls. Let’s be honest, picking skirts just doesn’t compare to playing monster trucks or annoying your baby brother!
I was cruising my Facebook page to see who I could pester to help me with the rest of my pulls. A friend had posted a photo of one of her daughters walking down the street with a pair of butterfly wings on…I immediately thought, “I want HER to style ME!” Luckily her and her equally awesome twin sister were game to come over and pull some great looks for me! Thank you Ezraylah + Iliana for your help in dressing me! I love the way you made a dress into a shirt and were careful to have each outfit completed right down to sunglasses + hats!
Melissa was able to come down for the weekend so we chose some of our favorite high fashion poses and really made it into a fashion shoot! Hope you enjoy this fun blog as much as we did!!
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Outfit by Dre Age 3.75
This outfit is called…PINK! Big surprise! Haha!…Oh and it’s not a scarf…it’s a tail.
Outfit by Ezraylah. Age 5
This green dress has special memories for me. It was one of the first pieces I bought when I moved to New York City. Yes…that means it has been in my closet for over 7 years. Should I be embarrassed? Some pieces just hold such great memories they are hard to get rid of. Glad she picked this one:)
Outfit By Dre. Age 3.75
The outfit is influenced by Circles…if you hadn’t noticed already. 
Outfit by Dre. Age 3.75
This has to be my favorite outfit of all. This skirt. The leggings. The mismatched shoes. Most random shirt. I am just in love with it all. 
Outfit by Ezraylah. Age 5
I call this my Paris Chic outfit. There is just something about this dress that makes a person smile. Love the details she chose…right down to the belt and hat. I would easily wear this one! 
Outfit by Ezraylah. Age 5
Now this outfit has all my favorite elements in it. Some black + white, lots of sparkle + shine, some pink…It’s a bit of a mishmash! I love how Ezraylah made this B+W dress into a shirt rather than keeping it as a dress. Not something that we, as typical consumers tend to think about doing when we buy something. Clever young lady!
Outfit by Iliana. Age 5
This outfit has A LOT going on! But hey! If you want to stand out here in Eugene…you HAVE to have A LOT going on! Love the blinged out hat, aviators, and of course…a shiny pink skirt! 
Outfit by Iliana. Age 5
I personally love this outfit. It kind breaks all the rules…and yet kinda looks pretty cool? I would have never put a belt with this outfit…or a plaid scarf…or matched pink sunnies with a red plaid scarf…yet…somehow this little 5 year old stylist did her thang’ and made it work! Love it! 
While Jenn had some looks that were downright adorable and even editorial, mine however were that of a colorblind man. Or were we just seeing the difference between the minds of boys and girls?
My boys Noah (10) and Simon (7) were completely on board with pulling looks for me. I was amused to watch them as they both put a lot of thought into selecting my outfits. Originally they both chose a week of outfits but we only had time to shoot 4 each. They thought it would be funny to put together one ‘crazy’ outfit each. I included this ‘crazy’ outfit and I dare you to try to figure out which ones they are!
As I was watching them make their decisions, all the while hiding a smile, I couldn’t help but make some observations. All shoes need socks regardless of style. Highheels…socks, loafers…socks, flats…socks. They also both seemed to prefer skirts/dresses to pants. Noah, being an animal lover, gravitated towards animal prints. At some point he decided that the outfits needed to be named and Simon jumped on board with this idea. To name a few looks that did not get photographed were ‘The Jungle’, ‘Big One 44’, ‘Everythings’ and ‘Red Hot’. They were really disappointed when they found out we didn’t have time to photograph them all:(
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Simon called this look Hodie (not to be mistaken for Hoodie).
He started the task by saying to himself “Start easy with socks.” I’d like to point out those precious Hello Kitty socks. The boys got these for my birthday because all girls like pink and Hello Kitty. 
Noah called this look Snowy White.
He started out trying to go with all white but because my summer stuff is put away in tubs it was tricky. He then noticed the bird dress and he had to use it…with the flamingo socks. Birds of a feather flock together?
Noah called this one Storm Trooper 073.
Obvi. I thought Noah had lost interest half way through because the next thing I know he’s downstairs doing crafts. But nope. He comes back up with a homemade construction paper gun to complete my Storm Trooper outfit. Bless his heart. Every woman needs one of those in her purse. Simon called this one Rigie Pigey.
I have no words. 
Noah named this look The Terrible No Good Very Bad Dressing Day.
Well the name gives it away. This is Noah’s wild outrageous look. The color combination with the stripes is not a good look if you were to ask him. The burning question in my mind was, why do I still have that hat?
Noah called this look Lady C.A.P. (Cool Animal Prints)
Even though he choose this dress as part of this ensemble, last Sunday when I wore it to church (styled differently however), he was mortified! “You’re going to wear that?!” He told me that he thought it was inappropriate for Sunday. Apparently he has reached the age of embarrassment. Ohhhh…this is gonna be fun!
Simon named this look Crazy Girl 27.
Haha…I love that in his eyes this outfit was clearly nuts, meanwhile it’s just as random as the rest!
(Again with the hat! I really need to re edit my closet!) 
Simon named this look Coodies.
So even though there are some favorite accessories of mine in this outfit, they just don’t work all together. This is me hanging my head in shame!
What makes us click 
