Nuby Garden Fresh Fruitsicle Frozen Pop Tray

This summer as been GO-GO-GO!!  We hit the ground running on our first day of summer break.  So this morning, we stopped for a minute to have a little homemade popsicle break.

And these little Nuby Fruitsicle pops are just what these two babes needed.  They are the perfect size for Ivy girl!  I put in organic fruit juice, and froze them over night!   After we are done, I just refill them and pop them back in the freezer.  A perfect little summer treat!

You can find more info HERE.

And purchase HERE.

Monster Snack Keeper

I have to admit, I didn't think this monster snack keeper would actually hold little snack in, I thought the snacks would spill all over...but I was wrong!  I seriously love this little thing!

With my little Miss Independent Ivy girl, this is so fun for her!  She loves doing things on her own and I love products that actually work.  This snack keeper will go in my diaper bag and NOT spill everywhere.  It's easy for her to reach her hand in and grab a few puffs or cheerios.  Perfect for a car ride, walk, park or anywhere on the go.

When I ask her if she wants her "monster" she gets so excited!  Such a fun product.

Check the Snack-Keeper out HERE!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=24779846&cp=&parentPage=search

Game Changer Suction Bowl

Game changer here!!

I'm so in love with this suction bowl.

Ivy loves to throw things right now, and meal time is no different.  As soon as she's done or board, she throws everything on her tray (sigh).  So when Nuby sent me this suction bowl, I was in Heaven!  It has a suction bottom and secures to any hard surface.  Hello!!  No more throwing bowls on the ground.  This bowl lets me relax and lets her feed herself, and I feel like she is eating better right now when she can actually feed herself.  Win, Win.

The bowl is also dishwasher safe (a must in my book), also comes with a spoon (not pictured) and a lid for easy travel.  There are a couple of different color options too.

(**there are times when the suction comes undone on Ivy's tray...so every few minutes I check to make sure it's still securely suctions down**)

You can purchase HERE

Visit Babies R Us stores to view Nuby’s full assortment of feeding products & SAVE BIG during the Babies R Us Mega-licious Mealtime SALE (3/1/16 - 3/31/16)! 

Check out the FREE Mega-licious Mealtime Event on March 12th at ALL Babies R Us stores! 

Disneyland!!!

Because Dave had the entire month of December off, we wanted to go on a family vacation!  We considered so many vacation options, but decided we needed to try Disneyland again.  The last time we went, I was prego with Lia.  Dave and I have always hated Disneyland, because we always had a horrible experience.  So I did a lot of research and talked to every friend who knew how to work the Disney system.  Because apparently there is actually a way to "DO" Disneyland!

And all my efforts paid off because we had an AWESOME trip!

My tips for a Disney trip with kids and a baby:

(Please keep in mind that I am NOT a Disney person.  We took our time and didn't let ourselves feel rushed to get to a certain attraction at a certain time...but this helped me to be more relaxed.)

• If you're driving and the drive is over 10 hours, break it up by staying somewhere half way.
• Buy a few new movies to keep the kids occupied.
• Get everyone their own set of headphones, makes the drive better for mom and dad.
• Collect a few random toys to hand to baby throughout the drive, to keep her busy.
• Break-up the trips into the Disney parks.  Having rest days was so good for us!  We went Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• Bring a carrier (like the Ergo) for the baby and a stroller of course.
• Purchase RideMax.com to help get your itinerary ready for each day at Disney.
• When at Disneyland, if you have a baby, you can get a stroller-pass.  So if Ivy could not go on a ride, we got the stroller pass and I could go back through the fast pass line and get to go on the ride too.
• There are a few restaurants outside the Disney area, which was nice to get out and leave the crowds for dinner a few nights.
• Bring lots of snacks and water in with you.  Our kids snacked while waiting in line.  We also packed some lunchables, which were easy to bring around and helped our wallets inside the parks.
• Remember your Tired Teddies for your kids to help their cute minds rest at night.
• Remember your kid medicines.  Each of my kids needed some Ibuprofen during the trip.
• Our favorite hotel to stay in with our kids is The Residence Inn by Marriott.  We can get a 2 bedroom suite, with a family room, kitchen and two bathrooms for a great deal.  Also comes with a great breakfast, free wifi and free parking.  We seek out the Residence Inn where ever we go because they are so family friendly.  Having the two bedrooms and two bathrooms is so key for us.  We put Ivy in one of the bathrooms, two kids in the second bedroom and one on the couch.  Everyone sleeps good and I am able to relax and get a good nights rest.  The Anaheim Residence Inn has a shuttle to Disneyland as well.
• No matter the hotel you stay at, request a quiet room, away from the elevators  and crowds.  

I hope those tips are useful!

Here is a recap of our trip.

Saturday and Sunday December 5th & 6th:

We drove to Vegas.  Of course Ivy wouldn't sleep...but finally fell asleep for 30 minutes.  We stayed the night in Vegas and headed out Sunday morning to So Cal.

Monday December 7th:

Our first day at Disneyland.  We showed up around 9:00 and had our day planned out with RideMax.  Everyone was awesome during the day and we had a blast.  Also the weather was amazing!

And for two parents who are not Disney people...we had a blast.

Tuesday December 8th:

Lia was having major meltdowns, so we took a chill day.  Max, Ava and I went to a movie and then we went swimming.  Great day to take it easy.

Wednesday December 9th:

California Adventure Day!

Every morning we took it easy and didn't kill ourselves to get there early.  That helped us all to relax and not be stressed.  Again we had our day planned and had a blast!

The kids LOVED the rides and we all loved the parades!

Thursday December 10th:

We took another rest day from Disneyland and went swimming and shopping.   And the best part is we ALL slept in!

Friday December 11th:

Back to both parks for us today!  We went to do all the stuff we loved the most on the first two days.  But we took things slow.  We slept in, had a great breakfast and got to the park around 10.  We did all the rides and saw all the attractions we wanted to, and left the park around 6 because we were all exhausted!

A week in review of family elevator pics!

Teeth and Boats

Poor Ivy girl has had a miserable time teething.  She will feel horrible for weeks on end.  During the day when she is whiny and cranky, I give her a warm bath to help calm her down.  Of course new toys help distract her, from her painful gums, and of course these bright colors were calling my name for some pictures! 

The primary colored stacking bath boats are so fun because they can be stacked.  The little submarine scoots around the water when you pull it's tail.  And the fire-engine squirts water from it's hose. 

 Such fun little toys.

You can find more Nuby information at:

http://nuby.com/en/

You can purchase them HERE on Amazon.