Cute Local Small Shops

One thing I really love about small shops is that you can find some really great, unique stuff. There are so many small shops out there on Instagram and Etsy but some of my favorites are local, which is even better. With the Canadian dollar being what it is, no better time to shop locally than right now!

URBAN COWGIRL & CO
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

We have talked about this one many times before and that's because we LOVE it. Urban Cowgirl is a local shop with the cutest pieces ever! Linnden makes infinity scarves for kids and adults (with a new prints just released Monday!), top knot headbands (which Palmer wore a lot of), and cute bows that can be put onto either a soft nylon headband or a clip. I absolutely adore the headbands for little Charlie. They stretch to fit any size kid head and they don't leave that horrible imprint like many headbands do. And the bows...too sweet. She has the cutest prints that choosing just a few is really hard!

4FOLD SLOUCHY BEANIES
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Another small shop that we have recently started to love is 4Fold Slouchy Beanies, a brand new work-from-home company. Liat has the cutest prints, you will find something for everyone in your family, and with the very reasonable prices, there's no reason not to! I am a sucker for a kid in a slouchy beanie. Too cute!

MACEY & CO
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

I was attracted to this small shop because it was the first time I had seen this style of leather mini bows before and I couldn't help myself. This company is based out of BC (so almost local) and has stylish handmade headwraps and headbands for babes of all ages! The headbands area also made with the soft, comfy nylon so I have no worries about it on little Charlie's head. She can also put the bows on clips, which I love for Palmer.

What are some of your favorite small shops?? I love finding new ones!

Our Weekend

We live for the weekends around here. That is when Mitch comes home and things are normal for a couple of days. This past weekend, we decided to meet in Calgary and do some fun things around there.

The girls and I left around noon and stopped at this really great Christmas market on the south end of Calgary. It was huge and had so many vendors! Palmer's favorite part was seeing Santa's reindeer! We had to go back and see them twice before we left. The weather was okay, but a little cool, so we only stayed about an hour before taking off. Lucky for us, some lady handed us a free gate admission as we were walking in!

We stopped at the mall for a bit before we took off to my sister-in-laws salon to meet Mitch. The mall had a Disney store and Palmer was going nuts!! "Mom, look at this one." "wow, mommy, look!" And she loved the magic mirror. 

Friday night, we kept it pretty low key and hung around the condo.

Saturday we were up early to pick up Mitchell's dad and nanny at the airport then headed up to Cross Iron Mills mall to do some looking around. Then, was the part I was looking forward to most. The Zoo!

We had never taken Palmer to the zoo before, so I was excited to see her reaction to all the animals. Some of the animals weren't out and some of the exhibits were closed for the winter, but there was still plenty to see and I think she really loved it. 

We planned the Science Centre for Sunday, and Palmer really loved that too. I had always thought the Science Centre was geared more for older kids and adults, but there are a lot of really great activities for young kids too. It was a great end to our mini weekend getaway!

Our weekend ended with Charlie sleeping from 11pm to 5:40am this morning! WHOOP WHOOP! 

Christmas Cards With Tiny Prints

One of my favorite parts about getting ready for the holidays is choosing and sending out Christmas cards. Every year, we choose the outfits, choose the setting and have our family photos done. I love it. My husband would tell you otherwise, but the photos always turn out great. Then is the actual fun part; choosing the cards to match with the photos. 

The last several years we have used Tiny Prints to make our Christmas cards, and this year is no different (See our 2014 cards here). There are always so many beautiful cards to choose from that I have a really hard time deciding and Tiny Prints products have always turned out really amazing for us. This year, Tiny Prints offers some really great options including Foil-Stamp, Laser-Cut, Letterpress, and their new Glitter options (which we chose and love!)

After browsing, personalizing and comparing many cards, we went with the Simply Glittering card with silver glitter and I couldn't be happier! The neutral background of the card paired perfectly with the colors of our family photo. The card is gorgeous. 

This year, we decided to try out the envelope liners as well. It is an extra for the cards but I love that it gives the envelope a pop fun of color.

Last year, we got our personalized address stamp from Tiny Prints, making addressing and labeling the envelopes a breeze and so fun!

I have always loved making holiday cards because you can really add that personal touch and make it different than the typical holiday card. Tiny Prints makes the process so easy and stress free. The only stress you will have is choosing from all their really great designs. Tiny Prints for the win!

**Disclaimer: Tiny Prints provided me with product in exchange for my post. Opinions are 100% mine.

My Friday Five

Is it just me, or are these weeks flying by? Can you believe it's the middle of November already?  Another Friday is here, so I figured I'd share another 5 Friday things.

One: we had the first snowfall of the year this week and Palmer loved it! We had to get out and play in the snow a few times during the week.

Two: Charlie turned 6 weeks on Wednesday! What? She had her 6 week check yesterday and she has nearly doubled her birth weight, weighing in at 10lbs exactly (47th percentile) and measuring 20.5 inches (up from18 3/4 at birth; she's in the 4.7th percentile now)

Three: I started back at the gym this week and even snuck in a run before the snow flew! It feels great to be back at it, and it's nice to have the hour for myself!

Four: we had a few family photos taken on Sunday while my brother was here. Mitch doesn't love having his pictures done so I'm glad he was willing, because there are a couple really great ones of humans the girls! 

Five: Snapchat is quickly become one of my favorite forms of social media! I love that it's real, and usually hilarious! You can find me at crazilynormal. Leave me your snapchat name so I can follow along!!! 

Happy weekend, everyone!!

Charlie Dawn Newborn Photos: By Tawnya Nicole Photography

I am so excited to share these newborn photos of Charlie. 

My friend Tawnya has done it again. She has captured some truly beautiful moments for us and they are absolutely perfect. She did maternity photos for us back in August and they were amazing too! I can't even say enough about her incredible talent! I couldn't decide if I loved the color or black and white ones better, so here are some of each. I seriously love them all so much.

Follow Tawnya Nicole Photography on Facebook and Instagram 

Charlie Dawn: 1 Month

Little Miss Charlie. How are you one month old already? Time is going by so quickly, I barely have time to gather my thoughts. 

STATS:
Length - approx 20 inches
Weight - I'm guessing around 8-9 lbs. We will have an accurate measurement at her 6 week check next Thursday.

SLEEP: Charlie sleeps well through the night, or as well as a month old baby will sleep. We have had a couple 4 hour stretches, mostly 3 hours, which I will take. For the first 2 weeks, she slept in the bassinet next to our bed or in the bed with me, but I wasn't getting much sleep these days. Charlie tends to make a lot of noises while she sleeps. So at 2 weeks, we moved her to her own room (around the same time we did with Palmer) and things have been going smoothly.

There is no sleeping pattern or schedule during the day. There are days she seems to be awake much more than other days. She does like to be awake in the late evening, usually from 9-11 or so. I'm hoping to see a little bit more of a pattern in the coming weeks so we can start to make some sort of schedule.

SKILLS AND DEVELOPMENT: There isn't too much to add to this list right now as being only a month old, there isn't really a long list of milestones to be hitting. Charlie is getting noticeably stronger every day. Around 3 weeks, she was starting to hold her head up and now, she does really well.

FAVORITES: Charlie is still quite young to have any real favorites, but I know she loves moving. Whether I am carrying her in the baby carrier close to me, driving in the car, or just being held while I'm walking around, there is something about the movement that must soothe her. I remember Palmer being the same way. 

BIG SISTER: Palmer is so in love with Charlie. I can hear it in her voice when she says "Charwee," I can see it in the way she cuddles and kisses her. It really is the sweetest thing. Palmer loves to help me do as much as she can; she will pick out Charlie's outfits, and will offer to sing Charlie songs when she's upset. In the car, she gives me updates on Charlie, "Mommy, her eyes are closed." or  "Mommy, she's crying, I will sing to make her feel better." There was never any doubt in my mind that Palmer would be a great big sister, but watching it just melts my heart.

MY THOUGHTS: Charlie is behaving much like her big sister did when she was this age, which makes me very optimistic for another good baby. There are days when things are chaotic obviously, and we don't get out of our PJ's until it's time for a bath, but we are doing good.

I'm struggling with two things right now. One, the fact that Mitch is only around on the weekends. Single parenting is tough, so props to all you out there. I know it's really hard on him too, not being able to spend as much time with the girls as he wants to. Two, I find myself desperately wishing these two girls would sleep at the same time. Palmer gets up early, Charlie sleeps in (most days). Charlie naps, Palmer doesn't. Palmer goes to bed at 8:30-9, Charlie is awake from 9-11pm. I like routine and structure, so finding a sleeping pattern for Charlie will be good for us. I know it will happen eventually, so I'm not stressing over it.

Time can pretty much slow down though, because I know this will be the last time all these milestones happen. This will be the last time we will have a snuggly little baby like this, so I am in no rush for them to end.

Happy (belated) one month, sweet Charlie. 

Our Halloween Weekend

Is it just me, or are the weeks going by faster and faster all the time? With Mitch away for work Monday to Friday, the weekends around here are extra special. This one was pretty fun.

Friday morning, Palmer was invited to a Halloween/birthday party by her day home lady. Because she isn't going there right now since I'm on maternity leave, she gets pretty excited to go see all the kids. So, of course we had to accept the invitation. All the kids were dressed up in their costumes, there was Halloween themed food and the cutest (and pretty delicious) white chocolate covered strawberry ghosts.

Friday also marked Charlie's one month birthday! WHAT?

We kept the afternoon pretty low key but excitement kicked into high gear when Daddy arrived home after being away all week. We kept things pretty low key for the rest of the evening and enjoyed all the cuddles.

Saturday morning was nice because the kids slept in until about 8! We made a big breakfast and lounged around for most of the morning.

 After lunch, Palmer and Charlie got their Halloween costumes on and we headed out to the mall for some trick-or-treating. Let me tell you, it was chaos. The lineups of people waiting to get candy was unbelievable! I have never in my life seen so many people in the mall before! But, Palmer loved every single minute of it. When she got that first piece of candy, the smile on her face was priceless. Made the horrible lineups all worth it.

She had been telling us for over a month she wanted to be a pirate for Halloween, so I made this costume from stuff we had and a few dollar store buys (less than $5!) 

She's a Polar Bear, if you couldn't tell! haha

After the mall, we stopped by Mitchell's parents house to do her trick-or-treating there, and get to a few of the neighbors there before heading home to our neighborhood for supper and more candy. I took Palmer out to a few houses while Mitch cooked supper. After supper, I handed out the candy at our house while Mitch and Palmer went out for more. Mitch said Palmer asked him if they could run to the next house, then the next house and the next one. And at one point, she asked him to hold her hand. Of course he said yes, and that he liked holding her hand. She replied with "me too. It's nice. I love you daddy, you're my best friend." I know it's hard on everyone when Mitch is away during the week, so moments like this are so special for the two of them to share.

Palmer came home with far too much candy for a 2 year old, so obviously Mitch and I have been helping her eat it! :)

Sunday was a pretty laid back day. I think we all were in our PJ's until 2pm. We were just detoxing from our candy overdoses from the day before, and taking in all the time we could as a family before the work week started again. Palmer must have been pretty worn out from the weekend because she fell asleep around 7:30 (which she NEVER does).