Valentine’s Day Gifts for Kids

Well, Christmas is over and I’m already looking forward to the next holiday.  You moms know what I’m talking about . . . I have no time to do anything, so it helps to plan ahead!  Anyway, I am all for giving sweets for Valentine’s Day, but we just threw out a bag of candy that has been hanging around the house since Halloween.  I’m sure we aren’t the only family that has this happen, so I’m always looking for different options for school holiday gifts.  This year, we went to a craft store to look for ideas.  We came across some fun Valentine’s Day themed pencil topper stamps and thought that this would be a great gift for the kids to share with their freinds.  We have to get cards yet, but at least the tough part is over.  Hopefully, the kids will have lots of fun creating art for a long time after Valentine’s Day is gone:)  So, if you’re looking for something a little different for your kids, stop at your local craft store for ideas.  Even if you don’t find what your looking for, it’s a good excuse to go!

Posted by Kari, Designer of Dots – Graphic Designer

Getting Tucker to sleep by himself.

We recently had the chance to catch-up with Jessi, our Purchasing and Inventory Specialist to see how being a new mother is going.  Jessi had Tucker about 4 months ago and she loves being a new mother.  Check out Jessi’s story about the challenges and blessing of being a mom.

What has been your greatest challenge as a new mother?

Right now we are trying to get him to sleep on his own. Pretty much from day one, we rocked him to sleep. Now he doesn’t like to sleep without being rocked. When we first tried this, he would start to fall asleep in our arms and we would lay him down in the crib. Well, he would wake up and cry and cry. We would go into his room and reassure him that we were still there and he was alright. I think the first day we tried this, he cried half of the day. It sure seemed like a lot more. 

Every one that I talk to about this says that doing this is one of the hardest things about being a parent. They also say the only way to avoid this is to put the baby in the crib from day one and not let them fall asleep in your arms. My take on it: I wouldn’t trade the time I had just holding him for the world! It is definitely difficult to get Tucker to sleep on his own, but it is getting better.

If you could give a new mom a tip what would it be?

After you have a baby you are so tired and you want the baby to sleep so you get some sleep. I say, rock the baby to sleep if that is what it takes. You can teach them to sleep on their own when you are more rested and have more of a routine that you and the baby recognize.

How much sleep do you get each night?

5-6 hours most nights. If I am lucky I get 7 hours. Of course they are not continuous hours. Tucker still wakes up at least once during the night.

Getting Tucker to sleep on his own is one of the major milestones(at least in my eyes). It is something that every baby needs to learn. If they don’t learn it, they will depend on someone else to help them get to sleep when they get older.

Posted by Jessi, Dotter of Dots – Purchasing and Inventory Specialist

Turn an ordinary baby shower into a fun and exciting baby shower by simply choosing the right baby shower decorations to set the mood!

Don’t forget the baby shower favors, tableware, centerpieces and the games! You can get all you need right here at Smply Baby Stuff!

Personalized just for you, we’ve put a modern spin on baby shower games!

Below, you will see that each game contains 5 fabulous games for either a boy, a girl, or for the new baby all on one beautifully designed sheet!

Shop our Fabulous 5 Baby Shower Games at http://www.simplybabystuff.com/fabulous5.html.

MENOMONIE, WIS., January, 2010 – SimplyBabyStuff.com, a leading online retailer of baby shower invitations, baby shower decorations and baby shower favors, has unveiled a brand new line of clever, one-of-a-kind baby shower gift sets. Available at the SimplyBabyStuff.com website, the gift sets are as useful as they are fun – filled with soft baby essentials and ingeniously disguised as items like a gigantic baby bottle or hoagie sandwich.

These endearing designs make a surprising first impression and they’re actually bundles of indispensable items for babies: 100% cotton towels and receiving blankets, terry washcloths and burp pads, undergarments and booties. And these are much more than appreciated gifts – their eye-catching appeal makes for unique, memorable centerpieces.

The Baby Bottle Blankie set makes a great visual impact, sure to delight moms-to-be: It first appears as a gigantic two-foot tall baby bottle, but then opens up to reveal a plush blanket, a burp pad, two washcloths and a pair of socks. The blue Octopus Gift Set appears as an adorable plush critter sporting a sailor hat for baby boy to wear, while the pink Caterpillar set for girls comes with a rattle and a plush toy. Expectant sports fans will get a kick out of the Hot Dog or Hoagie Sandwich gift sets.

Each of the sets arrives with a customizable gift card and attractively wrapped in tulle fabric, giving it a beautiful finished appearance.

These gift sets are the latest in the online retailer’s commitment to offering the most unique gifts, favors and decorations, for planners looking to make their events memorable. “We designed SimplyBabyStuff.com to have a new modern look and to be the perfect one stop shop for original baby showers and baptisms, we have all the goodies our customers need for their special day. Our main focus was having gorgeous theme and tableware pages to enhance our customers’ shopping experience,” says Sherri Yukel, founder of Big Dot of Happiness and SimplyBabyStuff.com.

My first photography class in college my professor walked into the classroom and stated, “Photography is painting with light.” Six years later this statement is still powerful to me. Photography is one of my hobbies and I absolutely love finding new ways to paint with light in my photographs. I recently had the opportunity to take Jessi, our Purchasing and Inventory Specialist’s family pictures. Jessi gave birth to her first child 4 months ago, and wanted to capture the miracle of having a son and her growing family. My favorite pictures I took of Jessi and her family are the photographs that had dramatic lighting and captured the miracle of having a family. Photography is a powerful form of communications that documents the history and miracle of life, enjoy some of Jessi’s photographs.

Learn more about Jessi’s experience of being a new mother by checking out her baby story:
http://blog.simplybabystuff.com/2009/12/baby-story-of-the-week-tucker-michael-lindstrom/

Babies are a sweet addition to the family – choose sweet baby shower favors like these Personalized Baby Candy Bar Wrappers for the guests!

Guests will enjoy these original designs, “exclusively” sold at Simply Baby Stuff. We supply you the personalized wrappers and you buy candy bars and wrap them up! Fun, easy favor idea!

From invitations, games, and tableware,
We will make your baby shower unforgettable!
Don’t forget to “wrap” it all up
with our personalized candy bar wrappers!

SimplyBabyStuff.com’s candy bar wrappers and mini candy bar wrappers add the perfect personalized touch to your baby shower. They are great favors that all of your guests will enjoy and the wrappers make great  a keepsake for the mommy-to-be.

Get Your Squiggle On! At SimplyBabyStuff.com our squiggle shaped baptism and baby shower invitations have been flying out the door. Who wouldn’t love our whimsical shaped squiggle invitations? They are a fun modern and unique design. Your baptism or baby shower invitations will be a hit with our squiggle shaped invites.  The squiggle invitations can only be found at our Big Dot Original web sites; SimplyBabyStuff.com, BabyShowerStuff.com, and BigDotofHappiness.com. Celebrate your baby shower or baptism with our original squiggle shaped invitations. We also have squiggle shaped thank you cards and tableware.

SimplyBabyStuff.com is proud to introduce new do it yourself items to make your party planning even easier and affordable! We just launched 1 gallon containers for 5 different candies that are perfect to put in our fillable baby shower favors. SimplyBabyStuff.com also offers a wide variety of personalized stickers and tags to add to your favors.  Personalized do it yourself favors are the perfect way to add an extra special touch to your baby shower or baptism.