June is a girl on the move these days, practically running everywhere she goes. This is such a fun age, and we have been delighting in our sweet, funny girl! These are a few of the items helping us keep up with her at fifteen months!

— June is actually very good at eating off a plate, so we don’t use these too often, but for places that don’t have plates (like Chick-fil-a!), these stick-on table toppers are helpful.

— June outgrew her sunhat from last year, so we replaced it with this one. The chambray goes with almost everything!

— I don’t frequent Kohl’s too often, but when I ran in recently to make a return I was wowed by the Carters spring girl collection! SO much cuteness, including the above leggings (which June has), this sweatshirt set, this buffalo check romper, this outfit (reminds me of John Robshaw or Roberta Roller Rabbit!), this anorak (we might buy this for the fall – so cute!), and this swimsuit.

— I might be the only blogger alive who doesn’t love Honest products, but aside from their diapers, I just haven’t found them that effective for our family. We started using the Burt’s Bees original lotion a few weeks ago, and love it so much more!

— Target’s Cat & Jack hair bows are our favorite right now. They’re adorable, and also only $2 each, which is great because despite my best efforts we lose them left and right.

— June still prefers to explore outside over playing with almost any toy, but she does love her band in a box (maracas!).

— I am a little unsure as to whether I want to list June’s convertible car seat as a favorite, because I have some mixed feelings about it. I didn’t do a ton of research before we bought it, because we got a large gift card to Nordstrom at the same time we were shopping for a new seat, and I liked the look of this one and it had great safety ratings. We do like it, and June does seem to think it’s maxi cozy, but the straps are hard to tighten (which may, I freely admit, be user error).

— We use the Cloud Baby Monitor app on our phones and laptops as our monitor when we’re traveling. It has unlimited range and works great!

— I’m using this slide as a stand-in for playgrounds in general, which June loves in all shapes and sizes – especially slides, stairs, and swings!

Past family favorites:
The first six weeks
Five months
Eight months
One year

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Though we are still using and loving many of the baby items I’ve posted about since June was born, I thought her first birthday was a good opportunity to share a few of the things making our days easier and more enjoyable right now! Something you won’t see on this list? Toys! While June has a few in her collection, none of them seem to capture her interest as much as run-of-the-mill household items, including but not limited to magnets, K-cups, pens, tubes of lotion, sunglasses, and remotes. There is NOTHING cooler than a remote, let me tell you…

— Now that June has a considerable amount of hair, this soft brush comes in handy for taming it.

— Up until a few weeks ago, we were using an old iPhone for white noise. The speaker finally gave out (as we were warned it would), and so we replaced it with this slim-lined, unobtrusive white noise machine. A+ purchase!

— There are tons of options for diaper rash ointment out there, but we’ve had good luck with this one.

— Alexa! I have plans to write a separate post about technology in the home, but let me just say: I was very against getting an Echo, but after having her for a few months, I am enthusiastically on board. We listen to music way more often (pretty much all the time!), which our whole family loves.

— Again, there are lots of sippy cups to choose from, but we’ve liked these ones. By the way, it’s a strange task to try to teach someone how to drink from a cup, but apparently our methods worked because June drinks like a champ these days! She also LOVES to slam the cup back down on her tray after every sip :)

— It’s not a literary masterpiece, but June is getting way more into books these days and Zoom Zoom Baby as well as other lift-the-flap titles are some of her favorites.

— I love Freshly Picked as much as the next gal, but at less than half the price, these rose gold moccs are an awesome alternative. A very happy birthday gift from a dear friend!

— Now that June is sleeping upstairs, we’re using the Amcrest camera and app to keep an eye on her. It’s a good price point for a monitor and we’ve been happy with it.

— Now that June has more hair, the thin headbands from Simple June are some of our favorites. Once she has even MORE hair, I’m looking forward to putting the thicker ones from Amalie Maren back in our rotation! Right now, they just look a little funny :)

Mamas, would love to hear a few of your favorites for this age!

P.S. Favorites from the first six weeks, five months, and eight months.

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It seems like the milestones are coming fast and furious these days, from eating solids to crawling to pulling up! With all that action has come some new gear, so I thought I’d share a few things that June, John, and I are loving these days…

— Like any good baby with New England heritage, June has an oh-so-classic L.L. Bean boat & tote embroidered with her name. We use it mainly to pack her gear on road trips.

— Until seven months, June slept in our room. After she graduated from the Rock & Play at five months, she transitioned to the Lotus bassinet. It is fantastic for travel (it folds up into a backpack!), and we also have the crib attachment, so we’ll be using it for years to come.

— Did you hear about the landmark peanut allergy study released last year? You can order the snack from the study, Bamba, on Amazon. We’ve fed June a bite almost every day once she started solids because mama’s not having a peanut ban in her house if she can help it.

— We’ve been making June’s purees since she started solids, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is! Steamed or roasted veggies (either fresh or frozen) go in our food processor (we got this one as a wedding gift), then are portioned into ice cube trays and frozen.

— For smaller portions, like if we’re just blending a single plum, our immersion blender/mini chopper has been invaluable. (And regardless if you have a baby, you should have an immersion blender! They are the best for making soup!)

— My priorities for a high chair: not ugly, small visual profile, and easy to clean. The Ikea Antilop is a big winner in all categories, and it’s inexpensive to boot ($20!!).

— Weck jars have been great for reheating and mixing frozen food as well as storing refrigerated portions.

— These baby spoons are gentle on gums, easy to hold, and come in pretty colors!

— My Mom does NOT like these bibs (I think because they’re too “industrial” for her grandbaby), but the convenience can’t be beat — especially now that June is learning to drink from a cup and her bib pocket looks like a swimming pool at the end of a meal :)

— This little high chair pal was not something I would have thought to buy on my own, but I’m very grateful someone gave it to us as a gift! June loves to play with it while we’re getting her food ready, cleaning up after a meal, or cooking, and it saves us from picking a toy up off the floor every three seconds.

— Our rechargable stroller fan has made walks in the summer heat feasible with a baby. (Side note: between when I made this graphic and when I’m writing this post, the exact fan we bought seems to have disappeared from Amazon, but this is a fan from the company who made ours, and this is a fan that looks exactly like ours. Weird!)

Mamas, would love to hear a few of your favorites for this age!

P.S. Favorites from the first six weeks, and favorites at five months.

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The chapter of our family story wherein we introduce a new character would not be complete without photos, and I’m so very grateful to have had our friend Graham on hand to take these ones. His skill, his eye, his sense of light and scale and setting – they’re all exquisite. But what really sets him apart is his kindness and ease, and that goes whether you’re one of his lucky friends or just meeting him for the first time. I am so glad to share his beautiful work with you today! Here, a few of my favorites from Shep’s newborn session.

Once again, my lovely friend Sam was on hand for hair and makeup help. I am almost always FOR hair and makeup help (as I am useless when left to my own devices), but especially a few days after giving birth. Thank you, wonderful Sam!!

We took a few more in Shep’s nursery, and they’re some of my favorites — that post will be up next!

P.S. June’s newborn photos and my baby favorites from the first six weeks

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