My Favorite Parenting Reads

I never wanted to be that mom that lived by a parenting book, "the book says to do this, the book says to do that..." I really believe that majority of parenting decisions should come from instinct, and of course advice from doctors, and I'm sure there are amazing parents out there that have never touched a parenting book. But I'm too crazy for that. Sometimes going with the flow is less of my thing than I'd like. When I first found out I was pregnant, I read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" cover to cover. I downloaded apps and read magazines. I wanted to know every single bit of information possible. But since actually becoming a parent, I've learned that trusting my own instinct is the way to go. There have been multiple times I've questioned my own decisions because a book or friend suggested something different, but there are so many different types of parents out there, there is no one right way to raise a child. In fact, there is an overwhelming amount of different ways. So I know choose to get as much information as possible, then decide what's best for my daughter and family.

That being said, there are a few books I'm reading/have read that I really value and consider when it comes to parenting. Everything always comes down to what Joe and I think is the best decision, and if it comes down to it, asking our pediatrician, but for everyday questions I have, these books have really come in handy for me. 

What to Expect the Second Year. This is one of three What to Expect books I own. I read the pregnancy one, the first year one, and just picked up this one to start. The main reason I really love these books is because it's more just straight information, rather than trying to get you to parent a certain way. I kind of see it as more of a textbook. It's basically just facts from actual doctors that you can take then decide what to do with. They revise it every few years, so the information is always up to date. These books have been around forever and are trusted by tons of people, so I feel really good reading them.

Bringing Up Bebe. This book is written by an American raising her daughter in France. She notices that French children behave very differently than they do here; they eat adult meals, play by themselves quietly, and don't throw temper tantrums. She decided to start taking notes on the differences in parenting styles and talks about her discoveries. I picked this book up more out of curiosity than really a parenting guide, but it makes a lot of great points. Kids can be curious, imaginative and have fun while being well-behaved. I also think some of the things she notes French parents doing are a little out-there for my personal style, it did give me some ideas of different ways to approach certain situations. 

The Honest Life. I'm a huge, huge fan of The Honest Company. We use their diapers, wipes, shampoo, lotion, sunscreen even their house cleaners! Basically, if Honest makes it, we use it. Not only are the products completely safe and clean, they actually work! I saw that Jessica Alba had written a book a couple years ago and decided to pick it up since I love her company so much. This book is all about living a natural and chemical free lifestyle. It's not necessarily a parenting book since it covers way more than kids and babies, but it's all about a way of life that could definitely affect kids for the better. It covers eating, clothing, beauty, home life, and of course children. Like the last book, some of it seems a bit out there and even a little unrealistic, but it gives a great idea of how to steer toward the direction of an "honest" life. I learned a lot from this book about different chemicals and how to look for certain things on labels. A great read even for people without kids.

Although I'm all about following your own parenting style that works for you and your family, I also think it's a great idea to educate yourself as much as possible. You can make the best decisions when you know a lot about all the options. Do you have any parenting (or life) books or guides you love and recommend?

Our Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we decided it would be fun to go to the next town over and let Vi experience her first ever pumpkin patch! This same farm has hosted Fall Festivals since I was a kid, and always loved playing, eating and picking out a pumpkin! This is one of those things we weren't sure Vi would actually enjoy yet, but she does seem to love seeing new things and watching people. And this was no exception! She just looked around the whole time and took it all in. She especially loved sitting in the "corn bath" and throwing around corn (and we made it home with only on kernel in her diaper!) I'm glad we let her experience things like this even if she's not quite old enough to participate, I say the earlier the better for fun traditions like this! I think next year she'll really love running around and actually being apart of the fun!

Violet's One Year Photos

A couple weeks ago, we had Violet's one year photos taken. I'm not usually into the whole princess-y look, but we wanted them to be very celebratory and fun. You only turn one once! I absolutely love how they turned out, the photographer was so good at making her laugh and getting great photos despite how much she was moving all around. Here are a few of my favorites, and I'll be posting some of our family photos soon too!

Autumn Wish List

a pretty backpack that can double as a diaper bag // some festive measuring spoons to make baking even more fun // a cozy hat // this pretty nail color, and all the other colors in this collection // a yummy smelling candle // blankets to snuggle under while watching Halloween movies // a cute, comfy sweatshirt

What's on your Autumn wish list this year?

Safe Memories

A few months ago, my Grandma gave me a ton of old photos of myself from when I was a newborn to a kid. That's a lot of photos! I completely loved looking through them, seeing photos I didn't even know existed and remembering amazing times. I was so excited and will always treasure these photographs. But I started to think about how crazy it was that these photos taken on film were originals and the only copies, and that made me nervous! I would hate for these memories to ever be destroyed from water or bugs or anything that can so easily ruin paper. I gathered all of the photos she gave me along with a ton I already had and sorted through them. I have almost 500 prints! I thought my only option was to scan each one individually into my computer, but after thinking about how incredibly tedious that would be, I Googled other possible options. 

I came across a website called Vista Pix Media, they digitalize all of your old photos and movies for you! I wrapped up my photos and sent them in right away. A couple weeks later I had a drive full of my pictures! They're now safe on my computer and extra safe backed up on Google Photos! That makes me feel so relieved and secure. I can even look through them way easier on my computer than having to sort through physical copies. 

The originals are now wrapped up in a plastic tub, and I'm so happy that I have so many childhood memories kept so secure. If you have a ton of old photos, I really suggest using this service!

Here are a few silly photos of myself as a baby, gotta love the 90's!

Vermont June 2016

It was June when Joe, Violet and I visited Vermont for a week, but I really wanted to go back and post photos from our trip since it was so special.

Vermont is where Joe grew up. Ever since I met him five years ago (here in Arizona) he's raved about Vermont. He'll talk about the trees and the buildings and the leaves. It's his home, where he grew up, and you can really tell how in love with it he is! Me, on the other hand; I grew up in the same town I live in now. I had never been very far east before, and since knowing Joe, I've been dying to see that side of the country. 

We actually had plans to visit Vermont in the fall of 2015, but since that ended up being the time of Vi's arrival, it wasn't exactly possible. Then a couple of friends of Joe's got engaged and their wedding was going to be in June in Vermont, and they wanted to Joe to be a groomsman. It seemed like the perfect excuse to finally go! Violet seemed old enough (almost 7 months old) to handle a plane ride and a few nights away from home, so we figured it would be good to get her used to traveling early.

I was a little bit nervous for the trip since it would be Violet's first time in an airplane, being out of the state, staying in a hotel, and dealing with a (3 hour) time change. That's a lot for a little person to handle! But she did amazingly and it seemed like she really enjoyed herself!

The flight there was pretty easy as Vi loved looking out the window and "talking" to people. Everyone sitting near us was really sweet to her and talked and waved back, which was nice. We arrived at about midnight and went straight to our hotel to sleep. The next day we walked all around Burlington and Joe showed us his favorite restaurants and places to hang out. I loved finally being about to see where he grew up and went to school. I especially loved Church Street, and the Pier.

We stayed in Burlington for 5 days before we headed over to Ferrisburgh, a town about 45 minutes away where his house was. What's so cool is that his sister and her family now live in the house that he grew up in, so I was able to see it and stay there for a few nights. We had so much fun hanging out with his family and Violet had so much fun playing with her little cousin, who is only 4 days older than her! I loved seeing her interact with someone her exact age, they were adorable together!

The entire trip was a huge success and so much fun! We saw gorgeous sunsets over Lake Champlain, ate so much amazing food, went to our friends wedding, saw the Ben & Jerry's Factory, the Teddy Bear Factory, Echo Science Museum, and had so much fun the whole time. I can't wait to go back now that I know Violet is a great little traveler, and that Joe was right about how wonderful Vermont is!

I'm Back!

As you can see, I've been absent from my blog for almost four months now. I hate that I just left without saying anything, but I was really trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I love having this space where I can share photos and stories to look back at, and I love the friends I've made blogging. But with any form of sharing comes risks. I was starting to wonder if I wanted to continue having my daughter's face on such an easily-accessible website. And after receiving some strange Instagram comments, I decided to make my blog private and delete almost 1000 Instagram followers, keeping only those I knew. I really love blogging, but my child's wellbeing always comes first.

It's kind of one of those things that I'm sure comes up a lot in parenting; you want to keep your child safe, but know you also can't protect them from everything. Social media is just part of life now. It's not at all uncommon for people to post photos and stories of their children. And 99% of the time, it's a great thing! I love seeing photos of my friends and family and their little ones. I love sharing photos of Violet and my family. But sometimes that 1% of the ugly side of social media creeps in. People feel like it's okay to state any opinion they want, and it's almost opened up a whole new door to bullies.

But that made me think more, I would never want Violet to stop doing something she loves because of rude people or fear. Why let complete strangers decide for me? So instead of completely walking away, I've decided I'm going to keep my Instagram more of a private platform to share photos with people I know personally, and my blog can be more of an open space. It makes more sense to me to go about it with a bit more caution than to stop completely.

So I'm back! I can't promise I'll be posting every day or even every week (mom life is a busy one!) but I'm going to do my best to dedicate some time to Desert Darling. It's something I've put a lot of time and effort into and want to keep that going. So as long as it's a positive place for me to be creative and have some "me time," then I say why not!

So what have I missed in the blogging world? What's new with you all?