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Preschool Back-to-School Essentials

Can you believe it? Jadyn is heading off to preschool on Wednesday! My little baby isn’t much of a baby anymore. She’s a full-blown toddler with her own amazing personality. She absolutely loves being around other kids her age, so I’d be doing her a huge disservice by not enrolling her in preschool until next year.

As you all know I work for Red Tricycle full-time, which means I’m “in-the-know” for a lot back to school tips, tricks, ideas, traditions and more. That means I’ve taken all those great resources for back to school and modified them for a preschooler. While Jadyn will be going three days a week for half days, there are still things she needs. Here’s my list of back-to-school essentials.

Personalized Cup

This is a must. If you read my blog, I’m sure you also follow Tara Henderson on YouTube or Instagram, so when she posted these glitterific tumblers for her girls, I had to dig deeper and see who made them. Barbwire & Lace by B&C Creations on Etsy did! I placed an order for Jadyn’s tumbler (and let’s face it, my own, too) and the result is perfect. I mean, how can you not love this mommy & me combo! You can also check out my latest “Reviews” highlights on Instagram to see the unboxing. The lighting doesn’t do it justice!

Barbwire & Lace was kind enough to give my Made To Mommy readers a discount code! Use code LEIGH10 at checkout to save 10% on your order!

Bento Lunchbox

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

This is an absolute essential, especially if your toddler hates having food touch. Jadyn isn’t that picky, but still. The compartments of a bento lunchbox makes things easy. We opted for the Yumbox Original Leakproof Bento Lunchbox for Kids in Hollywood Pink. I love how each section is labeled with a food group to help moms and dads pack the right stuff for lunch.

New Backpack

Let’s be real here; Jadyn won’t be bringing any homework home these first few years of preschool, but she does need something to carry her lunchbox in! Pottery Barn Kids was my go-to site for this. Their backpack selection is on point and so are the colors they have available. We opted for the Mackenzie Aqua Lavender Pretty Butterflies backpack in the size mini. Jadyn is absolutely obsessed with butterflies and it’s clear that her favorite color is purple since everything is “puh-ple.” Pottery Barn Kids has the option of customizing the backpack, but since she’s little and is growing so fast I opted not to customize this one. Maybe I will when she’s in kindergarten and I get one that’ll last her through first or second grade. We’ve got some time.

New Outfit

photo courtesy of Carters.com

This is a given for any age: a back-to-school outfit! Jadyn has tons of clothes, but I’ll likely be sending her off in this outfit from Carter’s. Who doesn’t love a “caticorn” and comfy leggings for playtime?

Felt Letter Board

While I love these for quotes, I’ve been seeing a lot of moms and dads documenting first days of school on a felt letter board. I found this one on Amazon for fairly cheap as you have black and white letters with some script and emojis, too. While Jadyn doesn’t start till Wednesday, I still prepped the board for pictures. One less thing I have to do, right?

Do you have a toddler in preschool? I’d love to know how you prepped for back to school! Let me know in the comments below.

Jadyn’s 1st Birthday

Jadyn officially turned 1 on January 2nd, but her birthday party was on the 6th. I took the day off work on her birthday and we spent the day out and about, just girls, and enjoyed some one-on-one time.

So much for “Planning Jadyn’s 1st Birthday: Part Two,” right? I got way too into planning the party and basically had zero time to sit down and write a part two blog post, but I am going to do a recap for you here.

In terms of decor, Amazon and Etsy were my go-tos for pretty much all decor. We ordered blush pink, white and gold (with confetti) balloons that we filled with air and decorated the living room with, as well as white, pink and gold pompoms. Those are still hanging where they were during the party as I want to put them in Jadyn’s bedroom, but not sure where yet.

Etsy was my go to for a lot of custom stuff. As you saw in Part One of the post, the main “attraction” for the party was the time capsule. That was a huge hit. Everyone who attended the party wrote a note for Jadyn to read when she turns 18. I’ll also be placing my yearly notes in there for her to read when she turns 18, as well. I purchased a first birthday chalkboard sign from ChalkType on Etsy. The designer was phenomenal to work with! She made a couple revisions and then I was able to print it out at home on card-stock and had it displayed during the party.

I also purchased Jadyn’s first birthday outfit on Etsy from Ritz & Glitz Boutique. After some serious delivery delay issues and miscommunication, her outfit finally arrived and it was beautiful! The tutu was a little on the tight side for an 18-month sized outfit, but Jadyn still looked adorable as ever (as you’ll see in the gallery below).

Jadyn’s smash cake was absolutely amazing. My best friend Eliana (who I’ve known since I was two, and who was there for Jadyn’s birth) made the cake. It was a stunning blush pink and white rose cake with gold glitter (and it was delicious, too!). I really think she should start a side biz of baking, but, you know, just my thoughts. 😉 We tried to get Jadyn to sit in her high chair (which I DIY’d a tutu to decorate it with), but as you can see from some of the photos, she was not having it.

Another thing that was really fun at the party was placing five different objects in front of Jadyn and see which one she picks. We placed a book, a pen, money, cell phone and headphones. She went for the pen first, money second! This little game is supposed to predict where Jadyn will go in life and what career she may pursue. My nail tech gave me the idea. 🙂 Looks like Jadyn will either take after daddy and be artistic, or will take after mommy and be a writer.

All in all, Jadyn’s first birthday was definitely one to remember. Thank you to our friends and family that braved the storm to help celebrate this little girl’s first trip around the sun. Check out the gallery below for some great shots from the party.

Happy birthday, my dear girl! We love you!

Time capsule station
Close-up of the time capsule station. I decorated the box myself
The party favors
The time capsule box & chalk sign
High chair tutu
Daddy & his girl
Mommy & her mini-me
Close up
The outfit!
The tutu
The cake!
Eliana & Jadyn
The trio
The trio strikes again
Jadyn and her BFF Isla
Cake with topper
Okay, maybe she’ll try it
She barely touched it
So, so delicate with the cake
Not having it
Yummy
It was delish
She chose the pen
Her first pair of “babyaitors”
Her favorite gift

Lucy Belly Designs Etsy Store Launch!

I am so excited to share the fantastic news that one of my closest friends, Nina, has launched her Etsy store Lucy Belly Designs!!

Nina designs luxury leather bows for all ages and those who just want to rock a bow or bowtie! A little background about Nina straight from her Etsy page:

I started this shop to give me the creative outlet I crave while still having the flexibility needed to be a full time mom to my baby girl Lucy.

My background is in corporate retail, specifically home decor buying and product development. I started working with leather in 2013, and trained under Beatrice Amblard, who hails from The house of Hermès, for two years. At Amblard Leather Atelier I learned all of the skills needed to create works of art with leather. While I may not be creating handbags (as originally planned), I still utilize these skills when creating my bows. From pattern making to, cutting, gluing, sewing, and finishing; everything is done by hand and with the techniques I learned at Amblard. I use a variety of tools from both the U.S. and France. The luxury leathers I use are also sourced from the U.S., France, and Italy.

Now that you all know we’re having a baby girl, I cannot wait to get my hands on these bows! My little princess will definitely have a better hair accessories collection than I do.

What I like about Lucy Belly Designs is that Nina will craft bows for any age, so you’re not just limited to babies and toddlers. Her designs are reasonably priced, amazing quality and are great gifts!

Bow ties for the little man in your life will be launching in the store soon!

Check out the photos below to see some of the designs and her adorable daughter Lucy modeling the bows!