I receive free products from Guidance Guide for review purposes but my opinions are all my own.

Finnegan has just reached the confident sitter stage, which might be the very best baby stage. I can plop him down on the floor and there’s a 95% chance he won’t fall over. He can sit up in his high chair. He can sit up in this stroller. I can wear him on my back in our soft structured carriers. It also means he’s ready for sink baths instead of blue plastic lounge tub baths.

Sink baths are my favorite. Nothing is as sweet as a freshly washed, cheerful baby ready for some snuggles, but our bathtub is huge and deep and trying to hold up a slippery baby long enough to get him clean just kills my back. Sink bath to the rescue!

We’ve been big Babyganics fans since Lincoln was the baby taking sink baths. He loves the foaming shampoo and body wash, which not only bubbles up right out of the bottle, it makes a good bubble bath too. As you can see, Finnegan is also a bubble fan.

Along with the shampoo we already use and love, Babyganics sent a few more things for us to try.

Wipes, sunscreen, hand sanitizer like this 72 pack 8 oz hand sanitizer, and body lotion are just a few of the many natural, gentle, plant-based products in the Babyganics line. From their site:

Our goal is to create products that parents feel good about using around their babies and that work in their homes and that they can actually find and afford all while keeping our impact on the planet in mind.

The lotion is SO nice on Finn’s winter skin, which gets dry patches easily, especially around all his baby creases (and he’s such a chunk he has a ton of baby creases). The wipes went straight into my bag because they’re perfect for hands and faces after I bribe my children into behaving by buying them donuts. And since this winter has been just the worst as far as germs and sickness goes, I put the hand sanitizer by the door to remind myself to give it a quick squirt anytime I come back from being out in the world. I am saving the sunscreen for our upcoming vacation, because Florida + super pale children is just a recipe for disaster without really good sun protection, but the idea of using SO much chemical sunscreen isn’t my favorite.

You can see my video of Finnegan living his best baby life with his bubbles on Instagram. Thanks again to Babyganics for the awesome stuff!

I was going to say we did “nothing” this week, but apparently I am incorrect. We did nothing besides go to the beach and the aquarium and the grocery store and got ready for/attended Caroline’s dance recital. That was more than enough.

Sunday:

Be quite! I am working on my puter!

Traitor cat prefers my husband and doesn’t care if that hurts my feelings.

Footie jams in summer: sighting #1

Monday:

Outside swim lessons are exciting

Our collection of Wendy’s kid meal clicky things is now very impressive

Adorable sleeping hands

Tuesday:

Beluga watching

Obsessed with Friendly’s, like all good New England children

Aunt Amy sent Caroline some costume jewelry. Caroline likes ALL of it.

Wednesday:

He told me he was sailing to New York City

There is so. much. sand. in my car.

Dance recital finale practice is more fun for her than me

Thursday:

Grocery shopping is cause for fancy dress

Two of a kind

Dress rehearsal (The routine was to Deep In The Heart of Texas, which starts “The stars at night, are big and bright…”)

Friday:

8:30 am, lazy baby. (Footie jams #2)

You’d think she’s never seen grapes before.

Falling asleep on the couch is one of the best parts of summer (Footie jams #3)

Saturday:

Baby prep day! Now we can spy on the children without missing The World Cup…

We have one extra place to set the baby down (beside the borrowed rock’n’play and the free basket)…

And I have drunk so much red raspberry tea I might actually turn pink. COME ON BEBEH!

This was one of those weeks where I really love living in Connecticut. The weather was gorgeous, we enjoyed the aquarium and the beach, and I was struck by how small/friendly/nice our community is. We ran into people we knew everywhere, which is a pleasant thing to happen when I’m always thinking “What would happen right now if my water broke?” Not that I would just abandon my children at the park with a friend, but the fact that there are friends AROUND would make going into labor at Target less mortifying.

Two more weeks (and 3 days BUT WHO’S COUNTING) until my due date and if my What To Expect app asks me one more time “Have you had the baby yet?” I’m going to set it on fire.

*Giveaway now closed*

I am blond-haired, blue-eyed, very freckled and of Swedish and English decent…but compared to the rest of my family I have a fantastic tan. E isn’t so much “pale” as “transparent” and the kids definitely take after him. With all that paleness comes the usual complaints – dry itchy skin, sensitivity to all sorts of soaps and additives and cleansers, and chapped cheeks from runny noses and cold air. On top of that, my husband has a mildish case of rosacea (I say mildish, since it doesn’t bother him much – “vain” is not a word in his vocabulary – but it is persistent.)

So when Aquaphor emailed me and was like “Hey, can we send you some Aquaphor to try?” I was like “You mean send me MORE Aquaphor? Since I already buy it in the giant tub since we ran out of the giant tub the Navy prescribed to E for his face? Yes, yes you can.”

They sent me the Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment and the Aquaphor Baby Gentle Wash & Shampoo, both of which are favorites already in our house. The Healing Ointment is great on diaper rash, itchy spots and especially on the chapped skin on Evan’s face:

7:30 pm, right after bath. Poor baby. His nose runs and he wipes it with his right sleeve so the right side of his face is always the worst (We’re working on using tissues, I promise).

I used a teeny tiny bit of the Aquaphor Healing Ointment right before bed and…

8:00 am the next morning. Still a little dry but SO much better. Luckily a tube of Aquaphor lasts a long, long time so I just dabbed some more on throughout the day.

It even worked wonders on my thumb last night, after I burned myself lighting E’s birthday candles at 1 am (free tip: don’t play with fire when you’re really, really tired).

The Baby Gentle Wash & Shampoo is tear-free, fragrance-free and washes out really easily – all very important factors when trying to wash two squirmy kids who FREAK when you get water in their eyes or ears. Now that Caroline has hair long enough that I need to Deal With It regularly I appreciate that the Aquaphor Wash & Shampoo leaves it soft and shiny. It also took the marker right off both kids hands (and arms and knees and faces…) without drying or irritating their skin. We are Aquaphor devotees and I couldn’t imagine going through a whole winter without it.

To help YOU and your family enjoy your winter, Aquaphor wants to send one of my readers this amazing prize pack:

Bundle of Joy Package 

•  $50 Visa Gift Card
•  “Warm Buddy” to cuddle with
•  Ice Age Continental Drift (2012) DVD to watch with your family
•  A Pottery Barn kids picture frame to keep and share your memories!
• Godiva hot cocoa mix, perfect after a cold day
• Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment  is a dermatologist and pediatrician trusted product that helps protect and relieve dry, cracked skin. It provides effective soothing relief for dry skin and its mild formula is safe for external use on your baby’s delicate, sensitive skin.
•  Aquaphor Baby Gentle Wash & Shampoo is a mild, fragrance free cleanser that gently cleanses both skin and hair. Enriched with soothing chamomile and provitamin B5, the tear-free formula is specially designed and clinically proven to be gentle for baby’s sensitive skin.

To enter, just leave me a comment on this post sharing something you’re excited about this month!  I’ll pick a winner on February 19th and notify them by email, so be sure to enter one when you comment! The giveaway is only open to US Residents who are 18 years of age or older.

p.s. The Warm Buddy in the prize pack is fantastic – it has a bean bag in the middle you can microwave and then tuck inside. Both kids love cuddling it after we’ve been playing outside and I swear it leads to extra couch naps. Exhibit A:

If you find that Aquaphor #WorksWonders, we’d love for you to take and share pictures of how your family is able to enjoy time together with us on Twitter and Facebook!

I was provided with the prize pack listed above as part of my review but no other compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

And the winner is…Comment #1! (I love when Random.org choose #1)

Congrats to straderspiel for winning the prize pack! Watch for an email!

Have you heard of Wittlebee yet? It’s one of the hot new subscription boxes the internets are all going crazy for these days, except it’s just as useful as it is cool. Avoid screaming trips to the mall and super expensive binges in the children’s department at Target by having your kid’s clothes delivered monthly right to your door!

Wittlebee is a monthly kids clothing club for children ages 0 to 5 years. You create a style profile, give your kids’ ages and sizes, check a few boxes to let them know what kind of basics you could use most for the season you’re in and BOOM! For $39.99 a month you get over $100 worth of stylish kids clothes delivered in a happy little white box. Check out their super-helpful FAQ section for more details and answers to your questions.

Adorable packaging, and the CEO’s cell phone number is printed right on the inside of the box so you can contact him. Now THAT’S customer service.

I loved filling out the style profile for Caroline and they ask all the right questions – favorite colors, whether she’s a diva or a hipster, even if she prefers polka-dots over lady bugs. And my box definitely reflected my answers. I received one pair of leggings, one pair of shorts, one t-shirt dress, one t-shirt, and two legging/dress combo outfits.

I told them Caroline liked pink, orange and blue

I was also impressed with the attention to sizing details – I said Caroline was wearing size 18 month clothing and all the items were approximately the same size, even though some were labeled 24 months or 2 years. Those brands obviously run smaller and it’s AMAZING that Wittlebee pays enough attention to detail to know that.

Speaking of brands…

American Apparel t-shirt

Old Navy shorts

I was pleased that I recognized and am already a fan of a couple of brands in the box. The brands I didn’t recognize I would categorize and mid- to high-end stuff (the kind of thing I’d only buy if I lucked out and saw it at TJMaxx).  But the nicest surprise was the outfits. Man, I LOVE pre-coordinated outfits for little kids.

Adorable zebra outfit is adorable

My absolute new favorite dress for Caroline

She says it’s very comfortable for lounging and swinging

The perfect combination of play clothes and cuteness

My 100% honest opinion is that Wittlebee is adorable, fun and definitely a good value. It would be an AMAZING gift for a mom friend – especially for a mom on her second or third baby who doesn’t have the energy to do laundry, let alone shop for new kid’s clothes. The quality is excellent, I got a good variety of items and their stylists have great taste. Be sure to check out Wittlebee on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news, brand announcements and insider info!

p.s. If you use this link you can get $10 off your first month’s box!

(I was sent a Wittlebee box at no cost so I could write an honest review. No other compensation or direction was provided and all opinions are my own. If you sign up through one of the links I do get a referral fee.)