Easter Basket Ideas | Babies & Toddlers

Easter is only a few weeks away, and since my sister is getting married that weekend (yay!), I am buying all my Easter basket items for the kids a bit earlier than normal. We give baskets from us instead of the Easter Bunny, and I love finding fun (and mostly non-candy) little things to include. After searching through lots of cute options recently, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite items from years past as well as some new finds.

I will post these in two separate installments: Babies & Toddlers and Preschoolers. [Although there is a lot of crossover between the gifts for these ages.] First up, Easter basket ideas for the littlest ones...

1. Jellycat Bashful Beige Bunny. While any stuffed bunny would do, this one by Jellycat is both incredibly soft and classically charming. And that little tail!

2. Plan Toys Duck, Chicken, and Bunny Racers. These high-quality, wooden race cars are perfect for your vehicle-loving kids. They were a huge hit with Rylan a couple years ago.

3. Crocodile Creek Bunny Ball. These colorful balls are the perfect size for little hands, and the ladybug version that Ava got in her first Easter basket is still very much in our toy rotation.

4.  Lamb Wubbanub. The bunny, frog, duck, and caterpillar are also good options.

5. Boon Odd Ducks. These quirky rubber duckies are great because they don't have holes that fill with water...and thus mold.

6. Hanna Andersson Everybunny Jammies. While HA pajamas are not the cheapest around, they are so unbelievably soft and comfortable. And adorable.

7. Chalk Eggs. These chalk eggs go with the Easter theme and are also easy for little hands to use for chalk masterpieces. [Note that the Crayola ones we purchased are currently not available on Amazon, but there are several other options.]

8. Bunny Ears Teething Ring. These adorable teething rings are sealed with beeswax and organic olive oil, and there are a variety of fabric options.

9. Bunny Cup. The blue, bowtie version is also super cute. In related news, Target always has good Easter basket items in the dollar-spot section.

10. Petit Collage Rabbit Wood Stacking Toy. This company, founded by a California mom, sells a plethora of adorable and sustainable toys, books, and puzzles. In addition to this stacking toy, they also make an adorable bunny rattle.

11. Little Chick Finger Puppet Book. We own the bunny and butterfly ones as well, and my kids both loved them!

12. Hide & Squeak Eggs. I don't know what it is about these eggs, but I have seen many a toddler obsess over them.

Cheddar Bunnies also make for an excellent non-candy basket filler. 

Ava was a huge fan of her first Easter basket. (Those cheeks!)

As was Rylan. 

Those squeaky eggs were his jam!

Friday Night Photo Dump | October-December 2016

It may be March (and a Saturday), but for posterity's sake these are all the random photos from the last part of 2016 that haven't yet made if off my phone.

In Texas, 60-degree temps mean the first firepit night of the season.

Watching sports while holding a football and a pink dolphin. As one does.

My creation at the T&K Women's Initiative floral design event. Not too shabby.

You never know what you are going to find upon tucking Ava in.

When you are supposed to send your child to school with a family picture, you are all running late, the printer is acting up, and you finally get it to work...and then it crops out said child. You just have to laugh. 

Sweet babies.

He got it from his mama.

Their first taste of Little Debbie/Hostess. #RoadTripFood #OnceItHitsYourLips

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

God bless legos.

Fall Fiesta Fun.

That moment when you tuck your daughter in and find the sweet gift she made for you.

Howdy, partner.

When Dad takes you to Sam's...

A fun night at Dave & Busters thanks to my Firm.

This little dude rocked his holiday class performance. And this is where his obsession with guitars began. 

Another day, another school holiday party performance. This time with our sweet little hula dancer.

My silly loves.

And with that, I have officially posted everything from 2016. I think.

Ava's 5th Birthday

I don't know how it is possible, but our baby girl turned FIVE in February. 

While it feels like a while since she was a newborn, I swear she was just that little Dorothy yesterday. 

We started off the celebration on her actual birthday with our traditional donut breakfast. 

And after she enjoyed cupcakes and lots of birthday-girl attention at school, I surprised Ava with an early pick-up and a trip to see Moana...complete with popcorn to balance out all that sugar ;).

The next day, we celebrated our sweet and yet fierce little girl's fifth birthday in full superhero style.

Thanks to an Amazon Prime delivery, our little superhero was ready to roll.

For the location, Ava was dead set on Jumpstreet. While clearly not my top choice of local, it made her ridiculously happy, it was relatively cheap, and our only choice involved what kind of pizza to order. Win.

The kids spent the majority of the time running, jumping, and laughing. As it should be.

All of her best friends were in attendance, which made Ava so so happy. 

Special thanks to Emily of Rockstar Bakeshop for the fabulous cupcakes! 

For the party favors, I found the most amazing mask and cape sets for super cheap on Amazon (here and here). They lived up to the good reviews, and the kids loved them!

Happy fifth birthday to our Super Ava!