Weekend Shorty | Child's Lion Costume

Your child's closet called. It needs this

Ferocious Felt Lion Coat by Little Goodall

That is all.

Fancy Feet | Children's shoes

Ugh. The Beast isn’t even 9 months old and he is already starting to stand on his own. That was fine, it was amusing, it kept the cats on their toes. Now though, he is doing this funky, twisty move....I don’t even want to say it ….I haven’t said it out loud. This is my confession, I can’t admit this to anyone else. My baby beast is starting to get the idea that he has the balance and the know-how to get on the move and start walking.

Sigh.

This means it is time for us to get serious about getting this kid some shoes!

Okay, so what I can muster up from the depths of the Internet is that there are several types of shoes. Pre-Walker, Early-Walker, and Walker.  As a parent, where on earth do you start?  I had no idea, and I need to get a clue because it is time to shop!  Let’s break this down.

Pre-Walkers:  These are the shoes that are soft all over, with no real structure to them, they are also referred to as “crib shoes”. 

Periwinkle and Posies by Gracious May

Softsole Baby Leather Crib Shoes by Wild Cub

Port Red Soft Sole by Livie + Luca

Birch Happy Camping by Growing Up Wild

Early-Walkers: These shoes still have a flexible sole but added structure for those little feet that are just starting to explore the terrain.

Ferris Boardwalk by Livie + Luca

Blue Elephant by Livie + Luca

Ginger Brown Skate Shoes by Preschoolians

Joli Petal Baby Shoes by Zuzii

Pio Pio Pink by Livie + Luca

Tierra Violet by Livie + Luca

Walkers:  These are just regular old, everyday shoes with a more rigid sole for kiddos that have gotten the hang of walking.

There are several options when it comes to baby shoes. So, so, sooo many options.  The ones shown above are all handmade in the USA, and the Ferris by Livie and Luca are 100% vegan, while the red Livie and Luca soft soled shoes shown above are cut from scraps of leather that other wise would have been tossed into the trash. I had never heard of Livie and Luca until I started poking around the Internet for the Beast, but after some research they are a company well worth checking out and in my personal opinion, well worth supporting. They know how to do fun, fresh, and conscientious.

Additionally, when it comes to early walking shoes, there are not as many options when you compare them to pre-walkers, or walkers.  Preschoolians offers the option to design your own. Nice.

What did we end  up doing? We went a little differently than planned after looking at all of our options. Summer is coming up, it gets hot here and we toggle between the beach and inland and two pairs of shoes (sandals and close-toed shoes) just don't fit into our financial plan. SO! We went with these puppies.

The Jefferson by Native Shoes

We chose these because they are ridiculously light and adorable. If he gets sand or water in them, no big deal. He can wear them to the park and he won't kick wood chips into them; they wash off easy and they just seemed like the perfect shoe for our messy, beach-loving baby. 

Throw Gender Stereotypes Out the Window

Have you heard the hullabaloo over the JCrew ad where a mom paints her son's toenails pink?

Or, have you seen this post at The Achilles Effect? They used Wordles to represent the number of times certain words appeared in commercials for both boy and girl toys.

I think we could have guessed the words we’d see in the ads for boys, but wow, the visual representation has a way of illuminating the gender stereotypes in our society.

Does the girls' one surprise you at all? While the collection of these words was not a scientific study, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that they are onto something.

Both the Wordles above and the uproar caused by some neon pink toenails have only reinforced to me that I'll need to do my best as a mom to make sure that my daughter can navigate the world of imposed gender stereotypes the best she can.

One mom who is doing an awesome job of throwing gender stereotypes out the window is Cindy, at Zach Aboard. I love the projects her son digs into and she inspires me to think outside the box when I plan play days with my own daughter. 

In the spirit of moving beyond traditional 'boys' and 'girls' toys, I suggest we do the following: 

Buy some cars and trucks for the little girls in your life.

The Race Car Driver by The Extent of Silence

Little Maple Big Rig Car Transporter Truck by Green Bean Toys 

And get some felt play food for the boys in your world. I guarantee you that they’ll love it!

Wool Felt Play Food by Eva Lauryn on Etsy

Wheat Bread Sandwich and Chips by The Felted Pear on Etsy

Have any more suggestions for throwing gender roles out the window? Please share your comments with us below!

Rocket Town | Children's Book Recommendations

My thought? Kids can't have too many books. In my mind, it just isn't possible. So, if you are looking for some fresh picks, here you go!

Rocket Town by Bob Logan

We just picked up this board book yesterday and I am in love with it. Oh, and The Beast likes it too. It is a simple book centered around opposites (slow/fast, up/down) .

The Beast's favorite part?  The countdown to blastoff. We have read it 3 times and he laughs each time we do it. It also doesn't hurt that he likes to flip through the pages on his own and whack certain images - I like to think that means he is doing his own kind of reading.

Read all of our recommendations here.

Want a copy? Check out the FinchFound bookstore where you can grab all the books we love.

Stick It | Modern Nursery Decor

The Husband: Hey, what are your plants tonight?
 

Me: Prolly writting a blog post.

The Husband: Oh, cool. What on?

Me: Dunno. Wall Decals? Wanna help?

The Husband: NO! I will never go through that with you again.

Me: WWWHHHAAATTTT? What do you mean? That was fun.

The Husband: No, hours, upon hours, upon hours of searching the Internet for that tree was NOT fun. That sucked. 

And folks, that is why we are here. 

I get a lot of questions about the different elements of The Beast's nursery and one of the most asked about items is how we painted the mural on his wall.

I cringe when I have to tell those who ask that I wasn’t super mom, hand panting leaves at 38 weeks pregnant. I (we) searched, I found, I bought......and then my husband meticulously applied each leaf and branch of the tree individually while I was 38 weeks pregnant and still at work. 

Wall decals are popular right now for a reason, they are wonderful. They come off easily for you renters. They look like they are hand painted and can stay up for years for those of you that own.  Some can be taken off and reapplied for those of you who are moving frequently. They add interest with out the bulk that framed art does. You can go as big or as small as you want. The choices are seemingly endless and the choices are good.

    Big                                                 Small 

Tree With Friends by Simple Shapes Sailor Jerry Sparrow by CUT it OUT designs

    Hebrew                                           English

Hebrew Alphabet by Wilson Graphics Animal ABC by Six Under A Tree

    Decorative                                      Utilitarian

Garden Tree by NouWall                   Chalkboard Wall Calendar by Simple Shapes

  Italic                                                  Bold

Butterfly Decal by Surface Inspired  Transportation Squares by Decal Farm

Have a favorite wall decal source? Share it with us below!