love Archives - Rave & Review

American Girl for everyone

My oldest fell in love with American Girl when she was only 1 year old, so we’ve been American Girl crazy for years and years now. But, that love is even stronger now that we officially have a doll for everyone, thanks to the newest American Girl contemporary dolls. Like most families, we start with the Bitty Baby line and then we ease in slowly to the American Girl Wellie Wisher, BeForever, Truly Me, and Contemporary lines. That transition is always a big deal when they go from baby to adolescent and with that comes doll books, movies, accessories, and more to immerse them further into the world of American Girl.

But, until this month, there was nowhere for my son to go after he outgrew his Bitty Baby boy {which thankfully hasn’t happened yet}. I dreaded the day my son would be done with babies and his love of American Girl would slowly fade while his sisters continued to play. I don’t need to worry about that anymore, because his love has only deepened with the introduction of Tenney Grant and Logan Everett.

Celebrating Grandma Johnson: Things I learned from my grandma

This has been an extraordinarily hard week. For the country, for Orlando, and also for our entire family. This week we said goodbye to the matriarch of my husband’s family, Grandma Johnson. She has been someone I looked up to for almost 20 years, and I am so happy I was lucky enough to get to call her grandma. My older two have long adored their great-grandma, but my heart especially aches for my little one, Grandma Johnson’s mother’s namesake, who was only just beginning to get to know her. Though I can never replace the joy of having her in our lives, I will try my hardest to preserve her memory and carry on her legacy. I have so many things she taught me that I want to be able to share with my kids, so it seemed fitting to pay tribute by sharing the bits of wisdom she has imparted upon me in the two decades I had with her. With that, I give you my list of things I learned from Grandma Johnson:

3-in-1 PortaPlay convertible activity center from Oribel

With my older two kids I had every baby gadget, gizmo, or new fad that came on the market. And then I gave most of it away to family and friends thinking we were done with the baby stage. So, when we found out we were expecting baby #3 last year, I had many people ask if we wanted our stuff back, but I knew they were still using it so I said I would let them know when we were ready for it.

As it turns out, I haven’t asked for any of it back. And, for the most part, I haven’t missed all the baby stuff. I call my new parenting style “minimal”, and it’s actually been quite awesome not having to find places to store all the extra stuff before, during, and after we need it.

For that reason, Oribel is my favorite new baby gear company, hands down. Instead of buying a baby item that lasts a matter of weeks, their baby gear is designed to grow with baby through multiple stages helping you truly go minimal.

On siblings and love

Did you know today is National Siblings Day? In honor of the holiday, I thought I would share some thoughts on siblings and love.

Siblings: Talking About My Generation

I am one of 5 children, all born relatively close in age and all unusually close. Growing up, there was always someone to play with and although we fought like brothers and sisters do, our fights were short-lived and we all made up easily. During different times in my life I’ve alternated who I’ve been closest with, and because of this I have developed a strong bond with every single one of them.

Throughout the years we’ve all chosen to live relatively close together {although this won’t be true for long – sob, sob}, and we’ve chosen to remain friends even through the ups and downs of childhood, teenage years, and now into adulthood. When something big happens, they are the first people I turn to. And, when one of them needs me, I will drop everything to help.

Seattle getaway: Lake Chelan, Washington in spring

Lake Chelan is one of my absolute favorite places. You know when someone says to close your eyes and go to your happy place? For me, that’s Chelan. It’s got an average of 300 days of sunshine {!!}, a gorgeous lake, water sports galore, a fun downtown, and it’s one of the best sandy beaches in Washington. My family has been going to Lake Chelan since I was little, so I’ve been to the lake over 25 times in my lifetime, which includes 15 times with my husband. We’re now continuing the tradition with our own children by making Chelan our extended family vacation with cousins and grandparents. At this point it holds so many memories and good times that it truly feels like my home away from home.

The Head and the Heart – back in Seattle at last

My love of The Head and the Heart started with a single song. A song I loved so much that I would listen to the radio just to catch it playing. We bought the album after only hearing that one song, and it was quickly added to our daily playlist. And, it never came off.

These songs quickly became the soundtrack to the last few years, and I’ve found that the more I’ve listened to it, the more I love it. But, it's not just me. In this house, we're all fans of The Head and the Heart. I figure the kids can listen to crappy music when they can pay for it themselves, so until then they can choose from our music libraries. And, it just so happens that they chose The Head and the Heart. Good choice, kiddos.

See the magic of Disney’s Frozen – in theaters today!

There’s a special spot in my heart for the first big animated Disney movies of my childhood. I grew up with Ariel and Belle, and all things princess. Their stories shaped my own games and imaginative play of my youth and their songs still get stuck in my head to this day.

But as much as I love The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, seeing Disney's Frozen this week made me long for a childhood with Anna and Elsa instead. I’m very grateful that this movie is that pivotal one for my daughter and I get to relive that with her with a movie I truly love.

There’s something very, very special about Disney's Frozen. I knew I was going to like it from the first preview, but it wasn’t even two minutes in when I knew this was my absolute favorite Disney movie to date.

In fact, it is one of my favorite movies, ever. It’s that good.

Maybe it’s the sister theme, which hit home for me with 3 sisters whom I’m very close to, or maybe it was the laugh out loud humor, or the heart that went into each and every scene. Or maybe it’s all of that and more.

Growing with Corolle Dolls – The Interactive Lila Doll

Even though Christmas is a few weeks away, we got to preview some items in the Corolle line including their interactive Lila doll that my daughter has been dreaming about, and it was very popular. My daughter recognized Lila immediately as the one she had written “LOVE” by in the catalog and started jumping up … Read more

Groovy Little Love Bus from Jack Rabbit Creations {Review}

Every once in a while I find a toy that is so perfect that I just can't help but covet it for my little ones. This would be a toy that combines clever design, good play value, and high quality parts as well as being fun to play with, which means it is bound to … Read more