Have you heard the news? American Girl just released their newest contemporary doll, Z Yang last week. “Z” {short for Suzie} is Korean American and hails from Seattle {every girl in the PNW, including my two littles, is squealing right now}. 
Not only do I adore that she’s from Seattle, I love that Z is a stop-motion vlogger, which is my oldest’s dream job. Fans have come to know and love Z as the star of the American Girl’s immensely popular web series, Z’s Crew. In the web series, Z loves staying connected with friends and sharing a good story through her stop motion videos.
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Introducing the WellieWishers line at American Girl
As you know, we're huge American Girl fans around here. So, whenever the brand debuts something big, we get lots of messages and questions asking about the new products. Such was the case this past month when American Girl introduced the new WellieWishers line to their already full product offerings. If you've been wondering about the line and excited to learn about the new dolls, this is the post for you. 
About the WellieWishers
American Girl describes the WellieWishers as a sweet and silly group girls that are helping kindness and friendship bloom. The line has 5 main characters: Willa, Kendall, Ashlyn, Emerson, and Camille. Each friend brings something unique to their group, but they all have the same common goal: to be a good friend. To better understand each others' perspectives, they are encouraged to take a step in each others' wellies {aka boots}, a spin on the idea of "taking a walk in each others' shoes".
Their signature wellies and their flair for fashion make them really popular with both kids and adults. Every time we've visited the Seattle store since their release, the WellieWishers area has been swarming with parents and girls picking out their favorite doll while fawning over the cute accessories and fun details. And, I can't really blame them, the line is adorably enticing.
Spring clean and organize your digital life with MiMedia
I know this isn’t a popular sentiment, but I actually really love spring cleaning. Call me crazy, but I love cleaning up and clearing things out until everything is neat and organized just the way I like it. During my spring cleaning sessions, just about nothing is safe and I recycle, donate, and gift with abandon. It’s a beautiful thing.
But, until now there is one area of disorganization that was too scary for me to even begin to delve into: my digital life. We’re talking decades of pictures, music files, scans, videos, and documents that have been over-categorized and misplaced until it’s impossible to find anything or enjoy it properly.
Like this gem. Hidden away in a file called "10-26-2015-BHJLHK". Because OF COURSE I would look there first when searching for an adorable picture of the kiddos with me during our trip to Georgia. If that doesn't scream "open me for adorable pictures" I don't know what does. 
That’s where MiMedia comes in. MiMedia is the personal cloud you’ve been waiting for that gives you an easy-to-access, safe and secure digital home for all of your precious memories. Imagine knowing that all your files you care most about are safe in one spot where you can keep them organized and accessible on all of your devices. With MiMedia, they can be. 
Gearing up for fall with the Lumix G7
I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for Panasonic. I received product samples as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. 
Like all good things, summer must come to an end sometime. While it’s only officially fall as of today, it’s easy to get in the mindset that summer is over as soon as school starts. I get it, trust me. As much as I love fall, I really don’t look forward to the back to school season. At all.
So, how was the first two weeks of school? It actually hasn’t been so bad because we still say it’s summer until the weather gets cold and the days get short. Even after school is back in session, we make a point to keep up with our summer activities as much as possible so we can enjoy the beautiful fall weather.
The perfect camera for all of our many adventures: the Lumix G7
I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for Panasonic. I received product samples as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
If you know us, you know we’re always on the go as a family. We pack in as much adventure as we can with the kiddos, and we are always down for vacations, day trips, and even just every day exploring. On these adventures, I have certain things that I must have at all times.
Aside from the essentials like water and food, another non-negotiable item is my camera. But, with 3 kids and all of their necessary gear, I can’t be saddled with camera stuff that needs its own luggage. I need a compact camera I can use, and then put away so I can enjoy these adventures without always being stuck with a camera in hand. 
Because I have better things to carry. Like this little bundle of joy.
Taking the time to Cherish Childhood
As you can see in the progression above, my children are growing up the best of friends. The kind of friends that every parent wishes their children to be, with very little fighting but gales and fits of laughter with just about every interaction. A friendship that makes me want to cry happy tears and hug them both so tight so as to never let them ever grow out of this stage… this closeness… this love of family.
But, with two kids spaced close together, I will admit that oftentimes I am so stuck on my to-do list that I am not very present in the moment. With a daughter like mine who thrives on the spontaneous, I try and make sure we slow down at least a few times a day to enjoy the little things. Because the little things are anything but little to her – to her, they are everything.
I have to keep reminding myself that we will never get these days back and my children won't get another childhood. I need to give them as much love and happiness as I can while I still have them here with me to take them through their own stress and hard times ahead. Here's just a couple of "rules" I created for myself to help me live in the moment and #cherishchildhood.
Preserve Your Memories with VHS to DVD Transfer Service at Costco from YesVideo
Recently, my siblings and I helped my mom purge over 60 years of stuff from her garage. Starting fresh and consolidating, she didn’t need hundreds of boxes full of stuff and it was finally time to get rid of a good chunk of it. Of course, she kept the truly sentimental stuff that she’s collected … Read more
Capturing memories with the Sony Handycam
Everyone always says it, but I just don’t think you understand it until becoming a parent: time passes much too fast. Even though my kids are still young, there’s been so many times my husband and I would turn to each other and say “do you remember how Bubs used to say _____?” or “what park was that where he took his first steps?”
My mom holding my son when he was firstborn
I can only imagine this gets exponentially more difficult to remember the older they get and there are so many more milestones to keep track of. While I’ve tried to keep up with their baby books and journals, I oftentimes wish we had caught that adorable expression or pronunciation on video so we could watch it over and over and relive all those moments that pass too quick.
Sony Handycam {Review}
Do you remember when video cameras came in a suitcase? Not much smaller than the film cameras used in Hollywood, video cameras of the 80s required a strong shoulder to keep them steady and they were anything but portable. I always felt really sorry for the poor parent holding the video camera, not just for … Read more
Safe n’ See Digital Video Baby Monitor from Levana
Video monitors may have started out as a niche or superfluous item years ago, but they have since become one of the most essential items for all new parents. After years of baby surveillance using over 4 video monitors, we have finally found the most intelligent of the bunch, the Safe n' See™ Digital Video … Read more