Meet Sophie

A while back, my friends and I were discussing Starbucks.  As shallow as this sounds we decided that we felt pretty cool walking out of our local Starbucks with the official Starbucks cup.  You know the feeling, right?  I mean celebrity superstars can afford many things I can’t even dream of buying, but I can afford the $4 coffee they drink.

Don’t even get me started on the red holiday cups and how excited I get when they roll around.  It has fallen in line with stockings, Christmas trees, lights and carols as must have to get the full feeling of the Christmas spirit.

Well, there is a person (or thing) in the baby department that falls into the Starbucks category.  You must meet Sophie.  When I met her, I was skeptical and thought, “She’s cute, but has a high price tag”  Once I got to know her, I realized she was so much more!  She squeals with delight when squeezed by L which gives our poor cat, Cleo, some relief in this department.  She became L’s (and my) new best friend. She soothes L at times of need.  She provides entertainment for L on road trips.  She is carried around by the coolest of celebrity tots.  Alas, meet Sophie!

Sophie has actually been around since the 1960s in France, but just started making waves in the US a few years ago.  She was rejected from many retailers because of her high price tag.  Finally, Helene Dumoulin-Montgomery was able to find a Beverly Hills boutique to sell her giraffe and place her in celebrity baby baskets.  Sophie took off from there and can be found at multiple retailers across the country. (information gathered from this article in the LA times)

Her price of around $20 is quite high compared to her $3 competitors.  In my opinion, she is absolutely worth it!  I am convinced that the teething process is the worst through infancy.  You all need to appreciate each one of your teeth because you earned them!  Sophie is the ONLY teething toy L will chew on and it instantly calms her down.   Children’s Tylenol and Sophie are my prefect formula for teething.  I realized how dependent we had become on Sophie when we could not find her one weekend.  I tore the house up looking for her.  L and I both missed our new friend terribly. 

Sophie is such a genius, well thought out product.  The reason she has been the most popular girl in pre-school is because she appeals to all 5 senses (taken from description on Sears):

Sight: From birth to 3 months, a babys eyesight is usually limited to high contrasts. The attention-catching spots all over Sophie the Giraffes body provide visual stimulation and is easily recognizable object to reassure and comfort.

Hearing: Sophie the Giraffe's happy little squeak keeps baby amused, stimulates hearing and helps baby understand the link between cause and effect.

Taste: Sophie the Giraffe is made of 100% natural rubber and food paint and is completely safe to chew. The soft texture and many chewable parts (ears, horns, legs) make her perfect for soothing babys sore gums during teething.

Smell: The singular scent of natural rubber from the Hevea tree makes Sophie the Giraffe very special and easy for your child to identify from all the other toys.

Touch: Touch is the first means a baby has of communicating with the outside world.

Definitely register for Sophie or buy her for your friend at the next baby shower.  Your baby can look like these celeb tots as you sip on your Starbucks…throw on some oversized sunglasses and a hat and people may just mistake you both for celebrities…

Don't forget to enter the Barefoot Designs giveaway.  Click here for details.

GIVEAWAY: Barefoot Designs

Affordable custom-made baby clothes...I know this sounds too good to be true, but it isn't!

I have had Barefoot Designs in my head as a pending post for a while now.  Amy has such a great eye for fabric and the cutest designs!  She lets you pick the fabric, applique, monogramming, size, and design all for a price range of around $20-$45.  All of her options for outfits are posted on her facebook page and her blog. 

You must plan ahead though.  She has become so popular there is a 2-3 week wait before your outfit is shipped.  I congratulate her on her growing business!  She has just hired two seamstresses and embroiderer and is in the process of creating a website.  Both of these things should help with a quicker turn around time in the future.  She has started carrying other brands including Monag, J. Lisandra, and Mint and hopes to start a new Barefoot Designs custom bedding as well.

On top of the cute clothes, Amy is simply the sweetest!  She said, "I always pray for each sweet little one that I'm working on something for and send a hand written note telling the parents this and a bible verse. I feel like this is not just a business, but a calling to pray for God's little ones!"

I have a great UT Longhorns game-day outfit coming for L and will definitely post pictures of it when I get it.  My friend uses her all the time and the outfits are such great quality!  A few examples of her work below (yes, she does little boy clothes too, but I am partial to the girl stuff):

When I contacted Amy with a few questions about her company for this post, she was nice enough to offer a GIVEAWAY!  She is giving away a $15 gift certificate to use towards any outfit!

To enter you must do all three things listed below:

• "Like" Keeping it Simple on Facebook
• "Like" Barefoot Designs on Facebook
• Comment on this post with your thoughts about Barefoot Designs by clicking on comments at the bottom of this post 

 The winner will be randomly selected and announced next Monday (7/18)!  Good luck!

PS - Barefoot Designs is currently having a sale on monogrammed bloomers.  Get one pair for $10 or two for $16.  This is a great baby gift!!!

UPDATE: The Bopster Family

Bopter Family post update:  I just went to Target to buy a shower gift and they had the Boppy Lounger on the shelf by the nursing products.  Guess what gift I am bringing to the shower?!?!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Funny Friday

Wow!  This was a quick week! Fewer days and double the work!

On this Funny Friday, I would live to share some funny baby products!

Donald Trump baby wig

this can be yours from Baby Toupee

Peekaru Original (more shocking than the picture is the $80 price tage)

this can be yours from Togetherbe

Billy Bob Pacifier

this can be yours from Amazon

 Hope you all have a great weekend!  L has started making a new funny face I thought I would share with you:

Up in the Air

Congratulations!  George Clooney has officially mentioned you in a film.  Oh!  How I wish it was by name?!?! 

In the film Up in the Air, George is explaining to Anna Kendrick the best way to get through airport security.  During this speech he says, "You can't be serious.  Never get behind people traveling with infants.  I've never seen a stroller collapse in less than 20 minutes."

This is YOU!  Too bad it is not a flattering comment about traveling moms.

The idea of going through the whole airport debacle with L gives me hives!  I get stressed enough traveling without L and all of her gear.  I have yet to do it, so I can't offer any help in this department. 

My friend, Larkin, and her baby are frequent jet setters!  I consider her an expert in the infant traveling field.  I asked her to write up a post with any travel advice.  She has some VERY helpful suggestions.  I have decided to break this up into a three post series.  Thank you Larkin for taking the time to write this!

Overall tips for traveling with a child:

• Arrive at the airport at least an hour and a half early. Security does take longer.
• Bring extra formula, milk, and food (if you are at the solid foods stage).  Also, you can ask the attendant at the gift shop closest to your gate for bottled water that has not been cooled yet.  You can then use it to mix with your formula and your baby won’t have a meal straight out of the refrigerator.
• Change your child’s diaper just before boarding begins, so that hopefully you will not have to change it on the plane.
• Take advantage of pre-boarding and board first.  Its also a good idea to wait and get off the plane last.  This helps you avoid pushy people that are in a hurry, and sometimes the pilot or flight attendant will offer to help if you look like you need it.
• Take a change of clothes for you and your baby (hopefully not needed).
• When taking off and landing, feed your child a bottle.  A pacifier does not work as well, because you want your child to be swallowing so that their ears pop.
• If flying with a car seat, you may consider getting a shell for the car seat so that strangers feel less compelled to breathe on or touch your child. 

• Right Start has a great play set (Keeping it Simple FAVE) that slides over the tray-table in front of you.  It is small and compact, and zips closed.  The benefit of it is that you do not have to take a lot of toys with you.  Also, if you use the play set only with airplane travel, it seems brand new for your child with every use! 

 Hope you find these travel posts helpful! I know I did. 

Any other suggestions out there?