holdenonbaby

TODDLER-WEARING WITH THE STOKKE MYCARRIER.

Isobel — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:42:45 +0000

just before you cross over the bay towards the westward peninsula, there’s a dirt path that runs along the coastline, meandering through wetlands and marsh. every time i cross the san mateo bridge (usually on our way to the airport), i look over that the vast open space of tall reeds and murky pockets of water and wonder what it’s all about. so one day, i decided to head that direction and with holden on my back, we set off to see what the salt marsh was all about.

holden and i spend a lot of time exploring areas where strollers won’t make it. rough terrain, up and down steep hills, and off the beaten path explains our adventures. and although holden loves to run ahead and explore on his own for half the time, he usually putters out just before we’ve turned around to head back home, which is why carriers have been a saving grace for me.

now that he is almost two, it’s not quite as easy for me to carry this boy of mine on my small frame and i’m always interested in trying different carriers to see what will give me the most back support. we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to try out the stokke mycarrier. while the mycarrier was a little more complicated to get into than some of the other carriers i’ve tried, it is well worth it because it was by far the most supportive i’ve ever worn (and i’ve probably tried every single carrier out there). it’s often hard on my body to carry around 25 pounds for an extended period of time, but i had no problem hiking through the wetlands for miles with holden high and dry on my back. there’s a steel bar that you insert into the carrier when putting it together and it seemed to make all of the difference. he felt so much lighter in this carrier than others and my back didn’t feel the strain i’m used to after ten minutes of toddler wearing. holden was comfortable and content and it’s just an added bonus that this carrier comes in a gorgeous, bold red color.

THE FARMERS MARKET.

Isobel — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:22 +0000

when the weather warms up, we start every weekend with an early morning trip to the farmers market and it’s one of my favorite summer traditions we have started as a family. greeted by brightly colored produce sitting alluringly atop long tabletops, we eagerly step underneath each and every single tent to sample what they have to offer, making our way through the entire farmers market before deciding which farmers we should buy from. we listen to farmers discuss their crops for the season, always imagining what it would be like to be one of those farmers waking up before the sun rises to get their produce to the market. holden runs up and down the aisles, eager to bite into everything within his reach (regardless of whether the skin is edible or not). we leave with a large basket full of fresh fruit and vegetables and it seems no matter how much we buy, it’s always devoured within a few hours of arriving home because it’s just that good.

while chasing holden up and down the aisles, i felt people staring. while the majority of people were clad in black spandex coming straight from a morning workout or in their favorite pair of weekend jeans, i was dressed in stark contrast, the only person there in a brightly colored skirt with tulle poking out from underneath. as i stopped to buy a basket of cherries, the man beside me complimented me on my skirt saying “women don’t wear dresses anymore. it’s nice to see a woman looking like a lady.” i received compliments at every booth we stopped in and a women even took a picture of holden and i waiting on our balloon animal and then asked if she could text it to me because she said we looked so adorable. it didn’t take me any extra time to throw on the skirt versus my favorite pair of yoga pants (my usual early morning weekend attire) and where i’d usually have a giant pair of sunnies on hoping that nobody recognized me, the skirt made me feel good about myself (altogether forgetting the fact that i didn’t have a chance to put on makeup or run a comb through my hair). i am grateful for all of the choices that women have in fashion these days, but sometimes, it’s nice to opt for something feminine and girly (or whatever makes you feel good…for me it happens to be giant tulle skirts) for an outing that doesn’t really require it.

IN MOTION.

Isobel — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:33:49 +0000

in the last week, holden’s vocabulary has just exploded. suddenly, he is repeating every single thing we say (meaning we need to be extra careful about the things we say which is probably just a good life lesson). he started saying cool! and ohhhhh man, but the best words he has started saying are our names. while daddy and mommy used to be “baba”, last friday he started actually saying daddy and mama and it is probably the most heart melting thing he has done yet. i’m pretty sure that he could get away with just about anything in the entire world by saying that word. and even though it’s only been a few days, i can barely remember when he didn’t say it.

Dolce Vita Boots · Luxe Junkie Longsleeve Tops · Alexander Wang Longsleeve Tops

MOTHER’S DAY GIVEAWAY: CUSTOM MAP NECKLACE FROM THREE JANE – GIVEAWAY CLOSED.

Isobel — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:06:53 +0000

in accordance with how things usually run around our household, this is a little last minute, but i am so excited to announce an amazing mother’s day giveaway here at holdenonbaby. i’m teaming up with the absolutely stunning and unique jewelry company, three jane, to celebrate mamas. three jane is a costume jewelry company based out of manhattan’s west village that was founded in february 2012 by fashion publicist katie schloss. i’m giving away one custom map necklace, a customizable piece where customers pick any address in the world and three jane engraves it onto a 14K gold plate marking your location with a tiny, little diamond, to one lucky winner! it was just featured in us weekly’s mother’s day gift guide!!

to enter, follow the rafflecopter prompts below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

thank you to everyone who entered the mother’s day giveaway!

the winner of the three jane custom map necklace is courtney of shabby loves chic.

AN EVENING IN THE CITY.

Isobel — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:56:50 +0000

over the weekend we headed into our old neighborhood after holden’s nap and spent the late afternoon and evening trekking up and down the steep hills, showing holden all of our old walking routes before stopping at a favorite restaurant for dinner. holden jumped into every open stoop and doorway he could find, always laying down on his stomach to investigate the ground and search for ants and other miniature bugs. we bumped into a few friends we haven’t seen in a long time on our walk back to the car which is always a pleasant surprise. even if it’s just for a couple hours, it’s always fun to get out of our element and let holden explore somewhere new.