On this episode of Mugs & Jugs, we are chatting about all the fabulous newborn toys we found for the 0-6 age group. If you’re putting together a baby registry or buying for someone who is expecting, you might want to consider one of these items. We’re each sharing our top 3 picks for a complete must-have list.

After moving up from the city to the country, getting pregnant with our first country baby and welcoming Harlow into the Fournier Farmhouse, it seemed only natural that we celebrate her first birthday with a farm party.

Although it was hard to accept the fact that she was actually turning one, it did help that we celebrated before her actual birthday, because then I could still live in denial and pretend that we were just planning a fun party.

I am a huge sucker for tiny party details (you know, those little things that no one else notices but take a long time to make?), and I am really happy with how everything came together for this theme. So, I decided it warranted a blog post all of it’s own!

Ever since I posted a time lapse of me making baby food, I have been getting a couple questions about my process.

Choosing to make my own baby food has been one of the easier decisions in motherhood. It’s cost-efficient, doesn’t include preservatives, and makes me feel like I am doing something important for my daughter.

When I first got pregnant, I wasn’t looking forward to mat leave. I was nervous about leaving work and being out of touch with the industry. Now, I couldn’t imagine anything less than having a full year with my constantly changing daughter.

Last year, I went a little crazy at the dollar store and bought some cheap wreaths that I just didn’t love enough to put up again this year. They looked cheap and I wanted something a little more special for Harlow’s first Christmas (i.e. something that would look great in photos).

Being new parents, we understand that babies get a lot of great stuff from friends and family, and don’t necessarily need a ton for Christmas. So when we decided to do a Secret Santa gift exchange for the babies in our baby group (comprised of five other couples that we met through prenatal yoga), we knew we wanted to make something more ‘out of the box’ for whomever we drew.

Like any new mom, I am in awe each and every day watching this beautiful little girl grow and change. It’s so exciting to see her learning new things, responding to us with smiles, and becoming more aware of the world around her.

I appreciate birth stories aren’t for everyone, and I didn’t originally plan on sharing mine with you here, but as I started writing one for my scrapbook, I thought it would be fun to post and share for those interested. It’s a long story, but a good one since it ends with the birth of our beautiful little girl.

After what seemed like waiting forever for baby’s arrival, Miss Harlow Margaret Fournier came 8 days late on September 15th, 2016 at 11:17 PM, weighing 7 lbs 9 oz, and more perfect than I could have ever imagined her being.