Latin for soldier and German for merciful, Miles is a solid moniker for any boy and our Cool Name of the Week. Though it has been around since the Middle Ages, it’s not overly common – it’s not even in the top 100 boy’s names in the US – so there’s a good chance the classroom won’t be filled with Miles.
We’ve chosen a few big brother tshirts that would surely appeal to a mini-merciful soldier.
Retro Style, Taped Up, and Stamped Style big brother tshirts are a great choice for Miles, a bold, yet cool name.
How-To: Choose the Perfect Spot to Hang Personalized Growth Charts
Though most childrens growth charts are hung in a nursery or bedroom, there are plenty of other fun areas in the home where they can be displayed:
- a den
- walk-in closet
- mudroom
- play room
- kitchen or pantry door
- grandma or grandpa’s house
Just make sure that you choose a location where you child can easily access their growth chart and measure themselves and have fun admiring it.
No matter what room it hangs in though, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure personalized growth charts are protected and they stay in the best shape over time, especially since they make perfect baby keepsakes.
When choosing a location — and preserve the quality of the fine artists’ canvas or premium poster paper — think about the following:
- avoid direct sunlight to prevent the beautiful, vibrant colors from fading
- avoid placing below or above a heating or air vent
- avoid areas that are high in moisture, as the growth chart’s material is premium fine artist canvas and excessive moisture can cause it to curl or curve
- avoid placing right next to open windows, as extreme cold or hot temperatures can affect the premium canvas
Room Design Trend: Owls
Owls continue to be a popular design trend and it’s totally understandable – owls are wise, adorable, and fit a variety of styles, from whimsical to retro to mod. Since our Hoot Hoot personalized growth chart is always one of our most popular designs, we thought we would find a few other owl-inspired décor pieces to accent it.
A colorful quilt gives any room a rustic charm, but the oversized owl accent adds that extra something special. (Image courtesy of No Time to Be Bored blog)
All kinds of owls add style to this cool throw pillow. (Image courtesy of Carousel Designs)
We totally dig this sophisticated, yet soothing owl light from Not On the High Street.
Quirky and colorful, this art print adds a sweet touch to walls (Image courtesy of Society6)
We’re swooning over this brightly hued felt owl mobile that will look just as great hanging over a crib as it will years later accenting a big kid room. (Image courtesy DropsofColorShop on Etsy)
Which of the four colors of the Hoot Hoot personalized growth charts do you prefer and which of these pieces would you choose to accent it?
5 Gifts for Baby's 1st Easter
Baby animals, like bunnies, lambs, chicks, birdies and duckies, abound in the springtime and are a perfect theme for gifts when creating baby’s first Easter basket. We’ve found five seriously adorable gifts worth giving to your precious chickadee on their first Easter.
Customized baby keepsakes, like personalized baby onesies and childrens growth charts, make sweet additions to baby’s first Easter basket. (Title: Woodland Fun personalized growth chart, Tweet Tweet and Flying Hoot personalized baby onesies, Animal Crackers personalized growth chart)
A chocolate Easter bunny will be in demand in a few years, but for now a crocheted bunny baby rattle/teether from bboutiquebeauties on Etsy will offer hours of entertainment.
Peter Rabbit books make great Easter gifts and now in their 110th year of printing, these classics make excellent baby keepsakes. (Image courtesy of PeterRabbit.com)
How cute are these duckie baby booties and hat from SweetnessinSmyrna on Etsy?
Create your little bunny’s first Easter basket with this easy DIY we found on Domestic Adventure blog for a special gift they’ll use for years and years.
How do you plan to celebrate your baby’s first Easter?
Birthday Party Theme: Playful Patterns
Looking for a fun, colorful birthday party theme? Consider a mix of playful patterns – chevrons, plaids, stripes, polka dots. This eclectic theme lets you be creative and can range from sophisticated to whimsical, plus there’s no need to worry about everything being “matchy-matchy.”
We found some fun décor ideas for the playful pattern theme, as well as a few coordinating personalized tshirts for kids to wear at their patterned birthday party:
{Party Décor}
Images courtesy of A League of Her Own blog and Kara’s Party Ideas
{Cakes}
Image courtesy of Kara’s Party Ideas; Rose Bakes; Cake Central
{Party Hats}
Images courtesy of Gaddie and Tood; Bugaboo Birthdays; and Little Pink Tractor
{Birthday Party Attire}
Chic Chevron and Fun to Be One personalized baby onesies; Striped Monogram tee; Pattern Delight Big Brother Tshirt
Celebrity Kids: Harlow & Sparrow Madden
Rock star dad. Fashionista mom. Two mini-me fashionable rock ‘n rollers. The Madden family is beyond adorable! We picked out some big sister tees and personalized growth charts that would fit in with this fab fam.
Image from PopSugar
With a clothing line named after her (House of Harlow), little Harlow may someday grow up to rule the runway, but in the meantime, she’s a style princess-in-training. And with her younger bro Sparrow in tow, she’ll surely rock some pink or purple big sister tees, like the Charming Castle Big Sister Tshirt> and Looks Like Me Princess Big Sister Tshirt.
And both Harlow and Sparrow could rock the Rock On Big Sister Tshirt and little brother tee.
Having them share a personalized growth chart is a sweet way to enhance the close bond they share.
And of course all of these would make great baby keepsakes to cherish for years to come.
New Mom & Baby Keepsakes
Pregnancy was such a special, exciting time with so many things to look forward to in each trimester. There were also a million questions and concerns running through our minds, which is why we loved reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Having that as a resource (now a website too: WhatToExpect.com), was a real lifesaver that let us relax and spend more time enjoying the pregnancy and planning for the baby shower and the wee one’s arrival.
Our well-worn copy is now among our baby keepsakes, along with personalized baby onesies, albums, and handmade quilts. So when a friend is pregnant, we send them to WhatToExpect.com for pregnancy and new mom tips, and stock them up with the following baby keepsakes and new mom gifts.
For Baby:
Personalized childrens gifts make the perfect baby keepsakes (shown clockwise from top left: Name-o-Saurus and Flutter By personalized baby onesies by Petite Lemon; Pewter cup by Things Remembered; Hoot Hoot personalized growth chart and A to Z alphabet poster by Petite Lemon; and bracelet by Tiny Blessings)
For Mom:
Gifts that make mom feel pretty and pampered will be greatly appreciated! (shown clockwise from top left: Spa gift card from Spafinder.com; photo posters from Petite Lemon; Bella Madre gold necklace from Olive & Cocoa; cute pajamas from Macys; stylish carryall bag from Petunia Picklebottom)
BIRTHDAY GIFTS FOR THE LITTLE BUILDER
We know several kiddos that are obsessed with trucks, tractors, cranes and pretty much anything that involves digging or building. So when they have a birthday on the horizon, we know just what to get them. We’ve found these awesome birthday gifts for little builders.
The Home Depot Tool Belt is a perfect set for the little one to start building their imagination and would make a great gift paired with the Nuts n’ Bolts Big Brother Tshirt. (Image courtesy of Toys ‘R Us)
Construction themed personalized tshirts for kids and the Master Work Bench for Little Builders from Hape is a dream gift for the future contractor-to-be. (Image courtesy of Creative Kids Stuff)
With a set of Mega Blocks and a Skyline Big Sister Tshirt, there’s no limit to the heights the birthday girl can go.
Personalized growth charts and tshirt combo gifts that feature cranes, tractors or dump trucks will be a huge hit with the birthday boy (or twin boys)! (pictured: Under Construction Big Brother Tshirt, On the Go personalized growth chart, Let’s Get to Work personalized growth chart; Dig In Big Brother Tshirt)
Do you have a little one that loves all things construction?
Designer Spotlight: Pauline, aka Muffin
We love our designers, they not only keep our line of personalized growth charts, alphabet posters, and tshirts fun and fresh, they’re just super cool people! This is one of the reasons we wanted to shine the spotlight on them and their designs. This week it’s Muffin, who gave us the new Merry Menagerie Big Brother Tshirt and Big Sister Tshirt, whose animal-tastic font is sweet and playful.
This is what inspired Muffin to create the Merry Menagerie Big Brother Tshirt and Big Sister Tshirt:
I am kind of obsessed with fonts. I love the way that a font can feel, each of them differently. Some fonts feel modern, others more classic. Knowing that I was designing for a kids tee, I started looking for playful fonts. When I found this font I very quickly began to see animal shapes out of them. I added an eye here and a whisker there and before I knew it, I had several animals shaped from the letters. This tee shirt design actually came very easily to me.
I have a five year old daughter who is the inspiration behind a lot of my designs. When I was designing this tee she came into my office (because I have the joy of working from home) and said, “Hey, that’s an owl!” Having her look at my designs helps me to make sure I’m on the right track. If she can see what it is, then I know I’ve done my job!
Is there a personalized growth chart or tshirt design you’d like to know the inspiration for?
SCARY MOMMY TEES
While our designers were busy creating the newest big brother tshirts and big sister tees, we got some help from one of our favorite mommy bloggers – Jill Smokler, aka Scary Mommy – to create a very special tshirt design. The Scary Mommy Tshirt for girls and boys is designed to benefit Smokler’s non-profit Scary Mommy Nation.
Scary Mommy Nation helps members of the Scary Mommy Community who are financially struggling. It was born from an impromptu Thanksgiving fundraiser and has gone on to offer grants of several thousand dollars to moms in dire need, birthday presents to kids who otherwise would have gone without, and summer assistance programs.
When a Scary Mommy Tshirt or onesie is purchased, 100% of the proceeds go to Scary Mommy Nation.
P.S. Have you told us what your favorite baby shower gift was? Tell us in the Comments section and you will be entered to win a $50 gift card good for a personalized growth chart, big brother tshirts, big sister tees, 1st birthday shirts, etc. We’ll choose a winner tomorrow!
