Fitting into two of the most popular trending categories of baby names – last name as first name and gender neutral names – Parker is our Cool Name of the Week! Since its meaning, of Old English origin, is “park keeper,” it only makes sense that it works as well for boys as it does for girls. Growing up we had a huge crush on Parker Stevenson (Hardy Boys AND Baywatch, hubba hubba!) and who doesn’t adore quirky indie actress Parker Posey? The name is sophisticated and solid, but unique at the same time – a winning combination.
Inspired by its origin, we’ve pulled together some personalized growth charts, big brother tshirts, a big sister tshirt, and personalized baby onesies that would make great baby keepsakes for any little Parker.
What does your Parker like to do in the park – catch butterflies, study bugs, play sports? Whichever it is, they’re sure to love one of these personalized growth charts.
A park doesn’t need anything fancier than blue skies and plenty of green grass to run around on, which is why we’d choose the fresh hues of the green Chic Style Big Brother Tshirt and blue/green Playful Doodles Big Brother Tshirt.
The Sunny Flower Big Sister Tshirt and onesies like Flutter By and Ladybug Love remind us of an idyllic day at the park spent picking flowers, chasing butterflies, and singing to ladybugs.
WE PROUDLY WELCOME OUR NEWEST SIBLING TEES!
Last spring we launched our new line of personalized tshirts for kids and we’ve recently offered a few sneak peeks at some new designs. Well the time has come – drumroll please! – our newest collection of Big Sister Tshirt and Big Brother Tshirt designs are here!!
Our newest designs feature princesses, construction, and flower themes, as well as cool fonts using candy, animals, patterns, and toys all in bright, fun colors sure to become treasured baby keepsakes of course!
What do you think of these Big Brother Tshirt and Big Sister Tshirt styles?
And to celebrate these new sibling tees, we’re offering 15% off all tees with the code NEWTEES15 today through January 25th!
ONE LITTLE WORD 2013
It’s already half way through January and we can’t believe how fast this new year is already flying by. 2012 was a great year for all of us here at Petite Lemon and we’re looking forward to all that 2013 has in store for us.
As is our tradition, we choose a word to live by for the year. You can read about the words we chose for 2011 here and 2012 here. Choose a word for you to live by for the year and even get involved with the One Little Word workshop here.
So let’s get started …
Last year Paula chose the word ENJOY.
My goal for this year is to enjoy what it is — be in the moment, love in the moment, laugh in the moment and enjoy every single minute of it. Having kids, running a household, working, maintaining relationships with friends and family — it can easily become overwhelming trying to make it all work. So, instead of getting overly worked up or stressed out I’m going to take a deep breath and ENJOY this precious ride.
This year Paula selected the word EMBRACE.
Embrace this stage of life (2 kids, growing up before my eyes!!).
Embrace the chaos and fullness of life (work, kids, family, house!!).
And learn to pause during the day and EMBRACE all of the wonderful things in my life!
Last year Hillary chose the word FOCUS.
I became a working mom last year and knew I had more on my plate. I decided I needed to FOCUS on each aspect of my life in order to get the most out of it. When I was working, I was FOCUSING on work. When I was with my daughter, I was FOCUSING on her…trying not to multitask too much. But setting aside FOCUS time for each task. This was not always possible, but if I kept FOCUS in mind, it was much easier for me. And I feel like I got more done overall.
I became a working mom last year and knew I had more on my plate. I decided I needed to FOCUS on each aspect of my life in order to get the most out of it. When I was working, I was FOCUSING on work. When I was with my daughter, I was FOCUSING on her…trying not to multitask too much. But setting aside FOCUS time for each task. This was not always possible, but if I kept FOCUS in mind, it was much easier for me. And I feel like I got more done overall.
For this year, Hillary chose the word HEALTHY.
I really want 2013 to be all about developing HEALTHY habits. I don’t want to have to make the HEALTHY decision. I want to have it be automatic for me. I want HEALTHY to be my way of life, focusing on all aspects of HEALTHY including foods, exercise, mental, work/life balance, relationships etc.
This year, we have two new comers to our One Little Word posting! Please welcome Ruth and Catherine.
This year, Ruth chose the word COMMITMENT.
I am new to Petite Lemon, and one word for 2013 is new for me as well. I am choosing the word COMMITMENT. About this time 3 years ago, I set a goal for myself to loose an enormous amount of weight and to improve myself towards a healthier way of living and lifestyle. After nearly one year of increasingly hard workouts, changed eating habits, and COMMITMENT I successfully achieved my goal. But that commitment didn’t stop at reaching that goal, it continues each and every day of my life to stay committed to this healthy lifestyle. Commitment is so much more than this to me as this word touches every area of my life. It encompasses my jobs, all my relationships with God, family, and friends, with everything I take on each day to do my very best at everything I do. My newest commitment is to Petite Lemon, and I am excited what the future holds and my commitment to this group I work with. May 2013 be a year for me to hold strong to all of my commitments.
This year, Catherine chose the word PERSPECTIVE.
per·spec·tive
1. A way of regarding situatio
2. The proper or accurate poin
3. A mental view or outlook: “It is useful occasionally to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present” (Fabian Linden).
Last year I — Jessica —chose the word ADAPT.
Life is constantly throwing us curve balls and 2011 was my World Series. After getting hit countless times, I’ve decided this year I need to better learn to adapt — to modify, adjust, refashion, revamp, tailor, improve, amend, refine, tweak, and my favorite, to rejig when something comes flying towards me.
Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. No need for that. Simply rejig.
This year, I am choosing the word CHOICE.
I think the main reason why this post is finally being put together mid-way through January is because I’ve been procrastinating. I just haven’t felt inspired. The past two years, my words have just appeared to me. The past few months I’ve been reflecting on this past year — probably the most defining year of my life after experiencing brain surgery and the death of my beloved Grandmother. What do I want for myself in 2013? I’ve picked out a few words the last few weeks, trying to see if they’d stick — but nothing has until this morning. It finally came to me — 2013 is going to be all about CHOICES. This year, I’m choosing to win the hand I’ve been dealt.
What are you looking forward to in this new year and what word are you choosing to live by?
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Jessica and all of us a Petite Lemon
PS. We’re pretty excited — today we just launched several new designs to our big sister tshirt and big brother tshirt collecion! Check them out here.
NEW BIG SISTER GIFTS
When a new baby is coming into the family, there can be some anxiety and/or jealousy mixed in with excitement and curiosity for your first born. To help ease the transition, many parents create a gift kit that contains a few items to celebrate your daughter’s new role as a big girl and a big sister.
We’ve come up with some great gifts to include in a pack she can open at home while mommy is at the hospital.
A big sister tshirt is a perfect choice and something she can wear when she meets the wee one for the first time. Including personalized baby onesies that coordinate with big sister tees would make a great gift for your daughter to give the new baby as well. And when they’re both grown up, they’ll make perfect baby keepsakes.
Now that she’s no longer the baby, a personalized growth chart physically tracks how tall she’s getting and helps build pride in knowing she’s a big girl now.
A signup sheet for classes, like ballet, karate, horseback riding, or other activities that she associates with being “big” is another great gift to help her develop her own sense of self.
A purse filled with small, inexpensive gifts, like crayons, sweet treats, headband or ponytail holders, etc, can round out the gift pack.
Did you give your daughter a special gift pack when your second child was born? If so, what did you include in it?
Celebrity Siblings: Monroe and Moroccan Cannon
They live the glamorous life surrounded by luxury, but like all toddlers, twins Monroe and Moroccan Cannon love the simple things in life – colorful balloons, cuddling, cars, and playing together. We picked out some personalized growth charts and tees that fit their fun lifestyle.
Image via PopSugar
Because they’re twins, giving each child their own personalized growth chart based on things they like most is a great way to emphasize their individuality. We think the ultra-feminine Monroe (named for icon Marilyn Monroe) would like the pink Balloon Party and car lover Roc (their nickname for Moroccan) would like the Finish Line personalized growth chart.
Of course have twin toddlers is a handful, so the Double Trouble Big Sister Tshirt in Pink/Green and Big Brother Tshirt in Blue/Green would be a perfect fit for this dynamic duo.
And if you’re thinking your little ones are in need of big brother tshirts and/or big sister tees, we’ll be launching brand new designs this week! Oh and did we mention there would be a special discount code for all tees and personalized baby onesies too?! Check back on Wednesday for more details.
FREE 2013 CALENDAR DOWNLOAD
As you know, in addition to creating fun personalized tshirts for kids and childrens growth charts, our designers love coming up with free DIY projects for moms and dads. So with the New Year comes a new calendar to keep track of all those very important event dates, birthdays, etc. And because we’re all about personalized children’s gifts, this calendar wouldn’t be complete without the ability to customize it with your favorite family photo. It’ll make a great addition to your collection of treasured baby keepsakes.
(download our calendar by clicking here)
Print, enjoy, and Happy New Year from all of us at Petite Lemon!
HOW TO HANG A PERSONALIZED GROWTH CHART
We’ve offered ideas on how to hang personalized growth charts and have even produced a how-to video (click here to watch), but thought we would revisit the topic again now that it’s a new year and many of you may have given or received a growth chart as a gift during the holidays.
A few tips include:
– choose a location that isn’t in direct sunlight, as direct sunlight will, over time, fade your personalized growth chart
– we love to hang our growth charts with 3M hooks. They are inexpensive, you can find them at most retailers, they come in several different finishes and varieties, you don’t need a drill or other tools, and you can remove them without ruining your walls or paint.
– use a tape measure or yard stick to measure 24″ from the floor to the bottom of where your growth chart will hang
And click here for watch a newly updated video on how to hang a personalized growth chart.
HANDMADE BY HILLARY: CRAYON BAG TUTORIAL
Our little Petite Lemon’s (aka our kiddos) LOVE to color!! So this month’s Handmade by Hillary, we created darling templates for you to follow to create your very own Crayon Bags. Crayon bags make it easy for your little ones to take their crayons and coloring books everywhere! Our free download template includes a robot, monster and a bull dog.
YOU WILL NEED:
– several colors of felt, choose colors based off the character you’ll be making
– 2 quantity, 10″ x 12″ pieces of fabric for your bag outside
– 2 quantity, 10″ x 12″ pieces for the bag lining
– ribbon for bag handle
– optional : buttons for eyes or embellishments
LET’S GET STARTED …
STEP ONE: download our crayon bag template PDF (this PDF includes the monster, robot, and bull dog) and print out our template (and if you want to save ink, make sure to print our template on grayscale).
STEP TWO: pin on your pieces of felt to your template and cut them out. Also cut out your bag exterior and lining (quantities and sizes above).
STEP THREE: lay out the pieces on one of our outer 10×12″ fabric pieces to form your monster, then start pinning/sewing them on. Attach your crayon pocket last and to sew this on, sew only the bottom and sides to your character. Then sew lines 1″ apart to form the crayon pockets and attach the eyes.
STEP FOUR: with right sides together sew the 2 lining pieces together on the bottom and 2 sides, leaving the top open. Repeat with the outer 2 pieces — with right sides together sew the 2 outer pieces together on the bottom and 2 sides, leaving the top open.
STEP FIVE: turn you lining right side out & baste stitch the handles in place on both sides of the bag.
STEP SIX: place your lining with handles sewed to it, inside your outer bag — you will have right sides together and handles sandwiched in between. Pin & sew along the top of your bag leaving about 4″ un-sewn so you can turn the bag right side out.
STEP SEVEN: turn your bag so it is right side out and stuff the lining inside the bag. Top stitch along the top edge of your bag to sew the hole closed and to finish the bag.
Add crayons on let your little one have fun with their bag!!
Next week, we’re really excited to share our new big sister tshirt and big brother tshirt collection. Stay tuned!
STAIN REMOVAL TIPS
Last week we shared with you care instructions for our personalized tshirts for kids. You can read all about how to care for our tees here. This week we wanted to share some stain removal tips for all of our tees. We know how messy kids can be, especially when they start to feed themselves.
To create our stains we used a mixed berry juice, chocolate sauce and tomato sauce
We stained our tees, used our stain removers and washed them in regular detergent through a regular cycle.
For our stain removers, we wanted to try a mix of “old-school”, “mom approved” stain removers along with common stain removers you probably already have in your laundry room.
1. Shout
2. De-Pee Stain Remover
3. Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover
4. Fels-Naptha Soap
5. Mixture of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and baking soda
6. Boiling hot water (not shown above)
Let’s get started …
Shout removed the berry stain completely, but left a little bit of the tomato and chocolate sauce.
De-Pee had about the same result as Shout — the berry juice was removed and the chocolate and tomato sauce stains were still hanging on.
Next we have Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover and Fels-Naptha bar soap. Grandma’s did a great job! You can see below that all three stains were removed.
Fels-Naptha also did a great job! As you can see, all three stains are gone.
And then we have our hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap combo — which we scrubbed into each stain with a toothbrush. This was a great little tip! It removed all three stains really well.
And then we wanted to try a bleach pen. We do not recommend using bleach on our tees, however we thought it would be good to show you what happened. We put the bleach directly over the blue and green letters, as well as the stains — and we were surprised when the bleach did not discolor the print, and we were also surprised that there was still plenty of chocolate sauce left over.
We then put bleach pen over the red and yellow part of the print below, and you can see that it totally faded out the print. So, we still do not suggest using a bleach pen on our tees as the print may fade.
And finally, we put boiling water over a berry juice stain. This one is an oldie but a goodie — and it works only for berry stains like juice or red wine.
So to wrap things up, to protect your personalized baby onesies, big brother tshirts, and big sister tees, so they stay in tip top shape and stay beautiful baby keepsakes, we suggest the following:
GOOD: Fels-Naptha bar sopa, hydrogen peroxide + baking soda + dish soap mixture, boiling water over berry stains, and Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover
NOT SO GOOD: Shout, De-Pee, and Bleach pen
COOL NAME OF THE WEEK: HAILEY
Hailey, derived from the Old English elements hēg (hay) and lēah (wood, clearing, meadow), is our Cool Name of the Week. In 2011, it was ranked the 32nd most popular girl’s name in the US and there is a wealth of spelling options, including Hayley, Haley, and Hayleigh. Though more common for a girl, it can also be used as a boy’s name, an example being former child actor Haley Joel Osment of Forrest Gump and The Sixth Sense fame.
Here are some personalized growth charts, big sister tees, and even a few big brother tshirts inspired by our Cool Name of the Week.
We can’t help but think of Hayley Mills, who played twins trying to get their parents back together in The Parent Trap. Our Double Trouble big sister tees would have been perfect for the mischievous, though well-meaning sisters!
The Woodland Fun and Hoot Hoot personalized growth charts pair well with the origin of the name Hailey, as does the Playful Owls big brother tshirt.
We also read that Hayley could have come from the Norse word haela meaning hero, so the Super big brother tshirt would be perfect!
If you have a Hailey, which of these baby keepsakes would you choose?
