My Baby is TWO!!

I am sure most of you are thinking 2 is still a baby, but having a 4 month old, and my 2 year old being the oldest, I just still can't believe it!! How did this happen!? I still feel like just yesterday I planning her first Birthday party and in shock that she was turning one.. When people say it goes fast, they are not kidding!! I decided to have a "small" party for her this year and only invite our family that lives close and a couple of friends. Last year I went a little over the top and promised Dan I wouldn't go overboard this time.. I do have to say he made a comment a couple nights before her party that was something like, "You're not going overboard at all…" I just can't help myself! They only turn 2 once right?! 

A couple months before her Birthday I asked her if she wanted a "Little Mermaid" party or "Frozen" because those are two of her absolute favorite movies. I was secretly hoping she would say Frozen because there are so many awesome ideas out there right now. She didn't even hesitate and said "ARIEL!!!" okay.. Ariel it is! So I started working with an "Under the Sea" theme and scoured over Pinterest looking for some fun ideas. This is what we ended up with.

I emailed Sweet and Saucy, my amazing cake place and had them do the cake, which was chocolate with Nutella and candy crunches filling, it was so good and I am beyond happy with the way it came out! I also had them do little macrons with a little pearl to look like an Oyster. 

Then the decorating began. I made her tutu and ordered the shirt off of Etsy, so she could look like Ariel. I won't share the shop name, only because I didn't love the way the shirt came out, and I received it THE DAY BEFORE the party, so it was so last minute I didn't have time to make my own. It still worked, and she looked awesome, I just didn't receive what I thought I was ordering. & I got her darling headband from JamesonMonroe on Etsy. 

I wrote down all of her favorite things on a big chalkboard we have and got her picture next to it for memories sake.. I love the way it turned out! Only I found out at her 2 year doctor visit that she is actually 35" and 27 lbs.. oops! I did the best I could, trying to measure a 2 year old is not the easiest task I have to say..  

We had lot's of under the sea things to eat, "Flounder's Friends" "Deep Sea Fish" "Starfish Sandwiches" and "Under the Sea Bubbles" We had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and potato salad for the adults.

  

I also got a treasure chest full of coins and added in some fun jewels for the girls to dig through and cover themselves in fancy Mermaid treasures. They had a BLAST doing that. It was so cute.

When I was picking up the balloons they were all out of the regular Little Mermaid mylar balloons, so the girl talked me into getting a life sized Ariel balloon.. She said it would be about the size of my 2 year old and as she started filling it I started wondering what scary 2 year olds she's talking about because this balloon was bigger than me!! But she did end up being a total hit! My adorable  nephew danced with her.. we were all singing the Dirty Dancing theme song. And later the girls threw her up to the ceiling for about half an hour, we have super hight ceilings in our living room, so they had so much fun with her. 

Oh and right after we thanked everyone for coming, blessed the food and told them they could go eat, someone decided that was the perfect moment for a family photo.. so everyone got to wait for us to snap this beauty before going to eat.. 

Her actual Birthday was on Monday, Memorial Day, so Dan was off work and we figured the beach would be packed so we headed over to a pool and let her swim her little heart out.. she LOVED it. And kept showing us, and everyone that the pool, that she was 2 now!

The next day Dan also took off and we took her to her Favorite place EVER! Disneyland!! Daddy took her on all of the spinning rides while I snapped photos from afar.. I don't do the spinning rides.

For lunch we took her to Ariels Grotto. This is an ABSOLUTE must if you have a little one that loves Princesses! Lynden was in HEAVEN first she got to meet Ariel, who was so sweet to her, it made both Dan and I tear up. 

When we sat down to eat,  Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle all stopped at our table. Belle is Lynden's other favorite and she was also so over the top sweet to her it was amazing!! Seriously the best experience EVER! 

Lynden was totally shy and star struck but they knew exactly how to make her feel so special.  

THEN to top things off, during the parade, Ariel waved to Lynden, blew her kisses and told her Happy Birthday. It totally made all of our day. There is nothing like seeing your child's favorite characters make them feel so special.

These 2 years with her have been absolutely amazing, she really is one of the sweetest 2 year olds ever! She loves to clean and organize (lucky mom). And she LOVES her baby brother. She is 110% girl and loves all accessories, her first word was "Shoes" and her first sentence was "I want shoes on!" She brings so much light and joy to our family and we are so blessed to have her! 

Love you forever Lyndie Lou!!

xo

Disney Princess Inspired Outfits

I am so excited about this post! I have been working on this one for about week and teamed up with the amazingly talented Chelsea over at JamesonMonroe. She just so happens to make the most DARLING headbands you've ever seen.. like EVER!! I first found her when I was pregnant with Lynden (over 2 years ago) and have been buying headbands from her since. I even started my own Etsy shop making my own headbands and still bought hers.. shhh don't tell anyone. ;) 

Here is Lynden wearing one of her headbands for her first Birthday! Soooo cute right?!

Okay, so I decided to do this post because I figured there had to be a lot of other mommy's out there that are looking for Disney inspired looks for their daughters without having to buy a $50 costume that doesn't fit properly, and that your daughter may never want to take off.. I know from experience. To help solve this problem I started finding outfits for Lynden to wear that became "Princess outfits" One of our favorites is this purple and aqua Tea Collection dress.. I bought it at Nordstrom last year and can't even find it anywhere online to purchase anymore, but it became her "Ariel"dress. It's so cute and comfortable and fits well, AND she loves to wear it, even to bed. It's a total win-win. I know it doesn't REALLY look like an Ariel dress, but it's green and aqua and purple so that qualified it as an Ariel dress to her. 

Well, after we found her a "Rapunzel dress" I decided to put together some looks for you to make it easier to find the Disney Princess look, for your Disneyland trip, Birthday party, or just because your doll likes looking like Princess everyday! I knew I had to include JamesonMonroe, because they have a GORGEOUS Disney Collection of headbands. Chelsea has also so generously offered Mommy and Me Finds Followers 20% off their order through Wednesday, May 28th using code: AMANDA20 at check out. ((I'm Amanda)) ;) 

Below you'll find; Ariel (that's Lyndie's FAVORITE princess), Belle, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Elsa, and Minnie Mouse, now I know she isn't technically a Princess, but how do you not include Minnie Mouse?! Underneath each photo will be links to where you get each item featured in the outfit. 

Ariel Look: Shirt: Gap Skirt: Zara Shoes: J. Crew Headband: JamesonMonroe

 Bell Look: Dress: Old Navy Shoes: Mini Melissa Headband: JamesonMonroe

Jasmine Look: Jumpsuit: Zara Shoes: Nordstrom Necklace: Target Headband: JamesonMonroe

Rapunzel Look: Dress: H&M Shoes: J. Crew Headband: JamesonMonroe

Elsa Look: Dress: Alex And Alexa Shoes: Kohls Necklace: Target Headband: JamesonMonroe

Minnie Look: Shirt: Zara Skirt: Target Shoes: Toms Headband: JamesonMonroe

I hope you love these looks as much as I do, we will be sporting the Ariel look at Disneyland this Tuesday when we go to Ariel's Grotto for Lyndie's Birthday! I got the headband yesterday and it's darling!! Lynden isn't really into headbands right now but I got it for her "Under the Sea"  Birthday party and for her Birthday Disneyland trip. I was a little nervous that she wouldn't wear it but once she saw it was an Ariel one she wanted to wear it right away. She sat I front of the mirror just staring at herself and didn't say a word. She was totally speechless. I loved having this sweet experience with my girl!! 

  Please post pictures of your sweet one in your Disney look on Instagram and tag me!! I want to see them!! @mommyandme_finds and @jamesonmonroe_chelsea

And DON'T FOGET  to go get your Disney headband and get 20% off your entire purchase from JamesonMonroe using code: Amanda20 at checkout!! 

((this code will not coincided with any other deals or promotions she may be running during this time))

xo

Fun at the beach club with SwimZip UV Swimwear SwimZip UV Swimwear Easy Girls Swimsuits!

My husband just called me from leaving his dermatologist appointment, he has had skin cancer 5 times and just had 3 more areas biopsied, and SIX places burnt off. That being said, as a mommy of a very fair little girl, and a daddy with history of skin cancer, I am always looking for the safest ways to keep my babes protected from the sun when we're out and about. Living in Southern California we are in the sun  A LOT, whether we are at the beach, the pool, or just playing in the backyard. It's been hard to find something that is safe, provides good protection, and is still so cute! So you can only imagine how excited I was to find this adorable Toddler Rash Guard from  SwimZip As Seen On Shark Tank. This is seriously the Best UV Sun Shirt around! It has UPF 50+ Sun Protection, a zipper with a zipper garage, and it drys super fast!

The city we live in has a "Beach Club" that is free for all of the residents. I knew it was going to be hot day so we headed over with some friends this morning before it got too hot out. It was so nice not to have apply sunblock every 15 minutes to her entire body and worry if she was going to be okay. When we were done swimming, I just had to unzip it, which was awesome, (I HATE pulling wet swimsuits off her her) and toss it in the bag. It was almost completely dry by the time we got home! 

Also, what's super amazing about it is that the one we got looks just like a J. Crew suit I had been swooning over. So don't judge me when every single beach or pool photo I post is Lynden in her SwimZip. We have the Mint Chip, but I have the Such a Betty, Splish Splash, and Sail Away all on my shopping list (all are posted below). 

Get your's HERE!

What does the Fox say?! PLAY PARADE!!

I met Jackie from Play Parade a few weeks ago, & I have to say, she is amazing! She began looking around to buy a few masks for her daughter. After scouring Etsy, she just felt like a truly 'great' product was missing from this market. Though there are a number of lovely masks being made right now, she believed that 'handmade' should be synonymous with 'quality'—and hobby-store craft-felt just isn't quality! She was also quite alarmed to find that a lot of the masks on the market cover a child's entire face...her daughter is nearly 18 months, and there was no way in the world she would EVER place a mask over her mouth and nose! The result—Jackie figured she'd have to make them herself! After the attention they got from family and friends, she decided to try her luck on Etsy! I am so glad she did!!

I got the Fox mask & tail set and it is truly AMAZING quality. I was shocked when I opened the package. Every detail is thought out and given so much attention. One thing I noticed right away, which some people might not ever notice was that she used different coordinating thread for each piece that is sewn on. Now if you sew you know how much work that is, but how much better it looks when you take the time to do that! 

We went over the the park with my awesome friend Ani, who took some photos for us playing with the mask set. Lynden was totally cracking me up. She HAD to watch the "What Does the Fox Say" video while she was wearing it. I'm also pretty sure she was trying to make a fox face underneath the mask. I was laughing so hard when Ani sent over the photos. They are so cute! Lyndie was being so silly with the mask so it normally doesn't do that to your ears, but it was so nice that the eye holes were big enough for her and not to have her entire nose and mouth covered. Also the little clip on the tail hooks onto their belt loop really easily without coming off so you won't loose it.

Jackie is offering Mommy & Me followers 15% off their order through the weekend using code: MOMMYANDME15 at checkout! 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PLAYPARADE

Younique by Melissa

So I am sure most of you have tried, or at least HEARD of Younique Makeup? If not, let me just let you in on a little secret.. it's AWESOME!! 

My friend Melissa, who I've actually never met in person, but have followed each other around different social media for a couple years now so it feels like we are friends, sells this incredible make up!

I first tried the 3D Fiber lashes a few months back.. and I have to be honest I was little intimidated by them and slightly skeptical. They were supposed to give you these long amazing lashes using this transplanting gel, and the fibers.. hmm..  Well, I kept seeing before and after photos and was still slightly skeptical that they would actually make my non-existant eyelashes look longer. I have been using Double Extend by Loreal for years and it's the only thing I could find that helped my eyelashes even show up. 

Well, Melissa invited to an online party and I decided to give them a try. I even watched a little tutorial video on how to use them. Ha- you don't really need to, I just did because I was so intimidated by them, which I totally shouldn't have been. 

First you can apply regular mascara to help them hold better.. then you put on the transplanting gel, and then the fibers and then another layer of the gel. I usually use two layers of both, and Whala (is that how you spell that?) You have these long amazing eyelashes! It's seriously incredible! 

I took before and after photos 2 different days so you could see how awesome this stuff really is. Also, I just got some of the Moodstruck Minerals Pigment powder, which I am wearing in the bottom photo. It's AWESOME. It goes on so well and LASTS all day without getting clumpy and as you can see in the photo it made my eyes POP! 

I also have the Lucrative Lip Gloss, which I am pretty particular about lip gloss because I don't like the cakey, sticky kind AT ALL. This goes on super smooth and looks amazing. I tried taking a picture but none of the pictures I took even did this lip gloss any justice. It's so pretty and shiny and smooth!

Right now Mellisa is offering all Mommy & Me Finds followers a FREE Pigment with any $30 purchase until the end of May! All you have to do is send her an email or comment on her Instagram that you purchased and let her know what color you would like! You're going to love it all!!

www.youniqueproducts.com/melissa