Monkey's on the bed | Olivia + Ocean

Visit Olivia + Ocean and enter OLIVIAANDSUE at checkout for 10% off your order

I----------t's photoshoot-on-the-bed season! As soon as it gets chilly outside, I opt for photos on my bed because, to be honest, it's the easiest spot to tidy up in my entire house. Now that Barrett's nursery is finished, I might stray there for a few photos this season, but today, it's the bed and our favorite swimmers ever, Olivia + Ocean who now carries little BOY swimmers!

I cannot TELL you how excited I was when Danielle told me she was opening a line of boy swimmers! The girls practically LIVED in their O+O suits this summer, so I knew that I needed one for Barrett, stat!

The quality of the boy trunks is every bit that of the girl's suits. I'm not worried about it stretching out, fading, or falling apart one bit!

I did make it out of the house to a local rec center to test his new trunks out.

He LOVES the water, which made our little Mommy-Son date truly enjoyable! I loved watching him splash the water all over himself and get adventurous crawling around (he is SO mobile!)

And he's so cute, you'd better believe he got a kiss afterward! ;)

I will forever back Olivia + Ocean 100% because it's a product and a business I really believe in. Not only does it sell modest, reliable, quality swimwear made entirely in the United States, it also donates a portion of its profit to water.org.

And I love this snippet from their About page:

"We believe swim time is a special time for parents to bond with their babies. It definitely has been for us! Our swimwear is meant to celebrate the magical childhood memories made in the water. "

I couldn't agree more. So many of my favorite memories were made in the water and I'm glad to know that we can make these memories in suits that my children can be their energetic little selves in and not have to worry about how long they'll last or they will actually keep my children covered, whether they're swimming in a pool, running through the sprinklers, playing in the sand, or jumping on the bed!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! And don't forget to stop by Olivia + Ocean before you close your browser (if you haven't already. I've linked back to them about, oh, 100 times in this post...)

Susan is a birth photographer/videographer serving Mesa, Arizona and surrounding cities including Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, and Tempe. Considering a photographer for your birth? Contact Susan for EDD availability.

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Alexa's 2-year photos

It feels like Alexa has been two for a very long time already, but is somehow still a 1-and-a-half year old.

Here are some things I want to remember about Alexa:

The way she says "dis-cuss-ting"
Her mischievous grin
The way she NEVER takes anyone seriously

Her carefree outlook on life
If we put her in the car and don't buckle her right away, she'll turn all the lights on in the car that she can reach! It drives us all crazy, but I love it anyway!

The way she forgives and also repents so quickly and easily
The way she says "Can I play with yo phone?"
The way she over emphasizes the long "o" sound in "Costco"

That she is always, ALWAYS hungry and "want's sum-ping else"
She always wakes up in the morning with a smile

Her princess look:

The smile on her face when she twirls, jumps, and squeals in delight when she dances

Her stank eye and the way she wipes it off her face with her hand when you tell her to wipe that look off her face.
The way she teases her sister
That she always shares
Her giggles when she's being silly with her sister

The way she quotes movies
The way she sings "dum dum dum dum duh-dum dum duh-dum" when we talk about "Star Wars" and Darth Vader.
The one time we were watching "Sword in the Stone" and when Merlin turned into a mouse she turned to me and said "What?! He's a mouse!" Funniest thing. ever.
The way she runs into my arms and hugs me

How I find her asleep surrounded by books nearly every night
When we tell her to be careful and she says "I won't!"
The way she cups her hand to her ear and asks, "Do you hear that?"
When she gets scared of loud noises and runs to me for comfort
How she likes to climb EVERYTHING, hence the scratch on her face

Her attitude. MAN that girl's got attitude!
The way she calls her Aunt Kara "Carrot"
Her enthusiasm!

I can't believe she's growing up. My sweet little blue-eyed Rose.

Happy birthday, little girl!

Susan is a birth photographer/videographer serving Mesa, Arizona and surrounding cities including Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, and Tempe. Considering a photographer for your birth? Contact Susan for EDD availability.

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Olivia + Ocean

This post has been compensated by Olivia + Ocean. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*discount code at the end!

You guys. Last week was CA-RAAAAAA-ZAY! Andrew was gone. all. week. long. It was a very long week, but it was still a good one!

The weather has been nice and warm recently and since their isn't an ocean anywhere nearby in Utah, we decided on the next best thing that was nearby (and that I could handle all on my own!) The splash pad!

Chelsea LOVES the splash pad! It's so fun to watch her run up the stairs and down the slide, press the button to make the water start again when it stops, and make new friends.

The thing I love about splash pads is that your kids can kind of just run wild while you sit back and watch. You don't have to worry about them getting sucked out to sea or forgetting their life jackets. Our main worry was re-applying our sunscreen every hour or so.

i told her to give me a thumbs up and say "cool dude!"

Anyway, let me tell you about these suits, though, because I love them. A lot.

I can't remember how I discovered Danielle and Olivia + Ocean, just that we "met" on instagram and I fell in love with their baby girl swimsuits immediately! When I found out that their size 3T suits fit up to a 4 or 5T, I was like, "Yaaaaaaaassssss..."

Olivia and Ocean is a swimming suit company based out of LA. It was named after Danielle's daughter, Olivia, who works overtime as a beach babe and swimsuit model.

One thing I LOVE about Olivia and Ocean is that they are American-based with American manufacturers and printing partners, plus they use high-quality fabric that is the perfect blend of polyester and lycra so that the suits maintain their color, size, shape, and quality. I definitely noticed this when I first opened my package from O+O and notice it still 4 or 5 uses later.

It is really soft and gives a good stretch, which is pretty apparent from the fact that Chelsea's suit is a size 3T and she's nearing size 5T. I'm confident this suit will last until Chelsea and Alexa grow out of it.

But enough about the quality, it's the style we can't get enough of! I love that these suits give my girls full range of motion but keep them fully covered! Nothing riding up in the wrong places on these babes! And I loved watching my two matching girls run around with each other all over the splash pad, bows and ruffles bouncing up and down as they went!

And they offer so much more than the solid colors! They have the funnest prints! This Flamingo swimsuit is definitely one of my favorites, but the ice cream cone suit is to die for, too!

I have loved getting to know Danielle through our correspondence together and she is planning so much more! Like boy's swimsuits? YES! I'll definitely be stopping by when those hit the shop!

Anyway, guys. You need these suits for your baby girls. They're my favorite, and forget 4th of July outfits. We're wearing our Olivia and Ocean suits instead.

P.S. Danielle is offering 10% off of your total purchase with the discount code OLIVIAANDSUE so make sure you stop by and tell her I sent you! ;)

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More of Bloom!

We love our Bloom Headwraps so much! When I took photos for the product review, I basically got a MILLION shots that I just love, but decided not to overload you in that first post. So here are some more, just because my kids look sooooooo cute in these Pom Pom Headwraps from Bloom Headwraps, and be sure to stop by and use the discount code SUSAN25 to receive 25% off of your order!

I cannot get enough of this laughing, graham cracker face, and I love how she thinks everything is "FUH-NEE!"

Before we came out to take pictures, I explained to Chelsea that it was important to take really pretty pictures so that everyone could see how beautiful these Bloom Headwraps are. I think she took me seriously.

Maybe a little TOO seriously.

There we go!

I love these Stange Sisters! They fight, they sometimes won't share, but I'll never get over listening to them playing and giggling with each other. We can learn a lot about forgiveness and relationships from our children who don't always get along, but love each other anyway!

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