Nursery, Mission Accomplished.

*** Updated post showing the bookcase in the playrooms is here.

Ok, I realize that the girls are almost a year old, but we finally put up curtains in their room so it is officially done! The curtains are lined with blackout material so they keep most of the daylight out when they are sleeping.

Sources:
Bedding and curtains: Pottery Barn Kids
Cribs: Graco Ashleigh
Dresser: Craigslist
Bookcase: Custom made by Marcus (knock-off of PBK using plan from here)
Chair: Best Home Furnishing - purchased at Goodnight Room

Bathtime

Untitled from Natalie Shirzad on Vimeo.

Gymboree Fun

Stephanie Klein just sent me a few pics that she snapped of the girls at Kyle's birthday party - remember this bubbles video? Most of these are of Zara - I think Lexi was off having too much fun crawling and climbing.

Happy Easter!

These two little flowers are growing like weeds, but we think they are pretty cute!

Zara (left) and Alexandra (right), 10 months

Toys: 0 - 12months

In this post, I shared my list of essential baby gear and necessities, basically a registry guide. Now that my babies are rapidly approaching the end of the first year (sob), I'm going to share our favorite toys for the first year. We have a lot of toys, but many of them do not hold their attention for very long and/or have very little repeat play value.

1. Sophie the Giraffe - yes, this is a trendy, spendy toy, but it is so worth it. The girls loved chewing on it more than anything else and still play with it.

2. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes - on the annoying music scale, this is pretty low and its really easy for little hands to grip.

3. Green Toys Stacker - we have other stackers, but this is the favorite. The girls don't really stack it yet, but they love to chase the rolling pieces and chew on them.

4. Tiny Love Playgym - This thing saved our sanity from 2-6 months. The girls spent a lot of tummy and back time playing with all the toys (and letting us get other things done). It really helped them start to reach for and grab toys. They still play with the big mirror.

5. FP Rainforest Jumperoo - This jumper is a standalone version with lots of toys and keeps the girls very entertained for as long as I will allow them to stay in it.

6. FP Learning Home - In the last few months, the girls have really started playing with this a lot. They open the door and crawl through all the time, ring the doorbell, open the windows, stand up and play with the parts on top. This toy is entertaining for hours and months on end. I would say that this is a great toy (if you have the space) for the 9 - 18 months age.

7. LeapFrog Table - We just recently purchased this (used) and the girls love to stand up on it and play with all the music toys all day long. The legs come off so younger babies can use it too.

8. SoftPlay mini crinkle fabric books - These were/are a huge favorite. They are the perfect size for little hands, make a great crinkling noise and have rings in them so you can attach them to the car seat or stroller seat.