Vacation with the girls!!

I don't know about you, but I'm in a vacation state of mind! Summer vacation is still a couple of weeks away, but luckily I had a mini vacation planned with a friend of mine and our three little diva's. And oh my, going on vacation with three little girls is just crazy! It was fun, it was wild, it was hectic and it sure was hot! It's been a while since I experienced 95 degrees out, so it definitely took some getting used to again! Throw three little energy explosion in the mix to run around after and you have a trip to remember! Haha!

95 degrees obviously meant a lot of swimming! Charlotte loved this little water spray thingy. So much that she now actually loves to takes showers! She always took baths before this trip because she was terrified of the water falling down on her head. This fun little thing definitely changed that!

We stayed at a vacation park that had a lot of activities for kids, which was a lot of fun for the girls! One of our favorite activities was face painting! Charlotte chose to be a butterfly and it was such a fun experience! If you have a little girl and you have the opportunity do get her face painted, go for it! Charlotte couldn't stop pretending to fly. She BECAME the butterfly! Haha! She looked at herself in the mirror for such a long time that she eventually had to make place for the girl that got her face painted after her. It was adorable to see!

The park also had a small petting zoo which is always a lot of fun! Charlotte loves animals and she loves to be around them. Unfortunately I have pretty bad allergies, so that makes pets pretty much impossible in our household. So we love to jump at the oppertunity to cuddle us some sheep and bunnies!

We had a few wonderful days together. But at the end of each day I just had to sit down and get me a proper coffee! I...NEEDED..IT!

So how about you? Are you already on your summer vacation countdown?

Fun With Helium!

We planned a babyshower this weekend for friends that are expecting their first child in a couple of weeks. We decided to decorate the location with some helium balloons, so we ordered a helium tank and some balloons a couple of weeks ago. We didn't end up using everything, so we still had some stuff left this afternoon. So... what were we to do? I mean, we weren't going to be mature about it and just safe it for another occasion, right? There's no fun in that! So we decided to use them as fly kites instead and have some fun in the sun with our little munchkin. We had a blast! So let me share some quick pictures of our Sunday afternoon!

I hope you all had wonderful weekend! Have a good week!

5 Reasons Why You Should Sign Up For A Baby Swimming Class

Well, that is if you actually have aformentioned baby. If not, joining one of these classes could be considered a bit creepy. Just saying. You know, looking back on my first 16 months of being a parent, I really don't have many regrets. Obviously not everything has been perfect. But I tried my best making the best decisions I could, and thankfully they turned out pretty well in the end. There is only one thing I regret, and that's not enrolling into a baby swimming class sooner. I just started a couple of months ago, and looking at all these moms with their itty bitty babies made me feel like we missed out on something.

So if you are a new mom, I dearly recommend enrolling into one of these swimming classes as soon as you're ready! Obviously you need to be fit enough to participate in some mild phsycical activity, so you should be healed up nicely from your birth. Also your baby should be big enough to hold it's own tempature to avoid hymothermia. Our pool advices to start taking classes from 12 weeks and up. Most public swimming pools organize special baby swimming classes. The water is usually warmed up a bit more, they have extra changing tables set up around the pool area and they have a special swimming instructor teaching you and your baby to be comfortable in the water together in a fun, playfull way. There are a lot of benefits to starting these classes early, probably way more than I can think of! But here are five to get you started!

1. Fun! 

Well first of all, it's a lot of fun! There are a lot of other babies around which always seems to facinate the tiny ones. Babies and small children are automatically drawn to each other and it's so adorable to see them socialize. There are toys, games and alot of singing and playfulness. It's just a very fun activity to shake up your regular mommy and baby time.

2. Water safety!

Besides fun, these classes also teach you and your baby a lot about water safety. During these classes your baby will learn to be comfortable in the water and to not panic when he or she goes under for a second. It also teaches very basic survival skills, such as clinging onto floating objects. It is very important for all children at every age to have the basic survival skills in water. You never know when they could come in handy!

3. Exercise!

Let's face it, picking up our old exercise routine after giving birth can be pretty difficult. This is a fun and easy way to get some genlte exercise going and get you in the right direction. Plus, you are surrounded by new moms, so nobody is judging you on that extra babyweight you're carrying around. It is also a way of gently introducing exercise to your baby.

4. Bonding!

 Well, this one is a bit of a given really. Any activity will help you bound with your baby. Swimming together can be a great bonding experience as well and it can build alot of trust between parent and baby.

5. Development!

It is a great way of developing your baby's coordination and fine motor skills. Like jumping though a hole in a floating object or grabbing a small toy from the water. Plus, since your baby is getting used to being in the water from a young age,  there will be an advantage once it's time for real swimming lessons.

So there you have it! Five reasons why you should join a baby swimming class! Have you ever been to a baby swimming class or are you planning to anytime soon? I'd love to hear about your experience! 

Love,

Tessa

My Week In Pictures!

Let's face it, we all enjoy a little voyeurisme from time to time. I know I do! It's fun to take a peek inside the life of a stranger. I guess It's so intriguing because there are simply no two lives alike. We're all on our own unique path, our unique journey. And eventhough you are comfortable with the seeds you have planted so far, It's still interesting to peek over de fence and see what the neighbors are growing. Most of the time you'll find the confirmation that the flowers you chose were indeed the right pick for you. And sometimes you might get inspired to make a change here or there. But... I'm rambling on again. Let's get down to business! Here's my week in pictures!

Monday - Visiting a fashion expo during my lunchbreak. Here's a gorgeous piece by Jean Paul Gaultier. Love it! Great way to get away from it all. It's just something you need when you make nine hour workdays!

Tuesday -  Meeting a friend for drinks after work. Celebrating the fact that I'm now officially on summerbreak! Yay! It was so incredibly hot that it actually resulted in a some sort of tropical storm later that evening. There was so much water on the road that the car infront of me actually got flooded and broke down! The driver had to push the car out of the water, and needless to say, I decided to make a U-turn and make a run for my money! I wasn't in the mood to canoe my way home!

Wednesday - Enjoying a lovely summer afternoon in our own backyard and taking some pictures of my lovely little model. Look at her sitting on her own like a boss! So proud of her!

Thursday - Going on a shopping trip and buying some lovely items at Primark (Penneys)! This was my first time ever shopping there and I loved it! How cute are those little baby tights? I foresee a lot more shopping trips to Primark in the future! :)

Friday - Eating ice-cream at the local summer fair. The beginning of a well needed night out on the town. Moms gone wild! Haha!

Saturday - Charlotte passed out in her carseat after an (apparently exhausting) afternoon at a friend's barbecue party. And yes, that's a yoga mat on the right. I keep it in my livingroom so that I can see it and feel guilty about not using it. Women are strange like that. Let's eat some more ice-cream!

Sunday - Driving home at sunset after having dinner with friends. Charlotte is asleep is the back of the car, as usual. She's such an easy baby. How I love to live away from the city. I love the scenery out here. A wonderful end to a perfect evening, and a wonderful end to my week in pictures. See you soon!

Kisses!