New Year + New Favorites for Baby!

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.comWell, I’m 6 months into this new mom thing (again)…and it’s going pretty well!  I mean she’s still alive and thriving and we seem to be getting a bit more sleep, so that’s a WIN in my book!  Heidi sure does keep us on our toes and she’s growing like a weed.  She really is the happiest and most smiley baby I’ve ever seen.  She’s starting to figure things out and get bored easily and even has a bit of separation anxiety when I leave the room.  The one thing I keep saying to myself when I see new baby items is “Wow!  They didn’t have this almost 10 years ago when I had Connor?”  So many things have changed in a decade and I love trying and sharing my favorite baby products with YOU!  So, it’s a new year & I’d love to share some NEW fun baby products we’ve been trying lately and you can check them out too!  I also love connecting with new Moms on Instagram and the blog…it’s so fun!

The first item we are loving is the new Snuggle Knit Collection from aden + anais™

The NEW aden + anais™ snuggle knit collection is made of the softest fabric designed for the ultimate snuggle. This would be the perfect gift if you know someone about to have a baby.  It has everything needed for a hospital stay and afterwards.  The set comes with a beautiful knotted gown, hat, swaddle blanket, & bandana bib (The bib is exclusive to the newborn gift set).  This super soft set is available in three prints – heather grey, rosettes, and navy stripe.  The newborn gift set retails for $59.95.  The knotted gown, hat and swaddle blanket can also be bought separately. The snugly little lovey retails for $19.95 – Perfect for babies and toddlers, the snuggle knit lovey will be much-loved by little ones & provide calm and comfort at any time of the day. I love the super stretchy and SOFT fabric which makes it easy to swaddle and use as your baby grows.
The snuggle knit newborn set is available for purchase at adenandanais.com, Amazon, at retailers including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and at select specialty boutiques across the country.

The second thing we are obsessed with is the Lil’ Squish Jellyfish Sensory Rattle + Teething Toy from Baby BananaThis little lady is a drooly teething mess lately.  Anything she can stick in her mouth she will!  The Lil’ Squish Jellyfish Sensory Rattle + Teething Toy will keep your curious little one busy and happy through the teething phase and beyond. It’s made of 100% silicone, Lil’ Squish has a soft, squishy head with lots of fun textures for little mouths to explore. A variety of colorful tentacle loops make it easy to hold and maneuver and provide more teething textures, as well as promote hand-eye coordination in children.

The third item on my new Mama baby list is Butt Paste Maximum Strength Tube from Boudreaux’s

This is a product we already use and this might be an over-share…but Heidi has been sick with an ear infection and has been taking antibiotics this week.  Nothing gives your baby diaper rash like getting the runs from medicine…ugggghhh….

She actually hasn’t had that big of a problem with diaper rash until now.  Just wait until your baby gets sick or starts eating solids then queue a diaper rash!  Boudreaux’s Butt Paste Maximum Strength formula contains 40% Zinc Oxide for when stubborn diaper rash needs a little more attention. A must-have addition to any diaper bag and nursery changing station, Boudreaux’s Butt Paste quickly and effectively treats rash without harsh ingredients like dyes, preservatives, parabens and talc. The product works by forming a protective layer on soft baby skin to soothe rash discomfort – leaving both baby and parents happy!  You can see a difference in as little as 3 hours!

The fourth item on our list is the Tinkle Crinkle Activity Ball and Tinkle Crinkle Caterpillar from GUND

This gal loves anything with a crunchy sound or thingies sticking out of it! Lol!

The Tinkle Crinkle Activity Ball features lovable characters from the Tinkle Crinkle Collection in soft, 3-D cut-outs on top of sections of different-textured fabric and multicolored ribbons for a mix of sensory-stimulating play. This soft plush ball has safe embroidered details and is easy to grip and throw by little hands and is machine washable for easy cleaning!The classic Tinkle Crinkle Caterpillar has been updated with fun, new patterns and a more modern look for modern babies. Each part of 16.5-inch Tinkle Crinkle Caterpillar includes a fun surprise for baby, including squeaker, crinkle, rattle, and more in bright, primary colors and fabric with textures to promote tactile and sensory stimulating play. Tinkle’s embroidered details make it safe for play by all ages 0+ and is machine washable for easy cleaning!  We love the GUND brand.  They have the cutest dolls, teddy bears, & stuffed animals make perfect gifts for birthdays, baby showers, baptisms, Easter, Valentine’s Day & more!

The fifth items on our baby bests is the iBaby Balm and Baby Lotion from Pipette

We’ve been using this after bath time lately and the baby balm is super nourishing and hydrating with plant-derived ingredients to comfort even the most sensitive skin.  The baby lotion is very lightweight and non greasy.  Babies have super delicate skin so I’m always cautious of what I use on Heidi.  Pipette Baby provides deep, gentle moisture for baby’s sensitive spots and replenishes and restores natural balance of baby’s skin.  Pipette is also featured in Good Housekeeping Magazine on page 49.

I hope you loved hearing about what we are LOVING with our new baby and I’d love to hear what you recommend as well.  Nobody helps a new Mom better than another new Mom right?  It takes a village and lots of coffee!!!

Dainty Gold Jewelry

Let’s talk bling y’all!  What are you into this season?  I’m super into dainty gold jewelry right now and have been for a couple of years, which is funny because I used to ONLY wear silver or white gold.  Oh how the times have changed and now you will find me pretty much only wearing yellow gold.  From dainty earrings to little personalized necklaces…I love it all!

One piece I wear on repeat is this gold circle pendant from AU-Rate.  I chose to put my birthstone on it too.  There are so many ways you can customize jewelry these days from gemstones, to your initials, different chains, even mixing and matching metals.  Jewelry is also the perfect gift for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries…or VALENTINE’S DAY…. you can’t go wrong!

I think the necklace above looks good with anything, but I also love to layer it with other necklaces too.  My sister gave me this one for Christmas with Connor & Heidi’s initials and I wear it pretty much every day.  I also love pieces that have special meaning behind them, and this one sure does!

These gold studs from Gorjana are an everyday piece as well.  You can find them at here.  Sometimes I forget to put earrings in and these are a great pair that go with everything and I don’t have to think about it.

Some other favorites that I’ve been eyeing below:

Doesn’t everyone have an Amazon wish list these days?  Ha ha!

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite jewelry finds!  Leave a comment and tell me what your loving lately and how you wear it.

Daystar Christmas

I’m way behind on blogging lately due to the craziness of the holiday season, but I wanted to recap some of the fun and festive things we did this year!  One of those being a visit to Daystar Christmas!  I always pass this amazing light display when I’m on the freeway because I live close to Daystar, but I’ve never been to visit…until this past year!  

If you are looking for the perfect place to take Christmas photos this is the spot!  All the lights make for the perfect “bokeh” effect and walking around automatically puts you in the Christmas spirit.  This was Heidi’s first Christmas and I’m so glad we got these beautiful photos that I’ll cherish always.

There are over one-million LED lights, a life-size nativity scene, a kid-friendly Christmas Town, multiple photo-ops, photos with Santa, and hot chocolate in the Scratch Cafe!

Here are a few pictures of our night out at Daystar Christmas 🙂

I love this HUGE wreath it screams “Family Christmas Card”.  Next season we’ll have to make plans to go early so we can actually put it on a card.  I didn’t get cards out this year because it’s been so busy, but next year that will be my goal.

Connor and his best friend Ben.

This is my best friend Ellen.  We’ve been best friends since the 7th grade.  If you’ve been following me on Instagram you have probably seen a lot of her.  She moved here about a year and a half ago for a job and then her company had a massive layoff last August.  She’s one of the nicest, sweetest people you will ever meet and I’ve SO enjoyed having her close by.  If she doesn’t find a job by February she’ll have to move back home to Arkansas and I can’t let that happen!  If anyone knows someone hiring Ellen works in Apparel and Fashion merchandising and sourcing. #hireellen

This is my favorite picture!

My sweet, precious babies.  They sure are a gift from God.  

Thank you so much for having us to visit Daystar we had the BEST time ever!  Everyone was so incredibly nice and accommodating and great with our kids.  We can’t wait to come back next year and check it out.  Much Love, The Branch Family

Yippee TV App + VeggieTales Coloring Page

I’m excited to share with you a NEW streaming App called “Yippee“.  First of all I love the name and obviously you know it’s going to have some fun stuff to watch that makes you say“Yippppeeeee!” 

Yippee’s mission statement is to build character in kids by transforming them with world class media that is safe, values based, and unbelievably fun!  It’s hard to find good, clean, wholesome family shows you can all watch together these days.  So I’m thankful Yippee offers a ton of options for my family and I don’t have to worry about what they are seeing or hearing because it’s values based, foundational, and ethically sound.

Yippee has a brand promise:  To host messages, material, and ideas full of character building substance that kids love and parents trust with the best product experience. To give parents peace of mind.

Last night we watched the new VeggieTales Christmas Special, The Best Christmas Gift.  I grew up watching VeggieTales and now I’m loving sharing these stories with my kids too!  I think I’ve pretty much seen every VeggieTales episode….until now!  The VeggieTales Christmas special is brand new and ONLY on Yippee.

Below is a fun VeggieTales coloring page you can share with your family too!  It’s a scene from the NEW ‘The Best Christmas Gift’ episode

To download a HIGH RES copy of the coloring page CLICK HERE: VeggieTales_ColoringPage

And don’t forget to check out the Yippee TV App today and share it with your family too!

Staying Well this Holiday with Amwell

This post is sponsored by Amwell via Momtrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Amwell or Momtrends.

Having a new baby in the house is such a blessing…but everyone knows a sick baby is nothing to sneeze about.  There isn’t much you can do when you have a sick infant & they aren’t even able to take over the counter medicine.  Sometimes I feel helpless as a Mom and wonder if Heidi is getting everything she needs from me, especially when she isn’t feeling well.  I find myself Googling for answers and that is a deep dark tunnel I wouldn’t suggest going down!  Ha ha!

I recently found a program called Amwell, it’s a telehealth app where you can speak to a medical provider from home via your smart phone or computer. You don’t go in anywhere, which is awesome ESPECIALLY when you have a tiny baby at home.  It’s certainly a pain when you have to visit urgent care and it can be scary too!

Just download the app or sign on via your computer.Amwell is a 24/7 resource for you and your family. When you need urgent care, you need it immediately and what better way to access it then from your own home?
Some example of what Amwell can assist you with:
● Fever
● Cold & flu
● Allergies
● Sinus infections
● Stomach bugs
● Travel
● Pediatrics
● Rashes
● UTI

You will be assigned a provider after you fill out your information.  It was super easy and took hardly any time to set up and find an answer.
You can also choose your preferred pharmacy, so in the case you do need medicine you won’t have to worry it gets to the right place.Setting up your profile is simple and includes some basic information as well as some medical history questions.

As soon as you put in your information and what type of issue you need for your consult you’ll be assigned a physician to call back and talk with you.Your visit with Amwell doesn’t have to be for you either.  It can be for yourself or your child.  Choose between a video consult or a phone call.Amwell’s urgent care is something I will definitely be using again.  I had a few questions regarding an allergy reaction that Heidi had and the provider with Amwell was quick to call back and answer my questions.  This gave me such peace of mind and was much better than Googling for answers.  Heidi started daycare a week ago and ever since then she’s been initiated into daycare life with GERMS!  It’s not been the easiest two weeks, but I got some great tips and advice from my Amwell provider I’m going to try.  Amwell is meant to complement in-person care. It is not a replacement in emergency situations. It is, however, great for 24/7 urgent care from the comfort of home or on the go.

I’m happiest when my baby is healthy and happy too!  I love having access to this easy and reliable service…so I can spend more time snuggling with my Heidi bug!

Use the coupon code below for 25% off your urgent care visit at Amwell CLICK HERE!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Giveaway!

If you guys have been following me for awhile you know I get all my Christmas attire from UglyChristmasSweater.com 
This year I chose the “Where’s Waldo” Christmas sweater, which is a bit tame for me in the tacky Christmas sweater category!  You may remember my light up Leg Lamp sweater last year and I still love it!  UglyChristmasSweater.com also has ugly Christmas suit jackets, pajamas, onesies, and accessories too.
Here’s my “Where’s Waldo” sweater and it’s so fun!
If you have a Fornite loving dude in your life like I do then they will LOVE this NINJA onesie for Christmas!  They have a lot of other Fortnite things to choose from too.

ENTER TO WIN YOUR CHOICE OF UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER THIS SEASON!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tis’ The Season + A Life Update

How many of you got up at the crack of dawn to get the limited edition red cup for the first 50 customers at Starbucks this season?  Or in my case they had 400 cups….so yeah EVERYONE got a cup pretty much 🙂

The only thing is you have to use said cup after 2 pm every day and this Mama needs coffee around 6 am stat.  So I have yet to use my .50 cent discount because I’m a morning coffee kinda person.

Christmas shopping at it’s finest.  I got my 9 year old tween to take a selfie with me….that’s a big deal these days.  Ha!  I just love the malls at Christmas time and all the lights and decorations.

My precious babies 🙂

Amen and amen to Target for bringing in some Kinder chocolate.  Especially the hollow snowmen which are like the original Kinder eggs….yippeeeee!!!!

I got a little tree this year for all my Starbucks ornaments.  They were getting to the point where they deserved their own tree.  I’m sure there will be more to come!  I think the oldest one I have is from 2007 or 2008…so it’s been quite the collection in the making so far.

I ordered Heidi a stocking and now our mantle is complete.  This little girl is such a ray of sunshine in our family.  I love seeing the bond between her and Connor.  Honestly I was worried about the 9 1/2 year age difference, but Connor is so sweet with her and such a big help that it’s worked out perfectly.

Have y’all tried this ice cream yet?  It’s Biscoff ice cream with cookie crumbles on top…and OMG it’s the best thing ever.  I have got to stop eating it….but it’s SO GOOD!  I found these at Target and Tom Thumb if you want to look for them you won’t regret this indulgence.

If you are in the DFW area don’t forget to use my coupon code JAVA for 50% off ICE! tickets this year.  We just went and had the best time ever.  It’s one of our favorite traditions and it’s the best way to ring in the holiday season.

 

I did a side by side comparison of Connor and Heidi at 4 months.  What do you think?  Do they look alike?  I definitely think in some ways they do and in others Connor definitely is more “boy” and Heidi has more “girlie” features.

4 months….a bit late.  She turned 5 months yesterday.  I dropped her off at daycare this morning for her first day and my heart could hardly take it.  It’s such an out of control feeling leaving your precious baby in the hands of someone else.  Especially someone you don’t know, but I know it will be fine.  In the mean time I am trying to distract myself from missing my baby boo.

Christmas mini sessions are now booking!  If you’d like to book shoot me an email at : beckylbranch@gmail.com

Oh and this was a total Mom fail.  I accidentally ordered the wrong size stocking the first time.  It was so big that we could fit Heidi inside of it!  It’s kind of funny looking back…but OOOPS!

Mommy & daughter matching Sunday outfits 🙂

Connor finished lacrosse season this fall and he said he really liked it!  I think we will try it again in the spring.  He did a great job and I’m proud of him for being a good team mate and playing hard.

Well, that’s a little life update for ya!  If you are on Instagram that’s where I post more these days on the daily.  GO CHECK IT OUT HERE!