Henry James, your smiles make my whole day! Little boy, watching you grow day by day is incredible and I am still marveling how big you are getting just from "Mommy milk". Your sister turned two last week and now you are three months - oh no, where is the time going! This is my third monthly update for Henry James, read on!___Nicknames: Baby Bear, Big Boy, and Little Man remain the same with Lily actually calling him "big boy" this past week. We also call him Baby Henry and that is likely the most frequent right now as that is how we refer to him when talking to his big sister.Firsts: Henry moved from an apartment to a house in the suburbs (as we all did)Weight: Est. 12 pounds though very rough as this was on our bathroom scale.Length: There is no official three ...

Lily is TWO!
Happy birthday to my big girl, Lily is TWO! We may have shifted from Lily monthly updates to Henry monthly updates but I am not going to miss this chance to share about my not so little, little girl. Before we get going, take a look at her first birthday post - such a difference!Lily is a very expressive little girl but we are not quit at the stage of talking yet where a birthday interview would be effective verbally. Thus I am sharing her answers to 10 questions as I know them and hopefully from age three I will be able to post her exact answers!1. What’s one of your talents? Just one?!? Dad's answer is two arm cuddles and Mummy has a trio - singing, dancing, and making people happy.2. What’s your favorite animal? Turtle (Dad) and Unicorn (Mom).3. What do you like ...

Spring 2025 Currently Coveting
One of my biggest misconceptions two years ago was that maternity leave was going to be a breeze. I was thinking it would be walk in the park, an extended vacation if you will. Boy was I wrong. I would easily argue that a full time job in an office is easier but I would not trade it for the world. This time around with Henry I am trying to prioritize spending time with my newborn and soaking in all of the cuddles even more - I will never be able to get this time back! However, that sadly comes at the determinant of other things and one of them is frequent posting on Sparkles & Shoes.The nice thing about the blog as while it is both a creative outlet and a secondary source of income, the world is not going to collapse if I do not post 5x per week. Heck, not even if I don't post ...

Two Months of Henry
Time - SLOW DOWN! How is it March already? The beginning of the year typically feels like it drags but this year is the opposite. The nights are long but the weeks are short and I no longer have a newborn. (According to the books I have read the newborn stage is only 8 weeks and now we are nearing nine!) A few things have changed since Henry's first monthly update but many - like nicknames and his favorite things, have remained the same. I am also happy to report Lily is warming up to him more!___Nicknames: Baby Bear, Big Boy, Little Man, Baby HenryFirsts: We moved earlier this month from New York City to the suburbs and in our new house Henry is now Stokke Tripp Trapp Newborn Set when we eat and loves it. The BabyBjörn Bouncer on the other hand was not as big of a ...