Why and How We Try to Avoid the “C” Word in our House No we are not reckless parents who let our kid does whatever he wants, consequences be damned. We have a toddler who is full of life and bursting with energy. He can take your breath away with a simple walk down the stairs let alone a bike ride or skiing. So why do we avoid saying “be careful” in our house. There are a few reasons. It adds nothing constructive It can cause the adverse reaction. It’s Not Constructive. Honestly, to a two year old climbing a precarious piece of play ground equipment, what does “be careful”…

Loading the Little One Into a Trailer for Spin Around the Lake Just a few days ago we took Bay Bear out for his first bike ride! Now, he wasn’t actually riding a bike. We tried, his legs are still too short for the balance bike. But, we do have an epic bike trailer that we bought gently used from friends. This thing is loaded. Not only does it have a full five point harness system with interchangeable pads to size it appropriately, but it also can convert to a jogger, and the wheels switch out for a set of skis. Yea, we’re obsessed. We didn’t take it out this…

My Favorite Gear for Little Bears on the Slopes In my last post, I pulled together tips and tricks for teaching your toddler to ski. I touched on some gear there but I’m going to take ski gear for toddlers a bit further in this post. Don’t panic, I’m not going to tell you to go out and spend a ton of money on a ton of different pieces. In this post I’m picking the few essential items that we won’t leave our cabin without. Harness: Snowsuits bulky and if you need to grab hold of your little one in a pinch, a handle makes a huge difference. We were…

Tips and Tricks that Transform Teaching into Playing in the Snow on Skis! Skiing is an adventure that lasts a life time. It transforms the winter from dreary to dreamy and creates fun for the whole family. Just because you can ski though doesn’t necessarily make teaching a toddler easy. In this post, I’ll show you how to teach your toddler to ski with the same tips and tricks that we use with our baby bear. Why listen to me? While yes, I am currently teaching my two year old to ski, I have my Level one certification through PSIA and worked as a children’s ski instructor for a few…

Learning to Pause and Reset, to Dissolve the Pressure to Be Productive. Yesterday I was reminded of an important lesson in motherhood. As moms, there is a pressure to be productive, to get everything done around the house, plus work and then some. It’s both societal and self imposed. We see images of moms who do it all and have it all together while they do it. They’re business owners, work from home moms, some are stay at home moms. And then we internalize this and create a need to get everything done. But the truth is, we don’t. This hit me square in the face yesterday. I woke up…

Because Every Baby Bear Needs an Outdoor Themed Nursery That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. Okay, in reality your teeny tiny baby can have whatever kind of nursery and turn out just fine, but we really wanted to have some fun and design an outdoor themed nursery. There is loads of inspiration for baby nursery’s on Pinterest so after you read this post be sure to follow up with that rabbit hole of all rabbit holes for even more tips, tricks, and inspiration. Finding Your True North When you are expecting your first child, there is a lot going on. You have a lot to prepare. You’re making…

The Key to Having Fun Outdoors Is Dressing for the Weather, Especially for Babies One of the biggest hurdles for families trying to get outdoors in the winter is how to dress for the weather. This is especially difficult for babies and toddlers who can’t really tell you whether they’re hot or cold. In this post I’m going to share information and tips on how to dress your baby for the snow from the tips of their toes up to their nose. Layers, Layers, Layers The first tip for dressing your baby for the snow is to dress them in layers. One thick layer may not be enough to keep…