penny's vintage inspired montessori nursery

well, i've been meaning to do this for, oh let's see, a year now, and i've finally gotten around to sharing a peek into penny's nursery. we knew from the get go that we wanted to base her room around the Montessori philosophy, which you can read up on a bit HERE. in a nutshell, the room is set up to encourage interaction and exploration, with everything being completely baby friendly.

her room has changed some since she was an infant. in a Montessori nursery you should try to keep the decor and set up the same for the first year, so now that we're past the one year mark we've added a few more toys and elements for her to engage with that suit her current developmental stage. we also try to stick to the philosophy that if you surround a child with beautifully made toys they'll learn to appreciate such things at an early age. penny's toys are mostly wooden, or like her schleich animals, so gorgeously realistic that you wouldn't care for a single second that they're plastic! nothing she owns lights up or makes noise, unless it's a musical instrument, because the thought is that the type of play involved with those toys is already dictated and doesn't give a child a chance to really use their imagination. we use a Montessori style floor bed and have all the shelving at her level in her room. the idea behind that is that it not only further encourages exploration around her room, but it gives her a sense of value because everything in here is meant for her. when she's in her room she's not a small person living in an adult world. she can get to just about anything she'd like, and not feel frustrated with things out of her reach. the mirror next to the bed is geared more for the infant stages, but she still really enjoys making silly faces at herself! and there ya have it! this is just something that meant a whole lot to us when thinking about how to design her room. it's not the ideal for everyone, but i definitely believe it's worth giving a second (or third) thought to the things that surround our kiddos these days.

5/52

"a portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2013."

 

penny: this puzzle you're playing with here has been your absolute favorite for the past 6 months or so. you're now to the point where we can ask you where specific animals are and you open the right door. your little brain is soaking it all in everyday, not just the puzzle, but life as a whole, and it makes your daddy and i so proud!

a pizza date with my loves...

saturday we had a little family date to eat some pizza. it doesn't take much to make us 3 happy as little clams. just give us a little sunshine, some delicious nibbles, and no specific plans for a day, and we're good to go! oh, how i wish every day were a saturday...

i think it was especially enjoyable because of the freezing temperatures that kept us cooped up all of last week. i can't wait to see some spring!

4/52

"a portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2013."

 

penny: i hate to be the one to tell you this, but your parents are the ones who take you to restaurants, and stand you up on the tables so as to take pictures of you looking super cute. my apologies for any future embarrassment this brings you.

a first birthday party

last weekend we had penny's first birthday party. we were waiting until MLK weekend so that some of my family could fly down from NY to be here. it was a great little at home party, with just family and a couple close friends, complete with lots of homemade goodness. i was too busy just enjoying the day to remember to take a bunch of pictures, but here's a few i grabbed with my camera and phone. it was a "love" themed (all vegan) snacks and sweets party, which pretty much happened out of the blue when i fell head over heals for all the adorable valentines day decor out there (seriously target, you're killin' me!) oh, and you best believe these decorations are staying up until AT LEAST february 14th!