Summer Trends Buying Guide for Your Little Fashionista!

The weather is becoming more consistently warm here now which means it's time to break out the summer clothes! I've started pulling Daphnie's summer wardrobe up from the basement, sorting through it and deciding what still fits and if it is 'her style' anymore. {I don't remember having any style when I was her age!} The first time I remember caring about my style was in the 4th grade. I had class with a girl who had the coolest clothes, we were instant best friends. {We formed the Spice Girls club together...annnnd ya...blonde hair...I was Baby Spice.}  

We were the coolest...
yeah.

ANYWAY.

My daughter has way more style than I had. Ever. And with such style comes the desire for lots of new clothes. So I thought I would put together a guide for what she is loving this season and where she loves to shop the most!

1. Overalls

There is nothing cuter than overalls right now. I'm loving the skirt overalls and short-alls. Check out these cute styles!

Abercrombie Kids

Forever 21

Target

2. Off-the-Shoulder Tops

I am loving the off-the-shoulder trend this season, and Daphnie is not any different! Here are a few styles she recently picked out:

Abercrombie Kids

Joyfolie

Children's Place

3. Shoes

Shoes are Daphnie's favorite. Her shoe collection is insane. I am incredibly jealous. Fashion sneakers, glitter, metallics and strappy sandals are among her favorite trends.

Joyfolie

Target

Vans

4. Swim Suits

If your child is anything like mine, she lives in her swimsuits all summer. Even when it's rainy outside, she will swim through the house in nothing but her 'kini! {she may literally be part mermaid} Ruffles, skirts and fun patterns {like cactus!} are so cute!

Tutu Du Monde

Stella Cove at Nordstrom

H&M

5. Accessories

No outfit is complete without as many accessories as you can possibly put on at a single time...I tend to have to limit Daphnie on her accessories as she likes to go overboard. But she has so many adorable accessories, who wouldn't want to wear all of them at once! Sunnies, Jewelry and #unicorneverything!

Modern Queen Kids

Abercrombie Kids

Forever 21

I hope this helps you when you're out shopping for your little love this summer!

Happy Shopping!

Child Modeling 101: Headshots

We just returned from our trip to NYC. This trip was soley based around getting Daphnie an updated set of headshots. I have been following the photographer I chose for months and absolutely loved her style and thought that she could shoot Daphnie and give her an advantage in her portfolio with some new headshots.

Munching on some Goldfish™ while getting hair and make-up by the adorable Tiffany Reeder

I chose Elizabeth Pettey. She is an incredible photographer and definitely was my first pick for headshots! Her pictures are gorgeous and vibrant. The children always look as if you just granted all of their wishes and still have lingering stars in their eyes. They are so full of pure joy formed into glistening rainbows that appear to splash beautiful color throughout the photo.

I have heard a lot of opinions on professional headshots and whether or not they are necessary for children since their looks are ever-changing. I, personally think they are necessary. We have not been in the industry for very long, but so far we have gotten a set of headshots every year and as her tooth situation changes I send our agent some recent snapshots.

Daphnie 2016 headshots shot by Elizabeth Weismann

Daphnie 2017 shot by me!

It is important to keep your child's pictures and portfolio as updated as you can. Casting Directors typically are looking for a specific 'look' when they cast children. If your headshots aren't up to date your portfolio may show a specific look that they are searchinf for, but when you go to the audition your child's looks have changed and possibly won't meet the 'vision' of the director anymore resulting in your time being wasted. On the other hand, if your headshots are outdated and a casting director is looking for a child that looks like your child looks now, but the old headshots are different, then you likely won't get chosen for an audition.

Okay, so now we've determined headshots are a good thing. So let's talk about choosing a photographer!

A child photographer is typically different than other photographers. It is possible that family photographers or fashion photographers can also be great child photographers. Here are the qualities that I look for and why, {not necessarily in this order}

1. Patient

Have you ever pulled out your phone or camera to take a picture of your child and they have 'ants in their pants' and not able to stay still? Typically during the capture-worthy moments, they are excited and there's a lot going on and the last place they want to look sometimes is at the camera. A good child photographer will be patient and will have techniques to wait for the perfect shot!

2. Friendly and Out-Going 

 Even the most out-going child has their moments of shyness, I know this because Daphnie is extremely out-going, but when put into a weird place, and depending on her mood at the moment she can have lapses of shyness. I'm sure with all children this occurs especially when they are in strange places and with people they aren't familiar with. It's so helpful if the photographer can quickly become 'friends' with your child.

3. Silly 

 When looking for a good photographer, I like to see how they work with other children. If they can talk in silly voices and make weird faces and ask funny questions while shooting your child, they are going to be able to capture some great faces! The more natural your childs smiles and faces are, the better the pictures will turn out!

4. Incredible Photography Skills 

 Obviously you want some great pictures of your little star, and to get those you need a good photographer. I have a pretty good camera and know my way around photoshop a little; but in absolutely no way do I see myself as a professional photographer. A 'mom with a camera' or 'dad with a camera' are no comparison to a truly skilled photographer.

Headshots do not need to be expensive. I would definitely do your research and make sure that what you are paying for is worth it. Make sure the quality is there and that the photographer can get your child to respond and make great photos!

I haven't seen Daphnie's headshots just yet, but from our experience with Elizabeth Pettey, I am very confident that they are going to be incredible! Keep an eye out on Daphnie's Instagram, I am sure to be posting them as soon as I receive them!  {can't wait!}

We just love Elizabeth! She's definitely on our favorite human list! {should I make a blog of our favorite humans?! lol}

Sunday Afternoon with Daphnie's Favorite Doll Stroller by Triokid™

There is nothing I love more than spending a nice relaxing Sunday with my family. It isn't terribly often that we get them, but when we do it's amazing! We got to have one of these ever-illusive days last weekend.

Everywhere we go Daphnie always wants to take a few different toys with us. So before we go anywhere Daphnie turns into a mini-auctioneer and starts her bidding high with the number of toys that MUST join us from her perspective and we debate down and down until we get to a reasonable number of usually 2. So on this sunday she requested to bring her new doll stroller from Triokid™ along with her BittyBaby™. I thought this would be the perfect day to bring along a baby stroller, so I agreed.

When the stroller first came in a few weeks ago, I was so excited! It was delievered right as I was leaving to pick Daphnie up from school. I couldn't wait for Daphnie to see it, so I hurried up and put it together so it would be sitting there waiting for her when we returned. There weren't that many parts and it was super easy to put together! When she opened the door when we got home she was greeted by her new Triokid™ stroller. She gasped followed by squeals of pure joy and then rushed to her room to grab the first baby doll that would take a test ride in her new stroller!

Needless to say, she and her stroller have been pretty insepearable since...she takes it everywhere! Brushing her teeth, taking a shower, bedtime story - her stroller and baby doll are always in-tow. So this wonderful Sunday afternoon was no different.

We packed up the stroller, my camera and our family dog, Cupcake, and headed out for the afternoon. We first took a stroll through the park where Daphnie played on the playground. When she had enough of the endless swings and slides we departed for lunch.



In our smallish city we have an older part of town right along the riverfront where many buildings have been rehabbed or replaced. There are many little restraunts and bars along the way. We picked a bbq place for lunch and sat on the patio. We parked Daphnies baby stroller right next to her chair so she could feed her baby while we waited for our food.

The BBQ was delicious, we all left feeling a bit heavier than when we arrived for sure! As we walked along the sidewalk on the riverfront Daphnie pushing her stroller, she just beamed with delight! I don't know that she could have felt more happy at that point in time, you could tell she was so proud as passer-bys would comment about how cute she was with her little Triokid™ stroller.