Wish List & Traditions >> Urban Cub

We are excited to kick start a new series for the upcoming month of December.  We have 4 amazing guests that will be joining in to share what is on their wish list this year and what their holiday traditions are each Christmas season.  Today we will be starting off the series and will be sharing our wish lists and traditions with you all!

Brianna's List :

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 Brittany's List: 

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Brianna's Traditions:

We have a couple traditions that we do around the Christmas season and we do them to keep us in focus and remind us what Christmas is all about.  Every year our church hands out shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, which is put on yearly by Samaritans Purse.  Last year we involved Everly in this as much as possible, but she was still pretty young to really understand.  We are excited to do it again this year as she understands a lot more now.  We want to remind her yearly that Christmas is not only about receiving gifts, but about giving gifts as well.  We will take this time each year to go shopping for children that are less fortunate then us and allow her to pick out Christmas presents for these children.

This year we are bringing in a new tradition.  Everly has a "thing" for birthdays.  After her 2nd birthday she became a bit obsessed with the birthday song and sings it on repeat daily.  I told her, "You know who you will need to sing this song to soon?  Baby Jesus!"  And she quickly asked, "Birthday cake?"  So for some, you might be baking cookies and leaving milk out for Santa, and that's great too!  But this year, Everly and I will be baking a cake and as a family on Christmas day we will celebrate the Greatest Gift of all; Jesus' birth!  :)

Brittany's Traditions:
Growing up my parents didn't really have any traditions for us as a family, just the usual wake up and open presents on Christmas Morning. As a child this was all that I really cared about anyways. This sufficed for us though. We were always together around the holiday's and that was really the important thing. Since growing up without any traditions, I really wanted to have that ritual with my family when I had one. So I have started a few things around here hoping that most of them stick, but not expecting my outrageous attempt at making most everything a tradition!
The most important ones for us this season is picking out a Christmas tree together, and doing an Advent Calendar. We will be out of the country this year around and on Christmas, so I thought we would kind of introduce the Advent calendar with a bang! We aren't doing presents, just doing a spruced (no pun intended) up version of the calendar. We aren't going to have a lot of presents to open on Christmas Day, instead she will be getting on every day leading up to Christmas Day! I have enjoyed doing that this year. Making our Advent Calendar myself, picking out all the fun gifts and wrapping those fun gifts up. The anticipation for December 1st is slowly coming to an end and I couldn't be more excited to start this with Scarlett.
A few other things that we are going to try is decorating the tree as a family, The Elf on the Shelf, making Christmas cookies, and helping another family who is in need.
I think the most important thing for me is that we are all together. As long as we are together that is honestly a gift enough for me. There is nothing better than being with my family and making these memories with Scarlett. I hope that she will cherish this stuff as much as I do!

XOX
Britt and Bri

How about you guys?  What are the items on your wish list that you are just hoping you get?  Or what are some things that you celebrate and do every year around Christmas time?  We would love to hear!

Penguins >> For the Littles

Penguins are huge right now and quite frankly, I'm loving it...Really loving it!  You can put penguins on anything and it would be cute.  And a bonus, most penguin printed clothing and accessories are gender neutral, which is the way to go.  I love dressing Everly and Silas in gender neutral clothes, so I gave in and had to get a few of my favorites that are listed below...

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You really can't go wrong with printing wild life on children items.  I'm loving the other fads that are "in" right now too; foxes, deer, bears, wild cats...

What wild life prints are you into right now for your little one(or for yourself)?  I'd love to hear!

Fall >> Bucket List

This is my first year as a mom with a little one that is old enough to enjoy things for herself and make memories.  Everly will be 2, November 1st and she is pretty much fully talking and always asking us questions and constantly asking us to do things.  All through-out the month of October we have been doing fun Fall activities with Everly (and Silas), things that we hope they will enjoy and remember.  We created a Fall Bucket List and Everly is having a blast crossing things off the list.  Here are a few (okay, a lot!) pictures of our Fall so far!  

<<Apple Picking>>

<<Picking Pumpkins, Playing in the Corn Bin and Moon Bounce>>

^^I found mine^^

<<Hay Ride, Feeding Alpacas & Painting Pumpkins>>

<<Corn Maze>>

<<Lots of Walks>>

That's a wrap of our Fall so far.  Lots of memories in the making and being made every day.  This is such a fun season, and it's been even more fun watching my babies do things for the very first time.  

What are some things you are doing this season?  What are some fun things on your Fall bucket list?  I'd love to hear/see!  If you are on Instagram, tag us @urbancub and share!  :)

Summer with Scarlett >> 2013

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

                                                

-Angela Schwindt

Our summer was filled with so much fun and I wanted to share our memories here with you all! We started some traditions, and had a lot of new first. I love the quote by Angela Schwindt because it is so true. I learn so much everyday from Scarlett. I learn how to live again, because she sees things for the first time so I do too. Her love for life and learning is amazing. It makes me want to wake up everyday with fresh eyes and explore the world with her. Here are some of our photos from the summer. It was so hard to narrow it down because there were so many fun times.  

::1st Birthday photos::

::1st Birthday photos::

::Scarlett's Tea Party for her 1st Birthday::

This picture is one of my all time favorites of Scarlett, and really the only editorial one from her party. I love her dress that Harriets Haberdashery made for her awhile back. It was perfect for her Tea Party. 

::if you could hear her laugh:: 

These pixie crowns are available from <<--A Tiny Arrow-->>

::annual Summer Camp Family photo::

My mom started a tradition with my nephew a few years back, where her grandkids would come to her house for "Grandmas Summer Camp" for a few weeks. This year it was Scarletts first year, and I am already excited for next year. This is where Scarlett started walking, and growing leaps and bounds. We had so much fun doing all of the things that my mom had planned out. Celebrating birthdays, making our own water park, silly string wars, catching fireflies (and releasing them), painting pictures, spending days at the pool, and staying up way past our bedtimes are just a few things we did. I felt so lucky to have shared those memories with my family, and can't wait for Scarlett to start having her own memories of her "summer camp". 

pictures from my phone, that I couldn't leave out!

Nice To Meet You >> Yarnmade

We are pretty excited about this series, Nice To Meet You.  There are always new brands popping up or brands that we have yet discovered.  This series will be based around brands/businesses that are a new discovery for us, that we have just fallen completely head-over-heels for and have no choice but to share!  We are so thankful for the eager-hearted, talented and ever-so-amazing people in mankind who put their dreams into play and CREATE things and MAKE things for us to enjoy.  So in return we want to do our part and share!

Today we are happy to meet, Yarnmade and thank God, because I love it!  This brand is so simple, and looks so comfortable.  How often do you come across a brand where you love every item in the collection?  Yarnmade has mastered that every day wear look, which is perfect for any kid! 

A little bit of everything...

Really dying over the sweatshirts (perfect for Fall!)...  Here are out picks >>

This Sweden brand has just won our hearts.  To view the whole lookbook or to purchase your own favorites, visit: Yarnmade.  And the best part...They ship to the US!  ;)

Bordeaux >> For the Whole Family

When I think of Fall I think of warm colors, flannels, hats, and layers. I have been dying to bring out all my deeper colored clothes, especially this Wine-Bordeaux color. 

It is such a warm color, and this year they have it on almost anything. I love to have a piece that has bold color and then add fun patterns and colors around it. 

Bordeaux is so fun to play with. It is very universal and can go with just about any color. I had so much fun putting these outfits together. There were so many options that it was hard to narrow it down. 

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I hope this helps give you some fun ideas about how to style Bordeaux, and gets you in the mood for  comfortable sweaters and cold nights. Scarlett and I can't wait to layer up and have some snuggles. 

Comfy Knits >> For the Whole Family

Fall is my favorite season and time of the year by a long shot.  It just screams comfy and cozy, and come on, who doesn't love comfy and cozy?  

I threw together a list of my favorite knits for the whole family that I'm loving this season, because I know it's hard to find that "perfect fall sweater".  I definitely have to splurge and buy the Oeuf fawn sweater for Silas, because I just can't resist that cuteness...

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Tag yourself or your cutie wearing your favorite Fall knits on Instagram with hashtag #urbancub to link up with today's post and to see what other peoples favorite knits are!  Can't wait to see :)