Stokke Steps

Wow. Stokke does it again.

We really love our Stokke Tripp Trapp; check out the new Stokke Steps.  You can make it a table level chair for a bouncer, add a highchair seat, or adjust it as is.

And it’s so pretty!

Sold on Amazon: Stokke Steps.

Talltape

I’ve always loved the idea of marking out your kids’ heights on a wall or doorframe. I picture years and years of scratch marks recorded in the laundry room, a record of growth spurts that remains well after they’ve headed off to college. But the chances that you’ll stay in the same house—will the same laundry room—for all of those years is, for most of us, slim. So whenever I see a good alternative, I can’t help but take note.

This one is called Talltape, and what I like about it (because there are a few options out there now) is: a. it’s portable, and can be rolled up into a canister for storing if you don’t want to display it all the time; b. it’s wide enough to mark multiple children on one and tall enough to stretch into most adulthoods (6’6″ doesn’t quite accomodate Aron, but that’s a…er… tall order) ; and c. it comes in basic white! like your wall! (In addition to fairies and the like.) Most of the one’s I’ve seen are covered in art I’d likely grow tired of and only stretch to three or so feet. Hudson is already 40″ tall!

Talltape has been available in Europe for a few years now, but is just now being released in America.

You might recall that we have something similar in Hudson’s room, called Life’s Journey Measuring Stick. He loves standing up beside it (you can see it on the door frame, below) and will hand me a book as he wedges his heals against the baseboard. It’s a bit narrow for marking both his and Skyler’s heights, but I think we’ll manage. And though I love the nostalgic link to those old wooden rulers and its simple, pared down design, it would ideally sit flush with the wall a bit more easily. But either would be a sweet way to preserve a special memory.

P.S. The monthly baby photos we save; our kids’ rooms; and my (updated) baby registry guide.

Date Night: the Napa Wine Train

We’ve been visiting Napa and Sonoma for years, but it wasn’t until last week that we finally spent an evening enjoying the Napa Valley Wine Train. We’ve seen it glide past (while we’ve sat at a red light, roshambo-ing for the role of designated driver) and have always been curious. So when they offered us a chance to come aboard for a date, I didn’t hesitate.

In case you aren’t familiar with it, the Napa Valley Wine Train is an antique train (think refurbished 1915-1917 Pullman Cars) that runs on 25-miles of track through the valley while you sip wine and eat a multi-course meal (prepared onboard). This summer, it celebrates its 25^th anniversary!

Here are some scenes from the evening—which was gorgeous!

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