What We're Wearing Wednesday: Summer to Fall

We are trying to hold onto summer for dear life around here. I'm not ready for it to go! Whether you wear summer clothes all year or you're looking to stock up for next spring/summer, one of my favorite summer outfits is on sale now!!!

Is this romper not the cutest?  It is currently $22!

And it looks so cute in photographs with green grass!

Now, this next little dress is an awesome transition piece for summer to fall! Bonus this dress is only $16 on sale right now at Carter's. 

My uncooperative little model wore it by itself to church this week in the 90+ degree weather. It looks great with little sandals.

But, as it gets colder I think it would also look great with a cardigan...

Or worn like a jumper with navy or white underneath...

Or even a chambray shirt underneath....

I think any of these would look precious with tights and ankle boots! I can tell we are definitely going to get our $16 out of this dress! 

BabyLit Art

Children's literature illustrations are hands-down my favorite type of art. I think they're magical. One of my favorite children's literature companies is offering tons of awesome prints of their artwork.

When working to decorate Caroline's nursery, and then later her big girl room, I knew I wanted to decorate with some of these illustrations. Maybe another day I'll show you some more of those pics...

(And yes, I would tear apart a book for a picture. Still cheaper than buying a print somewhere else.)

Anyways, I found these precious books from BabyLit. The BabyLit books take an old classic such as Pride and Prejudice and uses it to teach counting. Sense and Sensibility is used to teach opposites. Emma is used to teach emotions, etc.... They are super cute!

I fell in love with the art in all of these books, but since they were board books I opted not to cut any up to frame a pic. So, I just chose one to leave open face on a shelf:

Cutest little Pride and Prejudice book!!!

My favorite page is the very first one!

I still think the little open book is pretty cute, but if I were doing the girls rooms again, I would probably purchase some of these prints from the illustrator's website.

Aren't these so cute and whimsical?!?! And, they have all kinds of themes that would tie into almost any nursery design whether it be nautical, woodland animals, florals, jungle, travel, pirates, and so on!

I absolutely love these prints...Check out these books or look into buying the prints. Either way, you will enjoy some eye candy with these illustrations.

We Love Highlights for Toddlers

Highlights magazines always makes me think of a pediatrician's office. I loved highlights as a kid, but I had no idea they have a toddler version until my aunt ordered them for Caroline's first birthday last year.

Hello Highlights have become one of our favorite things. Caroline has had at least one of these read to her every single day for the last 9 months. She does not tire of them. And they are ALL OVER our house.

So here are some of the details:

*Geared toward ages 0-2
*16 pages
*It's smaller, has durable, wipeable pages, rounded corners
* Includes short stories, simple to-the-tune-of songs, poems, and the ole highlights "Find It" section
*Pictures tend to have lots of colorful objects for words you would be working on with your 1 year old.
*Filled with little parent tips for other ideas for using the magazine to further their language and literacy.

***Bonus, these are small and fit great in a diaper bag or purse, unlike bulky board books you normally use for toddlers. Great for traveling when you're short on space.

*****Bonus bonus, we have traveled with these, slept with them, spilled milk on them, etc. They have survived a lot, which I'm thankful for, because as Caroline outgrows them later, Molly Kate will still be able to enjoy them!

She has to sleep with one every night.

Caroline LOVES the find it page. We got the latest one in the mail last week.

She is currently 22 months. When we first got these, I would have her "point to the slide, point to the dog," etc.... Now, I just ask her what she sees on the page and she will tell me every word she knows. Now we are trying to add in shapes, size words, position words, etc. 

I think these are absolutely amazing for language development in toddlers. For about $40 you get 12 of these. I feel like I'm going to say this a lot on this blog, but I really think these would be an amazing Christmas or Birthday gift.

I'll leave you with a little video of my Billy Ray Cyrus Baby in mismatched pajamas. In this video she was 16 months. It is hard to tell, but she starts out "reading" a page that had a story, then she breaks into singing when she turns to the page with a song. 

I hope you all check out these awesome little magazines!

What We're Wearing Wednesday!

My girls have been sporting some cute outfits, that are very very affordable, so I thought I'd share! I really love a good deal. The end of any season is a great time to buy things for the next summer, or buy baby shower gifts!

Caroline's green embroidered dress is from Target, and is currently on clearance for 9.98!! It her very first item from the bigger girl (non-toddler) department. It's a little big, so I'm sure it will fit next summer! It is SO cute on her!

Molly Kate's dress is from gymboree. It isn't online anymore, but I've seen some on clearance racks in the store recently.

Pouty, sleepy girls.

Molly Kate's cute Baby Boden Summer Printed Play Set is on sale for $22! They have other patterns as well. These would make a really nice gift.

So, probably the best steal of all would be Caroline's first day of school dress from Carter's. This polka dot denim dress is so cute. It is on sale for $20.40, but there are always Carter's coupons flying around the internet, so you could get it for less. 

I feel like it is a real steal because of the amount of use you can get out of a multi-seasonal dress like this. She wore this on a warm day with her simple, Carter's Mary Jane Sneakers, but I will put her in this dress with tights and boots through the winter as well. 

Love the little belt!

Y'all this cute skirt is $5.99 at Kohl's!!!!!! They have other cute patterns, too. (actually a skort!)

It's hot enough here, that I still feel like white is appropriate, but we will wear this with other colors into the fall. (My little model was clearly not interested in being photographed.)

Finally, Molly Kate in her cute Kickee Pants outfit. It isn't online anymore, but if you aren't familiar with this brand, you've got to check it out!! It's a little more expensive than the Kohl's skirt, but darn if their clothes aren't the softest items I have ever felt!!!! We have a few of their pieces and blankets, and I'm obsessed. I love snuggling my babies when they're wearing this brand. Anything from this company would make an awesome shower gift and that person would think of you every time they dress their baby in the item.

And lastly, to keep it super real, I can't even link these because this lovely ensemble is brought to you  by Sam's club. Perfect for the park. :-)

The Most Important Story

Jesus.

When I think of Him and His life, there are so many roles he played. Child, son, brother, friend, carpenter, healer, king, and the list could go on. I love thinking about His role as a teacher.

God in the flesh was a master teacher. Think about that.

He did not have fancy technology or engaging materials or fancy foldables or creative crafts or an objective written on a white board. All the things we think a productive classroom has to have today.

Jesus taught with story. His stories, His parables. As a teacher, He used stories to take abstract concepts such as mercy and forgiveness and made them concrete for our feeble minds. Great teaching doesn't need fancy equipment. Jesus shows us that the best lessons can be learned simply from sharing a story.

I believe the power of story speaks to the human spirit. I'm not a theologian or a minister or anything of the sort. But, I am a follower of Jesus, and I know He is the ultimate teacher. I believe in Jesus. I also believe in the power of a story.

On this blog, I am excited to share some of my favorite children's literature and children's stories. But, I could not start this blog without talking about a few ways to share The Most Important Story with children starting right from the beginning.

My girls are very young, so these are simple, but this is where we are at for now.

The old classic. 

Simple words and simple pictures tell the stories.

Mom's new favorite. 

Love love love the tag line "Every story whispers his name." This is so precious and so beautifully written. I find it touching and inspirational, and I'd probably read it even if I didn't have kids. I used to read it to Caroline when she was a tiny newborn. Right now, she just can't sit through a whole story, so it is on the shelf for a bit. But we get back to it someday.

Caroline's current favorite. 

A friend at church shared this one in our Bible class a while back. It's a board book with a soft lamb on the front! Double wins. We knew Caroline would love it, since she is very into anything with animals on it lately, so we ordered it on Amazon that Sunday.

 She often requests to sleep with this Bible, which I think is so sweet. This Bible works well for our almost-two-year-old-peanut-attention-span-girl because each story is only one page in poetry form. She loves the rhythm of the poems and she also loves the pictures. This Bible would make an awesome baby shower gift. 

I'll leave you with a sweet little video of Caroline "reading" this Bible. We are still a little unclear on the fact that the Egyptian Princess is not "Baby Mo-Mo's" mama, but we will get there ;-).  

Thanks for reading, and I would LOVE hearing any other children's Bible suggestions, especially to use as my girls get older. 

About Me

Welcome to Cowtown Caroline! I'm Casey, and I'm a former elementary school teacher who is spending a little time at home raising our two daughters in one of the most fun cities around! 

I started blogging about my classroom happenings a few years ago at Cardigans and Curriculum. I took a hiatus for a while, and during that time I continued to teach as we welcomed two sweet baby girls into our family.

Sweet Caroline- 2013

Our family of 3, July 2014

July 2015 we became a family of 4!

Beautiful Molly Katherine

Our girls.

I am so thankful to be home with these sweethearts, but I do miss the classroom, and I can't seem to turn off that part of my brain....

Of all the aspects of teaching, I am the most passionate about children's literature. I love all things literacy, and I LOVE a great children's book, whether it be a quality board book, a lovely illustrated tale, or a youth novel. So, I started blogging again at Cardigans and Curriculum about utilizing great literature in the classroom. My writing over there tends to be a bit more technical and is centered around classroom instruction, grades 3-6. 

I wanted to start this blog to write a little more about raising girls and utilizing great literature in the home. 

Above all, I am a follower of Jesus, and aim to raise our girls to follow as well. I hope you find this blog to be uplifting. Secondary to that, I hope you find inspiration to read great books to the children in your life!