We’ve been super busy – with our heads down in our own little design word – so we wanted to take a break and let off a little steam. And how to we do that? With some crazy Mad Libs-style notecards that have our kids (and us) cracking up!
Links We Love – Sibling Edition
We design personalized baby gifts, big sister shirts, and big brother shirts because we just love the impact children have on our lives and want their special presence in families to be commemorated and celebrated. So in honor of National Sibling Day we’ve decided to highlight some of our posts over the years that celebrate sibs.
Big Sister Shirts and Sister Sayings and Big Brother Shirts and Brother Sayings
3 Reasons Being a Big Sister Rocks and 3 Reasons Being a Big Brother Rocks
Beautiful Sibling Photography
Super Sibling Love
Middle Name Inspiration
When you design personalized baby gifts for a living, you know a thing or two about names. But no matter how popular or uncommon a name is, we’re always fascinated by why parents chose that name. Middle names are usually even more interesting, maybe because parents feel they have a little more leeway to be creative or have an ability to pay homage to a relative whether they’re a fan of the name or not. Regardless, we thought Babble’s recent post on middle name inspiration (here) was a good source for ideas and have two ideas ourselves too, which we’ve shown with big sister shirts and big brother shirts.
Music – Names from your favorite song make a great choice because it’ll put a smile on your face whenever you hear that song. The middle names on these big brother shirts and big sister shirts were inspired by The Beatles, Rick Springfield, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. (Shown: Playful Doodles Big Brother T shirt; Patterned Delight Big Sister Tshirt; Love to Sketch Big Brother T shirt; Merry Menagerie Big Sister Tshirt)
Literary Characters – Whether it’s from a current bestseller or a childhood favorite, literary characters can become like a beloved friend, so choosing that name for your child’s middle name will allow that friendship to stay with you. The middle names on these big brother shirts and big sister shirts were inspired by The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Madeline, Gone With the Wind, and Little Women. (Shown: Stamped Style Big Brother T shirt; Tweet Tweet Big Sister Tshirt; Playful Owls Big Brother T shirt; Flower Power Big Sister Tshirt)
What inspired your child’s middle name?
Celebrate Siblings
National Sibling Day may be happening next month, April 10th to be exact, but at Petite Lemon, we think every day is a great day to celebrate siblings. That’s why we’ve created a fantastic collection of big sister shirts and big brother shirts with little sibling personalized onesies and tees to match. We know how much kiddos love wearing a big sister tshirt or big brother t shirt and showing off their role in their family.
Other ways to help your little ones celebrate having siblings? We’ve got a few ideas here:
Fill out a sibling interview sheet so they get to know each other’s favorite things. You can download one here.
Plan a special outing together. Whether it’s a day at the park or an outing for ice cream, having a child plan an activity for their sibling will give them a sense of responsibility to plan something they’ll both enjoy and get them excited to share a fun day together.
Have them create special Sibling Day cards and make it a yearly thing they look forward to like a birthday or do it on a monthly basis so they regularly show each other how they feel. And a few hours creating art is never a bad way to spend a day!
Sign siblings up for a class or team sport that will allow them to bond (and not compete against each other!).
Check out these other sibling related blog posts:
How do you help your wee ones celebrate their relationship?
What We Love Now: Fun Fonts
Of course we love princesses and race cars, animals and mermaids, but as creative types and designers of personalized baby gifts, we’re really into cool, fun fonts.
We love the quirky monster shapes of the Monsterrific personalized growth chart and the stocky letters of the Balloon Party and Up Up Away personalized growth charts.
Working with calligraphers Lindsay Letters on the Cupcake Cheer birthday shirt and Delightful Lettering Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt designs and Kal Barteski on the Birthday Scribbles birthday tee and Bright and Bold Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt designs was a total blast! It’s so much fun to work with other font obsessed designers.
And we did say we like animals, right? That’s why we incorporated some into a font with the Merry Menagerie Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt. Other fun shapes? Toys in the Kids Play Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt.
We’re always working on new fonts for our personalized baby gifts and can’t wait to share them with you.
P.S. Don’t forget you have until Sunday, 3/1 to get 15% off all personalized baby gifts. In honor of our 4th birthday, just enter happybirthday at checkout to save on all personalized onesies, 1st birthday shirts, and big sister tshirts and big brother t shirt designs, as well as personalized growth charts and alphabet posters.
The Benefits of Siblings
Have you seen Real Simple Magazine’s new Instagram account @WomenIRL? It shows those not-so-perfect, messy moments we all experience but rarely share on social media and it makes us love Real Simple that much more. Another reason to love this resource of smarts and simplicity? Their recent article, “Why Siblings Are Good For Your Health.” As creators of big sister shirts and big brother shirts, not to mention parents and siblings ourselves, this scientific research reminds us that even when the two (or three or more) of our kids are fighting each other or working together to drive us up the wall, it’s all totally worth it.
You can read the whole article here, but here’s a quick overview of the benefits:
Having a sibling may make you more selfless.
(Shown: Something to Say Big Brother T shirt; Tweet Tweet Big Sister Tshirt, Over the Rainbow Big Sister Tshirt; Taped Up Big Brother T shirt)
They may improve our mental health.
(Shown: Under Construction Big Brother T shirt)
They make us happier.
(Shown: Bold & Bright Big Brother T Shirt, Big Sister Shirt, and Little Brother Tshirt)
Siblings keep us physically fit.
(Shown: Super Big Brother T shirt; Kids Play Big Sister Tshirt; Colorful Big Sister Tshirt)
They could help you live longer.
(Shown: Delightful Lettering Big Brother T Shirt and Big Sister Shirt; I LOVE You Pick tee)
So thank you to our own siblings and parents for making us better people, and one day we think our little ones will thank us for their siblings too.
Welcoming a Little One Into the Family
Babble recently wrote a nice story on how parents can “trick” kids into liking the new baby. While we’re not crazy about the idea of “tricking” kids into things, as parents who have dealt with this transition, we totally get what they’re saying and appreciate the various ideas.
Of course, as designers of big brother shirts and big sister shirts, we completely agree with #3 – Get Them a Gift. We’ve used a big brother tshirt or big sister tshirt to help a new “big” get excited about welcoming a “little” and seen how helpful they can be in starting to establish a sibling bond.
(Shown: Only Child Expiring Big Brother T shirt; Something to Say Big Brother T shirt, Taped Up Big Sister Tshirt, I’ve Been Promoted To Big Sister Tshirt)
Another great idea they suggest? Read them stories about siblings. These stories not only help prepare kids, story time is another wonderful way to bond with your child. At this sometimes anxiety ridden time, reading together is perfect for a little one-on-one time.
Want to read more tips from Babble? Click here for the whole article by Lauren Hartman.
Family Birthday Movie Night
The family that celebrates together, stays together! Sounds fun too, right? If you have family members that share a birthday or have birthdays close together, why not throw a combined party that’s fun for everyone. A movie night – indoors or out – totally fits the bill!
We saw this backyard movie night party with a monogrammed “concession stand” on Project Nursery (details here) and thought it would be so sweet if all the kiddos dressed in coordinating personalized onesies, 1st birthday shirts, big sister shirts, and/or big brother shirts to show family pride. (Shown: Birthday Girl and Birthday Boy 1st Birthday Shirts; Modern Monogram and Classic Monogram personalized onesies; Playful Doodles Big Sister Tshirt and Big Brother T shirt).
For an indoor movie night party, we love this classic movie theater theme we found on Kara’s Party Ideas (details here). Choose personalized onesies, 1st birthday shirts, big sister shirts, and/or big brother shirts that complement the color scheme or movie genre, like superheroes for example. (Shown: Super Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt; Superhero Birthday and Happy to Be 1st Birthday Shirts; Playful Hello and Chic Color personalized onesies).
Five great movies that both kids and parents love include Up, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, The Incredibles, and The Princess Bride.
ABOUT A BOY
Last week we wrote about sibling love and the video that had us feeling a bit verklempt and so ready to send a big sister tshirt and little brother onesie to the cute-as-a-button sibs that stole our hearts (click here). Well readers, this week it is Babble that has our hearts melting with What It Really Means To Be a Little Boy’s Mama.
For our sons that will someday become grown men, writer Michelle Horton pretty much says it all.
Here are a few passages we seriously relate to along with some adorable shots of some of our favorite boys in their big brother shirts:
“Being a little boy’s mama means always going, moving, running, energy. It means muddy shoes, bandaged legs, and breath-catching stunts that nearly stop your heart.” (Shown: Kids Play Big Brother T shirt)
“It means playing certain games and watching certain movies that you really have no interest in, and yet still enjoy seeing through the ninja-superhero-karate perspective because it’s his perspective.” (Shown: Super Big Brother T shirt)
“It means finding rocks hidden around the house.” (Shown: Dig In Big Brother T shirt)
“Being a little boy’s mama will change you — harden you in some places, soften you in others — but will ultimately give the sweetest memories of when, for a brief period, you were everything to a sticky-faced little man.” (Shown: Retro Style Big Brother T shirt)
Read the whole sweet article here.
5 Back to School Essentials for 2014
As much as we wish it was still the dog days of summer, there’s no denying, it’s back to school time! That means time to go shopping for the necessities, like the five back to school essentials below which we’ve paired with complementary big brother shirts and big sister shirts.
- Notebook and supplies – Whether the wee ones are starting pre-K or above, it’s good to be prepared for a variety of subjects with pencils, paper, erasers, etc. (Shown: Playful Doodles Big Brother T shirt & Big Sister Tshirt)
- Backpack and/or lunch box – Not just functional, kids like something fun to haul all of their “stuff” in to and from school. Above is a fabulous round up of darling lunch boxes from Thrifty Littles!
- Jeans – a back to school staple, but if you want to try something new, the trend this fall is gray – not blue – when it comes to jeans. Pair them with big sister shirts and big brother shirts with gray accents and bright hues. (Shown: Stitched Style Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt; Patterned Delight Big Brother T shirt in Blue/Green, Jeans from TheGap.com)
- New shoes – From slip-ons to sneakers to boots, comfortable shoes are a must to take kids from the classroom to the playground. (Shown: Kids Play Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt, shoes from Nordstrom.com)
- Shirts – Conversation tees are very “in” right now and obviously our big brother shirts and big sister shirts fit the bill. The chalkboard themed Something to Say is perfect for back to school too!)