Bean Baby - Jack

I just HAD to post this picture of Colorado’s own Jack. His parents Becky and Brian posted it on their blog and I couldn’t help stealing it for ours!

Judging from all this pics of him with a computer, I have a feeling Jack might be bloggin’ one day too!

Thanks Beck and Brian, miss you guys!

Childproofing 101

I have some friends who recently bought an awesome condo in downtown Denver - high ceilings, modern details, roofdeck, and so on. The place is super cool, but now that they have a baby on the way, that cool metal staircase takes on a whole new significance. So how do we keep little ones safe in their everyday surroundings?

Babble has an excellent article about childproofing from the head of an organization (quite descriptively) called Childproof-America. It makes some good points - about parents choosing form over function and mistaking childproofing for a fail-safe fix. This is by no means an exhaustive overview of the issue though - feel free to send in any comments about your own experiences!

Bean Baby - Felipe

What a cutie pie! Sandra sent in this photo of little Felipe rockin' his New York Hoodie!

We think that the New York and Brooklyn hoodies are a must for any baby with a connection to the area...and man does it look adorable!

Hi, My Name is Speck

As a former fashion exec, I still keep a subscription to that over-the-top fashion monthly known as Vogue. The August issue this year is calling itself the "Age(Less) Issue", and I will give them some credit for actually featuring smart and successful women of all ages (I can't say the same for the "Shape" issue, but that's another story entirely).

Anyway, there's a section this month entitled "Model Decades", which features four models of differing ages and their personal style philosophies. Two of the four models have kids, and as I read about them I was reminded of a post that Gail wrote about baby names. Here goes: Yasmin Le Bon's daughters are named "Amber" and "Saffron". Elaine Irwin and her husband John Mellencamp named theirs "Hud" and "Speck". Just when you think you've heard them all......

Bean Baby - Ellie

Sarah from Brooklyn sent in this pic of her adorable little niece, Ellie. Sarah gave her our Egg Organic Poet Tunic as a gift when she was born, and it looks simply marvelous on her!

The great thing about this tunic is that it can be worn as a dress at first, and as the baby grows it can become a cute top. Looks adorable with a fun pair of Babylegs!

"Seining" the Hudson

Brooklyn Bridge Park is hosting something pretty interesting this coming weekend - an opportunity for kids to see what sea creatures are living in the water surrounding NYC. Experts from the Coastal Marine Research center will be dropping a 30-foot seining net net into the Hudson River and seeing what they find! Sounds like a great opportunity for kids to have fun and learn something about the ecology of their city. I know some adults (myself included) that might be curious as well!

The fun takes place this Saturday 7/26 at 10am.

Bean Baby - Jade

How great is my job, that I get to look at these adorable faces all day?? Julie from Chicago sent us this pic of gorgeous little 2-month old Jade, celebrating her very first 4th of July.

Mom Julie says, "This is a picture of our 2 month old baby girl, Jade. We were at the beach at night where it was considerably colder than earlier in the day. She was wearing the pink and white sweater one piece and matching hat that I had purchased before she was born. She looked adorable and it kept her warm against the chilly ocean air. We love your store!"

I guess Jade wasn't the only one who cozied up to the striped coverall this summer - we are sold out! Find her tiny hat here.

Babies Who Brunch

Being a New Yorker means you probably have an unhealthy obsession with the weekend tradition known as Brunch. What’s better than rolling out of bed late on a Sunday and being served a big platter of french toast or eggs benedict?

But when you have a baby or two, this age-old (lazy, hangover curing) meal becomes something entirely different: sleeping in is firmly in your past, and bringing a kid to a restaurant is a bit daunting to some parents, to say the least! Anyone who’s tried to keep a child calm while trying to have a “civilized” meal knows what I’m talking about!

Time Out Kids has a helpful article on their website, mapping out the best brunch spots for kids. Bubby’s is of course on the list – I have heard that the Tribeca outpost actually has VALET for strollers…could this be true or is it just an urban myth??

Anyway, dear readers, check out their list and let me know if you have any to add! I know there’s gotta be more in Park Slope…..
:)

Ow, Charlie!

I’ve seen this before, but someone sent it in, and it still makes me laugh every time!

Thanks, Eda!

Bean Baby - Violet Snow

How precious is little Violet? Parents Jeanne and Jon are over the moon for her - and now the rest of us are too! She looks so cute in her little Bean New York tee. You've gotta love that little belly!

My friend Julie is Violet's aunt, and has given her tons of great stuff. Julie's a pretty good judge of what the little ones will like, too: she suggested that we get these Angel Dear Blankies....now some of our top sellers!

Thanks J&J - it's always a pleasure to see the latest pics of Violet. Keep 'em coming. :)

Bean Baby Debut - Russell!

15-month old Russell's parents got our Reversible London Cargo Pants from my good friends Pete and Juno (the spoiling uncle and aunt) when he was just a few months old - and he's been wearing them ever since. Mom and Dad were nice enough to send in these lovely words:

Mom Kim says:
"I don't really know how to convey the greatness of those pants in words. Not only are they madly cute but he can wear the clean side, and then the OTHER clean side out....and since they are double thick they are the only pair of pants he has that have survived his crawling without getting holes in the knees."

Dad Marcus says:
"Russell loves to crawl, and his stripey pants are the only pants that don't have holes in the knees after months speeding around on all fours. We love them!"

Apparently he likes to DANCE in them too! Thanks guys, for making your little guy our first Bean Baby!

Send Us Your Baby Pics!

We're pretty excited about this new BeanBlog feature!

We've had a lot of people email us with pics of their little ones wearing Bean clothes, and we thought it would be a great idea to post them so we can all gaze upon their cuteness!

Send us a photo of your baby (or a baby you know) in Bean Clothes and you'll be entered in a monthly (random) drawing for a special gift - this month's prize: a $50 gift certificate! We'll announce the winner Friday, August 15.

Email all pics to BeanBabyBlog@gmail.com, and please include a comment!

Playing DressUp

We’ve been big fans of Empress Arts for awhile, but they’ve truly outdone themselves with their summer linen collection. Everyone seems to have more parties to attend in the hot months, and this stuff couldn’t be more perfect for weddings and other formal affairs.

We’ve sold a ton of the Heathcliff Romper and the Briony Dress, which have an old-timey, classic feel. The Cecelia Dress is another favorite, a layered confection that looks like something out of a fairy tale. Can’t wait to see what they come up with for Fall!

Sitter Dilemmas

Last night I was talking with a friend of mine whose sister and her husband have a 6-month-old. Her sis is thinking about going back to work in the Fall, and they’re starting to look for a sitter/nanny to watch her baby while she’s at work. This presents two pretty big issues: how to deal emotionally with spending less time with the baby she’s spent 24/7 with all her young life; and who to trust with her precious baby. These issues are widespread – another mom I know said she wept for the first couple of weeks when dropping her little boy at day care….and she knew she could count on the sitter!

Leaving your little one with a new sitter is a big enough hurdle to get past, but before that the question remains – how to find the perfect caretaker? Word-of-mouth seems to be the preferred method among my friends: having a recommendation from someone you trust goes a long way. In my Brooklyn neighborhood, community bulletin boards are covered in fliers advertising “experienced” nannies. I’m curious how many people actually answer these ads, and how many sitters find work this way.

Please share your experiences and tips!

Bestseller Alert - Brooklyn and New York Hoodies

We’ve had these Brooklyn and New York baby hoodies since the very early days of Bean, and they’ve been among our top sellers all this time! As a NY-based business, we obviously have a lot of local customers…..but we also sell a ton of them to people in other parts of the country! Just last week we shipped one to Colorado and one to Washington State.

Just goes to show, you can take the baby out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the baby!

Brooklyn Hoodies are available in 3 colors, New York in red only. Makes an awesome gift!

"Slow Food" for Babies

I just started volunteering at the Astor Center, this really cool culinary space in the East Village that hosts a ton of interesting classes about food and cooking. Looking through the class calendar, I came across this one - it looks perfect for parents interested in local and sustainable food and "slow food" techniques:

Slow U: Feeding Baby the Slow Way with Galen Zamarra

Zamarra, chef of Mas (Farmhouse) is a new dad and has started using his culinary talents to making his own baby food. In this class, he'll show us how to do it ourselves. The Slow Food movement is based on principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice, all of which sound pretty good to me, especially in today's world.

Now, I'm sure one or 2 busy moms and dads will scoff at the idea of actually having time for such pursuits - but I bet the class will open the eyes of even the most time-crunched parent.

Bestseller Alert - Kate Quinn Organics

Having a retail business is a funny thing - one week will be insanely busy and the next will be slow as can be. Being the super-techy folks that we are (har har), we keep track of where our visitors are coming from to keep an eye on what items are on people's radars. One brand that has been at the top of the list since we started selling it is Kate Quinn Organics.

As consumers begin to become more concerned with the origins of the products they buy, organic items have become more and more popular. We like brands like Kate Quinn not only because they make supremely soft, chemical-free organic cotton, but also because they tend to support fair trade practices, sustainable farming, and environmental preservation. This particular brand is great because in addition to all these things they make the cutest, most colorful things!

I absolutely love the new colors of baby sacques that we just got in. The biggest seller? Probably the wrap onesies.

What's in a Name?

You've heard the tale of the innocent couple who chose the perfect name for their baby - just the right ring to it, not TOO exotic, yet they've never known anyone with that name - so it's unique, right? Fast-forward to the baby's 2nd birthday - Daddy calls to his tyke at the sandbox and 20 little faces look up! They still love the names, they just didn't realize how many others were thinking the same thing! What causes this phenomenon? Something in the water? The collective unconscious?

The pendulum swings and old names sound so fresh again. My great aunt Isabelle, while I was growing up, seemed much too modern for her "old-lady name". Now that lovely name is back and sounds so perfect. (But does her sister Josephine's sound as perfect?)

Baby boomers tried to name their kids less traditional names, with mixed results...but understand we had 2 or 3 Bobbys on every block! (Maybe Linda, Mary, Billy, Jane and Jimmy may be due for a resurgence when we're 100!)

Sending baby gifts from Bean gives us a constant supply of names - just when we think we've seen them all, there's a new one!
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Please send us your comments on baby names: the process, the stories, the lists, the finale! And how about names for multiples? Or just share some names you're loving right now.