Decorate with lots of soft but colorful flowers, and have a dessert bar full of treats along with goodie bag for guests to fill and take home. Use vintage dishes to add a fun spin on traditional plates and bowls.

And for the birthday girl, let her wear a crown of flowers and set up an area for mini photo shoot to capture all the smiles from the day.

So sweet, right?

Links: 1. Invite via Babble 2.Flower Pouf via Life Life in Lime 3. Cupcakes via Hostess with the Mostess 4. Cake via Kara’s Party Ideas 5.Crown via Stella and Livi 6. Goodie Bags via Plum Pretty Sugar 7. Plates via Allemaal Kleurtjes 8. Hanging Flower Balls via Fine Stationary

Today’s boy’s room theme is airplanes with a palatte of blues, reds and creams – a perfect color scheme and room theme that is versatile through out his childhood.

Fun accents like an airplane mobile, a propeller ceiling fan and metal letters spelling out the word FLY on the wall tie this adorable room all together.

The airplane swing is adorable, isn’t it?

Links: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Rub-a-dub-dub, how’s this for a tub?

I like the sleek lines and the stand that lets you give baby a bath anywhere you want. It’s called Bato by Hoppop, and it comes in bright aqua and lime, too!

Updated Duckies!

A plain, yellow bathtub duckie apparently won’t cut it when it comes to an over-the-top tub. Fortunately, our beloved bath toy has gotten a top-to-bottom make-over. They actually look a little happier, don’t they?

The ducks you see here are by Bud by Design, and this is only a few of the colors and designs the company offers.

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Fashionable Flouncing and Bouncing…

Looks like a contemporary lounge chair you might find in one of those ultra-modern, upscale Park Avenue flats, but no. It’s just the nextgen bouncer where babies can expend their endless energy. Called the Coco Lounger, the bouncer is safe and comfy, and it comes in clear plexiglass, white wood, natural wood, dark wood and a variety of seat colors.

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Hi, Chair!

This high-fashion feeding station from Svan is environmentally friendly and ergonomic. As you can see from the photo, the chair can be adjusted as the child grows. Pretty nifty! The chair comes in several wood colors, and you can buy cushions for it in colors to match your decor!

Lighten Up and Brighten Up!

I love these! They’re called “Twist-Together” lamps by The Twist-Together Company, and you can arrange them in any number and color combination you’d like.  They’d be absolutely adorable in a nursery decorated in primary colors. In the photos I’ve seen, the light is diffused—providing just a small amount light when baby sleeps.

Even teens, college students and homeowners with a lively sense of style might find these illuminating fun! Like all the items I’ve included, the lamps are available online and at a number of stores.

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When the Going Gets Tough…

It’s nice to have a comfy chair to get going in. I was quite taken with the Potty Bench from Boon, Inc.  The toilet trainer has some cool features–the sturdy drawer slides out for fast, leak-free, easy clean-up.  Close the lid and the whole thing turns into a large step stool. It even comes with a built-in toilet paper holder and removable, soft deflector shield that flexes where it counts.

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Speaking of going, I must, because I have all kinds of baby stuff to check out before we meet again! Have fun until next time!

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Please Read On…

Kids who go to bed early and get up early are less likely to become obese than those who do not, according to an Australian study released Friday.

Children who went to bed late and got up late were 1.5 times more likely to become obese than those who went to bed early and got up early, researchers from the University of South Australia found.

Kids who stayed up late were also almost twice as likely to be physically inactive and 2.9 times more likely to sit in front of the TV or play video games for more hours than guidelines recommend.

It Makes Sense

The researchers concluded that mornings were more conducive to physical activity than nights, as kids were often distracted with prime-time TV and other sedentary activities in the evening. Sound familiar? If we’re going to turn this childhood-obesity problem around, we need parents to care enough about the well-being of their kids to step up their parenting when it comes to nutrition and physical activity.

Make It A Family Affair

“It” is healthy eating and exercise. You’re in control of what your kids (newborn to teens, at least) eat and, to a great extent, how they spend their time.  Involve your kids in meal preparation; let them help you find healthy recipes they think they’d like. Engage them in the kitchen and talk about good nutrition. Remind them of the consequences of poor eating habits (but not at the expense of others who are dealing with the problem), encourage them to try new, healthy options for snacks. Take walks as a family in the evenings. Hold games and relay races for kids in your neighborhood; get other parents to participate in organizing. Not only will you know what your kids are up to in the afternoons and evenings, you’ll also know the activity is good for them! Resistant kids? What a surprise. Just remind yourself who’s the parent…

Starting from Birth

In an earlier post, I offered this recommendation from recent British government studies:

For babies who can’t walk yet, the government says physical activity should be encouraged from birth, including infants playing on their stomach and swimming sessions with their parents.

That gets babies moving, and Corner Stork is here to help in the “sleep” department (not that newborns don’t get plenty of sleep!) You’ll find lots of adorable sleep-time layette sets among our Baby Clothes, including the ultra-adorable “Big Dreamzzz” Baby MD (a great Halloween costume, too!) Get your children into good sleeping, eating and exercise habits, and, throughout their lives, they’ll require fewer MD visits! Happy Hump Day!

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We’re thrilled to announce that the winner of our 6th Anniversary $66 Giveaway is Rita! Congratulations, Rita! I’ll be in touch with you today to tell you how to access your gift certificate! Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

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Let it now also be said, “The Mom that Writes the Blog Rules the Web.”

It’s true! As early as 2009, mom bloggers were one of the fastest growing, most powerful groups, both online and offline. Today, they dominate.  If you’re a mom who writes a blog, I tip my hat! If you’re a mom without a blog, here’s why you should start one:

• It’s a fabulous place to vent your feelings. You can pour your emotions into your writing–just take care not to throw your family and friends under the bus.
• Connect with other moms on an intellectual and supportive level–give and receive advice and good ideas about anything, like parenting, the environment, couponing, travel, food, fashion. It’s a way to express your personal passion!
• You realize you’re not alone in experiencing life’s ups and downs.
• It’s an opportunity to be creative.
• You have the potential to help thousands of other women with a single post.
• Your blog can become an additional income stream!

Oh, and it’s free!

As you can tell, I’m still reeling from the amazing weekend I had at the BlogHer ‘11 conference in San Diego! Mom bloggers seemed to be the biggest bunch, and I’m happy  to say, I met a lot of them. You’d be in awesome company! I found this page at EverythingMom.com (http://tinyurl.com/yab6v72) that will take you through the steps to start your own blog.

Lots of mom bloggers do product reviews, and here at Corner Stork, we have hundreds of products for you to review! And we do lots of giveaways on mom blog sites to help you give your readers an opportunity for free stuff!

If you’re a budding mom blogger, let me know, and I’ll either send you a product for review, provide a product for a giveaway and/or write a guest post for you about trends and new products on the market, among other things! Speaking of new products, Baby Aspen (our absolute favorite, unique baby gifts designer and manufacturer) will be launching some outstanding new sleeps sets, snuggle sacks and socks sets in September.  We can’t wait, and we promise–as soon as they launch, YOU will be the first to know—because I’ll be writing a blog post!  Here’s a hint about Baby Aspen’s new addition to their “Big Dreamzzz” PJs collection:

Zooooooooooooom!

You’ll just have to come back to see what’s cookin’!

Almost 20% of US Children and Adolescents are Officially Obese

Here’s what you need to know:  A child is considered obese when the weight is at least 10% percent higher than what is recommended for the height and body type. For example, a six-year-old girl who’s 41″ tall should weigh 46.2 lbs. If she weighs 50.82 pounds, she’s considered obese. That’s around five pounds overweight (not much in our adult minds), yet for children it’s considered obese. Obesity most commonly begins in childhood between the ages of 5 and 6, and during adolescence. Studies have shown that a child who is obese between the ages of 10 and 13 has an 80% chance of becoming an obese adult.

I can’t express how painful it is to grow up fat. If your young daughter is overweight, and she tells you she’s happy, she’s lying. Sadly, it’s a growing problem (no pun intended) in the US, as well as overseas. If you want to keep your new baby from becoming a statistic of the worst kind, take this information to heart:

The British government says children under five — including those who can’t walk yet — should exercise every day.

The new guidelines were issued Monday, partly to fight the obesity epidemic.

In them, the department of health says children under five who can walk should be physically active for at least three hours a day. Officials say parents should reduce the amount of time kids spend being sedentary, like watching television or strapped in a stroller.

For babies who can’t walk yet, the government says physical activity should be encouraged from birth, including infants playing on their stomach and swimming sessions with their parents.

Officials hope encouraging young children to exercise will prevent them from becoming obese adults later, which could put them at risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Your Baby’s Fat Fate Is In YOUR Hands…

It’s time to get busy, Mom. The absolute best personalized baby gift you can give your child is a healthy lifestyle from infancy.

AAAAAAOn behalf of your children, I thank you from the bottom of my now-healthy heart.

Eva Ottosson of Nottingham, England, waved goodbye to her baby-bearing years a while ago. Her daughter, Sara, cannot have children because of a serious birth defect that left her without a womb. Long story short, they’re about to do the first human womb transplant ever! Mom Eva is giving her daughter her womb so she can have a baby.

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IF IT WORKS, IT’S HUGE!

This surgery, which will be performed in Sweden, has never been done on humans before. Experimental womb transplants  have been done successfully on mice, who carried and gave birth to babies via transplanted wombs.  If this transplant is successful, women everywhere will owe Eva and her daughter a debt of gratitude for their courage.

I, for one, am hoping with all my heart that the surgery works. Sara will know the complete joy of being pregnant and having a baby. She’ll have a totally different perspective on picking baby clothes, decorating a nursery, preparing for the future.  Good luck to Eva and Sara! We’re pulling for you!

I’ll keep you posted on what happens as soon as I know something.

Meanwhile, read the whole story here: http://tinyurl.com/44bfcnp

I just wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate Prince William and Kate Middleton, and to wish them well. The young prince seems to have gone about choosing his bride in a responsible, sensible way, and from what I’ve seen, he made an outstanding choice. And what can I say about Kate’s choice? You’re living the dream, baby! He seems like a real nice fellow with a good job. You’ll have to keep us posted on how things go with the in-laws.

Let’s Talk Wedding Gown!

I can’t wait to see the dress you designed for yourself. I read that it had a few elements similar to Diana’s wedding gown. Gotta say, I hope it’s just the same color, because I (and this is just my opinion) thought her dress was way too much, even for a princess. She looked like an elf bride with her head sticking up from the top of a huge snow-capped mountain. Still, she was gorgeous because of that brilliant smile, and you seem to have a lovely one of your own!

Now–About the Babies!

It’s not like they’ll have to save a nest egg before they can start having kids, so I predict the patter of little prince (or princess!) feet within the next three years–and I think I’m being conservative. They’ve been together for eight years, so they should already be pretty comfortable with their relationship. They should also have cute kids, because they were cute kids. Kate’s on the left and Will’s on the right!

So I’ll wait patiently until while they get busy. Meanwhile, I want to remind them that they don’t have to spend a king’s ransom to get baby room decor fit for a queen. Take a look at the Corner Stork’s absolutely smashing rocker for a little princess! Have fun Friday!

So, if you recognize anyone in these photos, you might suggest they take a parenting class. However, if you’re concerned about the reaction you’ll get (and rightly so), just keep an eye on them to see if their lack of parenting skills is worth a call to Child Protective Services. Meanwhile, load the parents up with some  wholesome baby keepsakes, because they’re surely not going to put one of these photos in a frame and hang it over the mantel…