Guest Post - Grace and Josie - Toddler Prep

My favorite mommy is preparing for a family vacation to coastal ME and looking for some inspiration for her babe as well as some inspiration for her blog  Grace and Josie while she is away. Since I love beach babies, especially the blond ones, I happily volunteered to do some online browsing for little g. In case you have not figured it out by now, little g is the daughter of M, one of my best friends and former college roommates which makes me auntie J. Naturally, I'm going to be the cool aunt who shares those college stories of M locking her keys in the car at the worst time, playing Oozeball and dancing in the living room of our beach house. If she's lucky she'll even get the R rated versions. Unless of course I have kids by this time and don't want the reciprocal treatment form her mommy.

If I were a 1.5 year old beach babe, this is what I would pack for a week in Maine with my parents. I first went to the Lilly Pulitzer site but then realized Lilly is a bit to tropical for Maine. Sorry g, come back when you are going to FL and I will give you the best tropical inspiration. I've tried to include sources for purchase in case M wants to take my advice.

First, a few bathing suits. The ocean will be too cold to swim in my you need to be prepared just in case and I'm sure there will be a baby pool somewhere. Don't forget the swim diapers mom, these suits are too cute to have an accident!

Perfect from Maine, this suit packs the lobsters, from Zulily.com



Every toddler needs a bikini and this plaid one from Ralph Lauren is perfect for a New England baby and comes in a size 2 for little g.


I would round out the collection with this rash guard set from rufflebutts.com for some addes protection from the sun, sand and wind.


And this starfish and anchor one piece from Old Navy, you can never have enough bathing suits!


Every beach babe needs a cute floppy hat like this bright red one from www.eyescreamshares.com that goes with all the bathing suits.


I know little g loves Hello Kitty and the girl's got great taste because she was my favorite as a kid too so I would complete the beach gear with this towel available at sears.com and pack it all in the matching bag.

 


Days at the beach in Maine are usually rounded out by cool, crisp evenings and a campfire if you are lucky. So a cozy hoodie or cable knit sweater is a must on this trip.
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Any of these rompers fro Ralph Lauren would be perfect for a day of playing and they are all on sale. these one piece outfits will make packing easy but may not be the most functional for diaper changes.
 

Dresses are the best part of a summer vacation. These are some of my favorites from Baby Gap. BTW did you know DVF has a baby gap line? These last two are from her collection and I love them.



After packing the daytime attire, I would add in an evening outfit to go out to dinner with the adults.
This hairbow, simple tank and white skinnies should fit right in, all from baby Gap.


Don't forget the shoes. A pair of jellie sandals for the beach (Old Navy), jelly ballerinas for running around and some gold sandals that go with everything both from baby gap.

Have fun in Maine!! Take me with you next time and we can play in the surf together with matching beach hats.