Today every child that visited us at Little Urbanites had the opportunity to create a flower corsage for mom. It was cute and we had a blast.

We know how hard it is to find the scandinavian child Svan high chairs but we have some in the store right now! Please call 503-227-8729 or email info@littleurbanites.com to find out what finished we have in stock. Currently we have Mahogany, Espresso, Natural and Cherry.

We’re in the business of pleasing mothers - from selecting great product to entertaining the little ones while mom shops. We have received so much from all of you - your loyalty and patronage mean more to us than we can express! Mother’s Day gives us the perfect excuse to give a little back.

Mother’s Day Make-Overs!
Visit us on Mother’s Day and receive free make-up makeover by NY stylist Jordana Lake with supplies provided by Fez Studio. Give yourself a Mother’s Day boost with a fresh face! Reservations are not required, but are certainly recommended. We are open from Noon to 5pm on Sunday, May 11th. Give us a call at 503-227-8729.

Mother’s Day Gift Making.
Send Dad (or grandma or the nanny) and the kids down to Little Urbanites this Wednesday through Saturday to make a very special gift just for Mom. All items necessary to make a memorable momento will be available and the activity is absolutely free! The best gifts from little ones are the ones they made with their very own little hands.

Goody Bags for Mom!
We have assembled some fun goody bags for Mom this Mother’s Day! These goody bags are available only for our very best customers and are free with a $50 or more purchase on Wednesday through Sunday this week. Bags are filled with exclusive and valuable offers from our good friends and neighbors at Fez Studios, Nolita, Ten 01, Urban Wineworks, Cupcake Jones, Pop Culture Frozen Yogurt, Stroller Strides - even a few free necklaces for mom from one of our favorite vendors, Daisy Chains - and more!

Little Urbanites went overboard while shopping for new merchandise — we kept finding more and more cool stuff! Now we’re filled to the rafters and need to make room for more cool stuff that’s on the way. Save 40-50% on select shoes and apparel, and 30-50% on select furniture, toys, bedding, baby gear, and more! The sale begins this Friday May 2nd and continues until every item finds a home.

Our good friends at Central Portland Families were kind enough to arrange a behind-the-scenes tour for kids on how ice cream is made over at Cool Moon Ice Cream, a phenominal new addition to the Pearl on the corner of 11th & Johnson. All of their ice cream is made on-site with all-natural ingredients. Their ice cream mix is produce by a local dairy farm and made to owner, Eva’s, exact specificiations and the fruits are purchased from local farms. What more could you ask for? Oh, yes, the ice cream is also amazingly delicious!

Eva shares her ice cream making philosophies with the kids.

The fruits of our labor: mint chip ice cream!

I recently discovered these adorable accessories for little girls by an amazing Portland artist. The company is called DaisyChain and we are soooooo in love. From sweet to whimsical, my favorite is the alien head bobbies - I almost want to keep them for myself! The alligator clip sets have been so popluar we’ve already had to place a second order. We love to support local businesses - especially when it also means adorable products to pass along to our customers!

DaisyChain jewelry for kids!

This is a re-post from our good friends over at Neighborhood Notes:

The cash register stayed silent Wednesday morning as kids filled the lobby of the Portland Art Museum and poured through the inner doorways toward Degas and Van Gogh.

They didn’t pay a dime. General admission to the museum is now free for children 17 and under – today, tomorrow and forever. This is an extraordinary change for Oregon’s most prominent art museum, and it’s one of several ongoing efforts to connect more people with art.

“(We’re) helping this museum become a resource for all, not just an attraction for a few,” says museum director Brian Ferriso.

For years, the Portland Art Museum embraced an admission policy that was out of step with the museum world. It didn’t offer regular days with free or reduced admission, as most of its peer museums do. Its admission prices were steeper than average, too. A family of four could expect to pay more than $30 to see the permanent collection – and more than $40 to see a special exhibition.

That’s too much, especially when kids tend to wear out after an hour or two. It’s particularly prohibitive for working families pinched by the rising costs of food and gas.

Happily, Ferriso and a number of trustees have zeroed in on the affordability issue. Read the the rest of the Oregonian editorial here.

Kids in the Pearl, a group of kid-friendly businesses in the Pearl District, will be hosting an Earth Day educational event for kids on Saturday, April 26th. Participating businesses will be offering events and activities that teach children about simple ways to care for and protect the planet.

Each business will be offering an activity or take-home project that will give children a hands-on experience to better appreciate the planet. Kids can decorate their own re-usable canvas tote bag at Little Urbanites and make coffee ground fossils at Sip & Kranz. They can make a keepsake wall hanging at Green Frog Toys, receive their very own sunflower seedling at Cool Moon Ice Cream, and participate in a hands-on planting project focused on CO2 education at Posh Boutique. Cupcake Jones will be offering an Earth Day themed activity book for all ages, and both Ben & Jerry’s and Pop Culture frozen yogurt will be giving free frozen treats to any child who completes an Earth Day themed coloring page. The best part is that the entire event is absolutely free!

Children can begin their tour at any one of eight businesses, and children who visit each store can enter to win a gift basket filled with eco-friendly products for the whole family, including a butterfly garden kit courtesy of Green Frog, an eco-friendly Imagiplay puzzle from Posh, a gift certificate for a free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cake, organic coffee from Sip & Kranz and Stumptown Roasters, wood animals made from sustainable wood and organic layette from Little Urbanites, and much more - valued at over $200. “The more we can instill pride in taking care of the earth at a young age, the better equipped and more inspired our children will be to take care of the planet as they become adults,” says Kim Sibley, co-owner of Little Urbanites. “We will have staff on-hand the day of the event to chat with children about a variety of environmental conservation topics.”

Participating retailers include Ben & Jerry’s, Cool Moon Ice Cream, Cupcake Jones, Green Frog Toys, Little Urbanites, Pop Culture Frozen Yogurt, Posh Boutique, Powell’s City of Books and Sip & Kranz. “Our goal is to make learning about the environment a fun experience,” says Lindsay of Sip & Kranz. “We want both parents and kids to walk away from the event with a renewed commitment to reducing waste and conserving energy.”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with DoveLewis, it is an amazing non-profit organization that provides emergency medical care for pets as well as pet loss support groups. Every year they hold a fashion show and fundraiser to raise funds for their free pet loss support clinic. Boutiques Unleashed features animals and their people models wearing adorable, complimentary outfits. Little Urbanites was pleased to participate this year, and paired two beautiful custom flower girl dresses with an adorable little doggy bride! Special thank you goes out to Kylee and Kelsey, my gorgeous young models, whose mom was generous enough to allow me to borrow them for the evening (their mom, by the way, is a DoveLewis employee).

If you would like to learn more about DoveLewis, please visit their website at www.dovelewis.org. To learn more about Boutiques Unleashed, visit www.boutiquesunleashed.com.

Little Urbanites will now be open on Mondays! Our new store hours are Monday to Saturday 10AM to 6PM and Sunday noon to 5.

In all the research I have done about early childhood education I can not stress enough how important just playing with your child really is to their development. It is such a simple concept that can be over looked as our daily life can suck away the hours.
Why is it so important for children to play? Play is a time that little ones can explore the world they live in. They develop their cognitive, emotional, social and physical well-being. How does that happen? Play allows your child to problem solve by building a city out of blocks. They can emotional develop by learning how to take care of their favorite stuff animal. When children play with other kids or adults they are learning social skills and physically they develop when they are out running, climbing and jumping.
Try to set aside time everyday for your child to have free play time. Non-directed and open end. Dress up and blocks are two easy indoor activities.
Encourage your child to play with unstructured, multi-purpose toys that are not detailed encourage active participation on the part of the child. The child has to use her imagination to “complete” the toy. This also encourages creativity and gives the child an opportunity to make believe endless possibilities. In addition, there is some evidence these types of play materials develop out-of-the-box thinking and problem solving skills.
Play is how your child learns so have fun with her!

Pictures of 2 children form my preschool class when I was a teacher.

Growing up in Ohio, I have many distinct memories of cold winter days. Luckily for me, my mom made sure that if it was cold outside we were always warm inside eating hearty soups and warm cookies!! I now chalk my two brothers and my love of cooking to the fun and delicious times spent with mom in the kitchen.

The snow this morning took me back and reminded me that winter is till lingering along with the circulating flu, so I am posting two healthy recipes: a fun one and an immune boosting one. I got them both from my alma mater: Bastyr University ( I participated in their Masters in Nutrition program!) The Apricot Thumb Print Cookies I love because the thumb at the end makes it an art project too, and the soup is so simple but works miracles!! Give them a try and tell me what you think.

Apricot thumb print cookies
Variations in flavor can be made by substituting different nuts and juices.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup almonds (ground into 1½ cup meal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup cold-pressed vegetable oil or melted, unsalted butter
1/3 cup apricot juice (or apple juice)
1/3 cup maple syrup, agave syrup or concentrated fruit sweetener
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla
Apricot preserves (no sugar added)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine flour, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix oil, juice, syrup, extracts together. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well, kneading a little. Form dough into balls and flatten to make circles. Place on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Indent each cookie with your thumb or your child’s thumb and put ½ teaspoon preserves in the imprint. Bake 15 minutes, until edges turn golden.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Makes 24 cookies

Immune Booster Soup
The following recipe is provided by Debra Brammer, ND, clinical dean of naturopathic medicine at Bastyr Center for Natural Health.

1 quart chicken broth (or substitute mushroom or miso broth)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 - 10 cloves garlic (to taste), crushed and chopped
1 carrot, grated
4 - 8 fresh Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 - 3 Tbl. ginger root (to taste), grated
1 fresh lemon, juiced
3 Tbl. fresh parsley, chopped

Bring the broth, onion, garlic, carrot, mushrooms and ginger root to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and parsley. Cover and steep, off the heat, for 5 minutes. Eat and enjoy! Note: You can also start the soup with half the total garlic you desire. Then crush the remaining cloves, adding them with the lemon juice at the end. This retains more of the immune modulating constituents!

For other great recipes and healthful suggestions, here is Bastyr’s link http://www.bastyr.edu/default.asp

We love it when our dear friends and neighbors receive kudos in the press! Last week’s A&E featured two of our very favorite Pearl businesses: Cupcake Jones and Cool Moon Ice Cream. Congrats to Lisa and Eva -these two ladies work hard and we are happy to see their hard work recognized.

Excerpt from A&E article featuring Cupcake Jones & Cool Moon Ice Cream:
“…Or you could skip lunch altogether and head straight to two new Pearl District sweet-tooth destinations. At Cupcake Jones pick from the daily selection of six cupcakes in miniature or jumbo sizes. The mini-bites are great if you can’t make up your mind. But there are big rewards for the decisive: The centers of the jumbo cupcakes are hollowed out and filled with things like chocolate ganache, strawberry jam, lemon curd. Then again, maybe you want to have only a couple of minis so that you don’t ruin yourself for Cool Moon Ice Cream, which opened this past winter across from Jamison Square. The ice cream is made onsite, and a world away from humdrum vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Take the inspired “Kulfi,” loaded with chopped pistachios, cracked cardamom seeds and a hint of rose petal water. It’s a passage to India without ever leaving the Zip code.”

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BTW - we celebrated four staff birthdays yesterday (yes - there are four LU staffers with March birthdays, including co-owner Ms. Kim) - and it was a no-brainer as to where to get the celebratory treat: Cupcake Jones. We celebrated with two dozen mini cupcakes - a great way to be able to try several flavors without committing extreme sugar gluttony. My birthday is in June - I think some ice cream from Cool Moon might be in order for that celebration!

Come on in and check out our selection. We are taking deposits for all the brand new colors!

The idea of multiple intelligence has been coming up in conversation this past week and I wanted to use this post to divulge and clarify this theory. So what is multiple intellenge? Well, the use of multiple intelligence in our daily life will aid in communication with the people we care about, most importantly our growing children. I found this explanation in Wikipedia “Multiple intelligences is an educational theory, first developed by psychologist Howard Gardner, that describes an array of different kinds of “intelligences” exhibited by human beings. Gardner suggests that each individual manifests varying levels of these different intelligences, and thus each person has a unique “cognitive profile.” The theory was first laid out in Gardner’s 1983 book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and has been further refined in subsequent years.” The 8 different intelligences that Gardern writes about are; linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. In 1999 he added an eighth, the naturalistic intelligence. I believe if we as adults, parents, husbands, wives and care givers should take the time to think about what intelligences area your child is strongest, and use this as a tool to open the doors of communication easier.

How to put this into practice: If a boy is having some troubles in his life and you believe his strengths are in bodily-kinesthetics, then going out and throwing a ball can help him open up and communicate. Use this time to bring up some of those difficult conversations.

I have included some links to read more about Gardner’s theories and to take a test on what your own strengths are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_Intelligences
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm

Little Urbanites

916 NW 10th Portland, OR 97209
OMG I love this store. I love the people. I love the clothes, the furniture, the shoes… if only I didn’t have to buy the cool modern stuff for my kids…I want to keep it all for myself! Alas, it’s a store of kids stuff, and the best darn kids stuff in all of P-town.

Little Urbanites is somewhat new, located across from Jamison Square Park in the Pearl. As soon as I walked in for my first visit I was hooked. I saw all of the uber hip baby and kids furniture, decor, clothing and toys that I previously just lusted after online. But now, now it’s HERE! In town! Too dangerous. My wallet doth protest, but I can’t resist going here. The staff is super friendly and helpful and unlilke some another store in the area that sells kids clothing and toys, the staff at Little Urbanites actually LIKE kids! They play with them and coo after them and let them touch the furntiture. A miracle in the Pearl!

I also love that they are committed to sustainable practices as a business (they’re getting some fancy certification from the city soon, I believe), and in selling sustainable products.