Baby T-shirts, Tshirts for kids, moms and dads - 3 Girls and Us

Is it really that long ago?

2007-05-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I can't quite believe that it's been that long since I put finger to keyboard to write here. Mind you, we've been a tad on the busy side...Freddie was Christened, we got married, our 3rd daughter has been in hospital (serious, but thankfully she's fine now), honeymoon not to mention busy working lives and office moves...and...and...and.

Yes, they're excuses...but life is busy when you have 4 growing daughters!

Anyway, Freddie is now appearing for a short stint on our homepage sporting our ever popular 'can you smell something?' baby t-shirt. And looking cute too. Yes, I'm biased, I know.

We're about to launch a range of maternity shirts too - more on that in the not-too-distant future.

For now, that's all.

Congratulations tinker79

2006-11-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Congrats to tinker79 who is the winner of last month's T-shirt giveaway. Tinker79 heard about us on Minti - a fantastic parenting website that we're known to frequent. And she chose a classic best seller - i love my daddy.

We give one free shirt away every month - so why not have a go at winning yourself?

Cool parenting site

2006-09-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered Minti. It's a great site run by parents for parents. Moms and dads can ask for advice, and others share their experiences. We've just signed up and started offering our own thoughts on parenting - with 4 children we're now pros! Find our page at 3girlsandus.minti.com

Get a funk on - 70s gear for babies & kids

2006-09-09T02:27:00.000-07:00

We were listening to some great disco tracks the other day in the car - Gloria Gaynor, Sister Sledge (We are family), Disco Inferno and others.

When we got home a whole new range of 70s groovy baby clothes designs popped into my head, a couple of which are pictured here. They're now available on baby bibs, T-shirts and infant creepers. Check them out in our store now.

Get down and funk!

We love this baby bathing apron

2006-09-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

As you'll know our newest daughter arrived not so long ago and we're in a frenzy of trying out all the new cool baby products we can find.

One of our favourites is the Cooocoose from a company called Coochi. It's a towelling baby bathing apron that you wear when you bath your baby - so drying them is a breeze. All you do is pick them up and hold them against your chest, wrapping the apron around them all in one easy movement.

The Coocoose is so soft too - and as it says on their website - it's pre-warmed by your own body heat. So neat!

Choosing a baby name

2006-08-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

Having a baby has to be one of the most wonderful experience in one's life. It's what life is about, after all. And of course, choosing a baby name is one of the great pleasures new or expectant parents get to experience.

Naming your baby is a huge responsibility, of course. After all, it could have life-changing consequences – setting your baby (child) up for social acceptance, school yard teasing or ridicule. Will your little one be a 'plain' Jane, a 'rock-solid' Jack, or a 'far out' Star Burst? Or perhaps you could combine two at opposite ends of the spectrum – effectively giving your child the ability to choose which name they're known by in future years as they grow older.

With celebrity being the new royalty, celebrity baby names are increasingly finding their way into 'normal' society. The wonderful Baby Name Voyager allows you to plot the history of name popularity over time from the 1800s from figures compiled by the American Social Security Administration (SSA). Using the tool, try entering the baby name of your choice and see graphically the number of boys and girls who were given that name. Try a few celebrity baby names and you'll see how they match the fame of the celebrity – for example 'Halle', 'Kylie' and 'Emerson'. Shiloh doesn't show up on the radar just yet, but I'm sure there will be an increasing number of babies named after Brad and Angelina's new arrival.

My partner and I recently became parents (again) and went through the process of choosing a baby name. The first name was pretty set in stone – whether boy or girl, it had to be Freddie for reasons of family tradition. In our case, this was passing on a name from previous generations to the new one. Using family names in this way is a wonderful way to keep ancestors alive down through the generations. If you don't want to use them as forenames, perhaps think of them as middle names.

Following the ultrasound scan, we discovered that our new baby was a girl. We were thus presented with the fact that her name would always seem unusual (for a girl) – which was partly the reason we love it so much. We wanted to make sure that she'd be happy with her name, so we decided to balance it with a pretty, feminine middle name. We spent weeks mulling over the options and scoured lots of baby name tools on the web.

One of the best that we found was at parenting.com. Their baby namer not only allows you to search by name, but also by all sorts of fantastic categories including 'celebrity', 'pop culture', 'the classics' and 'imaginative'. Once you've narrowed your selection down to an individual name, parenting.com gives you the meaning and origin of the name as well as the popularity rank over time. Again, the site uses data collected by the SSA.

Of course, it is useful to draw up a short-list of your favourites. The parenting.com baby namer helps you do this by allowing you to maintain an online favourites list that you can keep up-to-date until the big day arrives.

But sometimes when the little one arrives, the name at the top of your list somehow doesn't seem right. This happened with our first child – she just didn't look like her name. But inspiration kicked in and we plucked a name out of the air that we'd never even considered – and it fits perfectly.

So, on 31st July 2006 our little one duly arrived and she was given her two names – Freddie Amelia. One a bit quirky, one traditional and feminine. Interestingly, plugging both names into the Baby Name Voyager shows that the names are complementary in their popularity – head on over and see for yourself.

Whenever you're choosing a name for your baby don't be too daunted. Use the online tools that I've mentioned to help you out. And remember – despite the importance of the task rest assured of one thing – you're the best people in the world for the job!

Back to school sale

2006-08-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well, summer's almost a distant memory...and soon we'll all be back in the swing of the school run, after-school clubs and homework. But before all that starts again, get your kids to head outside into the fresh air in one of our groovy kids Tees, kids baseball jerseys or (for the fresher parts of the country) a snuggly kids hoodie.

To help you out, we're offering you $5 off all orders over $50 in our Back to School sale. Just enter coupon code BTS2006 at the checkout to get your discount.

Happy summer!

(Offer ends 31st August, so hurry!)

And then there were four

2006-08-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

Exhausted but happy, we're hugely proud to announce the arrival of our new family member.

Born on 31 July 2006, a healthy 7lbs 15oz, our newest daughter came into the world kicking and screaming and ready to meet her 3 sisters. Of course she's cute. Of course she's beautiful. Of course we're biased! And of course she'll be sporting the latest and greatest in baby fashion from our store!

We've been asked if we're going to change the name of our little venture. Some have suggested "4 Girls and Us". Some "3 Girls and Us Plus 1". But now that 3 Girls and Us is becoming a well-known brand name, we're sticking with it!

Fish and frozen peas

2006-07-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Thank heavens for frozen peas!

I came in from mowing the lawn yesterday to find our middle daughter's fish (oddly named Bryony Minckley after her best friend at nursery) floating upside-down at the surface. How were we going to break the news of her loved one's demise? She's been a long-standing friend for over 5 years now. But no... I noticed her still breathing! Suddenly she started swimming again...but every time she stopped, up she popped to the surface again.

After a quick Google I discovered the cause of her problem...her swim bladder was all kerfuffled. And the suggested cure? Pop a couple of peas into her mouth and she'd be right as rain! Sounded unlikely to me, but willing to try anything to save the little darling (and avoid the tears from her owner) I followed the advice.

And to my surprise, within a couple of hours she was cured!

Peas have always been my favourite vegetable. Now they are that little bit more special.

How to turn a paperclip into a house

2006-07-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

He did it!

You may remember back in May we featured Kyle MacDonald and his attempt to swap a single red paperclip for a house. Well, a year (to the day) since he started his quest and 14 swaps later he's reached his goal, trading up each time.

He inspired our "i'd swap my sister..." and "i'd swap my brother..." groovy baby clothes.

Big congratulations to him! Read his full story here.

NEW - $5 flat shipping!

2006-07-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

We're really pleased to be able to introduce a new flat-rate shipping fee. For up to 5 items shipped within the US, the new flat-rate of $5 will be available.

(Shipping for posters and framed prints will incur an additional charge and although we don't sell any of those items yet, we'll soon have an announcement for you about that... some great new products coming your way. We're very excited about them. But can't say any more yet. OK. I'll shut up now!)

$2 off all kids baseball jerseys

2006-06-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today...

...to celebrate the long summer evenings playing ball in the park, we're cutting the price of all kids baseball jerseys. $2 off all designs in store now. No coupon needed!

Offer ends 30 June.

At the beach

2006-06-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach the other day for some fantastic sun, sea and...pebbles (not much sand in Lyme Regis!) It was a scorcher. Not what we're used to here in Blighty, but we made the most of it. The kids dunked themselves in the freezing water whilst we paddled, admiring their reslience to sub-zero temperatures! We flew kites, twirled poi and ate a picnic under the blazing sun.

As the seagulls flew by I caught one unawares with my camera. I've always loved watching them. Their grace. Skill. Freedom. One in particular inspired me. So I said to my designer - "baby clothes need seagulls on them!" (Well, ok...I said it to myself. And Claire.)

Anyway, you can see the results of our inspiring flying friends in our store. From stripes to flowers, feathers to picnic baskets - anything goes for our seagulls.

Father's day - sale now on

2006-06-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

Dads like me love being made to feel special by their little ones. This cute i love my daddy baby creeper works for me!

With free shipping on orders over $50 there's more to make dad smile too! Use coupon code DADSHIP at the checkout.

Why not check out a full range of cute father's day gifts.

We translate "goo goo ga ga"!

2006-05-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

We've been collecting moms' and dads' memories of their babies' first words for a while now and we're proud to finally launch our First Words Dictionary. You can now translate those first murmurings with the aid of this handy A to Z.

For example, did you know coppit yardies means chocolate raisins? No? Well, maybe you know that wizzy wink is (of course!) fizzy drink.

Come and read the fabulous (and often puzzling) translations we've got in our First Words Dictionary.

One red paperclip

2006-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Have you head about the guy who's trying to swap a red paperclip for a house? Nice idea...don't know if he'll succeed?!

It inspired us to create a couple of designs for your little ones...

Our "i'd swap my brother for one red paperclip" and "i'd swap my sister for one red paperclip" designs are available on baby bibs, infant creepers and toddler T-shirts and will soon be available for older kids too.

Don't forget Mother!

2006-04-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

With Mother's Day fast approaching (May 14) I'm sure you'll all thinking about suitable was of saying "I love you" to your own moms. But what about those moms whose little ones are just too little to organise it all? Come on you dads out there...make sure your partner doesn't go without. How about picking up one of our "I love my mommy" items and wrapping it up for that special day?

One of our top-sellers on Valentines day, but just as appropriate for Mother's Day too!

To help you out, we're offering FREE SHIPPING (up to a value of $7) on all orders over $50 - just use coupon MOMSHIP at the checkout.

Tips For Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

2006-04-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

When kids get to the age of being able to switch on and use a computer on their own, we parents need to start thinking about making sure they are safe online. It’s all too easy for kids to stray onto inappropriate websites even after doing a seemingly harmless search.

The first challenge for a lot of parents is in being aware of the dangers. These are many and varied – everything from pornography to ‘meeting’ strangers online in forums, chat rooms and through spam email. Sometimes these dangers can come from innocent use of the internet – for example, search engines, instant messaging or unscrupulous sites with no decent privacy policy.

It’s a good idea to follow a simple set of guidelines when your kids are using the computer, especially when they’re online. The list below isn’t meant to be exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point.

1) Keep the computer in a public room – not hidden away in kids bedrooms. That way you can see what they’re doing.

2) Install an internet content filter such as ContentProtect. This can help you prevent your children from coming into contact with inappropriate content.

3) Set up a separate login for your children (or one for each), configuring security settings for your content filter for each login so it is appropriate to their age.

4) Talk to you kids about the risks and dangers online. Make them aware of how to stay safe online. Here are a few golden rules that you can talk through with them…

They should never fill in forms with any personal information without your permission. They should definitely not give out their name, address, telephone numbers, school or anything that could identify them.
Explain that before giving their email address to any website, they should check with you first that the site has an appropriate privacy policy.
They shouldn’t tell anyone their passwords.
They should never send their photo to anyone, or upload it to a website without your knowledge.
You should encourage them to tell you if they receive any strange messages or if they come across any websites that display information or images that make them feel uncomfortable.
Explain to them that they shouldn’t always believe what they read online. Just like the real world, sometimes things aren’t what they seem.
Tell them not to post messages on bulletin boards without checking with you first.
Encourage them not to download or install any software without you being there to help them. Make sure you have good (and up-to-date!) virus protection too to ensure that if they do try and install anything it is scanned for viruses first.

The internet is a fantastic source of information and can be great for kids if used in the right way. With sensible precautions your kids can make the most of it, in a safe environment.

There are a number of great resources online that will help you ensure your kids can surf safely. A couple you might like to visit are safekids.com and getnetwise.org.

Our favourite baby books

2006-04-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

We read with our girls every night and have done ever since they were little babies. Listening to them read now is fantastic - in fact our middle one in particular can't put a good book down! She's often awake into the night with her light on and a book under the covers.

To celebrate the wonderful creations that have helped our daughters learn to read we're featuring our favourite selection of baby books in our store now.

From the enchanting Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, to Eric Carle's classic Very Hungry Caterpillar. And who could miss out on Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown? Come and see our other favourites!

Remove before wearing

2006-04-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

We love odd things. Things that make you think a bit harder. Try and get your head round our new kids design. Right up front on the T-shirt, baseball jersey or hoodie there's a label that says "Remove before wearing".

Go figure.

New signature T-shirts

2006-03-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a random thought comes into my head. Like the other day. Don't know why. Don't know how. But it ended up on this kids T-shirt. Call it a mess. Call it a scribble. I like to think of it as a random signature.

Do you think every signature is unique? Like a fingerprint? I doubt it somehow. Does this look like your signature?

Either way, our 9 year old now has one of these and all her friends want one.

PS Comes on baseball jerseys and hoodies too.

Cartoons for kids

2006-03-25T00:35:00.000-08:00

Lots of people have been asking us if they can have our cartoon designs on kids products (T-shirts, baseball jerseys and hoodies). Our 9 year old has been begging us to do the same. So we've finally launched our kids zoo section where you can find all of our cartoon animal designs for kids all in one place.

People are talking about us again

2006-03-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

Not only have we just featured on on MommiesWithStyle.com, but we've been picked to appear on CoolMomPicks.com too - among other designs, our little people rule the world bibs, tees and infant creepers went down a storm with them.

Nice to know our stuff is loved :o)

Cartoon designs now available on buttons

2006-03-11T04:07:00.000-08:00

Our cartoon puppy and kitten designs are going down really well - so we thought we'd put them on some buttons (that's 'badges' for us Brits!). Our kids and their friends are all wearing them and think they're really cute. How about you?

They're available as singles or in 10-packs.

As featured on Mommies With Style

2006-03-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

If you're an avid reader of Mommies With Style (and if not, you should be!) you'll have noticed we're currently featured. Our Ingredients, Warning: I might puke at any moment and I like it straight from the bottle ranges of groovy Tees and infant creepers have gone down a storm with them - we hope you like them too.

Mommies With Style is a community of Moms dedicated to helping you find the best 'Mommy and Me' products on the web and in the process, helping you meet other stylish Moms. Mommies with Style is there to comb the web for you -- to find classy products for you, your babies and your kids -- to organize it all in one spot. So head on over and check them out!