Museum of Ice Cream... Again!

A few weekends back we visited the Museum of Ice Cream here in San Francisco. It was the second visit for Mathilde and I (you can see you first visit before it was open to the public here) but the first time going for Ava, Lola and Kim.

It was much busier this time around, as I had expected, but we were still able to take our time and see everything at our own pace - it just meant waiting a little longer for photos every now and then. With plenty of fun stuff to see and delicious treats to eat, the girls didn't mind one bit! Although there were plenty of tears from Mathilde when she didn't get to spend as long in the sprinkle pool as last time! 

Because I've already shared our original visit here on Little Hiccups, and a more detail "what to see and do" post on Mommy Nearest (which you can see here) I won't go into too much detail this time around and will just let the pictures speak for themselves. There are a lot of pictures so grab yourself a coffee, or an ice cream, and enjoy!

Valentines Day Style for Kids

Dislaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Valentine's Day is coming up in just a few weeks so today I'm sharing my favorite small brand kids' clothes and accessories for dressing the part on the big day.

I love dressing my girls up for specific holidays but I'm not a fan of buying clothes that are only worn once or twice. All of these items are perfect for Valentine's Day but they can also be worn as everyday outfits too. Even better, most of these items are from small businesses run by super talented mamas. It's a total win! 

Lots of hearts, lots of red and pink, a few gender neutral pieces for both boys and girls, a super cute book and some sweet lunchbox notes. A little something for kids of all ages! 

❤️️ Whistle & Flute Kawaii Heart Top
❤️️ Freshly Picked Moccasins
❤️️ Primary Reversible Twirly Skirt
❤️️ Pocket Kisses Mini Notes
❤️️ Whistle & Flute Je T'Aime Beanie
❤️️ Rags Valentines Romper
❤️️ This is Not a Valentine
❤️️ Rags Valentines Baby Pouch
❤️️ Small Lot Mary Janes
❤️️ Hello Shiso Heart Headband
❤️️ Hello Shiso Sweetheart Clips
❤️️ Hello Shiso Mini Heart Hair Tie Set

Do you dress your kids up for different holidays throughout the year? I'm a total sucker for it!

Ladybug Migration at Redwood Regional Park

We get some pretty amazing animal migrations happening here in the Bay Area.

There are the monarch butterflies that call coastal areas such as Pacific Grove and Santa home during the Winter months. There is the ever so creepy tarantula migration around Halloween on the aptly named Mount Diablo just east of the Bay Area. Seriously, that's a real thing! There are the majestic grey whales that migrate along the California coast from Mexico to Alaska. And right here in Oakland there is a ladybug migration! Ladybugs! Can you think a cuter animal migration to witness?

Yesterday we decided to go check out the ladybugs for ourselves after seeing a few friends sharing about them on social media. I knew that there were going to be thousands of ladybugs, but I really wasn't prepared for just how many we would see. It really was amazing.

Every Winter huge numbers of ladybugs make their way to a particular spot in Redwood Regional park in the Oakland Hills. They come here in swarms. Thousands and thousands, maybe even millions, of ladybugs all in the one spot. It really is a sight to see.

A Look Back at 2017

Each year around late October or early November - or who am I kidding, sometimes December - I post a recap of our past year in America. Ava, Lola and I moved here from Australia on October 25th 2011 and I like to share what the past year has held for us in our adventure living half way across the world.

This past October marked our 6 year anniversary of living in America. I fully intended to share a recap post as I have done in the past, but time slipped away and here we are, the second week in January and I still haven't even started it. So instead, of sharing a post with the highlights of our 6th year in America, I thought I'd be a little more conventional and share our highlights from 2017. After all, one of my absolute favorite things from 2017 didn't even take place in the country!

Here's a look back month by month at some of my favorite moments from 2017. It's a long one so you might want to grab yourself a hot drink and a snack to enjoy while you're checking it out. And maybe a bathroom break. Ha! As always, to read more about a particular event or place we visited click the bold and underlined link for a more detailed post.