Hi friends! It feels like it's been a while! We have been having such an unforgettable summer. Too many pool trips to count, sandy beach days, sticky ice cream hands, sunny dance parties and more. We have definitely tackled almost everything on our summer bucket list.

As Olivia's first day of school nears I have definitely been having a little back to school blues- or rather, first time to school blues. I am so, so excited for her and I'm so grateful we are able to send her somewhere wonderful, but we are on the heels of a big new season, and my mama heart has been aching a little. I'm holding onto the fact that even though our season of me having her to myself every day is almost over, I still get her have her two days a week. I'm so grateful for that.

Despite the bittersweet feelings of sending Olivia to Pre-K, we have been having fun getting her ready for her new routine. Back to school shopping is admittedly, a favorite past time of mine. Getting organized for a fresh start, putting crisp new folders and notebooks in my bag, the color coordination, the planners...it was my type A dream. Thanks to Chris' job, I usually get to re-live that a little bit each year, but BTS shopping for my girl is a whole other level of fun. And while we aren't ready for a ton of supplies, we did have some things we needed to get. 

Getting Olivia's first backpack was definitely a highlight. We got the Pre-K size which is adorable and manageable for her to actually carry. It was quite the decision between the grey ballerina pattern and the pink glitter. She really wanted ballet but grey is obviously not her color :) I was able to find a pink ballerina keychain to add to the pink glitter backpack which seemed to be exactly what she was looking for; the best of both worlds. 

I couldn't pass up one of these darling flags. They are so sweet and the shop owner was so nice to work with. We went for all pink, but they would be cute in your kiddo's school colors too for you to use annually. They are so well made, you'll definitely be able to use them again and again. My mom is going to make her one of the adorable signs with all of her stats/fave things. :) 

I was told by seasoned mamas that personalized labels are a must. I love this version since they are washing machine and dishwasher safe. Olivia liked this version better and since we are mostly worried about fabric this time around, I let her get them.

We did get her the cutest little pink notebook with glitter pencils and pencil case at Target. I can't find them all online but she loves them. 

We are also of course stocking up on clothes. She has grown so much this year and is definitely ready for some new things. We always do a mix of affordable, no biggie if it gets trashed items and then some more durable and special feeling pieces. You can't beat the prices of Old Navy tees and leggings. They're usually somewhere in the $3-$6 range and it just doesn't get any better than that. They sometimes have tutus which is great for us too since that will likely be what she really wants to wear. We love shopping for organic cotton items at Hanna Andersson and Monica and Andy. Both stores have such cute pieces that really wear well. We have also gotten a couple monogrammed items that she is really excited about. She loves that monograms are a "fancy way of using your initials"-- it's pretty adorable. CLG Embroideries sent her the sweetest little tee with a rose gold monogram that she can't wait to wear with a tutu.

We also bought her these boots and still need to snag a new pair of gym shoes. She will love these and I like that they are velcro to help make it easier for her to do without me. 

I had so many requests on Instagram for a post with our fave back to school items that I made a whole gallery of them here. I've included more of our faves and some stuff for slightly older kids too.  I hope it helps make getting ready for school a little easier! <3