Whether or not you enjoy surfing, the surfing dog competition in Coronado (San Diego) California is cool fun.

These dogs actually surf and compete! They compete every year, most recently in May 2010. Check out their blog/website for photos, video and info:
http://www.loewssurfdog.blogspot.com/

If you surf, are a fan of surfing, or respect the act of surfing (similar to horseback riding, take it from someone who has done a lot of both) then check out our collection for surf babies and kids, like our COWABUNGA onesie for boy or girl:
http://www.surfandwesternbabyclothing.com/baby-surf-clothes.html

or our infant SurfTruck onesie:
http://www.surfandwesternbabyclothing.com/infant-surfing-clothing.html

happy riding -- or surfing - -or both!!

Surf and Western Baby Clothing shares some baby naming ideas and lore.

Below are the 100 most popular names for girls, based upon Social Security Administration statistics as of May 2010.

1. Emma
2. Isabella
3. Emily
4. Madison
5. Ava
6. Olivia
7. Sophia
8. Abigail
9. Elizabeth
10. Chloe
11. Samantha
12. Addison
13. Natalie
14. Mia
15. Alexis
16. Alyssa
17. Hannah
18. Ashley
19. Ella
20. Sarah
21. Grace
22. Taylor
23. Brianna
24. Lily
25. Hailey


Below are the 100 most popular names for boys, based upon Social Security Administration statistics as of May 2010.

1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Alexander
7. Anthony
8. William
9. Christopher
10. Matthew
11. Jayden
12. Andrew
13. Joseph
14. David
15. Noah
16. Aiden
17. James
18. Ryan
19. Logan
20. John
21. Nathan
22. Elijah
23. Christian
24. Gabriel
25. Benjamin


There are many baby –name websites, just do a search under ‘baby names’ and you’ll find a bunch.

Weird (unverified) baby names, some of which are those of celebrities’ children:
* Pilot Inspektor
* Moxie Crimefighter and Zolten
* Sage Moonblood
* Fifi Trixibelle
* Tiger Lily
* Pixie


Others, unfounded, urban legends:
* Oranjello & Lemonjello
* Male and Female. Prolific urban legend. The story goes: An uneducated or non-English speaking mother gives birth to boy/girl twins. The hospital labels them "Male" and "female". Thinking the hospital assigned the babies names, the woman officially calls her children Male and Female, only pronounced like Molly and Femolly.
* Nozmo King. The mother of little Nosmo King was supposedly inspired by a "No Smoking" sign in the lobby of the hospital where the baby was born.
* Ima Hogg. Unlike the other names above, Ima Hogg actually does exist. She was the daughter of a early 20th century Texan politician. She was also a philanthropist. However, nobody has verified variations like Ima Pigg and Ura Hogg.
* Moon Unit, and Dweezil – real people, possibly very nice, children of under-rated guitarist Frank Zappa.


If the subject of weird baby names interests you, here’s a site with more info:
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/advice/urbanlegends.html

BACK TO SCHOOL -  Tears, fears, for toddlers starting school, especially for the first time. We like to let children be comfortable in their favorite clothes, let their clothes tell who they are. Bright colors are in with children’s clothes, and we got ‘em. If your child is a little Bull Rider or Barrel Racer, let their loves show on their clothing. They’ll be more comfortable and feel better about themselves.

When shopping for baby, it will take a lot of willpower not to load up at checkout with teeny-tiny sailor suits, itty-bitty blue jeans, denim and bandana “photo-op” clothing, floral sundresses and rompers in every color.  Baby clothes, trendier than ever, are irresistible to parents, friends and relatives. Everyone wants their baby to be well-dressed…

 

Not that a baby cares.  Baby might not like heavy denim on their 2-month old tender skin.  All he and she wants is to be comfortable.  That’s important to keep in mind when thinking fabric choice and the amount of extra layers of appliqués and patches.  Basic necessities will keep the little cutie content.  But you want quality; you don’t want fabric that doesn’t hold shape.  You may not want to dress your baby in just any old thing.

 

SHOPPING TIPS – LOOK FOR ADVANCE SALES  During your first experiences shopping for baby clothing, buy only a few items in newborn size, but buy more in 3-6 Month (6M) size.  So, think ahead.  For example, it is August and a size 12M Fleece Romper, a winter item, is on sale now, but baby won’t be 12 months old until next January.  You still may want to save money, may want to purchase that item during the sale and have baby grow into it so that they can wear it starting in November or December, during the winter.  If there are sales in larger items, or seasonal items, think ahead.

 

During infancy, you’ll want to focus on purchasing 6-month-size (6M) clothing--your baby will grow into it quickly.  If you are a gift-giver, such as a friend or family member who is already a parent, grandmother or aunt, you know the need to buy in bigger sizes, understanding how fast babies grow.

 

When stocking up on basics before baby arrives, you will need Newborn (NB) size, but don’t purchase too much size NB.  Your baby will outgrow these tiny garments fast.  It’s more practical to buy in sizes 3- to 6-month (6M) or 6- to 12-month (12M).

 

CONSIDER SAFETY & QUALITY. Be wary of tiny buttons, hooks, snaps, pompoms, bows, and appliqués, particularly at or around the neck. They can be choking hazards. Routinely check clothes and fasteners for these loose items.

 

At Surf and Western, our garments often have soft yet sturdy fabrics, competent workmanship, and plenty of fashion flair for baby.  And they’re machine washable--a big plus.  While getting baby dressed, the neck of our one-piece snapunders have an overlap to more easily fit over softer baby heads; they also have snaps at the bottom for easy diaper-changing.

 

Our baby clothes may cost more than very large department stores and clubs, but are beefier and higher in quality and therefore more comfortable.   And you won’t find our unique western designs elsewhere.  Our clothing does not require hand laundering or dry cleaning. (If you dry-clean any clothes, air them out before baby wears them.)  Remember that your baby will quickly outgrow anything you buy.

 

LIFESTYLE CHOICES.   If you live a western lifestyle or like western themes, we specialize in Western Onesies designs to meet your tastes. 

 

Remember to have fun when shopping for baby and when dressing baby in their little Surf and Western one-piece snapunders.

 

Just a quick reminder for the Holidays. Shopping is great, sure, but now it is time to slow down and to try to enjoy the company of those you care about, those who care about you, to speak with one another, to listen, to laugh, to enjoy. We at Surf + Western surely wish you & yours the best.

Yum, yum. Holiday cookies – and the kids can help! Even the very young can make the “thumbprint” or “hole” in which to put the jelly or filling.

A recipe for these delicious, warming thumbprint cookies can be found here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,thumb_print_cookies,FF.html

Enjoy these with some milk or tea.

If the kids get messy helping you – that is fun! -- for the kid, anyway. So put some warm, clean toddler or baby clothes on them and start enjoying the cookies!

As the rodeo season winds down, anticipation of the Dec. 4-13 “National Finals Rodeo” http://www.nfrexperience.com/ heats up.

The 10-day NFR turns Las Vegas back to its Western roots, with people wearing Wranglers and cowboy hats all over town. Many rodeo-related “events”: http://www.nfrexperience.com/home/schedule_of_events are held and “tickets”: http://www.nfrexperience.com/home/ticket_info for the performances at the Thomas & Mack Center are always tough to find.

As of mid-November, “Trevor Brazile”:http://www.prorodeo.com/Profile.aspx?xu=29 has a sizeable lead in the all-around money again. No surprise there.

“Chance Smart”:http://www.prorodeo.com/Profile.aspx?xu=442 of Mississippi was leading in bull riding and “Steven Dent”: http://www.prorodeo.com/Profile.aspx?xu=492 led the bareback riders. All of the standings can be found at “prorodeo.com”:http://www.prorodeo.com/Standings.aspx .

If you are lucky enough to visit Las Vegas for this terrific spectacle, and are bringing little ones with you, consider outfitting them in baby clothing from Surf + Western, such as Born Lucky or Cowgirl/Cowboy in Training “thermals and rompers.”

As parents, we sometimes recognize signs of kids being too demanding as to toys, toys and more toys. Feeling they needed to learn about charity, we developed a plan which makes an impression with our kids.

Implement this lesson plan when the children are old enough to perform the tasks and learn the concepts involved. Do it around Thanksgiving or a little bit after, when holiday fever has taken hold.

We have the kids do some chores for which they are paid. Simpler tasks when they are younger - sweeping, taking out the trash, feeding the animals. How they perform this work is not as important as their working hard to earn money. The kids would then be paid enough to implement the rest of the plan.

After chores, we went to a store and had the kids purchase new toys, like Matchbox or Hot Wheels or a doll or a game. We then drove to poverty-stricken neighborhoods to show the children beat-up homes with small dirt yards and old broken toys lying around. We explained that all people have different circumstances and that there are children out there with no toys or very few toys to play with. Once we made sure our kids understood that not everyone has money to buy toys for their children at holiday time, we drove the kids to a charity drop-off and donated the toys.

A bit time consuming, but a lesson to teach children that impoverished people even in their own town need assistance, and that by contributing their own work, time & money they can make a difference in other’s lives.

At www.SurfandWesternBabyClothing.com we have a successful program of donating overstock to shelters and safehouses for battered women and children, who sometimes leaves their homes in a hurry without a chance to gather items they need; these agencies welcome the donated baby and kids clothing.