To me, summer means stripes and our latest tester wrap from Marsupial Mamas, their exclusive Girasol Titan's Rainbow, is a gorgeous striped beauty that fits the bill. Titan's Rainbow is the sister wrap to Marsupial Mamas' previous Girasol exclusive, Cosmic Rainbow, but with a white weft that makes the colors feel light and airy and fresh while Cosmic Rainbow is darker and moodier. The wrap I tried was a size 6, which for me, is a base -1.

This wrap showed up just as I began to study for the VBE test and it couldn't have arrived at a better time. As I practice and perfect the different carries I need something moldable and easy to work with and this is definitely it. Titan's Rainbow is soft, floppy, flat in hand and thin with very little stretch. Passes glide and lock into place but the wrap is not overly grippy or slippery.

We wore Titan's Rainbow out and about a good amount while we had it. On a hot, 90+-degree day in Colonial Williamsburg it was comfortably airy, and it made a high, long-lasting ruck and supportive one-shoulder hip carry with my 20-pound baby. I did find that if I was going to wear Gus in a back carry for more than 40 minutes or so at a time, sandwiching the shoulders or tying Tibetan made it feel more comfortable on my (admittedly picky) shoulders. It makes a fantastic tight chest pass in double hammock or shepherd's carry, and a small, neat chest belt in pirate's carry with CCCB.




I would recommend Titan's Rainbow for a beginner wrapper (the stripes make it SO easy to keep track of rails), for the parent of a newborn looking for something that can grow with their baby, or for the active caregiver who wants something that can stand up to sun, sand, and water and isn't very pull prone.

Also: epic beach wrap alert! It has those summery stripes, after all.

Thanks to Marsupial Mamas for letting us try this beautiful wrap. 

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, but recently we came across something so stupendous that we just had to share: sweet, soulful children's music by local group Mountaintide. Mountaintide is duo Jim Newsom and Holly Bishop, a fiddle and a flute, and their songs for kids (they also do music for grownups) are about going outside, having adventures, and imagining the silliest things.

We saw them at  in Virginia Beach one rainy afternoon a month or so ago and within thirty seconds of them taking the stage Anouk had abandoned her scone and was up and dancing with a crowd of kids. Of course we had to go home with the CD and have listened to it every day since.

To listen to Away We Go (Mountaintide's children's album), click here. Our favorite is Outside on a Saturday but they are all so much fun.