The weather’s heating up and so are my kiddos, its time to switch over their closets to summer!
We kicked off our start to summer with a family vacation to the beach. And, I have to say, I was so pleased with the attire I packed for the girls, that I just had to share it with you.
I’ve been seeing these cute and rather inexpensive toddler and baby girls rompers on Amazon for a few years now and just never trusted they were going to look as pictured, so I kept putting off ordering them. Well, pre-vacation I finally decided to take the plunge! Best. Decision. Ever! They looked ADORABLE, fit well, and held up well to the first few days of high to normal wear and tear. We also invested in some smart footwear that could go from wet to dry without damage, and of course brought our Sun Hats from our Kentucky Derby birthday party last month (much more on that is coming soon).
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Summer Wardrobe Essentials
Best Toddler Girls Sandals
First, let’s talk footwear. Saltwater Sandals are definitely a homerun for any beach vacation. They are both super cute and functional. They are made with real leather and can go from dry to wet and back again without any issue. They clean up nicely too, which allowed me to buy them in white, knowing they were going to stay white! You can order them on Amazon and there’s also quite a hopping resale market, so once your kids grow out of them, you can sell them used and get a few dollars back in your pocket. They’re honestly the best summer sandals for toddlers. They also have lots of great baby saltwater sandals and adult saltwater sandals so you can do a mommy and me look, should you so desire!
Saltwater Sandals Kids
Now for the clothing,
Our Toddler Wardrobe
Even the most basic summer wardrobe must include some toddler rompers. Here are some of my favorites. These were my girls’ outfits on day 1 of our vacation. They wore these when we first hit the beach, we hadn’t even been up to our hotel room yet:
I can’t even tell you how many times the girls got stopped and complimented.
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These Navy Rompers from Amazon are just gorgeous on, I’m honestly kicking myself for waiting so long to order them. They have wooden buttons and ruffle sleeves and are even fully lined! And, in my experience, they fit true to size too. My 2 year old is right in the 50th percentile for both height and weight and her 2T fit perfect, this is not true of all 2t girl rompers. My 4 year old could use a bit more grow room in the girth department of her 4T, but that’s probably because she is in the 96th percentile for height and her torso is super long. Even still, I think the fit was great on her too, she just may not be able to wear it as long as her sister will.
This style also comes in a light sage green, which I ordered as well.
Totally different look in the light sage green, but same great fit and features! My 4 year old even put it through an ocean stress test, lol. What’s vacation without a little messy fun, right?!
Other than obviously showing that it was wet, it still looked great that day and washed up good as new when we got home.
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More Toddler Girl Rompers
I also ordered these adorable tie strap rompers for the girls from Amazon. I went with the deep red ones with little white hearts, so they could also wear these on the 4th of July for a little patriotic flare, but this style comes in a boatload of other colors and patterns. The top straps tie and because of that, they are forever adjustable (great for my long torso’d 4 year old) and the belt even allows it to cinch in at the waist. The fit of these is beautiful and because of the design, each of my girls actually has quite a bit of grow room!
These have a chiffon feel to them so I was really concerned that they would be a wrinkly mess after the first washing, but they’ve been through my laundry at least 4 times now and I haven’t had to iron them once! Which is good, because I surely would never get around to doing that. I do let them hang dry, but I highly doubt they really need it, that’s just me being finicky and extra…
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Best Toddler Sun Hat
Alright, lets talk about these hats. If you’re going to spend the day in the sun, your kids (and yourself) will really need a good hat. There are so many summer hats for toddlers on the market that it can honestly be overwhelming. We brought our straw beach Sun Hats with us and found they were the perfect way to block that full sun exposure. The ones I chose were kid hats and not toddler specific hats, so they were just a touch big on my two toddlers. Luckily they have a hidden ribbon inside to adjust it to the wearer, so they still worked great. And, we have grow room to use them for the next few years, WIN!
They also have elastic which came in super handy when the wind picked up. This is the first time I haven’t had to chase my children down and put their hats back on their heads, they actually seemed to forget they were wearing these and just kept them on! Woohoo, I have officially found a toddler sun hat that stays on! …that’s the dream, right?! We ordered ours on Amazon and went with the lightest one pictured on the left down below, but there are plenty to choose from. These also make great Easter hats so you can officially call them a multi use item!
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Cutest Swimsuit for Toddlers
Matching swimsuits are, of course, a must. This season my girls are rocking their H&M seersucker suits from last years line and I simply adore them! After using them all last summer, and loving them so much, I was super sad when the season ended. It took me forever to find such a classic suit. So, when I found them again on the H&M clearance rack in the fall, I was downright giddy and bought them again for this summer.
There’s just something so classic about a seersucker suit with a ruffle cap sleeve. They looked great in the baby stage too, here’s my youngest, wearing the 12 month size last summer.
And it appears that these kids fashion trends are here to stay, because I found one very similar RuffleButts one on Amazon this year! So happy!!
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Other Trendy Toddler Clothes
We also brought a few gorgeous outfits from this season at TJ Maxx. You can either shop the stores in person or use their app to shop from home. We’ve been snagging great toddler girl clothes here for years and the prices and quality simply can’t be beat. Some of my favorite little girl designers they carry include: Catherine Malandrino, Dylan & Abby, Shabby Chic, Savannah, Tahari, Jillian’s Closet, Cynthia Rowley, and Jessica Simpson, just to name a few. I’m a sucker for their muted pastels and timeless silhouettes.
To dinner the first night, my girls wore these gems by Cynthia Rowley. These were actually a birthday gift to them from one of my close friends who totally gets me and shares my love of little girl style.
I’ve included links to lots of other great rompers and outfits on Amazon down below. So, even if your style doesn’t overlap with mine, you’re sure to find something you love. The red rompers that I got for my girls, come in at least 50 different colors and patterns, some of which you’ll see down below as well.
Other Beach Day Toddler Must Haves:
Sun Essentials for Toddlers
We always bring long sleeve rash guards with us to the beach or pool, so the girls can put them on after about an hour of sun exposure. Target’s Cat and Jack line makes some great ones of these and so do some other swim vendors on Amazon.
We also make sure to apply our babyganics sunscreen every few hours. Their sunscreen stick is one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread, when it comes to applying sunscreen to a toddlers face! It’s seriously one of the best products for toddlers.
Swimming essentials for Toddlers
Both of our girls have Puddle Jumpers to wear in the pool and the ocean. The peace of mind these puddle jumpers bring is worth their weight in gold. My husband and I are still super vigilant any time our kids are near a body of water, but when the girls are wearing their puddle jumpers we don’t have to feel panicky about it. The girls can float on their own in them and start practicing their swimming without the fear of sinking if they stop for a minute. The strap in the back also makes a convenient place to grab them in a pinch if you can’t get your arms all the way around them when a wave comes. I’m not usually the biggest fan of pink, so our girls have the teal ones with the red crab on it, in the middle below. We ordered ours on Amazon.
The last water necessity is only for our youngest, as our oldest potty trained last summer. Swim diapers. They are definitely a must! I am a huge proponent of a reusable fabric swim diaper and have loved these pull on and snap on ones in the past. But if we’re on vacation and away from home, I rely on a few disposables. My favorite disposable is the Pampers Splashers, followed closely by the Huggies Little Swimmers. If you are new to swim diapers be fair warned to wait to put them on until right before they go swimming! All swim diapers are designed to only contain solids, meaning they will let pee pee run straight through! This is true for both fabric and disposables.
Also note that if you cloth diaper, you can use a cloth diaper liner as a swim diaper too, just don’t put the absorbent pad inside and you’re good to go.
Beach Essentials for Toddlers
Most people already have their favorites here. Some prefer a beach chair, while others prefer a towel. Personally, I am a huge fan of using a full or queen size flat sheet to lay out on. And, if you want to keep sand off of that sheet, you’ll need my favorite new invention: SAND OFF. This is definitely a MUST HAVE beach product. It’s a sachet with an elastic handle and as your rub it over your body the sand falls off like magic. My assumption is that it probably has talc or baby powder (or something similar) in it, as I’ve heard that these too work to remove sand from your skin, but this product takes the mess right out of it. Simply brilliant. Ours even came with a cute little carrying bag so we could just toss it straight into our beach bag.
And of course, what beach day would be complete without some sand toys.
Now feel free to shop around. There are plenty more Amazon rompers, hats, and outfit sets to love, so you should easily be able to find some to fit your taste. Be sure to share what you chose below, I can’t wait to see how some of these look in person.
Other Amazon Must Haves for Summer
