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A Child Grows In Brooklyn's Kim Janulewicz & Nicole Horne Talk Website, Work and Parenthood

December 6, 2013 / Brooklyn Bites, Guest Brunchers, New York, New York Food / 0 comment

Today’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Kim Janulewicz and Nicole Horne, the owners and editors of the popular website, A Child Grows In Brooklyn. Kim lives with her husband, Adrian, son Mason (age four), and daughter Arden (age two), in Clinton Hill. Nicole lives with her husband, Nate, daughter Lucy (age four), and son Owen (two), in Park Slope.

Tell us about A Child Grows In Brooklyn.
We are the largest parenting website in Brooklyn and one of the best known parenting blogs in the NYC area. We are considered THE go-to resource for Brooklyn families and we are always striving to have the most up to date and relevant information for parents in Brooklyn. We want parents to have the right information to make the most educated decisions possible for the most important things in life. We also place an emphasis on listing exciting and diverse family-friendly activities for our Brooklyn community.

How did you came to run A Child Grows In Brooklyn?
Kim and I first met when we had just had our oldest children in a mom’s group at the old Boing Boing shop on 7^th Ave. We clicked immediately. Not only because we were first time moms together, but our husbands also had so much in common, and we were one of the few from our mom’s group going back to work after the (way too short) maternity leave we had. We loved our jobs but we were both looking to also do something we felt more passionate about, so combining our two big loves, our children and Brooklyn, A Child Grows became our newest baby.

What are your day jobs?
Nicole is Director of Acquisitions for a commercial real estate company and Kim is a recruiter for IE Business School.

How do you manage running a popular website, day jobs, and spending time with your families? Do you manage to achieve work/life balance?
That is the million-dollar question! How does one achieve such a balance? I think this is something we will continue to strive for until the kids are off to college.

One key piece of the puzzle has been having an equal partnership with our husbands in all that we do. Both of our husbands work as well, but they also do everything we do for the kids and the house. Without that, I think the family dynamic would sometimes crumble. We also strive to always be in the moment, whether it is work, family time or personal time, and be grateful for all we have. There is always work to be done and places to be, but if we don’t enjoy the day for what it is and really be present in the moment with our family and friends, what is the point?

Did you take time out of the work force when having kids? If so, how did you find getting back into work?
We took our 3-4 months of maternity leave after both of our children were born. Going back to work was not easy at first. You have so many emotions as a new mom that it’s hard to anticipate how you are going to feel. It was even harder with our second babies, because we were having so much fun with the first on our leave. But it got easier as our babies got a little older and we got better at balancing our work with our home life.

We are both fortunate to have schedules that allow us to have breakfast as a family, take the kids to school, be home for dinner most nights and work from home on Fridays. What has been most helpful in juggling family and work is to prioritize what is truly important and learning to say no to invites or projects that will not fit our schedules. Another piece of advice we got as new moms, that has served us well: hire the best help you can afford. Whether the help is a nanny, daycare, a grandparent or a combination, having childcare you can trust and is dependable will be your best investment and save you a lot of stress and worry.

What do you love about running A Child Grows? What have you learned/experienced that you didn’t expect when you took it on?
The most amazing part of A Child Grows is meeting so many of the innovators, entrepreneurs, and small businesses in Brooklyn. We have met the most amazing people. People who are taking risks, following their dreams and creating something wonderful. It has been truly inspiring to us. So inspiring, that we have started writing monthly articles showing off Brooklyn’s best in our Brooklyn Business Spotlights and Upstarts: Parents Raising Children, Building Businesses on the site.

What’s next for A Child Grows?
We hope to continue to be the most trusted resource for Brooklyn parents. We are constantly researching the best events, products and advice to help parents make informed decisions and are always striving to be relevant, entertaining and helpful.

We are busy planning our 3^rd annual Brooklyn Baby and Family Expo in April 2014. It is going to be another fabulous event for the whole family for expectant, new and seasoned parents with children up to age 8. It is a day to bring the online A Child Grows in Brooklyn community together in person to meet new friends and experience relevant educational seminars, community resources, and best products and resources for families.

We are also planning our first virtual Brooklyn Camp Expo in early 2014. It will be a comprehensive listing of all the surrounding camp options for Brooklyn families.

We are also working on comprehensive neighborhood guides to make visiting new Brooklyn areas easier and more fun for families.

Tell us about your fave places in Brooklyn —

— To eat out as a family.
We love having a family meal out at Dinosaur BBQ, which is so big and loud (to drown out our children’s squeals) and has a great kids menu. And we have been exploring all the new restaurants in Gowanus in general.

— To play.
The old standbys are the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and all that Prospect Park has to offer. We’ve recently been having fun at the new NY Kids Club in Park Slope, Frolic! play space in Williamsburg, Twinkle in Greenpoint, Everyday Athlete in Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens. We have a comprehensive guide on A Child Grows Marketplace to help find lots of great options for places to play in Brooklyn.

— And to hibernate in during winter!
There is no hibernating in Brooklyn! There is too much to do and see (plus our apartments are too small!) If you are ever at a loss for new ideas for family outings, we post a weekly and weekend event guide every Sunday and Thursday on the site! You can get our weekly newsletter for all the event listings to help plan your week.

Follow Kim and Nicole and A Child Grows in Brooklyn via their site, Newsletter subscription, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google +.

St Jude: Baby-Friendly Cafes, Redfern, Sydney

July 31, 2013 / Eastern Suburbs, Redfern, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

If you’re cruising down the Redfern side of Bourke St, do not pass the non-descript building that houses St Jude without tasting at least one of their delicious dishes. Whilst it’s a super busy tiny slip of a café, the outdoor tables make for a baby-friendly place to brunch.

St Jude: baby-friendly cafes, Redfern, Sydney, via brunchwithmybaby.com — St Jude exterior. *Photo by Emily Staresina*

St Jude’s brunch offerings are enough to please—and quite possibly impress—even the most seasoned Eastern Suburb gourmand. Neither Lorin nor I, nor Baby Lukas come to think of it, are vegetarian, but today we sampled two of St Jude’s vegetarian offerings. (St Jude isn’t a vegetarian-only café, but breakfast for us usually includes the delicious and revered pork in one format or another, so for us both to try a veggie-only breakfast, and to be fully satisfied, is a testament to St Jude!)

The interior is a little small, with the cozy booths lining the far wall making for comfortable baby seating. The handful of outdoor tables are ideal if you can get one—especially given the ridiculously nice winter weather we’ve been having!

This Saturday morning, we descended upon St Jude’s in a bit of hurry (with Baby Lukas possible ready to implode due to it being nap time). We were initially seated at the world’s smallest table but another waiter took pity on us and moved us to a larger table the second he was able to.

Choosing from the menu was hard, but we both struck gold. The Sweet Corn and Pumpkin Fritters with Avocado Cream, Poached Egg, Hollandaise and Baby Spinach ($14.50), sampled by Lorin, was a dynamite choice, and one worth getting, even if you don’t think you’re a fritters kind of bruncher. I went for the Avocado Smash with Salsa, Fresh Spinach and Feta ($14.50), which Baby Lukas and I pretty much fought each other for. Luckily for us, the servings were more than generous.

Last bite: If you’re looking for a baby-friendly café where you can sit outside and enjoy these ridiculously sunny Sydney winter days while sampling some of the tastiest brunch this side of Bourke St, St Jude is the place for you.

Highchairs: No.
Stroller storage: Not unless you sit outside.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No, but kids won’t starve.

St. Jude
728 Bourke St, Redfern 2016
Phone: (02) 9310 3523
Prices: $
Hours: Mon-Sun 7am-4pm
Get Directions

Brunch Special: Lauren Pohl, Founder, Kidz Central Station

June 26, 2013 / Eat & Explore, Manhattan Munchies, New York Food / 2 Comments

Today’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Lauren Pohl, founder of Kidz Central Station, a website where parents can search for and book fun classes and activities for their kids. Lauren lives with her husband and two kids, her four-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son, in Manhattan.

Lauren Pohl, Kidz Central Station — Lauren Pohl with her daughter.

How would you describe your business and website, Kidz Central Station?
Kidz Central Station helps parents search for, learn about, compare and enroll in classes/activities for children (like Open Table but for kids activities rather than restaurants).

How did Kidz Central Station begin?
I was motivated to start Kidz Central Station after I tried to find a cooking class for my daughter and Googled “kids cooking classes”—and only found tons of adult classes. I asked friends for suggestions and walked around my neighborhood to see if there were any cooking schools for kids. I became frustrated as I use technology for so many aspects of my life as a mother (e.g. buying diapers at diapers.com or sharing photos on Facebook) yet there was no comparable service for discovering, comparing and enrolling in kids’ classes and other activities. I knew that there were so many amazing options for classes and activities in NYC for kids, and that there needed to be an easy, centralized way, for busy parents to learn about them.

We built Kidz Central Station so that parents could go to one site and learn about the different kid activity options available by searching with filters that are important to them such as age, price, location, type of class and schedule, and to directly enroll if they so desire. We also have reviews of classes/activities so parents can learn from the experiences of other parents.

What kinds of activities has your business introduced your kids to?
Every week we learn about so many amazing and interesting classes and activities available in NYC. My daughter is four and loves princesses and fairy tales. As a result of Kidz Central Station we were introduced to the Galli Fairy Tale Theater. She now takes an acting class there and will also do a week of camp there this summer. She loves performing the stories we read at home and pretending to be the different characters. I also learned about some really cool art classes for kids, called Claire’s Creative Adventures, that include visiting local museums as part of the classes. This kind of option make so much sense to have in NYC and I’m so glad that we can help other parents learn that it’s available.

On to food! When did you start taking your kids out to eat in restaurants?
We started taking our children to restaurants when they were able to sit in a highchairs. We took a vacation when our daughter was four months old. We ate in a bunch of restaurants on that trip and found it wasn’t as hard as we expected it to be.

What have you found are the easiest/hardest ages to eat out with your kids?
Four is a good age to eat out as she likes to try to read the menu (or at least the letters on the menu) and this occupies her. Ages 12-18 months were hard as both of my children threw their food on the floor and they constantly wanted to hold the utensils and throw those on the floor as well.

Fave local restaurants to eat out with the kids?
We love a local Italian restaurant near our apartment called Notaro as it’s really family-friendly, the waiter knows our kids’ names and always makes us feel really welcomed. We love that there are often other families there, so we aren’t the only ones with loud kids who can’t sit in their chairs.

Fave spot to stop for treats?
We like PinkBerry and we love the vegan chocolate chip scones from WholeFoods. Our (almost) daily routine now includes going to WholeFoods to get these scones—after picking up my daughter from school on Fridays, plus other random days when the mood strikes. We take the scones to nearby Madison Square Park to enjoy them.

Do you have any eating out traditions with your family?
We enjoy going to Central Park and then out to our favorite pizza restaurant, Al Forno. Whether we go to the zoo, play in a playground or go scooting in the park, we typically end up at Al Forno and then Emack and Bolios for ice cream.

Number one tip for other parents when eating out with kids?
Remember your kids always seem louder to you than they do to other people.

Brunch Special: Lisa Greenwald, Co-founder of Chewbeads/Juniorbeads

May 29, 2013 / Guest Brunchers, Manhattan Munchies, West Village / 0 comment

Today’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Lisa Greenwald, co-founder of Chewbeads and Juniorbeads, necklaces for adults and kids that are safe for kids to chew on. Lisa lives with her husband (and co-founder), Eric, and kids, Benjamin (almost five) and Jordan (almost two), in the West Village, her neighbourhood for the past eight years.

Chewbeads founders Elana and Lisa - via brunchwithmybaby.com — Elana Schulman, VP of sales, and Lisa Greenwald, co-founder of Chewbeads.

Tell us about Chewbeads and Juniorbeads
Chewbeads was started shortly after my son Benjamin was born. He used to put all of my necklaces in his mouth. I knew that developing a necklace that was safe to chew on was a great idea, so I researched materials that were safe for babies and landed on silicone (commonly used in pacifiers and nipples). After several rounds of samples and revisions, we placed an order for the Holiday 2010 season and we started out receiving and shipping the beads right out of our apartment. We’ve since moved into a small office and outsourced our shipping and fulfillment to a company in New Jersey.

Lisa Greenwald with her husband, Eric, and kids Jordan and Benjamin - via brunchwithmybaby.com — Lisa Greenwald with her husband, Eric, and kids Jordan and Benjamin

As for Juniorbeads, we started getting a ton of emails and pictures from our moms showing us how much their older kids also loved Chewbeads. They loved accessorizing as much as their moms, except that the Chewbeads were a bit long for them to wear. We decided to introduce a line just for the kids, making them 10 inches shorter, designing some bright vibrant color combinations, and adding a glow-in-the-dark line. Plus, because they are made with the same non-toxic silicone, it’s okay if they put them in their mouths!

Lisa's husband, Eric, in the office - via brunchwithmybaby — Lisa’s husband and co-founder, Eric, in the office.

On to the food! Your kids are almost five and two. At what age did you start taking them out to eat in restaurants?
We pretty much started taking them out to eat immediately. Babies are the easiest to take out, (so go out as much as you can when they are still in the infant car seat!), and we’ve found the hardest age is definitely around 2 (Jordan’s age)—they sit still for as long as it takes for them to eat and that’s it! After that, it’s pretty rough getting them to stay still (at least with boys!).

Lisa and her son, Jordan - via brunchwithmybaby.com — Lisa and her son, Jordan.

How do you handle eating out with multiple kids?
Benjamin is pretty good at this point, so we try to focus on taking turns entertaining Jordan. We always try to bring something for each of them to do, so we’ll bring some sort of game/entertainment and toy. As soon as we sit down we usually ask for bread and butter, as this usually gets their attention. Benjamin always likes to go to the bar himself and ask for a Sprite with cherries (this usually is pretty entertaining, as most bartenders aren’t sure what to make of him).

Any recent dining experiences you’d perhaps prefer to forget?
I recently had a meal with Jordan that ended with him splayed out on the floor pretty much asking to go to bed!

You live in a such a great neighbourhood for restaurants. What are your fave local places to eat out with the kids?
We love Malaparte and Bakehouse. Malaparte is sort of our go-to spot for Sunday night dinner. The owners are amazing and so accommodating to our kids. Bakehouse is great for brunch, especially if you’re meeting friends. They have big tables and, for the West Village, it’s pretty spacious and stroller-friendly—plus, the food is delicious.

Your fave spot to stop for treats?
We love Milk and Cookies—most amazing ice cream sandwiches (pick your cookies, pick your ice cream, everyone is happy).

Do you have any eating out traditions with your family?
We do go to Malaparte almost every Sunday—I think we’ve had everything on the menu, it’s amazing! In the summer, we go to Soho House on weekend mornings for a family swim and some breakfast.

Fave spot to go for special occasions or events?
During college football season, we try to meet up with friends at a local restaurant called Dublin 6. They have all the games on, a big, open space in the back, and they are happy to have the kids around (they’re located across the street from Bleecker Street Park, so they have to like kids!).

Number one tip for other parents when eating out with kids?
Just relax, and don’t think the meal is going to be peaceful and calm. Go with the flow and try and keep the kids entertained and full. Engage them in the meal whether it be asking for more bread, water, or a new spoon! If they are still at the age when you are holding them, definitely wear Chewbeads! It will keep them entertained and quiet, I swear!

SJP Girls wearing Juniorbeads - via brunchwithmybaby.com — Sarah Jessica Parker’s twins love their Juniorbeads!

Brunch Special: Sammy Smith Coleman, Co-founder of Bottle Rocket Stroller Tours

May 15, 2013 / Guest Brunchers / 0 comment

Today’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Sammy Smith Coleman, co-founder of Bottle Rocket Stroller Tours. Sammy lives with her husband, Matt Coleman, and their daughter, Edie, 21 months, in a brownstone in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.

Sammy with husband, Matt, and daughter, Edie.

Tell us about your business, Bottle Rocket Stroller Tours:
We take mamas (papas and other caregivers too!) and their dreamlets on tours of museums, galleries, parks, architecture and food establishments.

What inspired you to start the stroller tour business?
I’ve always dreamed of running a business and was at a time in my life where I felt like I needed to balance caring for my daughter and doing something for myself. A friend approached me and asked if I’d partner with her and I immediately said yes!

What are some of your upcoming tours?
We have a High Line Park tour on May 20th, The Jewish Museum of Art on May 22nd, Neighborhood Food tours, June 5th and 12th, Park Slope Architecture on June 20th and 28th and MoMA on June 26th. (Check out all of BRST’s upcoming tours online.)

What do the food stroller tours involve?
We tour local kid-friendly food shops and restaurants. For example, on the Cobblestone Brooklyn tour, our last stop was Brooklyn Farmacy, where they made mini egg creams for the kids. Our tours try to accommodate dietary restrictions that both the moms and kids might have. There was one mom who couldn’t eat dairy so she had a non-dairy drink at Farmacy and ate bread with local honey when we stopped at Stinky Brooklyn. Most of the places we tour will have an alternative option when needed.

How should parents taking your stroller tours prepare for their kids’ snack-attacks?
We always encourage mom/caregivers to bring snacks for their kids, especially on our outdoor tours. We can’t guarantee that there will be something that all the babies/kids will eat but we try. Most of our tours are late in the afternoon so most go home to have dinner. We can always recommend local kid-friendly restaurants to have dinner at after if anyone is interested.

On to food! What have you found are the easiest/hardest ages to eat out with Edie?
Easiest age was by far was when she was a few weeks old, up till she started walking at around 12 months. It became more challenging after that since she wanted to explore and run around.

Any stories of an especially good or bad dining out experience with Edie?
My favorite story was at Rucola a few months ago. We were waiting for my husband to arrive and Edie saw him through the window walking towards the restaurant. She started yelling, “PAPA!! PAPA!” at the top of her lungs and the whole place started laughing. As soon as he walked in she got even louder and Matt felt like the proudest papa around. So far we haven’t had any really bad experiences outside the typical screaming and throwing stuff.

Fave local restaurants to eat out with your family?
Building on Bond, Moo Burger, Watty & Meg. Buttermilk Channel in Carroll Gardens is amazing with kids! We also love Ted & Honey, and sitting outside at Bar Tabac.

Fave spot to stop for treats?
One Girl Cookie, Brooklyn Farmacy, Betty Bakery, scones from Building on Bond, and ice-cream from Van Leeuwen.

Do you have any eating out traditions with your family?
My husband makes pancakes and waffles a lot on the weekends. We’ll have to start some traditions! We did Friday night pizza at the mall when I was a kid, I have such great memories of it!

Number one tip for other parents when eating out with kids
Don’t leave home without books, snacks, a zipper pouch full of random stuff she’s never seen before, and ask for your kid’s meal a little early – but not too early so they finish way ahead of you!

Brunch Special: Ann Cantrell, Owner Of Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store

May 1, 2013 / Brooklyn Bites, Brooklyn Heights, Guest Brunchers / 0 comment

In our Brunch Special posts, we bring you local moms who are leaders in their fields, and ask them how they navigate the food scene in New York City with their kids.

This week’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Ann Cantrell, who is well-known around Brooklyn as the owner of the adorable corner store, Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, in Boerum Hill. Ann and her husband, Rob Cantrell, are parents to Charlotte (whom they call Coco), who will be turning two in July. Ann has lived in Brooklyn Heights for eight years, so she’s a local with some great insights into where to take kids in the neighbourhood.

We caught up with Ann to talk about eating out at restaurants with Coco, and some of her favorite local places to grab a bite.

Ann Cantrell - Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store — Ann Cantrell, owner of Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store.

Where do you like eating out with Coco?
“We don’t go out to eat a ton,” says Ann, “but our first outing was a good place to phase in to it – we went to the Lobster Shack down at the Dumbo Pier when we had relatives visiting when Coco was a month old”.

Does it get easier to take Coco to restaurants as she gets older?
As Coco gets older, Ann says she finds eating out with her both easier and harder, at the same time. “This weekend we went to Iris Cafe (one of my favorites) but they don’t have high chairs so Coco was sitting on the chair by herself,” says Ann. “I also had her on my lap – she got really squirmy and rolled off! Ouch!”.

Favourite kid-friendly local hangout?
“We go to Clark’s (a diner on the corner of Clark and Henry in Brooklyn Heights) a lot because they are sooo nice and good to kids,” says Ann. “They’re very helpful, entertaining and patient.”

Fave kid-friendly pizza?
“We eat a ton of pizza in the Cantrell House so we have been to almost every pizza place in NW Brooklyn,” Says Ann. “One of our favorites for an upscale pizza outing is Dellarocco’s on Hicks off of Montague.”

Fave kid-friendly treats?
The Cantrells love their sweets. “One Girl Cookie, Betty’s Bakery, and my husband loves Crumbs because it’s never crowded,” says Ann. “We just went to The Treats Truck in Carroll Gardens for the first time. It gets four thumbs up from me and Coco! More than anything, I liked that there was a place for kids to play.”

What are some of your favorite family eating traditions?
Ann and her family are huge pizza lovers, so her fave family eating ritual is eating out at Monty Q’s for lunch every Saturday. “I like their artichoke slices, but mostly we stick to cheese,” says Annie.

What is your favorite spot for special family occasions?
“If we have friends in town we go to Clarks or Iris for breakfast and then somewhere chill for lunch,” says Ann. The family also cooks a lot at home and love to make big family meals at their apartment.

“My husband makes amazing banana pancakes for yummy brunches, and I love to cook too so we usually have our big, special meals at home,” says Ann. She also finds that eating at home with visiting family makes it easier for Coco too, as Ann finds that she doesn’t eat as much when they’re out (except for pizza!). “We actually had several conversations before Coco was born about taking kids out to eat and we do it for sure,” says Ann, “but we’ll do it a lot more when she is older and can sit and be an active participant in our convos and truly enjoy the experience”.

Number one tip for other parents when eating out with kids?
“Going out to eat is a special occasion so I try to emphasize that to Coco,” says Ann. “I don’t really bring a lot of crazy toys or anything, but instead try to include her in our conversations and keep her entertained that way.” Ann also says that keeping the meals short is key, “and it always helps to start with some Cheddar Bunnies as an appetizer!” she adds. “My friend said wallets work really well for entertaining, we’ll need to try that,” says Ann. “And as I was reading in one of Alexis’ posts too, if all else fails, there’s always the iPhone!”

What’s your must-have item for restaurant outings with Coco?
“One thing I always have with me for outings of all kinds are our Tegu Blocks,” says Ann. “They’re magnetic wooden blocks and Coco is obsessed! They’re fun for adults to play with too. They come in a felt pouch and are easy to pop in your purse, pocket or diaper bag. Several customers asked me for them before we started carrying them (they told me you can keep a toddler occupied for a full meal with them, it’s true!).”

If you’re in Brooklyn, be sure to check out Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store. It’s the perfect place to pick up a unique gift for loved ones – or for yourself!

Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store
365 State St Brooklyn, NY
Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm, Sun 12pm-6pm

Brunch Special: Raegan Moya-Jones, CEO Of aden + anais

April 24, 2013 / Guest Brunchers / 4 Comments

In our Brunch Special posts, we bring you local moms who are leaders in their fields, and ask them how they navigate the food scene in New York City with their kids.

Today’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Raegan Moya-Jones, best known as the creator of the aden + anais swaddle empire. Raegan lives with her husband, Markos, and four daughters, aged two through nine, in an apartment overlooking the Hudson River in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Raegan Moya-Jones aden + anais — Raegan Moya-Jones, the CEO and co-founder of aden + anais.

Raegan originally hails from Sydney, Australia, but after being here many years, considers herself a New Yorker. After living on the Upper West Side for a long time, Raegan and her brood moved to DUMBO in search of space for their growing family. Raegan says they are here to stay.

Like most New Yorkers, Raegan and Markos admit to being total foodies. As such, they started taking their kids to restaurants not long after they were born, with a desire to continue to enjoy their pre-baby New York life as much as possible.

Raegan and her four girls: Anais, Lourdes, Amelie Rose and Arin. Photo credit: http://www.elizabethstreet.com/living/their-room-raegan-moya-jones

What are some of Raegan’s favourite places to eat out with the family?
Nowadays, the family is happy to keep it lowkey. “We’ll grab a baguette from (recently re-opened bakery) Almondine, add cheese, and head to Brooklyn Bridge Park for a picnic on a sunny day,” says Raegan.

Their favourite family restaurant outing is to hop on the ferry to Williamsburg to visit their regular brunch spot, Dressler. “They have French toast that the girls all love,” says Raegan. “They’re really great to the girls, and are accommodating to Anais’s request for olives.” (Anais, nine, has been a vegetarian/vegan since age six.)

Raegan and Markos will also take the girls to Pastis in the Meatpacking district for brunch on occasion: “Once, when I was away on a work trip, Markos packed up all four girls and took them, plus a friend’s dog, there for brunch,” remembers Raegan. (Are we all thinking the same thing? Brave man!)

Other solid options that are always reliably kid-friendly? “Isabella’s (on the Upper West Side) and The River Deli in Brooklyn Heights.”

What were the easiest and hardest ages to eat out your kids?
“The easiest age is when they’re super young, you can just pop them in a car seat and put it on a chair next to you,” recalls Raegan. “The toughest age is about two to five.” (Uh. Oh. We have a long road ahead of us!) Raegan’s girls are mostly at a stage now where they are happy to sit in a restaurant and chat with each other. “If a meal drags on, Anais, the eldest, will take the younger girls for a walk outside,” says Raegan.

How did you go about introducing your kids to table manners?
Raegan and her husband hope the girls grow up to be foodies like themselves, and to appreciate dining out. “We’ve taught them table manners from an early age,” says Raegan. “Things like sitting down as soon as you arrive, putting the napkin on your lap, how to use cutlery – the Australian way!” (American readers – this means we put our cutlery together at the end of a meal to signify we’re finished.)

How do you and the family unplug from technology?
iPads and iPhones are a no-no when the family go out to eat. “We sit together and talk,” says Raegan. “If the kids need entertaining, we bring coloring books and crayons.” For the youngest, Amelie Rose, playing with a spoon was entertainment enough to get her through a meal until she was old enough to join in the family discussions.

Do you and Markos have date nights?
Reagan and Markos made a New Year’s Eve resolution to start making time for regular date nights, though she does admit they don’t do it nearly often enough. “We recently went to Scarpetta, and I love Jean George. I’ve been there so often that the chef and wait staff know me,” says Raegan. “I also really enjoyed Per Se when I was taken there for my 40th birthday. Another place we love to go is Nougatine, where we prefer to sit at the bar.”

What’s next for aden + anais?
There’s a lot coming up in the near future for this great little company. aden + anais have some wonderful new products coming out super soon – keep an eye out for a re-invented lovie that your baby will fall in love with (we know that Baby J, who is still smitten with his lovie, will be a fan), plus a soon to be revealed collaboration with one of our favourite kids clothing brands, and more products specifically designed for mums* that we’re desperate to try for ourselves. We can’t wait to see all of their new ranges and try their new products on the kids!

*(that’s how Aussies spell “mom”, by the way!)