Monday, May 27, 2013

A Few New Posts

I've been working on getting caught up on some posts (I have 70 posts in draft form right now...)

In case you're interested, here are some of the updates (in no particular order):

Clara - 23 Months

Project Life

Clara - 29 Months

Clara - 28 Months

Easter (2013)

Betty - 2 Months

Clara - 27 Months

Clara - 25 Months

Clara's Play Kitchen

Clara - 24 Months

Halloween Recap

Clara's First Big Bug

Clara - 22 Months

California Trip (2011)

Hopefully more to come soon!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Project Life

For a long while I've been trying to come up for a good way to document the life of our family.  I love having a blog, but hate that it's only digital.  I've lost entire chunks of my life that were only recorded in a digital format, so I know that I need something physical too.  I've done old fashioned scrapbooks, but I now cringe at what I've done to my photos with hideous scissors and die-cuts.  Not to mention the fact that it takes me days to put a layout together when I'm cutting and pasting and such. I've done pretty books on blurb and mypublisher, but I feel like they mostly stay on the shelf because I don't want tiny fingers to accidently tear a page - or big fingers to accidently spill a Diet Coke on one. Plus, I feel like it is a huge project to sit down at the end of the year and pull all of that together.  I know it would be easier if I kept up on the blog, but still - there are always more photos I want to add in and it is just a lot of work to do all at once.

Over the past few months I've noticed a few bloggers I like showing off their spreads of a scrapbooking concept called "Project Life." The whole idea is that you do a week at a time (this is how most people tackle it) and use your regular 4x6 photos, pre-printed journaling and title cards, and slip them all into page protectors that are pre-divided into a handsome layout.  Some people do a ton of extra stuff with adding embellishments and cutouts and all that jazz, but I think it kind of goes against the whole concept the system is based on, which is "scrapbooking made simple."  When I really started looking into it, the founder was a few days away from launching a new product that would debut on HSN at a huge discount, so I thought it was a great time to try it out!  I ordered a kit at about 50% off of retail including a binder, 60 page protectors, dividers, and a core kit that includes all of the pre-printed materials I need.  Now I just need to print my photos. Minor detail.

We are in a phase of life that is so fun and I don't want to forget all of the darling things that my kids say and do and all of the silly and sweet moments we share as a family.  I'm really excited for this and I think it will be a great way to record our life.  The big things and the everyday.  I love that.  Hopefully I'll share some of my pages here eventually!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Clara - 29 Months

Clara is at this hilarious, fun (sometimes frustrating) stage right now and I love it.  I love HER!  Here's what's she's up to:

-Whenever she's down to just her undies (or diaper, if she just woke up) or totally nakey, she will sprint out of sight and wrap herself in the closest blanket (preferably fleece).  She loves to be wrapped up and naked.  And I don't really blame her.

-She has started ending sentences with, "so...." for  example, "I need to feed my baby, so...." (mom's cue to leave the room?)

-She's a little fixated on the concept of fear right now.  She's had happy, sad, angry/frustrated down for several months but now she talks about being scared a lot.  And about "scary guys" (like Ronald McDonald).  Whenever she reports a scary dream, frogs are involved.  Sometimes she looks all around her room and in her closet for frogs before she goes to sleep.

-Whenever she has had a happy dream, little owls spent her sleep time saying, "hello, Cla-wa!" Occasionally, a happy dream involves "animals and trains."

-Clara has started to worry when she can't find or see me.  She'll run up to me and say, "I lost me!" and give me a big hug and snuggle.

-Ever since Mother's Day two weeks ago, she's been wishing me a happy mother's day on a daily basis.

-She loves to "ride the gate."
-I've started getting unsolicited, "Thank you for the yummy/delicious breakfast/lunch/dinner, Mama" comments at almost EVERY meal.  I'll take it! It completely removes any pain or annoyance out of meal preparation to have her thank me out of nowhere.

-She understands "privacy" and now tries to give me some when I am in the bathroom.  If ever she runs in to the bathroom and finds me there, she says, "Oh, do you need some privacy?" and shuts the door.

-She has the most expressive face ever.  I love her little concerned face.  The other night after she ended up with a smattering of food on the floor after her dinner, she said, "Who made that mess?! Cla-wa!!!" Then she gave me the sternest upset face she could muster before bursting into laughter.  Several times.  Stern face, laughter, stern face, laughter. I'm so glad that she is such a happy kid with a sense of humor.

-She's obsessed with playing in the bathroom sink.  If I can't find her, I know to look in the upstairs bathroom.  She loves to "do the dishes" and wash her hands and just play in the water.  She can barely reach the water, even when she's on her step stool, but it is still somehow a favorite activity.  I'm just glad it's not the toilet.

-Clara LOVES her baby sister Betty.  I don't think I've ever met a prouder sibling.  She will sometimes get really upset if she wakes from a nap and I tell her that Betty just went down for her nap.  She talks to her in such a sing-songy voice (probably just like I do) and says, "Awww Betty! You're such cute sister! What a cutie pie little sister! Aww Betty."  If Betty's upset or fussy, she'll pat her head gently and say, "It's ok, Betty.  Go back to sleep, go back to sleep."  Soooo darling.  I hope they stay best friends forever!

-She's got the potty training thing down. Well, except for #2.  She still does that in her pants :( But I'm sure she'll figure it out.  We've had a few successes, but for the most part she still runs to a corner and does her business in her undies.

-She loves to play outside, swing, run around (she sings "running, running, running round" to the tune of London Bridge while she runs in circles), go to nursery, sing songs, read books and watch shows (we try to just do one show a day MAX and it's usually Sesame Street, Curious George, Pingu or Shaun the Sheep)

-Clara loves the BYU fight song and asks frequently for "The Cougar Song"

-She loves to smell things.  Flowers, laundry that is "fresh and clean" and today when she saw the wind blowing the trees, she took a deep breath through her nose and (looking out the window) said, "I can smell the fresh spring wind" (not kidding)

-She still is such a curious and enthusiastic learner.  Anxious to know about anything I want to teach her and never gets upset if I correct her or add to her knowledge when she reports back to me (she did not get this from me. As I've observed this trait in her, I've realized that I tend to bristle when corrected... maybe it comes with age? Or is a youngest child thing?) An example, we were observing some bees on a flower and we had just been reading several books about bees.  She said, "Look, the bees are eating the honey!" I said, "Oh yeah, they're slurping the nectar from the flowers." She said, "Oh!  Nectar!?  They're slurping the nectar!? Oh!!"

-She loves to hear stories about Mommy and Daddy... and Clara and Betty and any other family member.

-Whenever she or Betty or her baby have a blanket or towel wrapped so it goes around their head and shows their face, she says, "Look!  A little Mary!"

-She's a super helper and loves to help sweep, spray, wipe up messes, and unload the dishwasher (not just the utensils anymore). She also loves to pour and stir when we're making food in the kitchen. She loves to help and watch me give Betty baths.

-She loves to ask what time it is.  "What time is it?"  And "What time is Mommy?"  I tried to explain to her that people are not time, so she asked, "What time is Daddy's toenail?"
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