Handprint Heart Art (and other handprint art)

I'm a memory hoarder. I've stated it before. I think.  If not, I'm stating it now.  I hoard every milestone, memory, moment.  It's one of my best and worst qualities.  But I like to think that one day, my babies and grandbabies will appreciate this as much I appreciate the memories my mom made sure to keep tangible for me.  So handprint art is just another way I'm tapping into this mommy talent.

Each holiday/season here recently, I have made a point to do handprint art with sweet Adeline.  We started at Halloween (she was almost 1) and have continued the tradition.  We even have designated wall space to display her sweet art in our living room.

Some have been Pinterest inspired, others have been just on a creative whim.  I have used paint, simple paper art, and even just markers.  No matter what media I've chosen...the outcome has always made me so happy and I'm thankful to have her sweet little handprints captured at various stages!

I may keep this up until she's married...just in time to start with grandchildren. Kidding.  Sort of.

Currently...

Valentine's Day!

we just used her Color Wonder Crayola markers and paper for this one

Others...

Halloween

tempera/acrylic paint on canvas

Thanksgiving

family handprints using scrapbook paper glued onto mini pumpkins

Christmas

tempera and acrylic on canvas

Crayola Clay Air Dry Ornaments (we had to include Boone's paw print ;)

They're all my favorite.

must-haves when venturing into toddlerhood

Adeline is just about to turn...gulp...15 months.  I still refer to her as my baby...but I know that in all reality she is my "toddler" now.  Baby just sounds better.... ;)

Lately I've found some things that are some must-have when venturing into the land of toddlerhood!

One- Silicone skid-proof reusable placemat

This has been so amazing for all of our eating out trips! It grips and has suction cups to cup to the table and the catcher actually catches food! Adeline even snacks out of the area that catches the food! ;) It is reusable (about $10) and is dishwasher safe! I simply wipe it clean with a wipey after a meal and roll it up and throw it back into the diaper bag.  It's amazing! They come in many colors-both for girls and boys.  I found ours at Babies-R-Us.

Two- Silicone bib

Same idea as the placemat...dishwasher safe and reusable! We love to just throw this in the dishwasher after a meal with all the other dishes! We found Adeline's at JC Penney's.

Three-Night lights

We have never depended too much on night lights with Adeline, but we are really liking them at this stage! We love her owl night light from Target that is a silicone outside and has an easy on/off button that she can easily control.  Plus, just the fact that you can turn it off and on so easily is nice! We also like her twinkly ladybug night light that projects colors and stars around her room- the perfect calming technique for when we walk out of her room each night.  She loves it and it goes off on its own after a little while.

Four-Doll (or other make-believe/pretend toy)

We got Adeline her first Cabbage Patch Doll named "Madeline" for her birthday and she loves it.  Any doll has been so fun for her...she loves them all and it is so sweet to see her so nurturing already!

Five- Nice, supportive shoes

When Adeline was still crawling and just pulling up it was still warm outside and we hardly ever put shoes on the girl! But now that she's walking, nice shoes that stay on her feet are a must! We love the squeaky shoes I ordered from ebay and the fun boots I have found at Target, but her grandma ("Gee") insisted on buying her a pair of Stride Rite shoes and those have been fabulous! We are so thankful for them.  They have a stretch hook and loop type closure that velcrows and the rubber soles have been perfect.  They have given her just the support she needs, she walks great in them, they fit her feet perfectly, and they are so easy to get on! The best part of Stride Rite, is they measure their feet before trying on and once in the shoes to make sure the child will be able to ideally wear them for 3 months! (Hint: Stride Rite outlets! ;)

Six-Crayola color wonder markers and paper

Adeline has loved to color for months and months now! She is crazy impressive with her fine motor skills and being able to hold marker and pencils and utensils.  The toddler grip art supplies just aren't her cup of tea and are too large.  However, I don't really want marker all over my walls and our furniture. ;) The color wonder markers are clear and only color on the "magic" color wonder paper! This has been fabulous!

I could keep going with my list...

-water cups

-snack bins

-toys, toys, and more toys

-drawers to get into

-dogs to love on

-Momma's french fries

-Daddy's dill pickles

-books, books, and more books

-laundry baskets for pretend car playing

-toothbrush and endless amounts of water to place it under

;)

...but those are my top 6 as of right now as Adeline approaches 15 months!

What are your toddlerhood must-haves?

Adeline Grace (14 months)

Ringing in a New Year!

I'm doing this a bit out of order...

Christmas posts will come once I sort through the gobs of pictures. ;)

Adeline and I spent our New Years day yesterday, lounging at home while Justin worked.  It was such a nice day since we have been so on the go lately!

making messes

having some nay nay play time ;)

napping for the last time in 2012!

perfecting our one-handed while holding a baby vacuuming skills

facetime playtime with Daddy's new phone (we may or may no have been under the same roof)

We spent our New Years Eve with our best friends, Chad, Cheri and their little girl Anna.  We have been friends with them for many, many years and have almost always spent New Years Eve together! Back in our wild small-town and bored, single days we stayed up playing card games until well after midnight and would drive through the Liquor Barn asking if they had "sparkling grape juice" when all the stores were close or sold out. Ha! Now that we are married and have sweet babies, our New Years looks a bit different but is even more fun!

We started our evening getting dressed up to go out to eat!

The Hibachi grill was a fun, success! Adeline's first time going to one was on her first birthday.  She loves the entertainment and really enjoys the food!

Our plan was to go to new cupcake shop but they were close. So we moved our dessert plans to another local dessert shop and enjoyed chocolate mousse cake and chocolate cheesecake, as well as cold glasses of milk! Adeline shared and I think the chocolate pushed her over the New Years celebrating edge! ;) She was a bit wild and had so much fun loving on her best friend, Anna.

Once we were home, we spent the evening chatting to Justin's parents (Adeline's Gee and Pawpaw) on Skype since they are in Florida for the winter already.  After letting Adeline play, we put her to bed and Justin and I watched Batman and the New Years' Eve festivities including the ball drop.

We've spent today as a family! We went to brunch at Cracker Barrel and have had a lot of fun relaxing and playing at home today!

pre-nap snuggles

Happy New Year from us to you! 

May 2013 be a blessed year for you, full of God's grace and blessings!

2013 Goals (First Half)

I've decided to set goals by month for 2013.  I'm pulling from areas where I really want us to work on as a family and I want to work on personally.

January-Read (at least) a verse a day

I've been slacking big time on my quiet time.  And God comes first.  Period.  Before everything needs to get in order, my personal time with God needs to get in order.  It helps me be a more patient, grace-filled person.  It makes me a better wife. A better mommy.  And just a more fulfilled person.

February-No eating out month

This is the are of our budget we struggle the most.  This won't count our once a week eating with my family since that's a tradition we tend to do with them weekly.  Hoping this will really help us save some money and be healthier as a family!

March-Blog every day month

I started this blog back in August of 2009 as a creative outlet for me. I have always had a passion for writing, so this blog has been that outlet for me and to hold myself accountable to actually write.  Since Adeline, it has become more of a way to document our family life.  It was such a blessing to have her monthly posts to print out and have at her first birthday.  So my goal is to get back into blogging more frequently for all those reason.

April- Track all our spending month

This is to help us with our budget and help us to get back on track with our Dave Ramsey money management. 

May- No computer/iPad/smart phones after 9:30 month

This one's for our marriage.  So we will actually spend the evenings after bedtime, when we are just hanging out on the couch, to communicate and connect! 

June- Pray together as a family every day month

I am such a believer in the power of prayer.  I think it's so valuable for families and couples to pray together.  I always pray with Adeline at bedtime, but we need to better about praying together as a family and a couple.

My hope is that these goals will start to filter into the rest of 2013 as we accomplish them monthly. Nothing too lofty. Totally doable. And very valuable to our family.

our 2012  New Years baby...

just close to 2 months...

oh the difference a year makes!

Happy New Year from our family to yours!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

 

Joy to the world!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours...

May you have a blessed time celebrating the birth of our Savior!

Adeline {13 months}