KID TALK - SUMMER 2017

Oh, these kiddos.

They are SO funny and say such great things.  Here's a sampling of their words from summer 2017.

Overheard.
Eli: After Christmas is...July!
Sam: I don't thinks so.  After Christmas is Valentine's day.  It's gonna be love hearts everywhere!

He had a bug bite.  I had told him about (topical) Benadryl, but failed to ever put it on his foot.
Eli: Mama, remember my foot itches.  I need that drill!

Eli: Mama, if you're nice, I'll play baseball with you.  

Sam: There's a bird!
Me: Yes, it's a robin.
Sam: If that bird hears a firework, he'll say, "Huh!? What was that!?"
Walking toward the bird.
Sam: "Hi bird.  Do you know about July?"

Eli had been clearing his throat repeatedly for several minutes.
Me: What's going on with your throat?
Eli: It's just burping or something.

Sam: You know what?!  Jenna saw a BIG bear!  ...it was either a bear or a dog.

Eli: We need to dead those grasshoppers.

Getting to our vacation rental required us to drive by a Lowes.  Every time we drove by...
Sam: Louise. ...no Margaret, though.  
It took me several trips to realize that he was reading Lowes as Low-ees "Louise" - which is Maggie's middle name.  

Eli: Mama, you're not a good pitcher.  Your brains aren't good at pitching.  Mama, you can play better when you grow up. 

As we walked up to our gate at the airport and looked out the window at the waiting planes.
Eli: Look at that plane!  ....but is it real?

Eli: If your door is closed, can lava get into your house?

Brian is a high school history, civics and economics teacher.
Me: What does daddy do at work?
Sam: He teaches friends how to play.

Sam: Don't touch the spider!
Eli: Why?
Sam: It's allergic to you.
Eli: Mama! I have to tell you something.  Is the spider allergic to me?

Sam: Mama, if your iPad isn't working, do you call 911?

Eli: Mama, did Grandpa Birger used to have pigs?
Me: He did.  When I was a little girl, he had pigs.
Eli: But how did they get away?
Me: Well, they grew up and the then they died.  Pigs don't live as long as people. 
Eli: But I'm gonna live a long time, but if you don't breathe, you don't live a long time.

Months after I got new glasses.
Sam: Mama, take off your glasses.  Do you look like mama?
Me: I don't know.  Do I?
Sam: No.  Put on your glasses.  Do you look like mama?
Me: I don't know.  Do I?
Sam: No, you look like April.  ...um, can you put on your old glasses?
April is my sister / his aunt.  

KID TALK - SPRING 2017

Oh, these kiddos.

They are SO funny and say such great things.  

I was recently scrolling back through my feed and noticed that I didn't share kid quotes from this spring.  Without further ado, here is a sampling of quotes and conversations from our household:

Eli: Mama, we're having a pretty rough day.
Me: We are? What makes it rough for you?
Eli: Because we have a lot of snot going.

Sam: That was January Oneth.  ...um, that was the first day of January?
And another day.
Sam: It's April Twoth!

I was trying on a chambray, button up shirt.
Eli: What are you doing?
Me: Trying on this shirt.  Is it good or not good?
Eli: Not good.  ...you look like...daddy.

Sam told me something surprising. 
Me: Are you serious?!
Sam: No! ...I'm happy...Maggie didn't knock down my blocks.

Making a rumbling sound with his mouth and a cup.
Eli: (giggle) It makes a little grumpy sound!

Seeing a drawing of a deer.
Sam: Look at his stick ears!

Hearing truck brakes.
Eli: That truck has squeaky pedals!

Nana told him he was getting old.
Eli: I'm not going to die!

Me: Eli, you look handsome.
Eli: Hey! I'm not handsome, I'm cute.  

Sam: When I'm 42, I'm not going to be Sam anymore.
Me: You're not?
Sam: No, I'm going to be a daddy.

Sam: We did good things in May.
Me: We did.  Which part did you like? (Thinking he would say something about birthdays or school or a visit to the Omaha Zoo.)
Sam: We had good food at the farm.  We had hot dogs and chips and marshmallows and chocolate and two graham crackers - that's S'mores!

Seeing a motorcycle:
Me: Did you know Grammie used to drive a motorcycle?
Eli: Connie!?

A NEW PHASE / FAMILY PHOTOS

This is the last week of our usual, school year routine - with Brian at school and Sam home with us in the mornings, but spending the afternoons at preschool.

We are moving into a new phase in our family.

In my head, I'm calling it "the beginning of the end of the baby and toddler phase."  I think we're actually a ways past that.  Sam hasn't been a toddler for a while. Eli often talks and acts like he is seven, even though he is only three.  Basically, I think we are in between phases, now.  But, I'm sticking with this "beginning of the end" title because I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to these years of all my "babies" spending so much time at home with me.

As always seems to be the case, these years have gone by so slowly and so quickly.  It feels like it has been FOREVER since I worked full time.  (I honestly can't even imagine working a full time schedule and also having three kids.  All you working moms, have me amazed.)  I can hardly remember what it was like to have only one kiddo or to do all of the "mom things" for the first time.  But, it also doesn't seem so long ago that Sam was two and Eli was a baby and now, somehow, they are five and three - with a baby sister toddling behind them.

And yes, I realize this is all sort of melodramatic.  I know Maggie is still a baby for a few more months and will be home with me still for the next several years.  It just feels like a big shift is heading our way and I'm trying to prepare myself.

So, I am more than a little thankful that we recently had our family photos taken in a way that feels like it really captures THIS stage.  This in between stage.

A few weeks ago, we had Misty Prochaska join us for a Saturday morning and she took documentary style photos of our morning.  She did well.  And she was a joy to spend time with.  All photos in this post are hers and she also did a post on her site with more images.

If you happen to be local to Lincoln, I would highly recommend her.  

I'm not committed to this yet (in other words, plans are likely to change), but I am considering using the photos plus some in-depth text to make photo books that document this current stage.  I like the idea of creating a digital book (versus my usual paper and printed photo albums) because I could easily have four copies created - one for Brian and me and one for each of the kids.

I have tried to do Week In The Life albums several times in the last couple years, but have yet to pull one off.  I think these images could be a great jumping off point for adding text about our everyday life that would sort of fill the same role as a Week In The Life album.

Thanks again to Misty.  Like big, big thanks.

KID TALK - WINTER 2017

Oh, these kiddos.

They are SO funny and say such great things.  Here is a sampling of recent quotes and conversations from our household:

Always interested in tornadoes.
Eli: Does God have to climb up on a ladder to put the tornado up in the clouds?

Playing with Duplo blocks.  
Brian: That's a wall.  
Eli: It's a flag, buddy.  

Eli: Mama, sometimes do we die?  

About roosters.
Sam: Cock a little do!
Eli: Is he cock a do-ing?

Eli: What did God use to make my head?

Eli: Poop keeps stinkin' up our house!

Sam: When I'm 100, you won't hold me anymore.  When I'm 100, I'll be too heavy.  

And another day.
Sam: When I'm 100, I can't go to school.  
Me: What will you do? 
Sam: Stay home and play with you.  

Handing me a bright pink PlayDoh cookie.
Me: Yum! Can I have a bite? 
Sam: Yes...um, it's pretend.  

As I was asking him his birthday interview questions with a lot of "what's your favorite" type questions.
Eli: I don't like everything in this world because everything is too noisy and too hot. 

Eli: Mama, when you were a baby, what tummy were you in?

We've been having a lot of conversations / instruction about things that are appropriate in public and things that are only for private. 
Sam: When I jump off the step on the bus to come home, is that public or private?  

Eli: When Jesus comes, does he drive?

Sam had a headache.
Sam: Is my heart right here (pointing)?  
Me: Yes.  
Sam: Jesus goes up in my head to make it better, then back down to my heart!

Eli: Water makes spicy go away.  

About Sam - in a tattling voice.
Eli: Mama!  He keeps calling me sweetie pie!

We told Sam my mom and step-dad would be moving from Washington to Illinois.  
Sam: They will go down the hill to Oregon and California.  Then they have to go over to Arizona and New Mexico and Texas and Louisiana.  Then up the hill to Arkansas and Missouri and Illinois!  And that is all!  (...except he has some funny pronunciations for some of the states.)

More Sam map talk/pronunciation.
Aquahoma=Oklahoma
No-uh-noy = Illinois
En-dark-tica = Antarctica

Sam: I don't like eggs, but I almost like eggs.  
Me: What does that mean?  
Sam: It means when I grow up, then I will eat eggs.  

Eli: I don't like sausage.  I don't like bacon.  I like candy!  (pause)...but it's not healthy.

The boys were talking about Maggie being born.
Eli: And then she took off her clothes and she was all wet and she comed out! 

I was wearing a black and white striped shirt.
Eli: Mama, you're pretending to be a zebra!

Eli: Maybe we could eat some swordfish and maybe we could eat some fish without a sword.  But the big fish are too big for the oven and the pan and the microwave!

Eli: What are you doing?  
Me: Just resting.  I don't feel very well.  
Eli: Maybe you're going to die. 
Me: I don't think so.  
Eli: But you look pretty old.  

Previous "Kid Talk" posts: Summer 2016, Fall 2016

KID TALK - FALL 2016

Oh, these kiddos.

They are SO funny and say such great things.  Here is a sampling of recent quotes and conversations from our household:

After many conversations related to turning left, turning right or going straight.
Sam: Mama, do I have a straight hand?  

Seemingly out of nowhere, but maybe related to Snapchat or some dolls we have with removable / interchangeable heads.
Sam: Can we try new faces?  Sam can be Eli, Eli can be daddy and daddy be mama!  We can move our heads. (Pause.) Oh no!  Our heads are stuck!  
And later, overheard mumbling to himself.
Sam: We can't try new faces.  Our faces are stuck.  

Watching / listening to migrating birds.
Sam: Birds!  Have fun at South! 

Eli's standard apology script - adapted from the script we gave him and later adopted by Sam.  I first wrote this down months ago and we are still trying to work on correcting this.  
Eli: I'm sorry, ___name of offended___.  Thank you for ___offense___.  (For example:) I'm sorry Sam.  Thank you for hitting you.  

Me: Do you think Maggie could poop in the potty?
Eli: No.  She's too little.  Maybe she would go down [the drain] and we can't have a baby anymore. 

Talking to our Amazon Echo.
Sam: Alexa! Do you have a mama and daddy?

And another day, talking to Alexa.
Sam: Alexa, I hurt my ankle! Alexa, look! 

As we were talking about the difference between dairy cattle and beef cattle and noting that grandpa's cattle don't usually make milk.
Sam: They have apple juice, though!  
And when I argued otherwise, he was insistent.  
I was so confused until I realized he meant that he gets to drink apple juice at grandpa's house.  

Falling off the curb and onto the street.
His cousin: Sam! Are you okay? 
Sam (sounding really happy, surprised, relieved): A car didn't get me!

To me with my hair in a ponytail, which doesn't happen often.
Sam: Oh no! Where is your hair?!

More "kid talk."

7 (BABY) PARENTING RELATED BITS

This post is going to cover a lot of miscellany that all, in one way or another, relates to parenting - a lot of it is fairly specific to parenting babies.  It's kind of like a highlights reel of things that deserve to be blogged about, but don't have enough meat to stand alone as their own posts.

- - - - - - -

(1) I recently downloaded the Legacy Countdown App.  It makes it easy to visualize the amount of time your kiddos have been in your life - and the number of weeks until they fly the coop.  It feels convicting in a good way.  And, it's free.

(2) I think Letterfolk Boards are pretty great all around, but I particularly love the posts their company shares on Instagram.  This one, this one, this one and about a hundred more.  Good, true, and funny stuff.

(3) Postnatal hair loss.  It's a thing.  I'm on my third go around and it's worse than ever.  I have actual bald spots on both sides of my head in addition to general all-over hair loss.  My mom said that she had a similar experience during a particularly stressful time in her life.  And (importantly) hers grew back.  I talked to another mom who has permanent bald spots following postnatal hair loss.  I feel like hair, and the having of it, should not be a huge deal, but somehow it is.  I really, really hope that my hair loss will slow down soon and that those bald spots will fill in.  Also, I've been too scared to google about it, so I just haven't.

(4) Lap shoulders allow baby clothing to be pulled DOWN over their shoulders (instead of up over their heads).  Am I the last one to learn this?  I'm on kid number three and just figured this out.  Allow me to repeat: baby clothes with a lap shoulder neckline (google it if you have no idea what I'm talking about because I can't figure out how to describe it for you), can be removed by pulling them down instead of up.  This is a big deal when it comes to things like diaper blow outs.

(5) Heating pads are a newborn's best friend.  I've written about this before, but thought it deserved another mention as it fits so well in this post.  If you have a new baby, put a heating pad in their crib / bassinet / swing / wherever you're going to put them after you get them to sleep.  Once the bed is warm and the baby is asleep, remove the heating pad and put baby in its place.  (Make sure, of course, that the bed isn't TOO hot.)  This little trick does wonders for keeping sleeping babes asleep.

(6) If you have even a small interest in photography, buy a "nifty fifty" lens for your dSLR camera.  There are a variety of types of fixed lenses, each with their own benefits and drawbacks and price points.  When I was pregnant with Sam, I did a bunch of research and ended up buying the least expensive option I found (this is the one I own) and it is fabulous.  I appreciate good photography, but really have no desire to learn more about it.  This lens feels like an easy compromise between those two things.  I am often rewarded with beautiful images of our kids and life by simply using my fixed lens, placing it on the "A" (aperture) mode and manually shifting the focus point.  I think this is one of the best purchases that I've ever made.


(7) If you have the opportunity to buy baby things that are not baby-theme-y, do it.  Particularly, if you're pregnant for the first time and / or are planning to have more than one child.  I realize there are some people that won't find this important, but it really bothers me to have ugly baby-themed things around the house.  I am thankful that, from the get-go, I bought a boppy cover that looks good even in the living room, a high chair that doesn't scream "jungle" or another kid-theme, and so on.

- - - - - - -

And, as a bonus: People always say to "nap when the baby naps" which is good and fine, but I think an equally viable rule is "do something YOU LIKE/WANT TO DO while the baby naps."

KID TALK - SUMMER 2016

Oh, these kiddos.

They are SO funny and say such great things.  Here is a sampling of recent quotes and conversations from our household:

At the dinner table.
Sam: Daddy, when you get bigger you'll get wings and then you can fly!

In the cry room at church with Maggie and me.
Eli: There's a star on his jammies.
Me: Whose jammies?
Eli: Pastors!

Talking about food's path through the body...
Eli: I don't have intestines.
Brian:  You don't have intestines?
Eli: Nope.
Brian: What do you have instead?
Eli: I have fries.

Leaving for the store with Brian, while Maggie, Eli and I were staying home.
Sam: I love you, Eli.  I hope to see you soon, Eli.  You can't go.  Just me.  I'm a grown up.

Overheard from another room.
Eli: I smell poop.  Sam, did you poop or did I poop?

After he said something funny.
Me: I find you amusing.
Eli: I find you at the museum.

As I was cutting Eli's hair (and had just given a similar compliment to Sam after cutting his hair).
Eli: Mama, you are handsome!

Background for the next two quotes - Sam pukes somewhat regularly and often asks for "his bucket" a good while (even many hours) before he actually throws up.  Basically, it has become something of a non-event in our household.

On our way out to dinner - with no plans to be back home for a few hours.
Sam: I don't have my bucket.
Me: Do you need to puke?
Sam: Ya.  I will just wait 'til I get home.

At the dinner table
Sam: I want my bucket.
Then, immediately after being handed his puke bucket, which was close by.
Sam: I want candy!

Playing with a toy owl.
Eli: Does owls like beer, mama?  Does they like cat food?  Do cats like peanut butter?

After he said something funny.
Me: Where did you get your funniness from?
Eli: From down there in my intestines.

Looking at a scribble someone made in a library book.  Grimacing.  
Sam: Oh no!  Will Jesus clean it up?

SLEEP - A YEAR LATER

One year ago, I wrote a letter to my boys pleading with them to allow me some time to sleep.

If I were to write them a similar, sleep-related letter today it would be much shorter.  In fact, I think I could sum it up in two simple words, "Thank you."

Oh, we are far from the sleep-happy days that existed before parenthood.  But.  And it's a big but.  We are also far from the sleep-disaster of one year ago.

Considering that I am a mama to a one year old and a three year old, I'd say we're doing pretty darn well.

Our usual pattern looks something like this:

Eli goes to bed around 8pm.

We read him two or three books, say prayers, give him lots of kisses and squeezes and set him in his crib with a few stuffed animals, his "night-night's" (small pieces of knit fabric with binding around their edges) and a sippy cup of water.  His animals give him a few more "kisses" and then we tell him how much we love him and close the door on our way out.  We put him down wide awake and he falls asleep on his own.

He sleeps until somewhere between 5:30am and 7:30am - probably averaging right at 6:30am.

He naps for two to three hours most afternoons - something like 1pm-3:30pm - and we follow a pre-nap routine that is very similar to his pre-bed routine.

Sam goes to bed around 8pm.

We usually do a puzzle or play a game together in the half hour or so leading up to bed time - with jammies already on and the understanding that after the activity we will be going into his room for bed time.  He "reads" me a book from memory while I snuggle next to him on the bed.  I climb out of his bed and sit beside him while he says his prayers and then I hold his hand until he falls asleep.  It usually only takes two to three minutes for him to fall asleep.

He wakes up anywhere between 4am and 6:30am - averaging about 5:15am.

He does not nap and it is for the best that he doesn't.  If he is sick or wakes up at 4am and falls asleep in the afternoon, he tends to fight bedtime until 10pm or later and that makes me a crabby mess.

Eli doesn't care who puts him down.  Sam wants me and only me  Every time.  He is almost mean to Brian about even being in the room, unless I am not home, in which case he puts up with Brian because he doesn't have a choice.

The most common exceptions:

Sam comes into our room in the middle of the night one out of every three nights (or  so) and wants to sleep with us.  We let him climb in until he falls back asleep and then one of us carries him back to his bed.  Sometimes this takes all of ten minutes, other nights he wiggles around in our bed for an hour or more before he falls back asleep.

Eli has random nights of middle of the night crying, but this is pretty rare - maybe once every two or three weeks.  I go in his room, check to make sure he doesn't need his diaper changed and then hold him / walk around his room while I count to sixty in my head.  After the minute is up, I put him back in bed and leave the room.  Often, that's all it takes.  Sometimes, he goes back to crying when I leave.  If so, I wait a full ten minutes and then go back for another minute of holding / walking around.  And we continue that pattern for a while or until I give up.

Giving up equals holding him in the rocking chair and letting him fall asleep on me - which happened one day a week or so ago, but hadn't happened for many months before that.

- - - - -

My biggest frustration is still the early mornings with Sam.  I love having some quiet time to myself in the mornings before I have to move into my mama role.  I usually get up right around five, so some mornings I manage the quiet times and other mornings not - just depending on how late he sleeps.

It's been a while, but at some point we tried moving his bed time later to see if it would help him to sleep in.  It didn't.  He got up at the same time, but was just more tired from fewer hours of sleep.

In the big scheme of things, I'm really happy with where we are sleep-wise.  It isn't perfect, but I am actually getting many consecutive hours most nights of the week and this makes for a happy brooke.

PS: If you're interested in toddler sleep posts, Kathleen has written a few about her family's sleep situation recently.  Here and here.  

Photo: Shutterfly offered a coupon code for free 8x8 books, a few weeks back.  I downloaded their app, synced it with Instagram and chose the 20 most recent photos in my Instagram account that included both Sam and Eli.  The book is tucked away on a top shelf and will be a Christmas gift for them.   

A BIG KID ROOM FOR SAM

Completing a "big boy room" for Sam was #79 on my goal list. Last Friday, I crossed it off!  I'm on a roll and it feels good.  

Truth be told, everything that is in his room has been there for the last six months.  I finally got it rearranged and organized and re-hung things on the wall.  And with those little fixes, I'm calling it complete.  

He doesn't use a pillow or a blanket.  We've tried, but he seems good without them. 

The pile on his bed is usually a bit bigger than what it is in the photo - more stuffed animals and more "night-nights."  I also picked up the usual toy / book disaster before I took photos.

The rug is from IKEA and crazy affordable.  I made the circle art sometime around 2005.  My mother-in-law made the curtains when I was pregnant with Sam and reupholstered the little rocking chair about a year ago.  

The dresser is a hand me down from a cousin and the bookshelf is from IKEA.  

Sam cracks me up because - other than being enamored with the photo of himself and his cousins hanging on the wall - he didn't even seem to notice that all of his furniture had been moved.  

5 WAYS I AM DOCUMENTING ELI'S BABYHOOD

Elijah's babyhood is passing by all too quickly.  He hit the seven month mark last week and is rolling slash worming himself all over the place these days.  I know these moments are both precious and fleeting.  I'm doing my best to both soak them in and record them.

Five ways I am documenting Eli's babyhood:

1. Photos, photos, photos.  Photography is definitely my go-to method for documenting everything in life and this is no exception.  As long as I have a camera close at hand, actually capturing a moment only requires a few seconds.  We have done a few DIY photo shoots, but most of Eli's baby photos are just snapshots from our everyday life. 

2. Weekly photo project.  This project is, essentially, an organized extension of my photography love.  I’ve written more details about it here.  I love this method of documenting because, again, it only takes a little bit of time (usually less than five minutes including his clothing change), but compiling all of the photos into a timeline ends up being a really cool way to see him grow and change.  

3. Monthly overviews.  On, or about, the 6^th of each month, I write a bullet-point list of what’s going on in Eli’s life.  Items on the list include milestones, favorites, what size clothing his wearing and just a general run down of what he’s doing at that moment.  I print two copies and place one in his baby book and the other in our family Project Life album. 

4. Family Project Life album.  I complete approximately one Project Life layout per week, with both photos and journaling, to record all the little details of what's going on in our family.  This is where funny anecdotes and more of the "moments" of our lives get documented.  There is almost always something to write about Eli and often there is something about his interactions with Sam.  

5. Baby book.  This project is in its very beginning stages.  I have the title page complete and have printed out his monthly overview lists and tucked those in the appropriate pages.  And that's it.  I plan to format this book with a few pages about my pregnancy and his birth, followed by two-page layouts each to include a month’s worth of favorite photos, his monthly “what’s going on in Eli’s life” overview and a bit of journaling.  To help me fill in any blanks, I can reference the family Project Life album.

One thing that I have on my related to-do list is to open an email account for Elijah.  This is something that I've done for Sam and I enjoy the ease of occasionally sending him "you did this" write-ups or quick emails with fun photos and videos. 

If you are looking for more ideas to document your baby, I wrote an ebook/resource list with 365 journaling prompts and project ideas for documenting the first year and it is available for only $7. 

"REMEMBERING TIME"

I have started a new little evening ritual with Sam that I am really enjoying. 

Each evening, before bed, we have "remembering time."  Sometimes, we remember while he splashes in the tub, sometimes before we read and sometimes just before prayers and lights out. 

I start with the first moment I see him in the morning and verbally run through a list of all the things that we did during the day.  I've been leaving out the time outs and trying to use this as a time to focus on the good bits - pointing out when he was funny or kind and remembering the moments where we had fun together. 

He is pretty passive throughout my monologue, but gives me a smile here and there and is definitely paying attention.

So far, this has been a fun new way to bond with him and a way to teach him some new vocabulary about the things that he has experienced throughout the day.  It will be fun to see how it develops and evolves over time and if he will become a more active participant as his speech continues to improve. 

A CALL FOR SLEEP

dearest elijah and samuel, 

i love you.  i love spending my days, and even bits of the middle of the night, with you. 

that being said, i need you to work on sleeping more.  mama needs some time.  some time at night to sleep.  some time during the day to clear her brain (and also to clear the growing piles on the kitchen counters). 

littlest one,

i love snuggling and nursing you.  do you remember, a month or so ago, when you used to sleep all night long?  mama was a fan of that plan.  we still had plenty of snuggling time, but we held our meetings during daylight hours and mama was able to truly enjoy them because she was (sort of) rested.  let's try doing that again. 

bigger fella,

you need to nap.  even just an hour does you wonders.  when you don't nap, things start to unravel.  not only our mess of a house, but also mama's ability to tolerate life and your own ability to function as a normal toddler.  (okay, normal and toddler don't really belong in the same phrase.  i'll admit that.)  i love "playing animals" and reading lion king and going to the park / zoo / library with you.  i love just toodling around the house with you as my sidekick.  those truths no longer hold true when you haven't napped.  i hate to say it, but you kind of turn into a little monster and mama doesn't know how to handle it. 

dear boys,

when these two issues combine into one very long day that leads into one very long week, your mama has difficulty being the kind of mama she wants to be.  did you notice that i just called this a "very long week" and as i write this it is before five am on a wednesday.  this is not a good sign.  (and, just in case you are wondering why i am writing you a letter at 4:28 in the morning - it is because this is the only time i can find  by myself. yesterday, i set my alarm for five.  that didn't work.  you were awake fifteen minutes later.)

in closing, and to sum this all up.  sleep.  please.  mama is begging you. 

all my love,

your (sleep-deprived and stressed out) mama (who loves you very much)

ELI'S WEEKLY PHOTO PROJECT

Eli and I are eight weeks into his weekly photo project and having a grand ol' time documenting his changing little being.

I did something very similar with Sam and also suggest this project as a way of documenting your little one's babyhood in my ebook "Document Baby 365." 

To  make it happen, I simply change Eli into a white onesie, place him on the blanket in whichever room has the best light and snap away.  I generally take between five and fifteen photos just so I have a variety of facial expressions to choose from.  The whole process takes less than five minutes - including changing his outfit. 

Not every photo works out.  His flailing arms and legs are often blurred.  He cries. And, sometimes I crop his upper half right out of the photo. 

Instead of including weekly photos in each week's Project Life page, I will just add them on occasion and add in a collage type print (like the top photo) every few months.  One photo from each week will be added to Eli's baby book, but I haven't got started on that project yet, so I'm not sure how that will look. 

Since this is my second go-around with this kind of project, I can already tell you the very best part of doing this: memory making.  The photos are wonderful and will be treasured forever, but the memory of the routine is what sticks.  Doing this week-in and week-out for 52 weeks adds up to a lot of little moments of me with my babe (while he is still actually a babe).  Good, quiet, content, at-home, us-together type moments.  I love that.

ELIJAH'S BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Just as I did for Sam, I DIY'd the design of Eli's birth announcements.  I spent a bit of time looking through the never-ending inspiration of Pinterest and then just went for it. 

The photographs were taken on two different days, so the lighting and coloring among the three photos didn't quite mesh.  Once I converted them to black and white, they looked quite nice together and it was easy to see that a black and white color scheme was the way to go for the rest of the announcement, too. 

I sized the image to 4x6 and used a coupon code for 100 free prints from Shutterfly (kindly gifted by my sweet friend Melanie) to have the announcements printed. 

With many, although not all, of the announcements I also included a short hand-written note.  For these, I used a 3x4 Project Life Grid Card, a stamp of my own design and a pretty paper clip to attach the two. (I wrote the notes on the reverse side.)

I'm not sure what went wrong, but when I had the photos printed, the design got pushed off center a bit, resulting in cut-off text along the right side.  Generally, when I do big projects like this, I order my prints through Walmart and only print one as a "tester" before printing the rest of the batch.  Since I was ordering this set through Shutterfly and didn't want to pay for shipping twice, I just went for it.  Obviously, a tester would have been helpful, in this case. 

Oh, well.  Although I find the misalignment endlessly annoying, I decided to just go with it, rather than reprint the announcements.  In any case, I am pretty sure that the misalignment bothers me much more than any of the announcement recipients.

ALL THE SMALL THINGS

I've written a couple other blog posts with this same title.  Both were focused on the small things making my life better. 

Really, today is no different. 

A few of the small things that are currently making life wonderful:

Little lips.  A little nose. Tiny, irregular breaths.  Itty-bitty toes.  Baby wrinkles.  Almost non-existent eyebrows.  And all of the bits that make up my sweet Eli. 

Sticky fingers.  Bright blue eyes.  Wet kisses.  Obsessive interest in the letters of the alphabet.  Pudgy little toddler feet.  One (and only one) freckle on a right temple.  And all of the bits that make up my sweet Samuel. 

In between each moment of exhaustion and each pang of not-quite-back-to-my-normal-self pain, I am loving these little boys and recognizing my blessings. 

DOCUMENTING BABY'S FIRST YEAR

In preparation for the new little guy’s arrival, I did a bit of brainstorming to come up with a plan for improving my memory preservation skills.  I am happy enough with my photography skills and love Sam's completed baby book.  But, as I mentioned in the baby book post, I wish that I had done more in-depth journal writing while he was still a new little guy. 

I have always been able to write best when my writing was triggered by a prompt.  It gives me a topic to work with and helps me to keep my writing focused.  And so, a list of writing prompts – all focused on baby’s first year – was born.  (Pun intended.)

I ended up creating a huge list of more than 400 prompts.  This is a one-stop resource for anyone looking for prompts to help record their baby’s life – be it via blog post, journal entry, scrapbook, keepsake box or any other method. The document starts with a few suggestions and ideas for methods of documenting your baby’s first year and then jumps right into a categorized list of topics to consider. 

Documenting Baby 365 is available through my etsy shop and can be downloaded immediately following purchase. 

You could print out the document and gift it to a new or expectant mama along with a blank journal, scrapbook or keepsake box.  I will be working from this list as I write about Baby P and I will definitely be gifting the list (plus a journal or keepsake box) to new-mama friends in the future. 

TWO YEARS!

Yesterday was our Sam's 2nd birthday.  We celebrated with Mickey and Elmo balloons, a few presents, cupcakes and an extra trip to Story Time at the library. 

At Christmas, he could have cared less about opening gifts.  Yesterday, he was interested and even excited about a few of them.  I guess two months make a big difference. 

At two years old, Sam:

• is such a little love bug.  He loves to snuggle and hug and sit close/on top of you.
• is a bit of a mama’s boy.
• loves music.  He knows how to turn on his cd player and change the cds.  He also likes to play music on our phones and dance around the house.  Dancing with his cousins is definitely one of his favorite things to do. 
• loves books.  We read a lot throughout the day and he will often pick up a book to “read” to himself during quiet play times.
•  generally sleeps from about 8pm to 6am.  His morning wakeup times seem to change every few weeks.  He will sometimes wake up at 4:30-5am for a week or two and then switch back to six and then (occasionally) make it to closer to seven. 
• naps for one to three hours each afternoon.
•  loves the library in general and Story Time with Miss Sue in particular.  We usually attend once each week.  This is birthday week, so we are going twice!  After Story Time, Sam likes to take a little tour around the library – walking the perimeter and just checking things out.  He also likes the kid computers, the puzzles and the abundance of Curious George books. 
• loves tickle-time and chase-around-the-house-time with daddy.
• knows most of his colors and a few numbers and letters.
•  is, I fear, in for a big surprise when a baby shows up at our house two weeks from now.
•  loves his sensory table, “farm on a string” and color puzzle.  He also spends quite a bit of time cooking up French Fries in his play kitchen. 
• thinks it is pretty cool to play in our cars, while they are parked in the garage.  He likes to push all the buttons and wear Brian’s sunglasses.
•  likes to explore our yard, color with sidewalk chalk, visit the dog statue that lives several doors up the street from us, play with/climb through Mabel’s doggy door, and have us blow bubbles for him. 
• is good buddies with Mabel.  He thinks she is pretty funny and he likes to help feed her and give her treats.  He is particularly thrilled when she gets to go for car rides with us.  
•  loves playing with our iPhones and is pretty darn good at using them.
• also likes to play with our computers.  He is not so good at using those.
• thinks his cousins are pretty cool.
• is loved.