Letter to my 18 Month Old Sweet Girl

My Sweet Kayleigh Grace,

When you were a precious little newborn, I remember sitting in a friend's kitchen and listening to her tell me that each month would be more wonderful than the last. I thought she was crazy. How could the "Terrible Twos" be more wonderful than snuggling this precious, pink and wrinkly little bundle that smelled so good and felt so wonderful wrapped in my arms? In the months since then, you have shown me that she was right.

Each month, you add new and wonderful things to your ever-growing list of abilities, and each one is more exciting than the last. When you were six months old, you sat up and waved and we thought it was the most exciting thing on the planet. When you turned 1, you toddled around the house and bopped to your favorite songs, and we took hundreds of videos and played your favorite songs over and over. But now? Now you can dance. And you can tell me which song you want to sing. And you lisp your precious baby words along to the song, and it melts my heart.

My sweet girl, your are your daddy's and my greatest joy. Each night is filled with "Guess what Kayleigh did today?" and "Look at her! She's so cute!" Daddy and I love sharing in our love for you. We love your precious one-fingered kiss (no "blowing kisses" for you--you pop your pointer finger in your mouth, suck on it, and then send the kiss over to the lucky recipient. Don't stop that ever, please. I'll cry!). We love the way you greet us in the morning with so much excitement, and then immediately ask where the other parent is, too. We love your love for "pretty" things and laugh at the way you manage to carry a tube of Mommy's lip balm, a hair brush, and your plastic jewelry while pushing a baby stroller and acting like a mommy. We love your caring heart, and the way you greet kids with an exuberant "Hiiiiiiiiiii fennnnnnnd! (friend)" We love the way you get down on the floor to pat your crying baby friends on the backs and tell them "S'ok, beebee." We laugh every time we remember the day that Daddy was sick and you surprised us both by carrying his laptop all the way from the couch to our bed because you knew it would make him feel better.

Though you knew about 25 words when you turned one, there's no way we could count your vocabulary now. You are so intelligent that I don't consider there to be anything that you don't understand anymore. Many parenting books say to speak to your child in short sentences or one-word commands because that's all they understand. We disagree. If I say, "Kayleigh, where's your cup? Go get it--it's in the kitchen!" You'll come back with your cup. If I ask you to go get your shoes so that we can go outside, you come back with two matching sneakers and a big smile while squealing "Outside! Outside!" Your favorite is when we ask you to do something to be helpful. "Take these keys to Daddy, please," or "Can you please give this book to Mommy?" We've learned to watch the weight limit that we ask you to carry, though, because if it's too heavy for you, you sit down next to it and cry like you're brokenhearted about letting us down. It's sad and adorable at the same time--but it shows so much of your servant's heart!

Yes, we even love your "Stinkface!"

 You knocked my socks off the other day by counting to six when we thought you could only count to three, and since then, you've showed us that you can go all the way up to eleven. You love anything with color, and so far, you can successfully identify orange ("oink"), blue ("boo"), purple ("puhpul") and pink ("peek"). Your favorite is definitely pink.
Any time you find something pink (like my pink washcloth today, for instance) you get SO excited and point to it while dancing and saying "Peek!" so proudly. Ah, my heart. We love you!

Art is one of your favorite activities at home, and you get so excited when I bring out crayons, paper, paint, and glitter.  You decide who each artwork goes to, and you repeat their name over and over while you create.  "Ami," you'll say, looking into my eyes and nodding sincerely so that I get your point, "Ami."  Other current favorites are playing outside on our patio, where you love to play on the slide, decorate the brick walls with chalk, chase bubbles, talk to the flowers, listen for birds, and delight in our wind chimes.

Your contentment in your little world makes me so thankful, and I pray that you are always this joyful to spend time with your dad and mom.  You are God's greatest gift to us, and we are so thankful for you--for your beautiful heart and the glimpses we see of the loving young lady you will become. We praise God for you daily, sweet girl.





18 months in and I love you more than I thought possible when you were first born.  I only expect it to grow exponentially from here.

We love you!

Mommy

Beautiful Springtime Bunting

I've always loved bunting.  It's such a sweet and simple way to dress up a space, and it practically screams "Celebrate!"

When I put together an Easter/18 month photo shoot for my sweet Kayleigh Grace, I knew that I wanted to incorporate bunting as the backdrop.  I found her dress on clearance at Gymboree and fell in love with the rows of ribbons and colorful fabric.  I was so excited when I got home and found ribbon and fabric in my stash that perfectly matched her outfit!

What you will need:

• Fabric (I used white for the triangles, and two patterned fabrics for the yoyos)
• Sewing machine (or glue--it's up to you!)
• Ribbon
• Buttons, yoyos, any additional embellishments you would like to add
•  String (I used white yarn, but would have used twine if I could have found mine)
• Iron/ironing board (if you're a perfectionist like me!)

Bunting
Cut a triangle out of cardstock or cardboard.  I just played with the template until I got one I liked. My template measured 6 inches wide and and about 6.5 inches high.

Fold your fabric lengthwise so that the top layer is just a little longer than the triangle template and iron the fold so that it is stiff and smooth.  Place the top flat edge of the triangle template on the fold and trace as many triangles as you will need for your bunting.

Cut through both layers of fabric, being careful not to cut through the fold.  When you are finished, each triangle should be able to unfold into the shape of a diamond.
 



Embellishments
To add visual interest, I did an ABC pattern of ribbon, fabric, and plain.  I'm planning to create a yoyo tutorial soon, so check back for that :)

For the ribbon, I simply cut lengths of three coordinating ribbons and then placed them on the fabric until I found something I liked.  You can see some of my examples:

I used fabric glue to hold the ribbons in place, and then I sewed*** the "V" along the border of the triangle to really anchor the ribbons.  If you choose to glue the two layers of the triangle together, just make sure that you glue your ribbons down really securely.

***Make sure that you leave about a one inch gap from the fold towards the point (as pictured in the first triangle photo).  This will give you the ability to slip your string through the space and hang it--like a curtain rod goes through a curtain.

Once you have sewn/glued the triangle pieces, you can snip the ribbon lengths to the edge of the triangles.

Assembling your Bunting
Now it's time to string your triangles together and get ready to hang them.  To do this, I took a crochet hook and taped my string to it, then pushed the crochet hook through the spaces in each triangle.  For the photo shoot backdrop I made for my daughter, I did two lengths of 6 triangles each.  Figure out how you will hang your bunting before cutting your string.  The nice thing about this lacing method for the triangles is that it's not permanent--if you don't like the pattern you made, or want to change the triangles around to be more aesthetically pleasing, just unstring them and try again.

Whether you're making bunting as a photo backdrop, party decoration, or room decor, this simple project will brighten the space and add a personal touch that you can be proud of.

A New Season

I've been a stranger to my own blog.  That's an odd feeling.  I blogged back in November about my cup overflowing, and that was the way my life looked from September until last week.  All good things, but too many to keep up with to be able to do a good job of blogging, too.

My quarter ended last Friday.  For the past 2 years, I've taught college ESL writing courses online and absolutely loved it.  Balancing life as a work-from-home mom and daycare provider has been challenging, but it was a blessing.  I found out two weeks ago that the online program for the private university is closing, which means that my job ended, too.  I went into panic mode for a little while, but now I'm leaning on the Everlasting Arms and trusting that the One who provided me with that wonderful job in the first place will lead the way and give us wisdom as to what to do next.

I am sad, though.  I loved teaching--really loved it.  And my students were the sweetest, most caring people.  I've been really blessed by the relationships that were created over the last two school years.  Even though I won't be their teacher any more, many of them asked me to continue to send updates and pictures of Kayleigh.  I love that.  I'm so thankful for those kids!

Anyway, life is back to a new normal.  One where I wake up without a cloud of essays to work through before Kayleigh wakes up, and one where I'm not trying to steal spare moments during naps and bedtimes to write lesson plans and email students.  Instead, our dining table looks like my craft closet threw up on it, and I've had a needle and thread, a glue gun, and yarn out and in use ever since.  Simply being a mom/daycare provider/wife again is awesome.  I have no idea what our next plan is financially, but it's going to have to be something, because that job was 1/3 of our family's income.  For this week, though, I'm simply enjoying.

And cuddling, and crafting, and exercising, and spring cleaning.  It's a lovely week.

I have so many projects that I've made over the last few months that I'm dying to share with all of you.  The only problem is, I never had time to create tutorials for them, and half of them, I didn't even have time to take pictures along the way.  I'll be working to write up posts and recreate projects in the coming weeks and share a little creativity in this crafty space.

sneak peek of Kayleigh's Easter photo shoot!

Oh, friends, I've missed you!  It's good to be back.

Kids Book Exchange

I received a "Kids Book Exchange" invite letter last week.

You know, the kind that says, "This is not a chain letter!"  but it totally is.

Well, chain-lettery or not, I thought it would be fun to participate in the exchange.  But the form that I was supposed to "copy and mail to 6 friends" was dull and boring {and it had obviously been copied 20 times already}.  Since I don't own a scanner or have any way to copy it, and knew that I would have to type the form up myself, I decided to do my best to make it cute.

Click here to access my form and print them for your friends!

This form is free for your use.  Hopefully, just being able to print it directly from your computer will cut out the hassle of having to scan the original and make copies :)

Some tips for participating in a book exchange:

1.  Contact your friends and ask before sending them an invite to the exchange
Not everyone gets giddy with excitement when receiving a chain letter.  The idea of participating        in a kids book exchange may be overwhelming to many moms, and you don't want to put them in an awkward position if they can't do it.  Try to call, text, or email your friends to ask their permission to send the letter to them.  If they don't want to participate, or don't have the time, tell them not to feel bad!  Contacting them ahead of time is a considerate way to invite them to be involved without making them feel forced.
2.  Don't worry about sticking to the "Send to 6 friends" policy
If you have 7 or more friends who would genuinely love to do this, go ahead and invite them!  The more the merrier :)  And, by inviting more people to participate, you're upping the number of books you'll be receiving.
3.  Make use of Amazon or other web-based book services
I mailed the book directly off to the little girl in the #1 slot within a few minutes of receiving the invite from my friend.  Amazon saves the day!  I didn't have to go to the store to pick out a book, and I didn't have to stand in line at the post office.  By using my Amazon Prime account, I didn't even have to pay shipping.  It made this whole book exchange almost way too easy.
4.  Send a new and exciting book that the family is less likely to own already.
This means to pretty much exclude all Dr. Suess and Sandra Boynton books from your shopping list.  Try to think of a book that is a family favorite in your house, and have fun sharing it with another family.

When done correctly, a book exchange can be a lot of fun.  Have fun participating in one, and be careful to make sure that your friends can enjoy it without feeling pressured to do so.

What book is a family favorite in your house?

Holiday Cheer

Kayleigh found a gift bag that had been left out after a Christmas party the night before.

I love that she finds so much joy in things like playing with a sheet of tissue paper.  (I also love that she helps "Keen!" [clean] up after herself now, too!)

As special as it was to share her First Christmas with her, this Christmas is full of just as much joy--and this year, it's because she does not only simply give us joy by being in our lives (like last year), this year, she creates joy for herself and for us, too.  I love every stage this sweet girl has experienced.  She truly fills our home with joy!

A Return to Oak Glen

A trip to Oak Glen in the fall is one of our favorite traditions.  Jesse and I have been going since we were first married, and last year, it was so special to be able to take Kayleigh for her first trip, too.

Isn't it incredible how much a person can change in one year?

Last year, we just tried to get her to smile for pictures...

...this year, we just tried to get her to stay still!

 

It was another perfect afternoon.

(Kayleigh's beautiful bow was created by the talented Jenn of Bowdacious Designs.  I just love it!)

Another favorite moment of the day was Kayleigh's 1st pickle.

Who would have known?  Lol!

Thanksgiving

We celebrate Thanksgiving this year at my Ami's (grandmother) new house.  So many prayers, so much work, and so much love went into bringing Ami to live two doors down from my parents.  It was a happy thing to celebrate with thanksgiving in our hearts!

Kayleigh got to sit in the highchair that her mom, uncle, and aunties used as kids

(she also got to show family her "prayer hands")

In the evening, Kayleigh played with Aunt Megan in a box...

...tried to wiggle out of family pictures...

...made silly Uncle Jon Jon sing Hickory Dickory Dock...

...and cuddled with Ami.

Surely though, the best part of the night was when we received a call from Romania.  It had been two months since any of us had heard my sister Kate's voice, and joy and love overflowed in the room that night.  

Grownup Thanksgivings are certainly different from childhood ones.  I don't know if I'll ever get used to not having all of my loved ones under one roof during favorite holidays, but I'm thankful for technology and the fact that both of my sisters were able to call home that day.  It truly completed Thanksgiving for us this year!