Sweet Sixteen

Sixteen MONTHS, that is.

We are really leaving babyhood behind.  Thank heavens for her full little cheeks (I hope they never go away) that remind me of the little baby that's somewhere in that busy toddler body.

Not long ago I wrote about why I choose to blog.  One of the things I didn't mention was just how helpful it has been in my digital scrapbooking - especially these little monthly stats and updates that I create on Scrapblog.   It helps that she was born on the first of the month - so I can begin each month's pictures with updates like the one above.

I am still working on completing the books from her first year - there were A LOT of pictures to edit and weed through.  (I know - you're shocked, right?)  I figured I'd create an 8x8 hard cover book for three months at a time.  My goal is to be relatively caught up by the end of the year. (We'll see how that goes.)

Here's my first book I completed for Gianna's first 3 months.  The layouts are a little busier than I'd prefer, but I figure that's pretty indicitve of that first year.

Click here to view this photo book larger

I'll post the rest of the books here and there.

Halloween Treats

Halloween '09 started off the day with a pancake breakfast. 

I had been wanting to try pumpkin pancakes (not pumpkin, the ingredient - but pumpkin, the color and shape.)

Well, let's just say they look a little more like peaches, than pumpkins.  The way I figure it, I've got another two years to sharpen my skills before my daughter will know any differentt....I knew I'd better start to practice now.

Even though we had a busy day planned, there were some special little goblins that I wanted to have treats for.  I totally swiped this idea, but they came out so cute.

We had a great big bowl of treats for our regular trick-or-treaters.  After about 45 minutes with just ONE kid at our door, we bagged up our candy and walked across to our neighbor's house on our side street dumping all our sweet treats into their stash.  The way our neighborhood is situated, our house tends to get skipped over and we were already whooped by the day's events, so we thought we'd pass the torch.  They were happy, we were happy, and  the kids were happy.  Ta-da!  Creative problem solving at it's best.

We also went and met our good friends at a local church who sponsored a Fall Fest that afternoon.  Holy Moly! It was such a delightful surprise.  Tons of stuff for kids of all ages...even the little bitties.  Our godchild, Nate - the fireman came too.

And Hunter, as a pretty doggone authentic Woody.

And sweet Marie, as the most precious Dorothy.

There were even pony rides and the most adorable petting zoo.

It was a good day.  And it wore us ALL out.  Thank heavens we got the chance "fall back" that night.

If you missed our Busiest Bee post, CLICK HERE

The Busiest Bee Ever

Well, in contemplating possible costumes for Gianna, we finally decided on the most fitting for her current stage of toddlerhood. 

A bee.

 A BUSY bee.

The Busiest Bee Ever.

I really didn't mind buying one of those precious cushy costumes, but since last Halloween was so stinking hot, I was afraid of over-dressing her - just in case. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on a costume, so I decided to make it myself, and it  looked homemade. And my husband couldn't have been more thrilled that I took the time to do that.   

 I figured if I went all out and spent way too many hours and dollars in making a cosutme, I'd likely never try making one again.  And I really do enjoy it.

So, I figured I'd set the bar a little on the low side. 

 It really wasn't so bad, it's just that we had major antennae issues.

So, we just did without most of the day.

 Thankfully, she looks cute in whatever fashion hits and misses that we put her it.

Sorta hard to believe this was our busy bee a year ago:

For more Halloween Fun CLICK HERE!

Dear God,

Dear God,

I marvel at your creation.

 Your masterpieces are amazing.

 But I must say, that after close inspection of these three wonders,

....I'm unable to find where it is that you signed your work.

Here's to finding God in tiny little friendships.

Cuddle-Bear

My little Sweet Potato is a lot of things: adorable, smart, sneaky, precocious, sweet, loving, verbal, funny, adorable, curious, strong-willed, loud, busy, did I mention adorable? She's all those things and much more. But one word that I would not typically use to characterize her is cuddly. She's always been way too busy and nosy to have time to be cuddly.

There were several times I got a little concerned about it. Was I bonding well enough with her? Does she love me? Am I doing something wrong? Will there be a wedge between us when she gets older? Geez, the ways we torture ourselves.

Anyway, I did what any good neurotic mother would do --- I googled it. Apparently, a "not-so affectionate 15 month old" isn't so unusual - especially with baby girls. Don't get me wrong - she'll kiss the stuffing out of you and she's very loving and even affectionate - just not cuddly. That is until this week.

What a delight (and surprise) to have her run to me throughout the day for hugs and cuddles and kisses and head on my shoulders and burying her head in my chest. When I'm standing in the kitchen, she'll wrap her little arms around one of my legs and sway back and forth and pat me. For someone who refused to say Momma for so long, and held out on all the squishy demonstrative behavior, she sure has turned a corner. And I'm savoring every minute of it.

I will say that in the months of wondering and longing and missing - I had a strong sense that God was whispering to me, "Unconditional love, Maria, do you know what that means?" Convicted, once again. If she never ever returned my love and affection, I am still called to love her with everything in my heart, not wishing she would be different - but loving her right where she is. I was reminded just how much I was like Gianna in my own relationship with God - and how much He just keeps loving me, constantly and faithfully and completely. I finally embraced that precious truth and the floodgates seemed to open. Another lesson in God's fidelity and graciousness. My heart is full. My lesson is learned. Now, to remember it every day - every hug - every cuddle.....even when I'm busy. Thank you, Lord, for my sweet Cuddle-Bear.

And speaking of bears,

This precious bear was given to me by my friend, Michelle, who also gave me that awesome dollhouse. How sweet is the antique dress and shoes?

And she also gave us this fantastic doll bed - again: hand-made by her mother.

Hand-painted, too!

And yes, a hand-made and hand-painted wooden doll with a hand-made dress. I mean, really, could she be any more creative?

How lucky for us that we get to play with all these wonderful toys - made with such love! Thank you Michelle, Jessie & Ms. JoAnn.