5 Months

It's hard for me to believe that Claire is actually 15 months old! These photos seem like just yesterday!

Someday I'll have all 12 of her first year photo shoots scrapbooked, but at this rate it might be another year or two! Anyhow, here is Claire at 5 months:

The papers, buttons, and tags are by Basic Grey from their Knee-highs and Bow-ties line, Queen and Company Washi tapes and rhinestones, American Crafts large plastic flowers and letters. The ladybug was cut out on my Cricut using the Tiny Treasures cartridge. 

The journaling reads: "What a growth spurt Claire! You now weigh in at 14 lbs! You moved up to 3-6 month sized clothes, but can still wear some of your 3 month sized clothes. Your face is really starting to fill out and get that “Gerber baby look.” Everywhere I take you people come up to me and want to see you. They love your smiles and always say how beautiful and happy you are! You look super cute in your Christmas dresses at church. You met Santa and didn't holler at him. You are grasping things better and love to be in your play saucer and to have toys to hold. You still hate the car at night, but like it during the day. You seem to like music and you like to have me sing to you. You also like the “Baby Santa” DVD and sometimes I use it to get you to fall asleep. You don’t sleep through the night anymore, but you do sleep pretty well. You usually just get up once around 3-4am for a quick eat and then go straight back to sleep. You still charm everyone with your great big smiles. Your whole body smiles now as you wave your arms and kick your feet when you are excited or extra happy. You recently found your feet and often will grab and hold on to them when I change your diaper. You can roll over, but it is more of an accident than a choice. The drool is on and you are starting to soak your shirts more with drool than spit up. You are also constantly chewing on your hands and anything you can get in your mouth. You have a very strong little neck and are always trying to hold it up off the ground so you can look around. You are more patient than you used to be. You love to be held in a standing position. Dec 2012"

Have a great Friday!

Her First Steps

Claire is at the busy age of running around everywhere and climbing on everything. She's desperately trying to get into anything she can and is quite the little mess maker! Sometimes it's hard to believe there was a time when she couldn't walk at all....

Anyhow, today's layout is from a few months back when Claire was just beginning to take her first steps. She was slow and Frankensteinish in her movements, but they were steps!

The papers and stickers here are by Pebbles, from their Love You More collection. The flowers were cut and embossed with my cuttlebug, the letters are by American Crafts, the enamel dots and Washi Tape are by Queen and Company, rotary stamps by American Crafts and K and Company. The Embossed background is by Core'dinations.

The journaling reads: "You started walking this past week Claire and we were all so excited! These photos are some of your very fist steps. You started out only going a few at a time, but that quickly turned into more! To get you to walk we would put your walker just out of reach so that you would walk to it. After just a week of that you are now choosing to try and walk all by yourself! Jun 9th 2013"

Have a happy Tuesday!

Tin Foil Dinners

So sorry I missed the last two days. With school starting (including an online home school program for one of my sons)  things have just been crazy around here. I'm back today though with a fun camping layout to share. 

I grew up in a family that camped a lot! Living not to far from the Sierra Nevada mountains made it fairly easy for us to escape the summer heat and spend a week up in the beautiful forested mountains of places like Yosemite and Lassen Volcanic National Park. One of the staples of nearly every camping trip was eating "tin foil," or "hobo" dinners. So even though I don't have mountains to camp in with my own kids, (Texas is rather on the flat side) we still do go camping and we almost always have our traditional "tin foil dinners." 

The new Echo Park "Happy Camper" line was a perfect fit for these photos. just the right mix of "outdoorsy" and yet still bright and fun colors.

I've also got some Queen and Company brads and Washi tape here as well as some more stamping with my date and rotary phrase stamps by K and Co and American Crafts.

The journaling reads: "I suppose these are actually aluminum foil dinners but I grew up calling them "hobo" or “tin” foil dinners! Whatever you call them they are a super yummy hamburger, potatoes, butter and veggie mix. They are a camping family favorite and no trip would be complete without them!"

Thanks for visiting today!

So Much To See

One of my favorite stages of a new baby in when thy get old enough to look at and study everything around them. Claire seemed extra observant from the very start, but after a couple of months she became even more studious. These photos capture her straining to move her head so she could see her new toys from every angle possible. 

More of the fabulous My Mind's Eye "My Girl" collection here along with more Queen and Company Washi tape, baker's twine, and pearls, American Crafts Letters, and my K and Co. date stamp.

The journaling says: "Claire, you recently have begun to really study the world around you! You love to look at brightly colored objects and at people. You seem to always have a look of extreme fascination as you start to decipher your world! Looking at these toys above your car seat seems to be one of your recent favorite things to do!"

Thanks for visiting today!

Brand Spankin' New

I love the "moment of meeting" when the nurse places your baby into your arms for the very first time! I feel so lucky to live in an age where we have the ability to have photos of these moments! For my mother, grandmother's, great-grandmother's, etc. they only have these moments etched on their hearts, thankfully I have that as well as video and photographs, and even a scrapbook layout. These are Claire's first moments in our arms.

The journaling reads: "These are the very first photos we have of you Claire! We took them just moments after you were born while we each got a chance to hold you. I loved seeing you with your eyes open! You were so alert, and you seemed just as interested in meeting us as we were to meet you! Welcome to our family Claire!"

The Echo Park Bundle of Joy collection was perfect for these photos! I used my Silhouette Portrait to cut out my title and journaling spot. (I created the journaling spot in my Creative Memories' StoryBook Creator software).

 I also added Queen and Co. Baker's twine and pearls, and some stamping with some American Crafts and K and Co. stamps. Thanks for visiting today!

Going Home Outfit

I'm trying to catch up on some older layouts and get this blog of mine updated with all of my current projects--so for awhile I'll have posts every weekday--and after I catch up I'll try to be better at posting several times a week!

The journaling on this one pretty much says it all, so rather than repeat it I'll just post it at the top this time: "I have always loved shopping for a going home outfit. There is something about it that makes everything feel so much more real! I picked out this ladybug onesie for you Claire because I was so excited to have something pink with ruffles on the sleeves and on the bum! I loved dressing you for the first time in it—and you looked adorable! July 8th 2012"

Lots of Echo Parks "Sweet Girl" line here. I cut the title out on my Silhouette Portrait and added some Queen and Co. Washi tape, baker's twine, buttons, and mini rhinestones. Lots of Cuttlebug embossing on this as well as stamping with my K and Co. Smash date stamp. The butterfly stamp is by Martha Stewart.

Thanks for visiting!

You Belong To Us

Hospital bracelets make such a powerful statement. They are the first way a baby and their parents are documented (in earthly ways) as belonging to each other.  I personally love watching them be prepared by the nurses as the time for delivery is eminent. Knowing that in just moments they will be wrapped around my baby and we will be linked together in yet another way is somehow comforting and exciting. Because of this I have always enjoyed taking photos of them and scrapbooking them. 

I too these photos of Claire while we were still in the hospital. I love that you can still see her newborn wrinkles!

The title was cut on my Silhouette Portrait using a combo of fonts and Echo Park elements. The papers and stickers are also by Echo Park from their Bundle of Joy Girl line. Date Stamp by K and Company.

There are also some Queen and Co. pearls, Washi Tape, and Baker's Twine.

The journaling reads: "There is something special and sweet to me about hospital bracelets. They are that first earthly connection that reinforces the heavenly ones and says “You belong to us.” I’m so glad you do Claire!"

Thanks for visiting today!

He is her Number 1 Fan

I have one of the kindest and sweetest 11 years old there ever was. He is a tender hearted soul with with a maturity and love for others that you just don't see much at his age. He especially adores his little sister, and she adores him right back. This began long before she was born. Ty was so unbelievable excited when he found out that we were having a surprise baby. Despite being at the age where boys are normally rather anti- girl, he wanted the baby to be a girl from the beginning. When we found out it was indeed a girl he was again super excited and he started saving up his money to buy her a doll.

After she was born he started calling her "Precious Claire," and he still calls her that now. He loves to carry her around and give her rides up on his shoulders. He can always make her laugh and smile--even when she won't do it for me. The closeness of their connection must have started before this life, it's the only way I can explain the sweet and tender connection they seem to share.

Anyhow, this layout is about the first time Ty held her. My parents brought all of the boys up to the hospital to meet Claire after she was born and I was able to take this photo of him smiling down at her. It was sweet brotherly love at first sight!

The journaling reads: "Ty, I picked you to be the first of your brothers to hold Claire. I picked you not because you are the oldest but because you were the most excited about Claire before she was born. You were super excited from the very beginning! Then when we found out the baby was going to be a girl you were “over the moon” with happiness! You have never once been anxious, worried, or jealous like I thought you might be. You have always been full of enthusiasm and joy for this moment, when you first got to see and hold your new sister. I just know you are going to be a wonderful big brother to her!"

Again, this is the Bundle of Joy Girl line from Echo Park. I mixed in a couple of older chipboard pieces from Pebbles, some Queen and Co baker's twine and pearls, and more stamping with my rotary phrase stamps from American crafts and K and Co. The title was done with my Silhouette Portrait.

These larger Chevrons running down the side were made using my EK Success corner punch. If you look close you can see this is just a whole bunch of corner punches stacked together.

I added a few accordion flowers for interest plus some smaller "chevrons" made with my Zig-Zag Border punch by Fiskars.

Thanks for vising and have a great weekend!

Dance Into Dreamland

I was super excited when Echo Park released their Bundle of Joy line at CHA this winter. It was just what I'd been saving some of my favorite newborn photos of Claire for! 

Other than some rotary date/phrase stamps (K and Co, Amy Tangerine, and Dear Lizzy) and punches (Fiskars border punch and EK Success circle punch), everything here is from the Bundle of Joy Girl line. I didn't even pull out my die cut machines for the title since I loved the dainty and elegant letter stickers that come with this line. 

The texture on my background page is actually something I did with my new 6 1/2" x 12" Damask Brocade Cuttlebug folder. I started with a plain--non textured piece of 12" x 2" white cardstock. I used the folder along with a rolling pin (because the 12x12 page is too large for the Cuttlebug machine) to get the texture all over the page. I moved the folder all over the page embossing over previous embossings several times to create a subtle texture. For the very center of the page--where the paper wouldn't fit into the folder I just put my paper over the open folder and lightly pressed the paper into the folder with my fingers.

I loved the result and will likely emboss entire background pages in this way frequently!

The journaling reads: "I love this photo of you Claire! It was my first chance to really go super girly with dressing you up! It has been so fun to have the chance to play with lots of pink! I also adore your soft dreamy expression; I hope it meant you were having “sweet dreams.”

Thanks for visiting today!

Your Watermelon Dress

If you have ever been to my house then you may have seen that my powder bath is decorated with watermelon trinkets that I've collected from all over. I'm not sure why they appeal to me so much but they are a favorite thing of mine to collect. This love of mine has recently rolled over to Claire's outfits. Before she was born my mom and I went shopping together and we found some really cute clothes. One of my favorites was this little watermelon dress.  I wish I had better photos of the watermelons along the bottom of the dress part, but you can kind of see them in the bottom right photo.

I used the Echo Park Sweet Girl collection for this layout. The title was cut with my Silhouette Portrait, and the Watermelons were cut with my Cricut and the Doodlecharms cartridge. The Pearls are by Queen and Company. I used my K and Company SMASH date stamp again along with some older stamps by Cornish Heritage Farms. 

  The journaling reads "Right after we found out that you would be a girl Claire, grandma and I went shopping for girl clothes. We had a great time together looking at so many cute choices for you! One of my favorite things we bought that trip was this little watermelon onesie. Once you came you looked so sweet in it. I had you wear it again and again because I loved it so much! Summer 2012"

Thanks for coming by!

Tiny Little Toes

A drive by posting for this Friday! Just another layout to share with the fabulous My Mind's Eye "My Girl" collection. I still have one or two more layouts done with this collection--I just loved it so much!

There is more Queen and Company Baker's Twine and Washi tape here and more stamping with my K and Company date stamp. The large letters are by american crafts and the little one by Echo Park.

 The journaling reads: "I can tell you have been growing and stretching out over the past couple of months Claire! Before you were two months old your tiny little toes stayed wrapped up well, now however, they always seem to be peeking out the ends of your blankets!"

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tiny Girl, Giant Yawn

This is one of my favorite photos of Claire. She was about a week old and I was posing her for her newborn portraits when she let our this giant yawn. I was lucky enough to have my camera in hand and I'm so glad I did! It's strange to remember just what a tiny little thing she was back then. She was just shy of 6 lbs and when you picked her up it seemed almost as if you were holding a doll instead. Her brothers were closer to the 8 lb range at this point so she was really a big contrast to them.

 

The papers and embellishments here are more of the wonderful  My Girl collection from My Mind's Eye. The buttons, Washi tape, and Twine are again from Queen and Company, and there is my favorite new date/expression stamp again from K and Company.

No Cricut title work this time, just some American Crafts Chipboard. I did put my circle punches to good use though. I have always loved circle punches!

The Journaling reads: "I just love this photo of you Claire! I just happened to have the camera out to take other photos of you and got lucky enough to catch this expression. I just love they way your sweet little face is all bunched up in this giant yawn! It’s adorable!"

Thanks for visiting today!

Where's My Water?

Many of you are probably familiar with the iPad game "Where's My Water?" It is a big favorite of Spencer's and I wanted to create a layout that capture's his current love of this game. Spencer is autistic and non-verbal and because of this sometimes people think he isn't as intelligent as your average 6 year old. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Spencer is very bright and this game is one small evidence of this. He loves to solve the complex problems this game can present and he does it with remarkable speed. He also has a wonderful memory of how he solves each problem and can repeat levels he has previously completed in record time. Every now and then he does get stuck and ask for help, and that's when his older brothers love to step in and "help." 

The papers here are again from then Echo Park Scoot collection, the stars, washi tape, jewels, and most of the buttons are from Queen and Company, the the stamp is my new date stamp from K and Company's Smash line.

The title was cut with my Silhouette Portrait and the Lobster font.

The journaling reads: "Spencer, you love many of the games on your iPad, but hands down “Where’s My Water” is your current favorite. Solving the various puzzles can keep you happily occupied for quite some time—at least until you get stuck. Then you call your brothers to the rescue and you all three sit together and work until you solve it!"

Thanks for visiting today!

Play All Day

I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to scrapbook with girl products lately, that has not however changed my love of awesome boy scrapbook products! I was instantly in love when I saw "Scoot" by Echo Park. It was an instant favorite and I picked it up the first chance I got. It was perfect for scrapbooking these photos of Spencer playing with his all time favorite toy--trains!

The title was cut out on my new Silhouette Portrait. I opted to get the smaller machine as I already have a nice supply of Cricut machines and space has become an issue lately in my scrapbook room. I mainly wanted it for it's cut and print feature which does work really well! It's been a fun little addition to my die cutting machine addiction. I also cut out the little arrow cut with it.

I also had a lot of fun adding little bits of Queen and Company Washi tape, buttons, and pearls. I really love Queen and Company embellishments and find they work just as well for boy pages as they do for girls--even the pearls!

I also used another new tool on this page, my new date stamp by K and Company. I love that is has some super fun phrases as well as the date stamp!

The journaling on this page reads: "Spencer, one of your all time favorite toys is our wooden train set! You have loved it for quite some time and can frequently be found play with it! You especially love the Thomas the Train characters! I love it when we sit down together and build a giant new track together. It’s one of my favorite things to do with you!"

Enjoy your day!