Since I went to bed so late last night, I knew today was going to be a disaster. And it wasn’t that bad but I was quite tired for almost all of it. It was David’s wii day so in the morning, he played with his legos while Nathaniel walked around.
I love capturing random shots of him cause every little thing he does has so much personality right now.
Even the way his toes sink into the carpet when he’s standing or walking.
David’s been covering our dining room table with legos for the last few days. It’s full to the brim.
And Nathaniel’s doing this funny walk with his hands clasped behind his back.
When he went down for his nap, David got to play wii while I read and then scrapped a bunch. I made a card and a layout today. I rarely ever make cards. I have like 7 more things on my list for this weekend, but I might just take it easy and relax. I am feeling quite tired and I know there will be some CHA work in the next week so best to get a lot of rest.
And read. I have to read 3 books in the next month, each of which is 1000 pages or more. Ugh. They are all supposed to be great books, though.
I am off to get my coffee and read a bit. I hope you’re well. Oh, yes, I plan to work on my zentangle, too.
Note to Self:
I have been working on plans for July. I have some ideas but I still need to flesh them out. I’ve really enjoyed doing this project-focused June and the layout-focused May. I wonder if I can keep it up for July. David’s school starts sometime in August so we have one more full month to play before our schedule changes so I want to take advantage of it while I can.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I accomplished something big this weekend. Something I was sort of scared to do but Lori encouraged me to. It might go nowhere but I am still proud of myself. And grateful to her.
2. I am grateful for some wonderful quiet time where I took a brief nap. I wish I could do that more. Brief naps are great.
3. I am grateful for some garage-cleaning time with Jake. Our garage is an ongoing project here so any progress makes me grateful.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daddy.
2. all the legos in the world (and then he said, i wish i had them all).
I wrote about Nathaniel’s album a long time ago, here. And now that he’s well past year one, I figured it was time to tackle this one:
53. Finish Nathaniel’s Baby album
The overall process I used for the album is this:
1. Some preliminary pages about expecting him and the test, etc.
2. Some pages about the day he’s born, his umbilical cord, etc.
3. At the beginning of every month, marking that month
4. From then on for every week, 6 photos and 1 layout to show photos for every day of that week.
5. At the end of every month, a page of notes about that month in his life (this needs more work for my book since i didn’t keep up with it well)
that’s it. So I planned to have photos for every day of his life and at least 52 layouts about his first year.
I ended up with 66 layouts since I did a bunch more as I felt like it. It got broken into 2 albums and honestly, It probably should be 3.
Here’s a look at one of the pages.
And here’s a small collage of all the layouts I did about the first year of his life. Most of them I’ve already posted. Some are coming up.
One more baby album down. I think I might go buy some more of the American Crafts Binder albums and break this one down to three albums.
Today went by too quickly and uneventfully. I accomplished almost nothing cause I was up all night with Nathaniel and spent the whole day being tired.
Nathaniel wasn’t so. He found the ball.
And encouraged David to play with him.
David threw and Nathaniel fetched.
After Daddy came home, we did finally go out to dinner for a quick bite and it was just nice to get out of the house even if for a bit.
And then the kids went to bed and I’ve been up working on a project that’s nowhere near being done. And yet…I can’t sleep.
Note to Self:
I have these random obsessions where I get an idea and I have to sit and execute on it immediately. I have to do it now now now. This is quite frustrating and disruptive. And yet, I have to go work on my project right now.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. A nice chat with my friend Lori which left me thinking and hopeful.
2. A lazy day where I didn’t stress too much about not getting much done.
3. I am thankful for my little project I am working on right now. (more on this soon, i promise.)
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. mommy.
2. daddy.
(again.)
Here’s where I saw this one: go here
simple, quick but I love it.
doesn’t it look cute? terrible photo, i know.
Journaling Reads:
I take photos every single day. Some days I take hundreds and other days only a few. But I make a point to take them no matter what. I have photos for every single day of both my kids’ first years. I have photos for every day of 2008, 2009 and 2010 (so far). I love taking photos.
The best part of the photos is how much of our daily life it captures. The toys my kids play with. The clothes they wear. The expressions. The simple things that make our life what it is right now. I love being able to look back and see how our lives have changes. How my kids have grown. I love seeing all the things we did. All the places we visited. All the days we lived.
Some people say that when you take a photo, you’re missing living the moment itself. Not true for me. Capturing it makes me be in the moment so much more. It helps make it more vivid. It etches it into my memory permanently. For me, it’s like creating a visual diary.
Like most things, it takes practice to do it daily, but it so very worth it. These photos are my most cherished belongings.
Before I forget, HAPPY Birthday Daddy!! I love love love you so much!
Jake was working from home today and it made such a difference in my day. Even the little bit of extra help made me feel more relaxed and calmer. I wish he was around all the time.
David’s been working on this big lego city he’s building on the dinner table. Photos to come.
Nathaniel is exploring the room and throwing around anything he can find.
Especially his water bottles.
And he’s chewing anything he can find, too. The teeth are just always itching now I imagine.
I convinced David to let me take a photo today.
And then snapped another one while he was working on his Lego sticker book which he finished today and he was very proud of it.
His feet while he’s focused on the Lego book.
Later that day, Nathaniel discovered all of David’s markers and spread them all over the room so David is putting them back here and Nathaniel is watching him with interest, of course.
I got quite a bit of work done today and started tackling a big project that I am happy to tackle. I also did some work on my blog and scheduled a lot of the posts I’ve been working on for the last month. I’ve got a few more things left on my June list but I am feeling great about it and want to focus on July now. I have a few ideas for July but haven’t sat down to decide concretely just yet.
Note to Self:
I’m still thinking about the Anna Quindlen book I just finished. It’s reminding me to not focus on the small things. Or even the medium things. Life works out ok for the most part and it’s better to truly enjoy it and savor the moments as opposed to worrying about all the details and stressing about everything. I need to remember this way more often.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Having Jake around today. It was wonderful.
2. I am so grateful for the internet today and for all the crafty people who make youtube videos and crafty tutorials. Thank you for doing that, it truly makes my day.
3. I am grateful for summer and the laziness of summer. Spending the day in our pajamas. Not having to rush anywhere. Feeling happy and taking it all slow. I love that.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. mommy.
2. daddy.
(down to the basics or too bored to think, not sure.)
I saw these monster chunks a long time ago and loved them instantly. So I decided to make some of my own:
Mine isn’t nearly as awesome, of course.
But I still love it. Sitting on my shelf.
Quite fun to do.
I have always been a fan of Anna Quindlen so when I heard about her new book, Every Last One, I knew I wanted to read it. Without giving away any part of the plot, I will just say that this goes from being a relatively happy, interesting novel to an incredibly sad one. While I really really got upset and wasn’t sure I should continue reading the novel once the terrible event occurred, I am still glad I finished it. It gave me a lot of things to think about and I am still pondering some of the questions it opened up for me.
Having said that, it’s a really really sad novel and I am not sure I can recommend it to anyone without that warning.
I went a bit crazy with the processing on this one. Experimenting, I guess…
I love watching Nathaniel and David interact. It’s one of my favorite things to do. How he looks up to him.
And how patient David is with him and plays with him.
I love watching them build blocks together.
David never really played with these when he was little.
But Nathaniel watches David like a hawk and has learned so much about blocks from him.
so now he can build big towers and loves to do so.
He also loves making funny noises while he walks.
And here’s beautiful David.
I feel like I don’t get enough photos of him lately.
And by the end of the day, we see a lot of this which is a cue for mommy to start dinner so we can go to bed. Especially since the naps have gone all wonky lately.
And now I am trying to catch up on my June list which is a bit behind but I don’t feel worried. Things are chugging along and I’ve been reading so much and I love that.
Note to Self:
While it was a relatively ordinary day here, my brother in law and his wife had their first baby today! A little boy, Caleb. It made me realize that at this moment while I sit here, having an ordinary moment, someone else is having a baby. Some one is dying. Someone is finding out bad news. Someone is getting great news. To so many people today is extra special and a day they will remember forever. Isn’t that amazing? Somehow, that makes me really happy.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. My full life. I feel like my life is so full. Of my family. of love, of joy, of intellectual curiosity and art and memories. I love it so.
2. I am grateful that my brother in law and sister in law had a healthy little boy. It was a long day for them and I am so happy it ended well and they are all doing well. We love you!
3. I am grateful that June is not over yet. I want it to last a while longer. Not ready for July just yet.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. building a lego city.
2. mommy.
This was inspired by these awesome keychains I saw here.
Mine is much simpler of course. But I love it nonetheless.
makes me happy.
There’s something odd I like about this photo.
This is the kind of day Nathaniel had today. He woke up at 6, went down for nap at 9 and slept all the way to 12:30 and then was cranky most of the day.
But he’s still so cute.
David was watching his shows and Nathaniel played right next to him.
And I deeply admired how restrained David was. He did not yell at the little boy at all. Not once.
Then Nathaniel decided to topple over the whole box of legos.
And looked at me like he did nothing wrong when I got his attention. What? his expression said.
It was of course David who had to clean all of those and he did without complaint. My angel.
Book club tonight so I am trying to get all my tasks done before they get here.
Note to Self:
My back is still in quite a bit of pain. I wonder if this is someone’s way of telling me to slow down. Or just be less stupid when I bend down.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. My little boys. They make me so so happy.
2. Jake’s been coming home early and feeding the boys dinner. I am so worn out by night time that this is a tremendous help for me. I am so grateful for it.
3. I am grateful that my book is ending. It turned miserable and I can’t wait to finish it.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. batman movies.
2, daddy
3. doing toy story workbook with mommy
4. i’m grateful for myself.
I am almost embarrassed to post this since it certainly does not do any justice to Pam Carriker’s amazing portraits class but here is my first attempt at painting a portrait.
It can use so so much work.
But I will practice. I like doing these. I am excited to practice.
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projects for twenty twenty-six
projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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