Christmas Day Cruisin'

having fun on Christmas morning!

and she's off...

yogurt lovin' girl

again with the "I can do it myself"

toddler eating photos...

this is our life at the moment :)

I think it is easier to

wipe her down

post yogurt then

settle a full out tantrum

because she wants to feed herself.

believe it or not the yogurt

eating generally starts quite

politely with her holding a spoon

and scooping little bites to eat.

but that quickly starts taking way

too long and she finishes eating

it with her hands...

everytime...

never fails...

what, do i have something on my face?

oh, ya know, just hanging out, eating yogurt off my hands

i will eat every last drop

licking the container clean

you've gotta love that last photo, right?

ha!

banana bites

little miss

sitting on the sofa

eating a banana

all by herself

like a little monkey

so proud and independent

haircut

We trimmed the back of her hair once before,

but it was getting a bit scraggley

so time for the first real trim.

Above photos are the before,

showing a little baby mullet.

And the after:

cutie pie with her cute new 'do.

daydream decorating

[striped hallways and rooms]

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photo shared from

original credit: via house to home uk

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[painted dining room ceiling]

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[pretty nurseries]

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 [wallpapered half bath]

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merry & bright: card delight

I'm trying not to get ahead of myself in holidays,

but I must admit I'm thinking about

Christmas cards.

I love 'em...

taking the photos,

all the cute designs,

the creativity.

And of course I save them.

I love to look back and see

the families and how the kids

have grown year to year.
I gather them up at the end of each
season and tie with a pretty bow...
to be gazed at for years to come.

I'm an invitation/announcement
loving gal, so of course
I've already scoured the popular

holiday card sites, and I have a few

"front runner" cards.
Full disclosure: a few = 30ish,
so you can see my challenge in
whittling that down to one favorite design.
(sigh)

I'm loving a whole lot of cards on Tiny Prints.
They have SO MANY to look at...
literally 1,000+...
in whatever style makes you happy.

classic - colorful - charming - whimsical

cards upon cards upon cards.
For instance, how great is this tri-fold card?

Colorful Lace

I pondered over Makayla's

birth announcements

for quite a while, and

ended up ordering them

from Tiny Prints.

They turned out so well

and I couldn't wait to send them out

after she was born.
It's hard to believe that was
almost 18 months ago.

Here are some of my favorites this year:

colorful letters

I love the Christmas colored lettering
with a hint of pink tossed in.
Having a girl you can totally get away
with adding pink to everything, which I love.
Also, I'm digging the single B&W image...
such a simple twist to this bright and fun card!

Fun Filled Christmas

Talk about fun, with the rainbow backing?

It says "Wishing you a Christmas filled with

Joy, Love, Peace, Cheer & Family!"

This may be a winner this winter...

Vivid Slant

This one, with the slanted stripes, if so festive
and makes me smile. I am really fond of
these tri-fold cards and am secretly
hoping we get so make good
photos to choose from that a
tri-fold is the "must have" way to go.

And these ornament cards...just adorable!
Joy, Peace, Fun

Hang this baby (with a photo of my baby) right on the tree!

I don't know if I want to go classic of colorful this year!?!
They are all so great...
and I kind of {heart} them all.
What say you?

{Written as part of the Tiny Prints Holiday Campaign,
but filled with only my own wonderful thoughts and
opinions...love their work and the quality. I only wish
folks sent out cards for each season!}

NYC: photo journal

family name game

Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Papa, Bumbee, Granpa...



Next to learn:

GiGi, Auntie, Uncle

ear hat

An impromptu Target trip...

she rode in the cart wearing her favorite jacket

and tried on this cute hat with

two fluffy ears.

She pointed at all the bright colors and books

and held all the barking dog toys.

Next came the inevitable...

standing up in the cart

and tossing the hat off...

but it was cute while it lasted.

'Lil spitfire, she is.

DIY costume

Step 1: Cut out poodle pattern

Step 2: Trace and cut out full pattern from first color felt

Step 3: Trace and cut out fur accents from second color felt

Step 4: Attach fur accents to poodle

(can use glue or cut from felt with sticky backing)

Step 5: Add collar with glitter paint or ribbon.

Step 6: Attach to skirt

(using glue or stitches)

Step 7: add some cascading ric-rac for a leash

Step 8: find a cutie pie to model for ya

can you tell she has her toenails painted?

well one whole foot and two toenails on the other...

patience wore off with three toenails to go :)

tub time

suctioning the whale's runny nose with one of the many

bulb syringes we took from the hospital when she was born

inspired by: milkmaid braids

Honestly, I didn't start with

an inspiration photo...

but when all was done,

it reminded me of

some sort of milkmaid braid.

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Bohemian twists on each side

went into a low bun.

The twists are easy...

you just add more hair in

each time you make a twist.

again with the atrosh self photos

At the end of the day it

was still fairing well

and B took some photos for me

Maybe not as great as the Hollywood braids above,

but it was much more fun than a regular pony.

pumpkin snuggles

Makayla loves her two little pumpkins

and everytime she sees them outside,

beside our front door,

she picks them up and brings them

back in.

She brought them in when we got

home on Friday evening,

put them on the kitchen floor

with her favorite blankie,

and snuggled up for a fake nap.

walkin' in momma's shoes

After a hard fall that caused bleeding toddler gums,

a scared momma...thinking said toddler would lose a tooth,

a short nap which ended in an inconsolable

still bleeding baby girl...we were both able

to calm down. A snuggle on the couch

with blankie and paci, a few bites of yogurt

and Daddy getting home surely helped.

So went last Sunday afternoon...ugh!

After she perked up, though, Makayla

literally went army crawling under my bed

to grab a pair of my old tennis shoes.

Not sure why they were there or

how she spied them, but they were

and she did...and she got them.

(sneakers, whatever, I call them all tennis shoes)

She kept trying to put them on her

feet and walk around,

and after the incident earlier that day

I thought it best just to help her

put the shoes on and hold her hands

while she walked back and forth

in the living room.

Let's relive the cuteness, shall we?

success, shoes on feet and she's up

(obviously up and on the move,

sorry for all the blur

from here on out)

on the move
trying to run off, while i'm trying to grab her

blurry and sad faced, but big girl in momma's shoes