Felt Crafting

I savor each and every new experience with our daughter. We’ve sewed together and worked on our own projects before, but working on our own, independently-designed projects next to each other is a new, glorious experience.

We began working on birthday crows for our babies (mine turns three years old next week, hers is lying on the table waiting for her crown fitting).

Then she decided that she needed to sew a present for me (my birthday is just after hers).

In true toddler fashion, she needed to do it entirely on her own.

She then preceded to design, cut and sew the project entirely by herself, asking for occasional help threading the needle and tying off knots.

She made me a little stuffed pillow. My heart melted.

She seems quite proud too.

Unfortunately, somehow I’m going to have to break the news to her that I don’t want to cut her embroidery open to get to her intended present inside.

After all, it’s her beautiful needlework that’s special to me, not the stuffing.

But when it’s your birthday, you open presents, and she wants me to open mine. “It’s a stuffing birth-fairy present, Mama!”

I suppose I need to encourage her to wrap it (won’t take much persuading, she LOVES to gift wrap presents), so I have that to unwrap and can keep her darling pillow intact instead.

We’ll see how it goes. I’ll be sure to give her a high-protein snack beforehand and make sure she’s adequately hydrated when she gives it to me. We all feel more agreeable and happy when we’re fed and watered, right?! That certainly seems to work in this family. :)

Birthday Girl Photo Banner Preview

We’re gearing up for a certain little girl’s birthday party this month.

This week we’ve been focusing on making decorations.

We took some favorite photos from the last three years and placed them on construction paper frames decorated by the toddler (with Elmer’s Washable Glitter Paint Pens and Crayola Gel Washable Markers).

We’ll string them up into a banner and hang them on the wall for a fun, birthday girl photo display.

Photos of that soon.

Reading Before Bed

“This is a picture of me sleeping peacefully,” says the toddler upon seeing a photo of herself asleep. I love looking at her when she’s sleeping because she looks so radically different without any emotion on her face.

I love this shot of her, taken at my parents house last week, asleep amongst the comfy pillows next to a stack of books.

Our whole family loves reading before bed. (Truthfully, the parents enjoy it a little bit more than is good for us, as we tend to stay up way too late reading just about every night.)

By far the easiest way to put the toddler to bed is to read her out.

Here are some of the wonderful books we’ve been reading before bed:

I’ve added these books, plus several others, to a new section in our left-hand sidebar on the right titled, “favorite family reads,” and will try to update this regularly as we discover new books to share with you. We so enjoy them all and highly recommend you pop over to your local library to pick them up.

Toddler Art Napkins

I love the idea of turning everyday items into something more special and meaningful, such as transforming plain white napkins into unique artwork with a toddler and fabric markers!

These napkins are perfect for family meals, cheap and easy to make, and how empowering for little ones to enjoy eating with something they made.

I know it makes my meal more special.

(Project inspired by similar toddler creations at my friend Alissa’s house! Thanks, Alissa!)