Emily: 1 Year

It's time for another Emily update. This time it's the big one. Saturday she had her first birthday. My baby is beginning to be replaced with an adorable little toddler and I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm excited because it means we have a lot to look forward to. But, I will surely miss my little baby. She doesn't lay in my arms like she use to. She'd rather be on the move or playing. And she's definitely not as little as she use to be! So what has changed this past month? The biggest thing is she took her first steps the day after Christmas. She can only take 3 steps at a time because she gets so excited and falls forward. I know it won't be long before she's running through the house. She's learned to climb too. That one scares me. Especially when she climbs onto her chair and then rocks while sitting backwards. Needless to say, there has been some recent baby proofing! Just recently, pointing has really taken off. She points at everything now and waits to be told what it is. She learned how to say "tree" this way; she was always pointing at the Christmas tree. She's also learned the work "chick". She just adores our baby chicks. She will speed crawl to me and climb onto my lap whenever I have the brooder open. She is still toothless but that has yet to stop her when it comes to solids.

Saturday we had a little party for our birthday girl. It was mainly just family; the perfect size for a little 1 year old. She got her first gift before the party: a little people doll house. While she played, I decorated her cakes; her smash cake and the cake for everyone else. Also, before the party I reminisced on facebook about her birth day. Through out the day I made "one year ago" status updates ending with: 

"One year ago at 1:18 pm I delivered our third baby in our home, in our room, on our bed. As I lowered myself beside my brand new baby we just stared at each other. I was the first to announce “It’s a girl!”. I scooped her up and found a place to lay with her. Heather was the first to see her but I was the first to touch her. She was a nursing pro, and nursed and nursed and nursed. Emily and I then rested there, taking each other in while we waited for Bettie to arrive. Emily's birth was not what I expected but who could expect a 5 hour 18 minute labor followed by a baby arriving before the midwife. Happy birthday sweet Em!"

Her whole birth story can be found here: Emily's Birth Story 

Come cake time, Em did not want anything to do with it! 

She did get to get messy with dinner though!

And finally, I look back on how our little grew over this past year.

I had all these printed and made it into a banner for the party.

Other places to find me:
Facebook: Mama Dani's Musings, Twitter @MamaDaniBlog, Instagram: MamaDani, Pinterest: MamaDani
© Mama Dani's Musings

Madison: 3 Years Old

I know it's cliche but I can not help but think "where has the time gone?" every time one of my kids has a birthday. My little girl is now 3 years old or 3 old as she'll tell you. She'll be the first to tell you that she's a big girl now and that's why she can...fill in the blank a long list of things that only 3 year olds can do! The time has flown by! But at the same time I'm often reminding myself that she's only 3. At 31 lbs and 3ft 3in she's bigger than her 4 1/2 year old brother so there are even times where I have to remind her that she is younger than him. She takes it in stride because she's the spunky one. At times that causes me to wonder if she turned 3 or 13. After her party she told us that the reason she kissed her friend Charlie was "Because he likes my kisses!". He's supposedly her boyfriend. See!? 13 I tell ya! My mini teen is a firecracker. There's never a doubt how she feels. When she's happy, she's very happy. When she's sad, she's very sad. When she's mad, she's furious! Don't get in her way when she's mad! But when she's loving, you won't find a better cuddler. Hugs and kisses are one of her favorite things. Unless you're daddy. She randomly told Richard recently that she does not like his kisses anymore. I don't see that lasting long! She tends to gets a little carried when it comes to babies but she means well. One of Maddy's most favorite things at the moment is art; the messier the better. Hand her art supplies and she'll stay busy for hours. So what a better theme for her party!?

Her birthday begun with sprinkle cake batter pancakes. They were a huge hit!

I got the idea/recipe from I'm Bloggin'.


Then it was time to get ready for her art party! Our house is just not big enough for birthday parties so we hoped and prayed for no rain so that we could have it outside. We got a beautiful day! With rainbow paper chains, rainbow fruit, Maddy's art gallery and the rainbow aprons attached to the fence easel, the yard was equally beautiful!

The guests arrived and the kids got to painting. Off to the side I had a little washing station set up for the impending mess. We may try this party idea again in the future. The kids seemed to love it but the older kids did more painting while the younger kids got distracted but the yard toys.

At last, it was cake time! I had my own plans for the cake but at the last minute Maddy informed me that she wanted a princess cake. What's a mom to do but combine the two! She got a princess cake with a twist. I knew I had done good when, as I was putting the finishing touches on the cake, Maddy exclaimed "WOW!".

Princess Belle waving hi in her cake dress:

Surprise!

The birthday girl chowing down:

For more art party ideas, check out my art party pin board.

Stay up to date by "liking" my Facebook page.
© Mama Dani's Musings

School Days: Christmas Symbols

I love this time of year. And while I love the secular part of Christmas, I'm determined not to let the true meaning get lost. That's why I decided to use a unit about Christmas symbols for our latest lesson plan. I found this blog post but was bummed that the link to the lesson plan wasn't working. Thankfully, the author fixed it and provided the new link in the comments. We didn't do all the symbols and I just used the unit as a guideline, adding my own crafts. Here's what we did:

Candles/Lights
John 8:12 “Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

The kids made candle holders out of baby food jars, glue and tissue paper.


Christmas Carols
Psalms 47:6-7 “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.”

No craft this day. We listened to lots of Christmas music. It's so cute to hear Sean starting to learn the words.
Wreaths
Being a circle, they represent a love that has no end; the love God has for us.

Ok, ok, typical preschool craft here. Wreath ornaments.



Gifts
The first Christmas gifts were given to baby Jesus by the Wise Men.
Matthew 2:11 “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Gifts also remind us of Jesus.
2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.”

The kids made Christmas gifts for each other. Maddy made Sean a wallet. Sean made Maddy a bracelet, necklace and jewelry box. I suggested that he make a bracelet and he insisted on making the necklace and jewelry box.




Bells
Bells were put on animals' necks so shepherds could find them when they were lost. God values us just the same. We are never lost to Him.
Psalm 100 "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

We made bell necklaces and bracelets. The necklaces are now hanging on the front door...Sean's idea.


Stars
The star of Bethlehem guided the three wise men to Jesus.
Matthew 2:10 "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."

The kids made these beautiful stars that now hang from the ceiling fan in the living room.


Candy Canes
Candy Canes remind us of Jesus because they are the shape of a shepherd's crook while up right and the shape of a "J" when upside down.
Psalm 23 "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Sean insisted that since it will be Jesus's birthday, we had to make a birthday cake for him so we made a candy cane cake.

Stay up to date by following me on twitter @MamaDaniBlog or "liking" my Facebook page. New followers: Welcome! Please leave a comment to let me know how you found my blog so that I can follow you back!
© Mama Dani's Musings