Completed December Daily Album | 2013

I finally finished my December Daily album.  Woohoo!

Here's a look at the cover.  The photo of Noah and me was taken by Mindy Newton Photography.

This album size (6x12) worked well for me. (For more info on the album and insert pages, click here.)

As you'll see below, I used photo pages that hold 3-4x6s on each side.  Most days, I included an Ali Edwards' journaling card and two 4x6 photos, but some days I had additional photos I wanted to showcase.

I also included two 6x12 photos like the one of Noah (below) in his blue car.

In Photoshop, I created a 12x12 canvas and then dropped the two 6x12 photos onto it.  I ordered the 12x12 print from Costco (for $2.99), cut it in half, and slipped each photo into a 6x12 photo sleeve.


On the back of the 6x12 insert, I placed a drawing by our godson Tyler, who is quite the artist.  

I wrote my journaling out each December night using two black Project Life pens, which I received at the Click Retreat. In mid-January, I went back and added a piece of patterned paper as well as a sentiment sticker to the bottom left corner of each journaling card.

Here's a look at some of my journaling:

Dec. 15 | Two really cool things happened today: 1) We attended church , only to discover that the baby room speakers have been fixed. It's a Christmas miracle, I tell ya! 2) Our friends joined us for dinner tonight. It was so fun to see Noah play with Avery (20 months) and Chase (3.5 years old) and Tyler (7.5 years old). I feel really lucky to have good friends from high school living nearby who like to chat and play and eat.

Dec. 16 | I woke up this morning with the urge to go somewhere! Brian was at work, so Noah and I headed off to BusyKidz. We played for 2+ hours. Noah's favorite things to do? Ride a scooter, push the grocery cart, sing into the microphone (karaoke style), play with the hammer and drill and type on the typewriter. I loved watching Noah play! I also loved taking photographs with my Nikon and iPhone. Being a stay-at-home mom is the best.

Dec. 20 |  Earlier tonight, we had dinner (Pizza Factory pizza) with Scot and Jessie Yearwood at their home. They, along with Jen, gave Noah a cute blue car and firefighter jacket. Noah loves both, but is especially enamored with the car. After dinner and presents, we drove to a big lights neighborhood in Rocklin. Noah loved seeing all the inflatables and lights from his stroller. Snapping pics of lights and kids in the dark is tricky, but I did the best I could.

In the 6x12 photo, Noah is sitting on Adam Fink's bike.  (Adam is a motocross racer who lives in Oakley, just down the street from my aunt and uncle.)


Adam is currently racing on the 2014 Arenacross series, and he was kind enough to autograph a flyer for Noah, as well as let him sit on his bike.  Watching Adam make such high jumps was exciting!    

Dec. 22 | Confession: I'm cranky today. I'm feeling tired from two long (and social) days. So tired that when Noah went down for a nap, I took a (short) nap, too. That doesn't happen much anymore.  Still have a few more errands to run before Christmas and cleaning to do. I hope Noah's cold goes away before Christmas. He's been cranky today, too. Not only because of the cold, but also, I believe, because he's tired and inching closer and closer to two. Oy vey! 

Dec. 23 | Looking around the family room tonight, I see many things I treasure--most especially the scrapbooks and layouts I've made over the years. I see something that makes me laugh--our tree with ornaments on the top half only. I see something that I want to work on for next year--where, oh where, should we hang our stockings? And I see something that makes me smile--the baby Jesus, who was once lost (in the hamper), but is now found.

Dec. 24 | Noah and I spent the morning outside (it was beautiful with temp around 65 degrees and sunny) playing in the yard. After Noah's nap, we drove to the station for dinner with Brian, eight other firefighters, and their families. We brought Noah's trike, but he was more interested in riding the scooters and a bike (with the helmet, of course). Around and around the tables all the kids went, riding bikes, trikes, and scooters. It was a zoo, but a highly entertaining one at that.

Dec. 25 | Santa surprised Noah with a workbench, complete with hammer, hand saw, table saw, etc. We bought Noah a dog guitar, a book, and some pajamas. It was fun to hang out just the three of us in the morning and then later on, my mom and Brian's family joined us for more presents and lunch. Noah now has a kitchen (thanks to Mike and Kathleen), which he LOVES! We didn't make it to church this year (boo!), but I'm so thankful that God sent his son to Earth. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

As I typed up the words on these journaling cards just now, I cringed a few times. Why?  Because this writing is so unpolished, so rough draft material; it's surely not my best work. But I'm going to let it go. It's what I could come up with in the five or ten minutes I had each night. And even though it's not pretty in some spots, it captures what I was thinking at that moment. Best of all, though, it's done. Smile.  

Thanks for letting me share my December days with you!

2013 Summer List Update

Swim Lessons | Summer 2013

Even though summer isn't officially over, most kids are back in school, so it's time to share an update to my 2013 Summer List.

In case you missed my original list, I'm posting it here, along with a few thoughts about each activity.

1| Jump into swimming lessons | Noah really likes being in water, but he wasn't sure what to make of swim lessons.  Sure, being with mom and dad, singing songs, and playing with toys was fun, but he wasn't too keen on kicking his legs, scooping with his hands, or blowing bubbles.  Still, it was a good experience, and a few weeks after swim lessons, Noah started kicking his legs and blowing bubbles in the bathtub.  Smile. 
 
2| Spend a day at the zoo | We didn't make it to the zoo this summer, but we have free passes that are good through the end of 2013.  

3| Visit the children's museum | We planned an outing to the children's museum, but then learned they are closed on Mondays.  Plan B: A visit to BusyKidz, a little city for little ones, where Noah shopped for groceries, dined in a restaurant, vacuumed the carpet, and donned a fire helmet.    

4| Go camping | We went on a 2-night camping trip in May, but haven't been back out since.  Right now, the thought of not sleeping for several nights doesn't interest Brian or me, so we're taking a lot of day trips.  Smile.    

5| Play in the yard and at the park | Check and check!  Lately, we've been playing indoors more, though, due to the smoke from the American Fire.

6| Go for a hike | We completed several hikes this summer, including a 6.6 mile hike that borders a nearby country club.  It was quite a hike--with a whopping 24 switchbacks at one point. Brian and I were sore the next day, but we couldn't have asked for better weather or better company, and it was neat getting to check out some million dollar homes. Noah was a trooper, hanging out in the backpack for the 3-hour ride. He said "house" and "horse" and "water"--and towards the very end, "all done." 

7| Spend time with family + friends | Great times.  

8| Attend a county fair | We had fun at the Nevada County Fair. 

9| Visit a local farm stand | We bought fresh fruit and veggies from a new farm, just five minutes down the road.  I love supporting local farmers! 

10| Attend an open gym session at a local gymnastics center | We take Noah nearly every week to an open gym session, and he loves it.

11| Visit the library | We've checked out several batches of board books from the library.  Last week, we found an oversized Goodnight Moon board book and Noah enjoys reading it every night before bed.  
 
12| Complete Assignment #3 for my writing class | I submitted Assignment #3, a completely revised article about geocaching, and received positive feedback from my instructor.  

13| Create a photo wall in our family room | Almost done.  All of the photos are framed and ready to be hung.  I'll post a picture when it is finished.   

14| Sign up for a photography class or workshop | On Saturday, I attended a studio lighting workshop, where I learned more about the lighting options available for my mini-studio.

What have you been up to this summer?