loves to paint...

hates to get real messy.

At Christmas time when I tried to do some fingerpainting projects with her, it was a big fail.
She didn't like fingerpainting anymore.
brushes only.
Now when she paints, I keep a wet washcloth on the floor next to her.
If she gets a tiny dot of paint on her, she picks it up and washes it away herself. :)

morning.

We heard some freezing rain may be coming, so in effort to help break up our simple and easygoing day Quinn and I went out for a little morning treat.
Todd has been working most weekends this month, fortunately though we get lots of time with him during the week when he is home earlier during the winter season.  But still we missed him today.

Heard from a friend to try out a new little place in town.

pretty sure that little hand ate most of the mini-donuts. :)

 

 

I ordered a dozen mini-donuts for us thinking we would have a few leftover to take home for Todd.

Yeah, not when this little girl ate 8 of them!  And really, I could have cleaned off a dozen myself easily after we discovered how light and yummy they were.

 

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday morning too. :)

taking photos of a toddler.

toddlers are not the best models when it comes to a little photo-taking.
I have learned quickly that it is more about just catching them as they move around and do things on their own.  It is rare to get a good little posed shot, that is for sure.

sometimes those move around and catch them candidly shots may not seem the best, but you may be amazed at what you can get.

sometimes just a little editing can turn that on the go picture into a pretty portrait.

quick editing - cropped off the back bow (from the side 2 bows was a bit much and drew away from her face), covered her pink hairtie, and did a very simple lighting change that gave it a softer look.

 

quick editing - cropped for a closer shot, covered the pink hair tie, and did a quick lighting change that brightened it up a bit and gave it a little vintage look.

 

I do not believe that all photos should be edited, but sometimes it can take a picture and even with the tiniest tweaks make it something a little more frameworthy.

 

I do usually use photoshop for editing, however both of these pics were edited on a free photo-editing website that is super easy to use...showing that anyone can do it. :)

 



mama.

Finally!!!

Can I get a "Hallelujah!" because my girl finally calls me Mama!
Let's rewind many months to Quinn's sweet little baby days and when her first word was uttered, "mama" she said.  And she continued to say it for several months, just baby babble, not calling me "mama", but she was was saying it.  Then somewhere around 10/11 months I believe it was completely removed from her vocabulary, gone.  So, you could say for a whole year we have been waiting for it to re-enter and be the sweet little word she would say to her mama instead of "uh-uh-uh!"  I'm pretty sure it started to cross the line on pure stubborness somewhere around 20 months, and then really crossed the line a month ago when she would constantly say "papa" (grandpa) and "daddy", and then we all would say "mama" to her and she would simply give this sly little sneaky smile.  yeah, I was determined she was doing this on purpose.

So, a few days ago as she entered her last month as a one year old, it finally came.
"Mama"
and she was looking for me.

Now, I hear it throughout the day and it usually sounds like this "mama, mama...mama peas". (please)
and really it's mostly when she wants something, but....i'll take it! ;)

simply girly.

sure there are blocks and legos and lightning mcqueen cars around this place, but let's be real, our playtime around here is relatively quiet tea parties, playing dollies, dance parties, baking cookies...

and times where polka dots, ruffles, & pink ribbon all collide together for the ultimate girly girl.

i love being mama of a little girl.
this week alone we took in two new disney princess movies:  Cinderella and Little Mermaid. 

and this is my new favorite mama & daughter playtime activity...

the best.

dear jack frost.

dear jack frost.

you are not fulfilling your annual duty. 
this simply just won't do.
there are little girls glued to windowpanes waiting for inches of snow.
snow to play in, build in, sled in, and eat.
pretty please bring us some snow.
it is winter after all.

love,
Quinn

challenge accepted.

Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) would be proud. :)

Operation birthday present is underway.
After we tackled our kitchen project, well it was on to another big project for our little peanut.

Todd setup a large workspace for me.

 

and every day I wander down to my workshop for about 3 hours of work time on the secret project.  That's right my girl, 3 hours every day, so let's plan on this being one of those fun gifts that you keep forever and pass on down to your own children and grandchildren. ;)



 

 

Jokes aside, I love fun new projects.  Todd and I are both crafty.  And I love a new challenge.

So, challenge accepted.

Can't wait for the big birthday reveal. :)

valentine crafts.

As soon as the Christmas decor came down, the very next day Quinn and I spent an entire afternoon filling some of the now empty space after quickly deciding to decorate a little for Valentine's Day this year. :)
I called in my favorite artist...

 

and had her get to work right away on a new canvas masterpiece.

 



 

 

 

By the end of the day Quinn and I had added several valentine touches to our home. :) 

1.  Quinn's LOVE canvas.

2.  XO cardboard letters wrapped in yarn.

3.  a yarn and felt hearts banner.

4. a few valentine prints replacing Christmas ones.

 



 

 

You may remember this from my Christmas crafting, well I decided I didn't want to take it down quite yet, so we replaced the two prints and simply added two red felt hearts to the wreath to change it from our Christmas decor to Valentine. :)

 



 



new year's eve.

The first new year's eve in our four years together that we didn't spend at home. :) We dressed up, put our baby girl to bed, and headed out for a night of fun. (Leaving Quinny home under the care of grandma and grandpa.) We celebrated ringing in the new year with a surprise 30th birthday for our dear friend Kristin.
A fun-filled way to start a new year. 
To a wonderful, simply fun 2013.

first and second.

Quinn's first Christmas in our old home and second in our new home. :)

the next great baker.

yes, that is a Cake Boss reference.

and yes...this is the cutest little baker you ever did see.

For Quinn's Christmas this year we wanted to give her something extra special.  Every time we play at someone else's house the play kitchen draws her in and she is there for as long as she can be.  We knew a play kitchen was on her wishlist.  And because her mommy and daddy like to be crafty, we decided to build a play kitchen from scratch for her.  A little extra special when mommy and daddy put so much love and care into building it themselves... plus it was just fun for us to do too. :)

I drew up a sketch and did all the measurements.
Todd gathered any materials we already had that could be used.
We started a list of things to buy that we didn't already have.
Todd got to work on the construction/building portion of it.

We shared the duty of painting it with several coats of "feeling blue", the just right shade of blue/grey I was looking for.

Then came all the hinges for the doors, hooks for hanging things, a bowl for a sink and the old sink faucet we took out of the new house when we replaced it.
Slapped up some clearance backsplash, some leftover beadboard and trim from our downstairs bathroom project, hung up a picture frame, painted a new little chalkboard, a cookie sheet to play with magnets, a ruffle curtain made by grandma, added a heart light fixture (from the $1 store)...and it all just started to come together to when Quinn found this under (near) the Christmas tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cookies anyone?

 

to a joyful new year.