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!)

Recipe Binder Updated

In an attempt to reduce clutter, I’ve been adding and organizing our recipe binder. Instead of the house containing piles (piles!) of recipes ripped out of magazines and printed off the internet, they are now in one place, in this tidy, ever-expanding, and daily-referenced binder.

Recipes we love:

Soba Noodle Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing from Vegetarian Times

Recipes to try:

Thai Red Curry Fish Stew from Sunset Magazine

Gluten-free treats to try for special occasions:

Candy Cane Chocolate Fudge from a free subscription to Woman’s Day — the only thing I’ve gotten out of half-a-dozen issues of the magazine! Don’t they look tasty?!