20 Months

Whenever someone asks me how old you are, I have to stop and think. I am having a hard time believing that you are ALMOST TWO YEARS OLD! How did time sneak away like that? You act more like a two year old than a one year old so that should have been my first clue that you are a big girl now. And seriously, you do realize you are a big girl. You are pushing babies in strollers, helping feed your sissy, putting things away, singing along to your favorite songs, imitating EVERY SINGLE THING we do...I love it!

Things You Love

Sunshine

Taking walks

Walking your sister

Rocks

Singing

Working out with mommy and daddy

Tickling everyone

Playing in water

Being social

BOYS

Helping around the house

Baby dolls (and real babies)

All technology

Animals

All of your friends

Almonds+Manas (bananas)+beyayas (blueberries)+Lalalalala (oatmeal)

Things You Don't Love

Dirty things (although it's ok to play in)

Bella eating your food

Getting your clothes messy

I love that you love everybody. You know who your friends are and talk about them often. Each night we talk about "OOWEN. GRACE. ELWEESE. HEHE. BECKBECK" Those are the friends names who have stuck, but you are adding to that list every day. You apparently have a thing for older boys (ummmm excuse me!) and they seem to be smitten with you. I think you are intrigued by their boyish behaviors. You LOVE LOVE LOVE animals. You get mad because we won't bring home every cat you find. No idea why you picked cats to be your favorite considering mommy and daddy will not be having a cat. You are hilarious...you have the best facial expressions and can do the silliest things to make everyone laugh. You are a copycat. You imitate all the moves on our P90 workout videos. It's funny to see you stretch your neck, do high knees, and yell "GO!" while running around the house. 

Baby girl, in case you were curious, we love every single ounce of you. God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave us you. You are such a beautiful girl, inside and out. We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what the last 4 months until your 2nd birthday will bring. 

Project 52:21 | Self-Control

Josh and I are in the midst of a health and fitness challenge called "May Madness." We have loved every minute of it...except the time where my whole family ate a giant mud pie while we sat and watched and the time that we went to a food show where we couldn't taste test anything except a piece of fruit, tea, and greek yogurt. Seriously though it has been such a wonderful experience! I have kind of mentioned the fact that we have changed our eating habits quite a lot once before, but I still need to go into more detail. I have had a LOT of questions on the subject and I really want to be able to give you some information so you can decide if it is the right thing for you. Basically we have gone back to eating the way they would back in the good old prairie days. Think Laura Ingalls Wilder. Obviously we do still enjoy the modern conveniences of today, but we do also try to incorporate a lot of the old practices. We started with making a few changes and now are quite deep in the throws of it all...soaking, fermenting, raw milk...you name it, we are up to trying it. 

All this to say that we have really understood how important it is to take care of the one body God gave us. We feel so much more energized now that we are eating the way He intended for us to eat and are also spending a great deal of time being active. Not only have the changes to our body been significant, but watching Eden imitate our workout moves has made us so excited for her future. The girl loves her technology, so to see that she also loves to run and jump and play makes us believe that she will value an active and healthy lifestyle. Try making a change or two and see how it affects you and/or your family. We are quickly finding that piece of mud pie to really not be all that appealing anymore. 

I'll be back with more regarding the changes we have made over the past 9 months!

For more Project 52 goodness, check out these fine blogs:

styleberry BLOG, Lucas and Mahina, Wicked Kate, The Mog Blog, Dana Moran Photography

Let me know if you want to join in on the fun! It's never too late to start your Project 52 :)

Project 52:20 | Motherhood

I cheated. While I had set up my camera's settings, Josh actually took this photo. I figured it was okay to cheat for this purpose.

During Mother's Day this year I reflected more on what it means to be a mom than I ever have. Here I am holding the daughter I so longed for, and yet there are so many out there that are still holding their arms out, empty and aching. 

One thing that hit me really hard was thinking to when we adopt in the future. I had always looked at it as US getting OUR baby. While yes, we will celebrate and love on that little one like you've never seen, but what about that child's birth mother? The one that went through 9 months of carrying that child. The one that labored for hours until the child made its grand appearance into the world. The one that had to make the hardest decision of her life...to let go. I had never really thought about her. This all just broke my heart over the past few weeks. I know its OBVIOUS that the child had to have a birth mother and of course I knew that, but I just didn't think about how much that one woman will impact our whole family. Will she ache for the child she had to give up? Will she wonder what it is like for her child to be growing up in a new place with a new family? We never want to discount the fact that our child has a birth mother. We want to always pray for her and respect the questions our future child may have. With the love that I have for my daughter, I can only try to imagine just how painful Mother's Day must be for many women. Women who loved their babies and women who want to have babies to love. 

Mother's Day is a wonderful celebration and I am so thankful that we could celebrate all of the mom's out there, but I am starting to look at it with a new perspective. I see those of you that are hurting and I want you to know that you are loved and you are prayed for. 

For more Project 52 goodness, check out these fine blogs:

styleberry BLOG, Lucas and Mahina, Wicked Kate, The Mog Blog, Dana Moran Photography

Let me know if you want to join in on the fun! It's never too late to start your Project 52 :)

Project 52:19 | Discovery

Having a child gives you a whole new sense of the word "discovery." Watching a child learn something new is such an exciting process. Josh and I daily are amazed at the things Eden learns. Every single day she says a new word or does something she hasn't done before. We try so hard to let her learn about life at her own pace and in her own way. Sometimes her discovery might be messy, sometimes it means watching her struggle, but in the end she is the one pushing herself to try...to learn something new. 

It is so hard not to step in sometimes and help her as she fumbles with the puzzle piece. She is so very close to putting it in correctly, but it just won't turn the exact way she needs it to. She lets out a frustrated sound, sometimes a tear falls from her eyes, but each time we try to stand back and see how she will solve the problem. Sometimes it just takes her another minute until the puzzle settles into it's perfectly shaped hole. Sometimes, however, she looks to us with pleading eyes and says, "help me!" And so we do. We give her some prompting on how to fix the situation and then together we place that darn puzzle piece that has eluded it's space for so long. We give a high five and put on a big smile. She is so proud. I love that.

So, go out and try something new. Instead of walking with your eyes downward, look up. You never know what you are going to discover. 

Green And Blue Baby Love Invite

I had my first PAID job for an invitation. I wasn't planning on doing them as a side job, but I was entrusted to make some and I was SO beyond thrilled and honored.

For the design I knew a few things...the mommy-to-be loves green and blue too. She seemed to lean towards using animals in the nursery. And, they didn't know what they were having. This right here was enough for me to be totally inspired to do something simple, modern, and full of the mommy-to-be's favorite colors. 

I seriously had way too much fun designing these. I was a nervous wreck going into this knowing that someone was going to hand me money for something I did, but I'm glad I stuck it out and made it happen. I find designing invites to be rather addicting. Each design job has been so challenging and each time I want to run for the hills in fear that I won't do it right, but in the end I always end up feeling so excited. 

Now to learn the art of photo styling. I can take a photo of my child no problem, but objects? Fugghedaboutit. Pinterest here I come!

P.S. Sorry dear neighbor for plastering your name all over as an example. You still love me right? Even though you moved away to another city and I still can't accept that you are not longer my neighbor. Sad face.

Project 52:18 | Relationships

My sister moved away again. To Eden it's Aunt B. Eden loves her some Aunt B. Oh my. We always list off all of her families names to her and she repeats each one, but there is always special emphasis on "Beeeeeeeeee!" I think she likes her because she is the Aunt that sneaks her candy and gives her purses and wallets full of money is close by and adores her and makes her laugh and takes her on crazy adventures. Thankfully her Auntie is only 4 hours away now so it's still driving distance. 

Today she asked about her and we had to talk about how she has moved away. I know she doesn't really get it and yet she totally acted as if she knew. She knows that when someone lives far away it doesn't mean that they don't love her. She loves all of her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and so forth, all the same. This girl LOVES her family. I love watching her with the people she loves. She has a different way of interacting which each person. She knows which grandparent loves to tickle her, which one loves her hugs, which one sneaks her candy when her parents aren't looking. She treasures each one of them for their own specific reasons. I love the way she thinks. 

Watching Eden has so challenged me to treasure the family and friends that I have. Each one of them is so unique. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that I was chatting away about how different each of my friends are. I never had one specific group of friends, I always had many. Each group of friends meant something different to me and yet, I loved them all the same. I have the friends that make me laugh until I cry. The friends I share my deepest secrets with. The friends that I went on adventures with. The friends that challenged me in my faith. The friends that constantly stood behind me as I made so many poor choices over the years and loved me just the same. I love my friends. I love my family. They are so very unique and yet so perfectly perfect. I know that no matter where we all go, we will always come back to each other. I love that. 

To my sister...we loved having you around and will miss you so much, but are so glad you are excited for your next adventure! 

Why, yes I do make my sister do an impromptu photo shoot before she is allowed to leave the house. So a fair warning to you all, you may be subject to my inner photographer and you may just have to play model if you come over. There, warning has been given. 

For more Project 52 goodness, check out these fine blogs:

styleberry BLOG, Lucas and Mahina, Wicked Kate, The Mog Blog, Dana Moran Photography

Let me know if you want to join in on the fun! It's never too late to start your Project 52 :)

Project 52:17 | Steadfast

I've never really thought about this word before. I've seen it in the Bible, I have heard it in church, it's in songs, but I never truly grasped what STEADFAST means to me. When I was looking through the photos I took, this one stood out. I am a lover of vintage...I love the charm that it holds. My house is 82 years old and you can see every bit of precious detail that went into it. That detail is something we just do not see much in newer homes and other things. 

I look at this bridge and despite the fact that it has grown worn with age, it just looks so strong. I have no idea how many years it has been there, but I can tell it's been there for quite some time. Every little crack shows me that this bridge LOVES its job. It does not mind the years of abuse from constant traffic, in fact it thrives from it. 

I think about this in the way that God loves me. I am not always perfect and sometimes I forget to thank Him for the things He has done...sometimes I feel angry that something has happened to me and I let go of some of that anger on Him. Yet, God is always there. He loves me. He loved me when I didn't love myself. He loved me when I was angry, heart broken, and riddled with despair. He will accept me with open arms the day that I go home. And that, my dear friends, is what STEADFAST really looks like. 

Thank you all for your patience with my Project 52 post from last week. It has been crazy. Between the sicknesses and the loss of internet I finally conceded and realized that sometimes it's better to let something go. So, here I am, feeling a million times more like myself and with functioning internet! YAY! Hope you all had a more enjoyable week than we did over at the Crain household :)

For more Project 52 goodness, check out these fine blogs:

styleberry BLOG, Lucas and Mahina, Wicked Kate, The Mog Blog, Dana Moran Photography

Let me know if you want to join in on the fun! It's never too late to start your Project 52 :)