Santa Party 2008

2007 (2 months old), trying to nurse on Santa:

2008 (14 months old) Not quite sure what he thinks:

All of us:

My aunt has such a fun tradition: she hosts a santa party for all of the kids the weekend before Christmas. Cookie decorating, singing, Christmas book reading & visits with Santa. Thanks Aunt Lois- it is always so much fun and is such a great memory! Lots of pictures and no captions, sorry!

 

Our Christmas cards

I love paper. I love crafting with paper. Not scrapbooking (maybe if I had more time), but just creating things with paper. At Christmastime, I get so much joy out of creating my own Christmas Cards. Now, it is almost always a bad idea. Making 100 Christmas cards in the midst of the crazy season usually leads to stress, lack of time and sleep and many "why am I doing this" comments. However, when I am in the moment crafting and when I look at the finished product, I love that I handcraft them.

I tried to simplify this year: no eyelets, stamps, brads or sewing. Just paper, tape, glue and a few embellishments. And, of course, a super cute picture of my little man taken by the lovely Jenetta Penner .

They all were a little bit different, so I took a picture of a few different options:

When I ran out of paper, I came up with another quick design, using my Cricut. 

We added in our CD, stuck in the envelope, and off it went.

The cute address labels were a free download from Chewing the Cud . They are actually gift tags, so you can use them for wrapping your presents!

I also participated in a  Holiday Card Swap, for which I made 5 fun cards. Here is what I came up with:

I had so much fun making these and also receiving a few cards from random people around the word. That being said, I am glad that I am done making cards. Now on to gift wrap!

I would love to hear which design you like the best!

Christmas with the Toneys 08

So, Christmas is almost here, but we finally finished our 08 project.
1. Go Tell it
(on the Mountain)
2. We've Heard
(a musical interlude on the chord-organ that draws much inspiration from "Untitled 3" from Sigur Ros' () album)
3. Rock of Ages (Maoz Tzur)
(a Hanukkah song that has some great lyrics)
4. Bright Bright Bright
(this year's original song: it combines sadness, melancholy, cynicism, longing, and hope)

You can listen to the right ->

You can check out a little more info about it at www.davidtoneymusic.com


-david

Life will never be the same

Today, it finally clicked and Isaiah has officially become a toddler!

He has been working on his walking skills for a month or so now, taking a few steps from the coffee table to the couch. Today, in a matter of minutes, it all came together, and off he went. Literally, in between 4:00 and 7:30, he went from taking 5 or 6 steps back and forth from David to me to walking on his own from room to room. It was so crazy to see! He gets so excited. We got some great video last night that we will post soon.

I tried to get a good picture of him standing in front of the Christmas tree, but it was not very successful a) because he kept wanting to walk to me b) because it was night and my flash was stinking c) it was past his bedtime and he was a little out of it and just wanted to play with the camera. Here is what I've got for you:

I am more sad than I expected to be. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited and I love seeing him waddle around. Yet, at the same time, I feel like this is one of the first big steps in his independence and I feel like it was just yesterday that he was swaddled and lying in my arms. I hear from many moms that this is how most milestones in kids development are- exciting and fun, but at the same time a little bittersweet because your baby is growing up.

I have a feeling he will be running tomorrow. Watch out world!

And, yes, I know he needs a haircut :)  He was called a girl 3 times this week by strangers. It was nice.

And, since I am posting, I thought I would throw in a few more from the weekend:
Drumming with his daddy after church:

Dad cuddle time:

Two of my closest friends from Orange County came down to celebrate my birthday yesterday and it was such a sweet time. Lunch, drinks, watching a movie while Julianne highlighted my hair- I was definitely spoiled for a few hours. Love you girls!

I love my hubby

He knows me well.