Yesterday, our baby turned four. {FOUR – that’s truly a little hard to believe.} So, in keeping up with our tradition, we sat down together and did our little birthday interview. Now truth be told, this was our third attempt at the video, so it’s perhaps a little less spontaneous than normal, but I’ll take it. {Note to self for next time: remove at least some of the 10 000+ photos on your phone before attempting to take a 5 minute long video.}
I’m all about special little traditions. Half birthday traditions, Christmas ornament making traditions, Valentine’s Day traditions… They just make me happy. One of the ones I love most is is the handprint canvas Gracen and I make each year together.
When I first decided to start it just before Miss G’s first birthday, I picked up 5 small square canvases thinking that would last me forever and now we’re more than halfway through our stash. Hard to believe.
As always, Grae picked out the colour combination.
It’s crazy {and exciting and sad and overwhelming} to see how much this little hand grows each year (see last year’s print here).
Here’s this year’s masterpiece. Sadly, this one will stand alone here in Kuwait until another birthday rolls around, but one day in the future, she’ll have a collection of handprints, each one slightly larger than the last, displayed on her bedroom wall for all of us admire.
Check out last year’s handprint canvas post too!
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Last year, when Miss G turned two, we did her first ever birthday interview. I prepared a short list of questions, then recorded our conversation as I asked about her interests and likes and she shared her responses. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched that little video since… The enthusiasm that moves her whole body as she tells me her favourite colour… the way she bursts into dance when I ask her about the song she loves best… her silly little antics when she sings happy birthday at the end – they just make me melt. It makes my heart happy that I have a tiny snippet in time frozen, to remember always.
So, with another birthday under her belt, early this morning I asked my newly minted three year old the same questions I asked one year ago.
And here’s this year’s keepsake…
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Today my baby girl is officially two and a half.
One of the little traditions we started when Gracen was born was the celebration of her half birthday. Because well, why not really? That extra ‘half’ is a big deal when your age is still in the single digits. It’s nothing fancy… Just a fun day with “cupcakes” after dinner. This year was extra special as it fell on a weekend which meant Papa got to join in on the fun.
It started with Miss G waking up to a doorway full of balloons, ended with chocolate coconut banana muffins topped with freshly whipped cream and candles, and had muffin making, playing in the rain, an awesome presentation of The Cat in the Hat, and a sushi dinner sprinkled throughout the middle.
Oh, and there was this… A bath filled with bubbles, balloons, and a shrieky jumpy excited girl.
Happy half birthday, my love.
♥
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Today Miss G and I continued on a little birthday tradition we started last year when she turned one – painting a handprint canvas together. This year was even more fun than last because Grae was really able to get into it and participate in the process.
After picking out our colour combination, we gave the canvas a few coats of pink paint, letting it dry in between each one.
Then, once it was completely dry, I brushed a thin coat of teal on Grae’s hand and together we carefully stamped in the middle of the canvas.
With the project finished almost as quickly as it was started, Grae wanted to continue painting, so on she went…
As she worked on her own project, I sketched out a number two on the canvas’ corner…
Then carefully outlined it and filled it in with a paint pen.
Tada! A very simple art project that forever saves those little handprints I always have such a hard time wiping away from our mirrors and windows.
And here it is next to last year’s. Pretty amazing / heartbreaking to see the difference 12 months makes…
♥