Hello, 2015

It has been such a long while since I've shared here. Blogging seems to come in spurts for me, even though I always want to post more regularly. I don't want to say I will stick to that this year, but it is on my list of goals. 2014 had some wonderful times, but it was a difficult year for our family, with a lot of challenges, sadness, and illness, so I am very ready to say goodbye. I'd like 2015 to be better, healthier, and I'd like to work hard toward changing what we can. So far that has involved a lot of work on ourselves and career goals, more getting out of the house (I've been following hike it baby on instagram, which has been inspiring me to get out and explore like we used to each weekend), working harder at creating a wider variety of healthy meals (I tend to get stuck in a pattern with the same old staples), making wiser retail choices, and focusing on family and relationships.



Since I last posted, my baby bird has grown into a 17 month old toddler. He amazes me every day with the things he does, discovers, and learns. I am so lucky to be the mama of this amazing boy. The holidays were so much more fun this year (even though we were sick through most of it) because he was more aware of what was going on, and we were able to go to a couple fun events together. I'm still waiting for that snow since we were sick through the one good snowfall, because I cannot wait to take him out to play in his sled.





After the holidays I noticed that the bird really wasn't playing well. He was mostly pulling toys out and spreading them around the room. There was just too much. We've always tried to really think about the things we give him to play with, but we've still ended up with more than he can handle. Two thirds of the toys and about half the books were put away, to be cycled out every once in a while. When the Christmas tree was taken down, we pulled his playstands back out and instead of having a toy basket, there was a place for everything. Since there is so much less, it is not a difficult job to put it all back after play, and it has made such a huge difference in the way he plays. This has taught me an important lesson. It is not just about the materials we give them, but how we present them. I knew this from my ECE days, but forgot the true importance of it somewhere along the way. Now he easily takes a toy from the shelf and explore and play, and even better, he sometimes puts them back on his own. It is so exciting to watch him grow!



There are many projects, crafting, thrifting, and collecting adventures I'd like to share. Hopefully I will actually end up taking time to do that!