The Family: A Project

In my ward, we were planning a Super Saturday for October. While we were discussing ideas, I remembered a small scrapbook my mom has on the The Family: A Proclamation to the World, where each page has a phrase illustrated with photos of her own family. (Turns out she did it at a Super Saturday too!). I was in charge of figuring out the cost so we could do it for our Super Saturday.

One thought was to make a template available digitally, so that sisters could put their own photos in it, and get a nice photobook printed.

Well, turns out we had to cancel our Super Saturday, but I still wanted to get my own photobook. I told PE that I was thinking about ordering one. PE isn't a big fan of scrapbooks because he thinks no one ever looks at them. He told me that if I wanted people to actually see it, that I should get something to go on the wall.

Amazon Local had a deal to get a 20x30 canvas print for $56, so I thought I would design something and get a canvas print to hang on the wall. This is what I came up with:

After getting some feedback, I decided to look into getting a custom made photo mat that would allow me to update the photos. Well, that ended up not being as easy (or as cheap) as I thought. I talked to Michaels, and they said they couldn't print the words on a photo mat, but they could custom cut the photo openings for only $166, and then I could add the text myself using vinyl lettering. I decided that would be too much money, and there is too much text to try to do it by hand.

So, I decided to try a print shop, and I went to AlphaGraphics. They said they could print it and cut out the holes, but it would be by hand. This option would be $42, and I would still need to get a frame, and the photos printed. I gave them the go ahead, and they said they would have it ready by 5 pm the next day.

We ended up going to the State Fair the next day, and while we were there, I missed 2 calls from AlphaGraphics and had 2 voice-mails. The first message said that they weren't sure if I really wanted the holes cut out, because they would have to do them by hand and it wouldn't look very professional. The 2nd message told me to ignore the first message, and that it was ready for pick-up and looked professional.

I went and picked it up the next day, and they actually had 2 printed out, one with the holes cut out and one not. They said I could take whichever one I wanted (but really, what were they going to do with the 2nd one?) I thought the cut out one looked great, and so I took that one home. I bought a 20 x 30 frame for $35.

 I had to add a 1/4" border to all my photos, so that they could sit behind the photo mat. I also bought a bunch of photo corners for $3. I used the photo corners to attach the photos to the mat, and it'll be easy to take the photo out and put a new one in later. The photos cost $5 to print at AlphaGraphics.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The frame does cut a little bit off at the bottom, so if I did it again, I would leave more room at the bottom. But it's still readable, so I'll keep it! Now I just need to hang it on the wall!

Odds and Ends

Playing in the sock box!

P1 playing with a screwdriver. PE was fixing something, and P1 just had to have the screwdriver.

We had fun at the Utah State Fair. P1 got more excited about a plastic spoon we got for ice cream than he did about any of the animals.

 P1's hair is starting to go curly!

Basketball

It's so much fun to watch a child figure something out! We've had this basketball hoop for about a month, and P1 just likes to use it to stand up. I'll shoot some hoops and try to get P1 to put the ball in the basket, but it's never stuck.

So today, I was reading my scriptures and P1 was playing on the floor. Suddenly I hear the sound of a ball hitting the floor. I look up and wondered "Did he just do what I thought he did?" Now that P1 had my attention, he smiled and picked the ball up in one hand and dropped it through the hoop! I cheered, and for the next half hour we played some baby basketball!

10 Months

Wow, I can't believe we're in the double digits. 10 months. Crazy!

Our little 10 month old is a delight! He is full of smiles and is generally a pretty easy going child. We know that he is adorable and has the most beautiful red hair in the world because every single person we meet says so. Seriously. Every single person.

P1 finally has 2 teeth coming in (on the bottom). He hasn't been too cranky, but sometimes he'll wake up in the middle of the night and need some teething tablets. He usually sleeps from 8 pm -  6/7 am. P1 will usually nap for 30 minutes in the morning, and usually 2 hours in the afternoon.

P1 is a pretty good eater and hasn't been too picky. His favorite food is still Cheerios though.

P1 hasn't yet found the motivation to walk on his own. PE and I think he is capable of doing it, but P1 doesn't seem to see the need for it since he can get everywhere crawling. Did I mention he climbed on top of the coffee table the other day?

He loves to play the piano. I think he's quite good for a 10 month old:

 He loves to crumple up the ads in the mail:

Drinking out of a straw:

Crazy hair:

Pondering "The Hungry Caterpillar":

Enjoying "The Hungry Caterpillar":

Eating "The Hungry Caterpillar":

Helping with laundry. He loves to just stand here forever. He cries when you take him away:

Helping with dishes:

Play date:

Cousin time (P1 really loves playing with kids around 2-3 years old):

Happy 10 months baby boy! We love you!

Cousins, Piano, and Eating

We had P1's cousin over for a few hours, and P1 just thinks his cousin is hilarious:

Our little Mozart:

Feeding P1 through the obstacle course of his "musical instruments":

9.5 Months

P1 had his 9 month check-up on Monday since his pediatrician was out of town for most of July.

He weighed 20 lb 15 oz (51st percentile) and was 29.75" long (86th percentile). P1 was happy as can be at the doctors, and everybody just loved his smiles and red hair. P1 is a super healthy baby, for which we are very grateful!

He enjoyed the toys in the waiting room:

We introduced P1 to basketball. He still hasn't quite figured out the ball is supposed to go in the hoop. But he enjoys watching Mommy shoot baskets:

And P1 has finally figured out how to walk around in his walker! Now we can keep him in the walker for longer without him getting upset because he can finally move around! Here's P1 trying to push his stroller while in his walker:

Oh, and P1 has his first bloody nose yesterday. He was crawling and did a face plant on the floor. I picked him up and comforted him on my shoulder and then he pulled away and I saw the blood under his nose. It wasn't too bad, and stopped bleeding quickly. And he was good as new after a few minutes. Good thing babies bounce back so quickly!

9 Months

P1 turned 9 months old yesterday. These last 9 months went by a lot faster than the 9 months before that! I really can't believe how much he has grown. My little baby is not such a little baby anymore.

At 9 months, P1 is a lot of fun! He loves animals and gets really excited when he sees a dog or we get the bunnies out to play with. He loves to climb things (even though he usually ends up stuck). P1 will walk around using the laundry basket as a walker; but for the most part, he sticks with crawling. He can stand up all by himself for about 15 seconds. He loves Cheerios, and enjoyed his first smoothie. He is pretty good about eating most foods, but he doesn't like it if you use your fingers to put a piece of food in his mouth. He is much more likely to eat it if it's on a spoon. One time he actually gagged and threw up because we put a little piece of noodle in his mouth; but he was fine if it was on a spoon.

P1 likes to swim, and enjoys playing with other kids. He loves to play the piano, and he has stopped screaming whenever I play the viola (now he just tries to knock over my music stand while I'm playing).

P1 still has no teeth, and his hair is getting a lot thicker (and longer!). PE thinks he needs a haircut...

P1 takes after his daddy and doesn't like to take naps. Or sleep in general. Lately, it has been a hit and a miss with his morning nap. He'll take a semi-long afternoon nap, but he does not go to sleep quietly or quickly. He fights it every step of the way. And lately, he has been waking up 1-3 times at night. He might be teething, but we'll see if any teeth pop up soon. I often wait and let him cry it out for a bit; sometimes he goes back to sleep and sometimes he doesn't. Tonight he was not happy when I finally left him in his crib to go to sleep; so unhappy that he threw up all over. Poor kid.

P1 likes to say ma-ma. Unfortunately, he usually doesn't mean me when he says it. That just seems to be the one syllable he likes to use, so everything is "ma-ma-ma..."

P1 loves books. He seems to have a preference for books that he can rip the pages out instead of his board books. And he really likes books that are spiral bound, like "Preach My Gospel". I keep telling him that he has 18 years before his mission, but I guess he just wants to prepare early because he keeps pulling it off of the bookcase.

This kid sure keeps me on my toes, but he is a lot of fun to have around, and we love him very much!