2011 Favorite Snapshots

We take a lot of photos around here. So I thought it was only appropriate to show you some of my favorites from the year.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

For 2012 I am going to try something similar to the 365 Project. I hope to take at least one photo everyday. So maybe this time next year I can share our year in the form of one frame a day.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

We had such a fun afternoon!
We had a Happy Birthday, Jesus party.

First, we read Happy Birthday, Jesus by Michelle Medlock Adams.
This book is great for little ones to see how we can celebrate Jesus' birthday.

Then just like in the book, we put on hats.
It's not a party unless you have a hat, at least that's what Seth thinks.

Silas really had more fun just staring at it.

Next, we decorated our birthday cake.
We made a heart in the middle of it, also like in the book.

Then we broke out the party blowers...

the streamers...

balloons and party poppers.

Next, we sang Happy Birthday and blew out Jesus' birthday candles.

Then we talked about giving Jesus gifts. We picked out several things from some of our favorite charities that we are going to give as our gift to Jesus. Seth picked out a soccer ball, a share of a llama, ducks, and a pig. We will also be giving a gift of water, garden seeds, and mosquito nets.

Then we gave each of the boys their gift from us. Our goal is to keep these gifts simple and preferably handmade. I bought Silas' sock monkey from a lady who makes adorable sock monkeys at the local farmers' market, but I made Seth's felt fishing pond, sock fish, and poles.

Merry Christmas
and
Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Christmas with Family

Thursday evening we headed down to Jackson to spend a couple days with family. Our families are so special to us and we love them dearly.

Here are a few of my favorite snapshots...

Tillery Tot School- Christmas Fun

Last week we had a little more Christmas fun.

Here's a peek at our very full bulletin board.
(Some of the crafts are from the previous week's learning time, from a Christmas party that we went to at a friend's house, and a MOPS story time.)

We made Christmas trees out of sugar cones, icing, and sprinkles.

We sang Jingle Bells and made a jingle bell bracelet.

We made a candy cane "J" with a baby Jesus.
We also ate candy canes!

We played with more nativity stamps.

We colored nativity paper ornaments.

We talked about Jesus being the light of the world and then we played with a string of lights.

Even Silas joined in on the fun.

It's been such a fun and meaningful Christmas season.

Learning Fun

Throughout the month, when we aren't doing Christmas crafts, Seth has been playing with a few favorite things. It just so happens that most of those things help him learn one skill or another.

Here's what he's been up to lately...

Working Puzzles
I am always on the lookout for puzzles at Consignment shops and thrift stores.
Usually I can find one or two for less than $1.00.
This is the newest one...

I also got a Melissa and Doug clock puzzle to use with a tutoring client that is having trouble telling time. Seth spotted it and wanted to give it a try.
Lacing
I found a lacing card at Mighty Dollar recently.

Seth likes playing with it.

Coloring

I found a little Color Wonder marker and paper set on clearance (similar to this one but designed for traveling) the other day. I have been interested in these mess free color wonder markers for a while but didn't know how well they would work. Seth was a little frustrated at first because the color doesn't appear instantly. You have to wait a second or two and then the color starts appearing, but once he learned how it worked, he was a big fan. I might even invest in a full size set.

Playing with Magnets
This is a Melissa and Doug animal set.
He likes to name all of the animals and he is just so cute doing it, too.

Then as I was cleaning out our Tot School basket, Seth found our color matching activity lying on his bed ready to be disassembled. I left the room for just a second and when I returned this is what I found. He had moved it to his table and had matched almost all of the sticks to the right color.

I'm so glad Seth thinks learning is fun!

Trying Out New Recipes

I've been trying out lots of new recipes lately. A few recipes have been sitting in my recipe binder for a while, and others I have recently found via Pinterest. Here are the links to the recipes and the rundown...

Easy Brunswick Stew
from Everyday with Rachael Ray

I saw this recipe in Rachael Ray's magazine. It ended up tasting delicious. I have made two batches of it and I froze several servings so that I could pull it out and thaw it for an easy lunch. I used pulled pork (that I frequently make in the crockpot), but I think it would also taste great with chicken.

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp
by Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
I love shrimp and lemon and garlic. So it made sense that I would like this dish.
It was so easy to make and it tasted very yummy.

Broccoli Salad
by Brown Eyed Baker

This broccoli salad was tasty and it was actually my first time ever making broccoli salad. I used shredded cheese and shallots instead of cubed cheese and onion because that's what I already had at home. I might leave the onion out all together next time though because it was a little overwhelming.

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

by The Pioneer Woman
I had high hopes for this meal. But as you can see my photo looks nothing like The Pioneer Woman's photo of this same dish. My photo depicts how this dish tasted. It was bland. Maybe I will try it again some day and see if it turns out differently, but I doubt it. I followed the directions exactly, and it just wasn't that tasty.

Homemade Granola Bars
by The Creative Mama
These didn't last long in our house. They were gone after just a few days.
Try them. They are easy to make and very yummy.

Roasted Squash Soup

from Everyday with Rachael Ray
If you like sweet and spicy, then try this soup. It has the perfect amount of heat from the serrano peppers and the brown sugar brings out the butternut squash flavor. It was mighty fine with some toasted, crusty bread.

I have also tried, but didn't snap a photo of it...

Broiled Grapefruit
by Running Foodie

It made me a believer that anything can taste better with brown sugar and butter.

Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken
by The Pioneer Woman
This recipe by The Pioneer Woman was delicious.
It was especially good on sandwiches the next day.

Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt
by Sugar Crafter
I made these for a cookie exchange and they could be one of my new favorite cookies. I love chocolate and salt together so I am a big fan of these. After munching on them for a few days, I have decided they taste the best right out of the oven.