Bitty Picasso

I needed a piece of art for our mudroom, and I knew just the gal I wanted to commission... my own Bitty Picasso, who is all about some art these days.  First, I prepped a large canvas that I got for 50% off at Hobby Lobby (about $8) by painting the whole thing a solid color.

Next, I let Miss Bitty know that she was going to paint, so she stripped down to her diaper.  Seriously, I have her conditioned to get naked when a mess is involved.  At what age do I have to stop this? Kindergarten? She did insist on leaving on her pearls and putting in a bow.  I'm not kidding.  She insisted.

 We started with pink.  The girl would paint the world pink if she could. 

 The beginning of a masterpiece. 

 Blues were next. 

 She asked, "Use hands please?"

 Then some yellow. 

 And finally, some orange.

 All done!

 She was so proud!

 Such a perfect little masterpiece!  

When painting for display (rather than just fun) with a toddler, my tips are:

- Prep the canvas with a solid color.

- Use a different plate and brush for each color to minimize colors mixing and everything becoming a yucky brown.

- Turn the canvas several times so the child can reach all the sides and cover most of the canvas.

- Add the child's handprint somewhere in the art, you will be glad you did when those little hands are much bigger. 

- Seal and protect the finished canvas with a clear gloss spray like this. 

Happy Birthday Atalie!

I am not a Mommy that gets sad as my babies grow.  I am thrilled and blessed beyond measure to have three happy, healthy, growing girls.  I just can not believe that our Bitty girl is 2.

This seems like moments ago.

Her birth was honestly one of the most woshipful experiences of my life.  Our struggle to get pregnant with her, the totally unexpected surprise of my pregnancy, her ideal birth and our whole family's immediate adoration of her taught me more about Christ and His love for us than I will ever be able to express in words.

God gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.




I held her on Saturday night and rocked her for her last full hour of being one year old.  When the clock struck midnight and my baby was two, I cried and cried until my cries became sobs.  They were nothing but happy tears.  I still can't believe I have her.

It may sound strange that this child means so much to me when I already had two wonderfully precious girls before her.  It's not about Atalie though.  I love all three of my girls exactly the same.  My worship surrounding our gift in Atalie isn't about her, its about God.  It's about what I came through to get her, what we as a family came through to get her. Psalm 27:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Once I found my delights and total identity in the Lord, He gave me the exact desires of my heart.  Desires I didn't even know, because He knows me even better than I know myself.  When I look at our family now, my heart is so full it almost hurts.  That doesn't mean that our family is complete, or anywhere close to perfect, it just means that God has brought us a long way and I am immeasurably thankful.

I don't feel like I am doing a very good job explaining this.. I simply can't put it into words, but that's ok, because God gets it, and He is my one true audience.  Just know that each of our children is a mighty blessing to us and God is abundantly good to us.

I will forever be in awe of His faith in us to give us three little girls to raise to know and love Him.

Atalie, God was showing off when He made you.  Happy Birthday, baby girl.

Atalie's 2nd Birthday Party

 We had Atalie's 2nd Birthday Party today.

 It was a beautiful day outside so the adults socialized inside while the kids all ran wild outside. 

Many of our friends and family members were able to spend the afternoon with us, eating lunch and celebrating our Bitty.  I didn't get many pictures of our guests, because I only really took pictures while everyone was eating, and no one wants their picture made while taking a bite out of a messy barbecue sandwich..

Every time I asked Atalie what kind of party she wanted to have, her response was always different.  So we just did everything in pink and then bought a pack napkins of each of her favorite characters.  She was thrilled to have Elmo, Dora, Hello Kitty, and the Disney Princesses all in attendance. 

The food was all wonderful (because I ordered it from a great BBQ place instead of trying to cook it) and Atalie enjoyed it as much as anyone.  Topless of course, because she knows that she has to take her shirt off to eat messy foods.. it helps Mommy out with the laundry. 

 She has been singing "Happy Birthday" to herself since January, so when all of her friends and family sang it to her, she thought it was pretty great!

 We had asked about 100 times since we picked them up for a, "Pink cupcake, please!"

 Aunt Libby helped her eat the cupcake, 

and her Daddy and friends helped her open her gifts. 

It was a wonderful day celebrating God's gift to us.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you... And so from the day we heard about you, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Colossians 1:3,9


**My sweet friend, Shannon, made Atalie's outfit and I had already bought the fabric to make the bunting and the large 2.  I thought it was so sweet that it was the exact same fabric! God is in the details.

A Story About Ernie and Elmo

Here's a story about Ata, Ernie and Elmo, told in Instagram photos, because, let's face it,  I never take the time to use my real camera anymore. 

Ata went thrifting with Mommy and was delighted to find both an Ernie and Elmo!
She gleefully proclaimed "MINE" when she saw them, tucked them under arms and ran to the counter to check out. 

Once Mommy and Atalie got them home, Ernie and Elmo had to take a bath. 

And now they live in Ata's room instead of on Sesame Street.

The End. 

Daddy Daughter Dates

I love that Nate dates our daughters.  He took each of us out individually this week. 

He and Austin Kate enjoyed Ruth's Chris for Restaurant Week. 

He took Ave to her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. 

 Ata and I went on a lunch date with him for Mexican, because that Bitty loves some chips, cheese dip and salsa.

And we went out with some friends this weekend to Capital Grill, also for Restaurant Week. 

In summery, Nate had an expensive week and ate very well!

*All pictures are cell phone pictures. I'm getting pretty slack with the real camera!*

Little Mama

Some Videos of Ata

Nate and the big girls ran into the church office yesterday on the way home while Atalie and I sat in the car since she's in a wild and crazy, "I will tear Daddy's office up if you let me near it" stage of life.

We decided to make a few little videos to entertain ourselves while we waited. 

*Notice, I ignore her when she calls me Jaime!

Wordless Wednesday

Atalie and the Big Guy

When I was getting Atalie dressed this morning her Daddy explained to her, "the fat guy on your shirt with the creepy weird eyes is a lie. Daddy is Santa.  Mommy and I give you your presents on Christmas and Christmas is about celebrating Jesus, not a guy in a red suit."  She just looked at him like he was crazy and then asked him to go get her some milk.

If my sister-in-law, Lindsay is reading this, she is crying, because it kills her that we don't "do Santa" with our kids.  We did with Averie and Austin Kate when they were very little, but as soon as they asked us, we told them the truth.  Evidently, we aren't even gonna play that game with Ata since she and her Daddy have already discussed it several times.  If you point to a Santa Claus and ask her who it is, she will say, "Daddy Santa!"

She did, however sit on Santa's lap today at the mall and loved it.  Actually, I think she loved the sticker and candy cane he gave her, but hey... Mommy got a cute picture.