the 52 project // 19

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

penny: today you woke me up with a hand painted mother's day card, and another that sang me a little cheer when i opened it. you then proceeded to play that cheering card about 20 more times in a row. it was perfect. looking at this photo it occurs to me that never in my life could i have imagined having so much happiness wrapped up in seeing squishy toddler legs in a purple tutu. messy blonde curls, dirty fingernails, skinned knees, and slobbery kisses, are also a few other things that make my days worth living. thank you for making me a mother penny, and for putting everything else in just the right perspective. i love you.

happy mother's day to all the mamas out there... especially mine!

linking up with jodi. and because i really couldn't get enough of this get up...

5 minutes...

motherhood obviously isn't always full of gorgeous sun filled days, and perfect window lighting. sometimes all you get is an apartment bathroom with a single lightbulb. does that mean these moments are any less important to remember? not even a little bit! we had just spent the morning painting. it's one of penny's latest and greatest loves, and she was pretty well covered in varying shades of blue and purple. she pulled her random little wood box over to the sink and began what would end up being about 30 mins of washing her hands. she just looked like such a big kid to me in that moment, so i made a point to take a few minutes and capture it. finding the beauty in the less then beautiful, paint stains, dirty socks, and all...

the 52 project // 09

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

penny: this week it was all about the potty. out of nowhere you decided it was time to go head first into this whole potty training business. we've had the potty since you were 18 months old, and you originally showed some interest in it then, but after the first few days you weren't into it, so we didn't push it. honestly, i wasn't ready back then either. now however, we all seem to be embracing this new 'big girl' habit you're forming. though there have certainly been some accidents, when we're home you take yourself over to the potty and do your business most of the time without even needing to be reminded. you love to empty your potty into the toilet, and you especially love the single chocolate chip you receive after you're done. and when it came time to pick out some real undies, we were both sad to see that so many of them are covered in dora, minnie mouse, or disney princesses, none of these things interest either of us. so for you my sweet girl, superhero underoos it is! you're still quite a ways away from being fully trained, but just like every other stage of your life so far, i think this is my absolute favorite. i mean really... it couldn't possibly get any cuter!

linking up with jodi.

penny's room tour // a montessori toddler room

when we moved into our new place getting penny's room all set up was our first priority. i thought i'd take you on a little tour of how it's looking so far. we decided to keep it pretty similar to her room in our old house so that she would have a feeling of familiarity here. we've updated some things to make it a space that is inviting to her, and while still keeping in mind the montessori philosophies that we think are important. it's still a work in progress, but this is where we're at now...

some things about her space...

we repainted some metal hanging flower baskets and mounted them on her wall, low enough for her to reach, to hold her growing collection of 'lovies' // we also put a small coat rack at her level so that she could be in charge of putting away her own coat // we keep some toys hidden away in her closet and switch them out every so often. 1- it keeps down on the clutter. and 2- it keeps her engaged in her toys without needing to add new ones // we made a small reading nook with books easily accessible // this girl loves her dinosaurs & vintage little people, so they are always in reach as well // we are still successfully using a floor bed, the only change being that she now loves pillows. there were some tough nights due to the move, but things are going smoothly in that department again. we found that having a small lamp that she can turn on and off herself has really helped her feel comfortable in there

if you missed her first room tour you can see it HERE. she was so little!!!

sweet dreams...

tonight as we were tucking her into bed she said to me, out of the blue, "best friend in whooooole world" as she gave me a slobbery kiss and hugged my face. i could have died...

sure she may drive me crazy some nights with how she can procrastinate going to bed, but man, tonight it was all worth it!