Raising Cubs in a Campground

Welcome to Alphabitty Moments! I started this project in 2009 as a memory keepsake method that didn't require to me to record memories chronologically. It appealed to me to be able to pull from my archives or take new photos of those little moments that are just as important as the milestones that typically make it into baby books or photo albums.  Over the years I have shared finished books and as much as possible shared photos weekly for each letter of the alphabet. This time through the alphabet I have chosen to use mostly Instagram photos (I'm 4MamaBear) as those phone cameras are slick for capturing the every day moments. Today is the perfect example: G is for Grocery Shopping Snack. I joked on Instagram (I use the hashtag #AlphabittyMoments if you want to see more photo ideas or click on the Alphabitty Moments label on my right side bar) by titling the photo Grocery Shopping (Survival) Snack. I do 95% of my grocery shopping with Elsa because there is a consis...

First let me prefface this post with, I am not an expert. Maybe if I were , I would have been getting more than 1-2 two hour chunks of sleep in my own bed each night for the past six months. Since I am not, I can only offer a little hope and encouragement to other nursing moms who are having trouble getting their babies back to sleep at night. I stumbled by accident onto a method that has worked twice for Elsa and I. I say twice because sickness/teething/job change caused me to fall back into the pattern of staying in her room until she fell asleep every time she woke to nurse at night. Here's what that looked like:  Head upstairs for bedtime routine of nursing/snuggling around 6:45/7pm. Nurse until she fell asleep or until I ran out of milk and it was time to put her in her crib. Curl up on the floor in her room using three pillows for 'comfort'. (She didn't need me to do anything, just be there. She would go so far as to point to the floor and make her ...

My youngest, Elsa, was born during a thunderstorm in the summer of 2011. It was a Friday night. The power went out about 6:15 (which was 1 second BEFORE the women next door gave birth - Never thought I'd be glad to still have a couple hours to go yet!!!) The generators kicked in after 10 seconds and Elsa was born later that night. For the next 52 Fridays I set Elsa in this wicker basket for a little mini session to show her growth. I'm sharing this series as part of Kelly's Show Us Your Life Friday posts. Click here to see lots of other photo ideas! The top photo in this collage was taken at 1 week and the bottom one was taken at 52 weeks. As you'll see in the later collages she quickly spilled out over the basket but for some reason she wanted to curl up for this particular photo. As soon as she did  I knew that it would be perfect opposite her 1 week photo in her baby book for the Letter W. (Her baby book is an A-Z book called Alphabitty Moments  that is a style...

Welcome to Alphabitty Moments! Each week I share a photograph/word combo that preserves the ordinary moments of childhood. Often times fleeting and if we are not mindful of them - they are gone before we can truly appreciate them. Feel free to join me in this adventure by linking up in the comments or tagging photos on Instagram (I'm 4MamaBear by the way) using the hashtag #AlphabittyMoments. This week I'm sharing a photo I took of Elsa looking out the window of our playroom this morning. Her Finger dimples are already starting to fade so I wanted to make sure I used F is for Finger Dimples this time through the alphabet. I'm so used to my kids being off the charts for height and weight but she's been holding steady around 50%. Even her rubberband wrists aren't nearly as pronounced as they once were . What a difference a year makes!!! Scratch that. My phone won't upload the Instagram photo I want so I grabbed this from an online album instead. I like how it ...

Amelia is 6 months old today!  She is the easiest going baby I have ever met and so quick to share a smile.  Elsa LOVES to interact with her when she can get past Amelia's protector (her big sister, Josie).   We love you sweet pea!!!!

Marking another year of loving these three.... every step of the way....

Welcome to Alphabitty Moments! Sharing a photo and a fleeting moment from chilhood for every letter of the alphabet once a week is how I keep up with my memory keepsake projects for my kids. This time through the alphabet I am using mostly Instagram photos (I'm 4MamaBear on Instagram) because it's quick and easy. If you would like to join me, you can leave a link in the comments or use the hashtag #AlphabittyMoments. This week E is for...ECFE. We are huge fans of Early Chilhood Family Education here in BearCountry. I look forward to the opportunity to learn parenting skills, talk to other moms, & get out of the house just as much as Elsa looks forward to the Bang Bang Song, playing with different toys, and seeing her cousins every week. We are such big fans, we take two classes a week!  

 

Still catching up on entries for my 2012 blog book :) When I kissed PapaBear goodnight on Christmas Eve and we went our seperate ways per our best chance at a goodnight's rest, I told him it felt like we were dating, kissing goodnight at the end of a date - except for the three kids sleeping upstairs. I slept in a bedroom with Elsa, the older two slept under the tree, and PapaBear took the cave in the basement. We awoke (rested!!!!) on Christmas morning to find that Santa had left gifts in/near stockings by the fireplace. It didn't take long for the kids to get busy spying or coloring dinosaurs. As usual Santa only nibbled on the cookies that Sam and Julia picked out specifically for him. He has a LOT of cookies to eat in one night we always tell them! My first attempt at something other than canned cinnamon rolls went in the oven about 8:15 then we sipped coffee and juice while we waited for Sharon and Jamey to arrive for family gifts. ...

When I finally get around to designing my 2013 blog book I plan to make a collage of the following photographs to compliment the 31 entries I made in my planner about each day of the month. It is abundantly clear that as much as I LOVE to blog, I just don't have the time to keep up with it. This is my solution and I am so glad to not let any more funny things my kids say, adventures we've taken, & lessons I've learned get lost in the cobwebs of my mind. So once a month I will dump a sampling of the photos in a journal post - mostly from my phone to make sure they get in the right spot before getting lost amongst the thousands of others on my phone. I have no intention of changing my sporatic blogging habits - I've been at this 7 years now and treasure this space and the friendships I've made here. I am only trying to do a better job of staying true to why I started this blog in the first place. Have you changed how you blog over the years? ...