ABCs of Advent

Several people have asked about the ABCs of Advent book I am making with Maleah. (I say "I" because we are primarily doing these activities when Blake is at work... though he helps too when he is home!) I used a couple of websites to gather ideas and then changed some of the words to be more meaningful to us. I also tried to make the activities something simple (lots of coloring sheets and construction paper!!!), doable (for a weeknight, even!), and memorable. 

Most of these don't have to take more than 10-15 minutes, but they do require a little bit of preparation - mostly for you to get the materials together. Ideally what I will try to do next year is get all the materials ready ahead of time and create a box that we can just keep at hand during the season. It would have all the printables, construction paper, crayons, glue, stickers, etc. that we would need for each day. 

I will be posting pictures of several of our activities on my Instagram if you want some ideas! And hopefully next year I can make a post of our entire book. The book is just construction paper - I plan on laminating what can be laminated and the rest, I'll just put in there! I will probably put it in a binder or paper folder, depending on how thick it is. Don't forget to use acid-free paper, stickers, and glue in order to preserve your memories! 

And, of course, you don't have to make an entire book! I think even doing just a few of these activities would be a great opportunity to share the meaning of Christmas with your child!

A: Angel

Color a picture of an angel. Read the story of Gabriel visiting Mary. This can tie in with the prophecy candle if you start this on the first day of Advent.

B: Baby Jesus

Create a picture of Baby Jesus in a manger using your child’s fingerprints and paint. Talk about how Jesus came to earth as a baby in very humble beginnings.

http://www.craftymorning.com/baby-jesus-in-manger-fingerprint-craft/

C: City of Bethlehem

Paste a map of Bethlehem in the book. Trace the route Joseph and Mary traveled. Discuss why they were traveling to Bethlehem.

D: Donkey

Color a picture of a donkey. You can glue black yarn or felt onto the donkey’s mane and tail. Read the story of Joseph and Mary traveling on a donkey. 

E: Evergreen Tree

Decorate a paper tree with ornament stickers. Talk about the significance of the evergreen (how the green color represents renewal or new life and freshness. Evergreens do not die – which reminds us of eternal life in Jesus.

F: Family

Write a list of all our family members and say a special prayer for them. Talk about Jesus’ family – Mary and Joseph – and how they were chosen by God to be Jesus’ parents. You could paste a photo of your family into the book.

G: Gift of Grace

Fill up the word “grace” with stickers of gift boxes! Talk about how Jesus was the ultimate gift of grace from God to us!

H: Holly

If possible, have a live or faux branch of holly for your child to examine. Let your child color or paint a picture of a holly branch. Discuss how holly is often used at Christmas because it reminds us of Jesus. The prickly thorns remind us of his crown and the bright red berries remind us of his blood. Jesus came to be a sacrifice for us and his birth is a reminder of how much we need him.

J: JOY (Jesus, Others, Yourself)

Teach your child the “JOY” song (to the tune of Jingle Bells). Color this JOY picture from Seeds of Faith (reproducible). Discuss how knowing God and believing in Jesus gives us the joy and strength we need to follow God's commands to love others. http://www.chicagochurch.org/kingdomkids/Q5/1st_and_2nd_Grade/Q5U13L1_1and2.pdf

K: King of Kings

Create a crown using yellow (or your child’s favorite color!) construction paper, glitter, and stickers. Let your child be the “king” and discuss how Jesus is King of Kings!

L: Lamb

Glue cotton balls or white pom poms onto a blank lamb. Talk to your child about how Jesus came as a little baby, like a little lamb.

M: Manger

Using popsicle sticks (or strips of construction paper), create a manger filled with “hay”. Tell your child how Jesus was born in a manger even though he was a king.

N: Name of Jesus

Jesus has many names – Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Rose of Sharon. Have several of these names typed up/written on colorful cut-up strips of paper. Allow your child to glue them onto Construction paper. Discuss how Jesus got his name.

O: “O Come All Ye Faithful”

Print out the sheet music for this hymn. Talk to your child about the words of the song, sing it with them, and paste the sheet music into your book. 

P: Poinsettia

Share the legend of the poinsettia with your child as she colors a picture of a large poinsettia, using the colors red and green. (You can find the original story from Mexico online.) If possible, buy a poinsettia early in the season. Use it as a teaching tool when you get to this letter. You can read Tommie dePaola's The Legend of the Poinsettia. 

Q: Quiet Time

Christmas is a time for us to reflect on all God has done for us. One of the ways we can use our quiet time is to pray and to listen to God. Do this with your child for a few moments - just listen. You can trace your child's hands, cut them out, and put them in a praying "position" to paste in your book. Or, find a picture of praying hands and let your child color them and cut them out.

R: Rod (Candy Cane)

This day can be as in depth as you want it to be! There are so many options. Our plan is to discuss the colors of the candy cane and how it looks like a shepherd's rod. Print a picture of a shepherd and tape the candy cane to his hand to be his rod.  

S: Star of Bethlehem

Cut out a yellow star and decorate it with yellow or gold glitter. Read the story from Matthew where the shepherds see the bright star. 

T: Tell it on the Mountain

Jesus is the Good News who brings us Great Joy! We want to share it with everyone! Create a "mountain" out of brown construction paper and glue a small picture (or drawing) of your child standing on the  mountain-top. You can even draw a little word bubble that says "I love Jesus!" or "Happy Birthday Jesus!" on it. Remind your child that sharing the Gospel with others is important and exciting!

U: “Unto Us a Child is Born”

Read Isaiah 9:6-7 with your child. Type up the verses and then cut them into phrases of 3-4 lines each. Paste them in order onto paper and put them in your book!

V & W: Visit from the Shepherds & Wise Men

V & W can be done on the same day or split into two days. Read how the story of the shepherds and wise men visiting Jesus. (Note the time difference on the visit from the wise men.) Talk about how far they traveled and why. Color a picture of shepherds and of the wise men to put in your book.

X: X is for Christ – Greek Symbol

Cut two long, thin rectangles out of construction paper. Help your child glue them in the shape of an "X". Discuss how "X" is the Greek symbol for Christ and how it is often used to shorten "Christmas". (While we don't advocate calling it X-mas, it shows our children that there is a reason people often refer to it as X-mas.)

Y: Yet to Come

Celebrating Advent at Christmas is not only a way for us to reflect on Jesus' birth, but also to look forward to Jesus' 2nd Coming. Read Hebrews 9:28 with your child. Let your child color a picture representing Jesus' second coming. http://www.coloringpagebook.com/category/jesus/

Z: Zzz... time to rest!                                                                                                                This should be done on Christmas Eve (if possible). Create a "bed" using sheets of construction paper. Make a "blanket" (you could weave construction paper if you're feeling extra energetic!) and "cover up" a picture of your child's face or drawing of themselves. Remind your child that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ and that our celebrations include a lot of exciting activities and time with family! They will need their rest for Christmas Day!

Santa: Revisted

To Santa or not to Santa, that is the question...

Last year I professed some of my reservations with the Jolly Old Elf. It was easy to make a declaration of being a no-Santa family because my child was too young to even care about the guy. This year, though, is different. She is old enough to go along with the story, she definitely recognizes him in pictures, and she can definitely tell you that he says "Ho! Ho! Ho!". So... now we've got to think again. 

I wanted to quickly re-visit my post last year and share a few "tweaks" to the ideas spinning around in mine & Blake's heads!

Santa
While I still have serious reservations about Santa, I think we are coming to grips with his role in our Christmas activities. We still don't have a problem with the character himself (hello, we have already had our Santa pictures made!) and I really love the story of Saint Nicholas. But as far as the whole lying to our kids/using Santa as behavior management will just not really be the focus of our Christmas. We still aren't 100% certain how we will "do" (or not do) Santa, but this year we aren't really talking about Santa bringing us gifts very much. I don't really know where to go with that... one idea I had is to let "Santa" fill her stocking and let the other presents be from us - after all, Saint Nicholas brought simple gifts. I don't know!!! I just know I do want Maleah to have a little bit of imagination and wonder to her Christmas, but I just don't want Santa to be the central focus of it all. Thank God she's not quite two and we still have time to figure this out!

Gifts
Last year I was really scattered with gifts for Maleah - I tried to do the whole "something they want/need/wear/read" (but ended up with way more than 4 presents). Gifts are just my love language... I love giving and getting presents! I ended up buying a lot of stuff and she really was only interested in one or two things that morning. So... here's what we have settled into: Maleah gets toys for Christmas. Done. Haha!

Seriously, though, we thought about it a lot and decided that we will primarily buy Maleah only toys as gifts for now. And those toys will be fairly limited - as in, we might buy her one large toy with some accessories to go with it. And we might get a couple other fun toys. We won't be buying her shoes or clothes or anything like that until she starts asking for them as gifts. 

Why? Well... here's why: Honestly, we don't really buy Maleah toys throughout the year. Sure, we might pick up a few things here and there for a treat (like the day I bought her a bunch of baby doll accessories in the middle of the summer!). We do, however, often buy books, puzzles, and art supplies throughout the year. So Christmas is a special time when she can get a few things she wouldn't normally receive during the course of the year. 

The grandparents are on board with this, too. This year each set of grandparents is buying Maleah some type of indoor/outdoor activity! I am really excited about these items. 

Lastly, our stocking stuffers are pretty basic - I have bought Maleah two character shirts and some character socks to put in her stocking. But I'll also probably put some crayons, candy, and finger paint. But that's about it since her birthday will be right around the corner!

Blake and I aren't really buying gifts for each other, either. We will do some stocking stuffers but we have really enjoyed going shopping after Christmas together with our Christmas money. Since we are both off for an extended time at Christmas, it's a nice way to spend an afternoon!

Giving
This year, Maleah was able to participate in our Operation Christmas Child shoe box packing party. While I know she didn't totally understand what we were doing or why, I loved having her be a part of the process! That is a ministry I hope we continue to support year after year!

We hope to also visit a nursing home with my mom & Fred one Sunday afternoon when they are planning to do Christmas carols. I know the people they see each Sunday afternoon would love to have a visit with Maleah!

I really hope we can instill a spirit of giving in Maleah, especially at Christmas time. There are so many ways we can give this time of year and we are trying to make her a part of those experiences as much as possible.

Advent
This year, our children's minister put together a packet of Advent resources for families to use. I am so excited about this! We are lighting candles at home and talking with Maleah about what the candles represent. Each week, we are trying to pull a phrase out of the lesson as her "take-away". This week's candle is the Prophecy Candle - we discussed how the Bible tells us God's plan for us and how that plan included Jesus to come as our savior. He came as "Emmanuel, God with us." That is the phrase we are repeating over and over this week - how all of God's plans pointed to him coming to earth in the form of a baby. We are also learning "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". Check out the resources - it's not too late to start!!!

I am also working on an ABC's of Advent book with Maleah - loosely based off of the ideas from this website. I'm making some changes that will be a little more appropriate for Maleah's age. We will have to double-up on some days (like Saturdays & Sundays we can do 2 or 3), but the idea is to try to do one a day. They don't have to be super elaborate... most of ours will involve coloring! But I think it will be a really sweet memory to preserve and pull out each year!

Lastly, we are following an Advent reading plan with the Jesus Storybook Bible before bedtime. We usually read her a story from it anyway, but this plan is tailored for the Advent season! 

Oh! And I bought a little snowman advent calendar. It isn't exactly what I wanted, but... he's cute. Maleah like snowmen. So, there ya go. 

There are lots of other things I want to be able to do with her - a Jesse tree is high on my priority list!!! But celebrating Advent is not about how many activities you can squeeze in before December 25th! Blake and I want what we do with Maleah to have an impact on her, so we aren't going to be hard-pressed to make things happen every single day when reality just does not always allow for our plans to go perfectly! But we are going to try to celebrate intentionally! 

Christmas Tree
I did well buying ornaments this year - we bought one for our family, one for Maleah, one to hold our Santa picture... and then I bought a couple extras because they were only $5! I really have a thing for ornaments. So far Blake & I have not bought each other ornaments, but we're working on it (I think).

Other Traditions
Christmas PJs - Maleah's got some cute pajamas that she'll be receiving for Christmas Eve and she can wear them to Christmas breakfast! She has a couple other pairs of Christmas PJ's from a consignment sale that she can wear until Christmas Eve.

Baking - I decided I'm going to try my hand at baking some Christmas goodies this year. First on my list is a pecan pie... never made one. We'll see how that goes! And I also want to make some cute Christmas cookies and maybe a fudge. I used to bake all the time but just haven't had the energy for it. So we'll see what I come up with. And hopefully Maleah will want to help out!

Well... that's all the thoughts I've got for now! What are your ideas for this season? Have your traditions changed as your children have grown?

Maleah at 20.5 Months

I started a post about Maleah at 20 months and never finished it... and then just a couple of weeks later, half of the information changed anyway! So I'll just meet 20 and 21 months in the middle and call it a day!

First things first: I promise to stop counting the months at 2 years. I promise promise! 

Stats
At 18 months, Maleah weighed 23.5 pounds and was 32 inches tall. I think! It's hard to remember these things! I am pretty confident she has grown at least an inch since then and is pushing the 25 pound mark, if not more. She's gettin' heavy! She wears 18-24 month clothes but I've mostly been buying 2T because I'm cheap and she'll grow into them!

Schedule
Her day goes something like this...

6:30/6:45 - Wake up, sleepy head! She gets a sippy of milk (it's the first thing she asks for when she gets up!). Get ready for the day - including brushing her teeth with toothpaste! She's so fancy.

7:15 - Leave for school! Currently her favorite songs to listen to on the way to school are "Let It Go," "Old McDonald," and "The Wheels on the Bus". Most days she drinks a smoothie (about 4-6 ounces) on the way to school.

7:30 - Arrive at school! She usually eats some blueberry waffle before 8am. 

9/9:30 - Snack w/ sippy of water

11/11:30 - Lunch w/ sippy of milk

12:30-2:30 - nap

2:30 - snack w/ sippy of water

5 - Mommy's here! We make a mad dash for the car and try to get home quickly!

5:30/6 - Dinner

6:30-7:15 - Play!!! On the nights Blake works, we usually go on a long walk around the neighborhood during this time. 

7:15 - Clean up & head to bath

7:30 - Read the Bible , sing a few songs, time for bed!

Eating
Maleah is a really good eater, in my opinion! I don't know if it is how we approached food or just her personality and tastes, but she really does eat a pretty well-rounded diet. It makes me so happy to see her enjoy good foods! (But I also don't mind giving her some good old fashioned "junk" food from time to time!) 

Some of her favorite foods: avocados, sweet potatoes, ham, fruit snacks (I try to find the healthiest options!), dried cranberries, fruit squeezies, smoothies, peanut butter, sweet peas, broccoli, apples, mangoes, and... chocolate! She even likes dark chocolate!

Sleeping
We took of the crib rail and put in a rail guard this past weekend. The first several nights, she had trouble falling asleep. But last night, she went to sleep very quickly. We went ahead and made the change because she wasn't trying to climb out of her crib (and hasn't figured out that she can get out of the bed with the toddler rail...) and because I want to snuggle with her! We kept the routine mostly the same - except we moved our Bible-reading and singing from the rocking chair to the bed. Hoping to move the rocking chair out soon to free up more play space! But I kept it in there as a safety net in case she's struggling to sleep. Otherwise, once she's out, she's out! She sleeps around 11 hours each night and rarely wakes in the middle of the night. 

Development
People make the comment all the time that Maleah is a good talker. She really does say a lot and can communicate pretty well! Mots of that is just her nature - she just likes to talk! :) But we do make communication a priority at home. We don't play with a lot of battery-operated toys (something I could write a novel on!!!) and we try to focus our energy on playing with her and talking to her during the evening hours. She really likes imaginative play (baby dolls, kitchen, doll house), which opens up lots of conversation building opportunities. We also require her to ask for what she needs/wants instead of whining (as long as she actually knows how to say what it is she wants). Sometimes she will point and grunt at items and I will say "Maleah, you need to use words. If you want milk, you need to say 'milk, please'." And usually she will either say or sign those words.

We also do not usually turn on the television while she is awake during the weeknights. We don't mind her watching some TV, but we only have about 3 hours with her in the evening before it's time for bed, so I want to make the most of that time and not waste it watching television. I really think it has helped not only her language, but also her stamina. Maleah can concentrate on a task or activity for quite a while - a skill I know will come in handy as she begins school in a few years!

In the past weeks, we have really started working on counting and colors. Her language skills are excellent, but we need to focus on logic, too! We have been discussing colors, shapes, numbers, and counting a lot during our playtime. I know she is also getting a lot of exposure during school, as well. I think in November, I will start working on specific colors, numbers, and shapes - I can just go along with what they're learning at school. This way she gets some explicit instruction along with the day-to-day interaction with all the other colors/numbers/shapes. 

Favorites
Maleah knows so many songs... too many to list! But my favorite is when she sings "Tinkle, Tinkle" (as she calls it!). She sings it so sweetly and gets almost every word!

"I wuv oo" - I love when she says it unprovoked. This morning as I was making her cup of milk, she just said it - "I wuv oo, Mommy". Melt my heart!

Personality - This girl is like an open book. You know exactly how she feels at any given moment! She will cut her eyes at you one minute and then come and give you a big kiss the next! 

Humor - She's starting to pick up on her own sense of humor. When we laugh at her, you can see that she is excited that we thought what she did was funny! You can tell she's proud that she made us laugh... especially when it gets her out of being in trouble! :) 

She calls herself Mia. We have started calling her Mia. Much easier to get out when your mouth is full of food and you are trying to stop a disaster in progress. :)

Discipline
Ahhhh discipline. This is a hard area for me, but I'm always working on it! When I talk of discipline, I don't just mean punishment. That's part of it, but discipline is just training or instruction. One of the fine lines with a girl is figuring out how to balance emotions and behavior. Maleah can be VERY emotional - she cries A LOT about ANYTHING! I want to validate her feelings while helping her learn to control her actions. 

So, without going into a whole novel about our various methods of disciplines... I just want to say this: we use time-outs. We don't call it a time-out unless she is actually in trouble (like for hitting or doing something we asked her not to do). But, if she's just screaming and generally pitching a fit because she's upset, we take her to her room and say "I love you and understand you're upset, but you cannot scream/kick/hit/act ugly/whatever." We tell her to stay in her quiet place until she is done crying. Usually within 2-3 minutes, she comes walking out and we reaffirm her, give lots of love, and reiterate that it's okay to be upset, but it's not okay to make everyone else miserable because you're upset. 

Motherhood
Basically I am repeating what I said in my last post: Over the past few months, I really feel like motherhood has finally settled in with me. To be very honest with you, I really lacked confidence for the first year. I was having a great time, but identifying myself as a mother (and everything that goes with it) was very hard for me. It's like you have to form a new identity while also learning how to take care of a tiny, unique person. You have to wade through advice, suffer through sleepless nights, and conquer teething. It's a challenge. But I finally feel like I have my heels dug in deep and, for the first time, I kinda feel like I know what I'm doing! I'm not kidding when I joke about "wingin' it" - really the first year was just trial and error! But now we are getting to know our little girl and feeling really confident about our decisions! That's a great feeling.