I’ve never really been too much of a nostalgic person. Things are what they are, life moves as it moves, and there’s little use in dwelling. I’m also not someone who holds on to objects. I can’t stand clutter or hoarding. I am quick to throw things out, even often wishing I hadn’t later on. However, since I’ve had a kid I’ve found that I really want to hold on to things that remind me of who Blake is. The time is just flying by too quickly and I find that I just need time to hold on to it all a little bit longer. Or at least document it in some way.
Last year I did an end of the year craft with Blake for his favorites of 2015. I wanted to do something that would get him involved in some sort of closing activity for the year. I don’t recall how the idea came to me, but I’m so glad it did!
I decided to make it a tradition of something we do at the conclusion of each year and then keep it on display.
We completed our 2016 “All About Blake”, and it was so neat to see how he’s changed and how he’s stayed the same! I kept most of the same criteria, but decided to add a few more things. I like the idea of some of the subjects changing from year to year depending on what his interests are. When he gets older he’ll be involved in extra-curricular activities, and I may add those to document. I just love the idea that it can be altered to suit him for that season of life.
He first painted his own background. Last year I made the mistake of allowing him to pick his own colors from the plethora of paints I had. Looking back, that was a poor idea because he chose a lot of dark colors that made the words difficult to see. This year, I laid out all the bright colors I had and let him choose from those. I also let him choose his painting tool..paint brush, fingerpaint, or use materials such as cotton balls or q-tips. He chose the paintbrush.
I made sure to remind him to cover all of the “white” on the paper.
Look at my cute little lefty!
I let it dry for a few hours, then I started writing on it to talk about Blake’s favorites of 2016!
The “height” is on hold until I get his official measurement at his doc appointment in a few weeks.
I love the comparison from last year to this year!
I don’t plan on displaying them all at once, but changing them out from year to year and keeping the previous ones in a file. Perhaps a few years down the road I’ll display the first and latest ones, and even take pictures of him holding them from time to time!
I noticed that I made the mistake, again, of titling it “Blake’s Favorites of 2016”, when, “height” isn’t a favorite. I need to remember to change this to say “Blake in 2017” for next year!
Mommisadventures 