Five on Friday: Memories Made

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Since backing off of social media I have found myself happier, my time spent with my family more meaningful and the memories more precious and full. I haven't participated in a Friday Five link up in quite a while, and like my time, I want my posts to hold a little more meaning and value. Here are a few of my favorite things from the last week or so...

Just a side note: our precious gem turned 20 months old today! How did that happen?!

[Chasing Moonbeams]

Our little one has been infatuated with the moon as of late. I'm not sure what has spurred it but she looks for it every evening we're outside. The other night I got her out of the car and stood her in the driveway. She immediately began searching the sky. She found the moon and pointed at the beautiful round orb hanging in the starlit sky. Suddenly she began running towards it yelling "moon" down the driveway. I snatched her up and we both just stood there and stared at one of God's most spectacular views. She stayed focused on it until the opening of the front door broke her concentration.

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[Christmas Traditions]

We have several family traditions that I hope to share soon. One of my favorites is the 12 Books of Christmas that we began with G last year for her first Christmas. While you'll find tons of ideas regarding 25 books, we decided to scale it down a bit. We start on December 13th and she gets to open a new book each evening. We read it together and add it to her "library". She'll open the last one on Christmas Eve and then we'll read the scripture of Jesus' birth on Christmas morning. She really enjoys opening the books this year. Christmas will be so fun!

[Pajamas and Gingerbread]

Our dear friends (although I'd say they are more like family) hosted a Pajamas and Gingerbread House party. They did an amazing job! They invested so much heart and soul, not to mention time, into the evening. Each child had their own (homemade) gingerbread house. The rest of us brought items to decorate the houses with. G really enjoyed herself...even more so when she realized that what she was making was edible. I now know what my child is like on a sugar high!

Courtesy of Ashley

[Diapers]

Lately G has become aware of when her diaper is wet/dirty and informs us of when she needs changed. While she's not interested in potty training, she does like a clean bottom. She also feels her "babies" should have the same experience. We've caught her several times trying to diaper her moose and giraffe with one of her diapers. While we get a good giggle out of it, she gets frustrated, especially considering that the diapers are bigger than her toys. I decided to make her some felt diapers for her babies. She loved them and is gradually becoming more independent at putting them on Bella and Mo-Mo herself.

[Just Say "No" to Santa]

While we're not brining up G to believe that Santa Clause is "real" (please don't boo and hiss, we have our reasons) we do share him with her as a fun storybook character. She has seen Santa in various places and media and had her picture taken with him several times last year. This year however, thanks to her age appropriate stranger anxiety, she was having none of that. She kept her distance at first but then was enticed by his offering of a candy cane. That's where the interest ended. We could barely get her to stand next to him, let alone sit in his lap. No good pictures have been gotten this year. We have one more chance to try this weekend and I'm hoping it goes smoother...but will not be surprised if things go South quickly.

Linking up with Darci from the good life blog and Amy from The Farmer's Wife