from scrapbooking. 
I scrapbooked our wedding; took me three years to complete it. I said I would NEVER scrapbook again, but then Julia came along with her miraculous healing from a never-seen, stump all the medical professionals, lung issue. Well, there was no pre-printed baby journal/album that covers sections to memorialize the aformentioned event, so I said I would scrapbook her first year. As a new mommy, that was a bold statement and well, it took me almost 2 years. I am happy to say I completed her first year book before she turned 2. It took me 6 nights of marathon designing, cutting, pasting and Cricuting (from a Cricut machine) to get it done before her second birthday. I was bound and determined to display it at her 2nd birthday party. So, I am now retiring from scrapbooking. Will I ever come out of retirement? Don't know; depends on what life brings. I will follow Brett Favre's lead; maybe I will go back, maybe I won't.
Not sure what I am going to do with all the leftover paper, embellishments, ribbon, cutting tools and stickers. I have already found a use for my Cricut machine in making posters for nursing conferences and work-related items. I may just put all the stuff in storage and see what the future holds. Maybe I will meet a diehard scrapbooker and give her all my lovely leftovers.
How will I document all of the rest of Julia's life? Maybe I will try this:
Or, I will just create photo books on Shutterfly or Kodak Gallery.Everyone says I have set myself up for needing to scrapbook our next child's first year. To that I say, no. Maybe there will be another; maybe there won't, but I can say for sure that I won't be scrapbooking his/her first year unless they have a dramatic first year like Julia. Let's pray that doesn't happen!
Fun on the swings with Cousin Ainsley
A family photo before the party began
Julia in her birthday dress
The Dora and Diego cake. Yes, I splurged on the cake. I could not find one I liked and Kowalski's had this cake that I thought we so neat.
Yes, Julia is a spoiled little girl when it come to celebrating her birthday (actually, she is spoiled all the time!)
We sang "Happy Birthday" to her three times! She just loved it and kept saying "more, more". Since then, we sing "Happy Birthday" at least once a day. Sometimes it is "Happy Birthday" to a school bus, mommy, daddy, or the neighbor dogs. Since she loves the song and we are beginning to potty train, we have used it to celebrate her going potty on the toliet. We sing "Happy Potty To You" when she goes and do a little dance! :)
Julia got another cake on her actual birthday (October 6th). This time mommy made the cake and frosted it in her favorite color, yellow, and used the previous cake decor to jazz it up more.
