It's here!

So the super secret project is now complete and given to it's recipient who I think loves it....now to explain:  It's become a tradition for me to scrapbook the first year of my brothers in law's babies...first Joe and Angie's baby Grace (we are her Godparents) and now Fred and Kate's son Freddie. Each of these projects was so special to me and in such different ways. I know I've mentioned before that this current project, Freddie's book, was such good therapy for me.  It was a way to be able to celebrate his first year and his growth and milestones, but also to remember his twin sister Josie who is not longer with us.

So the beginning of his life was spent in the NICU, and normally I am ALL ABOUT holding babies...but he was SO tiny when he first came home, it was frightening.  He's had such a good temperment though, even as a teeny tiny infant (except at bath time).  I saw the title of this layout on a members layout on scrapbook.com and thought it was a wonderful way to begin his book.  It fit perfectly with the picture and this is one of my favorite pages in his book.  I previously posted just the title, but now I am happy to report I can post the full layout! I love this picture of him, bathing under is billie light....keeping warm.  He's come such a long way from this picture, and it's proof that great things do start small!

I used a lot of different sticker fonts with this one which I think turned out great. I also busted out the cricut, and it was so nice to use it again. I haven't used in awhile and I'm determined to get a few more cartridges so I can use it more.  I found the journaling tags at Memory Lane PA in Quakertown and thought it was perfect for this page.  I used a bazzill basics template for the swirl design. This was a last minute, at the checkout purchase and I'm so glad I picked it up!  You'll notice the two pink hearts at the top left of the page...I chose to incorporate something pink on each page so he knows that his sister Josie is always with him....

From Small Beginnings....

This week has been a challenging week for our family. We are not only celebrating the 1st birthday of our nephew, but also the 1st anniversary of his sisters death.  They were both born premature and in the 3 pound range. They were so super tiny and for a long time, I was afraid to hold Freddie (and I LOVE holding babies).  I was inspired by a layout I found on scrapbook.com and decided the title was perfect for a special picture I have of Freddie from the NICU. I won't show the entire layout just yet (don't worry, it will be public as of Sunday) but below is a sneak peak of "From Small Beginnings Come Great Things".  This project has been great therapy for me and I hope in between all of the sadness, his parents can find a sense of joy looking at how far he's come in this past year and know that he will be GREAT one day!