Just Hanging

These pictures perfectly capture Zachary's personality! Dave had taken them camping with Grampy & Grammy over Labor Day weekend while I stayed home to work on lesson plans and the Walk-n-Roll. (It was awesome being home alone for 24 hours in a quiet house!) Knowing I would want pictures to scrapbook, Dave took over 200 pictures - and he said that I had a picture problem!!

Scrapbooking Tip

One technique I have learned from Scrapbook Generation sketches is to use smaller photos, like the 2x2 square photos next to the title. It's a great way to add extra photos and they add a little variety to my layouts. I now deliberately zoom out when taking certain photos, knowing that I am going to crop them down.

Another technique I like using is placing the title across both pages of the layout. It really worked here sandwiched in between the photos.

Journaling Close Up

I love Zach's smile in the bottom picture! He comes up with some unique expressions!

U R My Sunshine

I can't take any credit for this layout. It was a kit I got in my class materials at a Creating Keepsakes Convention. When I saw the title I knew I had to showcase a picture of the three loves of my life. Dave used to sing this song, "You Are My Sunshine" to me when we were dating. Then when we had the boys both of us sang this song to them. These boys are the sunshine of my life! 

Journaling Close Up

I did this layout in 2009. I never imagined that I would have to live my life without Dave. And I still am so much in love with him.

I took this picture of Dave in Gettysburg. We were driving home from Florida and stopped for the night in Gettysburg and then spent some time doing the "touristy thing." The best part - we were alone without kids!!

One Messy Eater

I love these pictures of my little Zach Attack. He had the chubbiest cheeks and he also liked to EAT. (I wish he would eat for me now!) He had the brightest smiles and also the biggest frowns - especially if you took his food away.

Scrapbooking Tips:

This layout was based on another great Scrapbook Generation sketch. I was looking for a sketch that featured multiple photos and this was a perfect fit. Because I have a picture problem I tend to use lots of photos on my layouts. 

Buttons are one of my favorite embellishment. They are cheap and come in every color and I usually have a lot on hand. I took the circle idea off of the sketch, but instead of layering just cardstock circles, I adhered buttons on top. It added dimension and I loved how they mimicked the polka dot paper. 

This smile could not possibly get any bigger!!

Kisses for Daddy

This is a simple layout - a blast from the past. Caleb was two years old and kissing Dave. My mom grabbed the camera and snapped away. Caleb was just so cute - he'd kiss Dave and then laugh and giggle. Just a moment in time captured and I am so glad it is! 

Scrapbooking Tips:

I scraplifted this layout from a Creative Keepsakes magazine. I tend to use a lot of striped paper because it is a great way to get a lot of color into your page. I picked the striped paper first and then chose the solid cardstock and ribbon to match.

One of my favorite ribbon techniques is to forgo the bow and just tie a knot. Not only does it save time, but sometimes a bow looks too feminine on my boy pages. Knots are more "manly".

Photo Closeup:

One thing I always loved about Dave was his smile. His smile lit up his whole face and even his eyes smiled! And nothing made him smile more then his boys!

Way Up High

This is a fun memory! I couldn't help snapping a ton of pictures from just this one ride. The boys screamed the whole time, "Hi Mommy! We're way up high!" Dave was just as big a kid.

I LOVE how this layout looks. Most of my layouts are based off of sketches designed by Allison Davis and Debbie Sanders from Scrapbook Generation, and I followed their sketch down to the last detail. Did I mention I love the results? 

I typically use neutral colored card stock for my background, but when I chose the yellow paper I thought I'd be daring and use a purple background. When the layout was done I noticed the purple brought out the color of the seats in the ride. That was not on purpose.

Photo Close Ups:

Who's the bigger kid?

Their faces say it all!

I love the laughing faces!

Never Take for Granted the Simple Things

I'll be honest . . . sometimes I look at this layout and think it's too busy, and other times I looks at it and love it. I guess it just depends on the day! It was important for me to scrapbook these photos. Caleb had only had his power wheel chair a couple of weeks, so his new found mobility and freedom were relatively new and it was so wonderful to see him able to move on his own!

We were in Cape Cod with my brother, Peter, and his family. Jess had hung beach towels on a clothes line and Caleb just had to run through them! He was being a typical four-year-old. It was so much fun to watch him. 

I love the expression on Caleb's face! He was pretending he was "racing" and was determined to win! It was so adorable to watch!

Scrapbooking Tip:

I scraplifted this idea - mix and matching different stickers to create a title. I knew my title was going to be longer so I looked for smaller stickers for most of the words, and then used the larger stickers for the words I wanted to emphasize.

Journaling Close Up:

Helping Daddy

As I was looking through a stack of pages that needed to be put in albums, I found this layout. The now familiar grief washed over me taking my breath away. Something as simple as seeing Dave doing normal everyday things with the boys reminds me all over again of the memories that won't be made. But as quickly as the grief hit, it went away and I smiled as I remembered this day. . . 

Dave had trimmed a tree branch that was close to our house and Zach had to rush outside to be part of the noise. Once Dave was done he began to drag the branch to our "brush pile" on the far side of the yard and Zach just had to help! A precious memory of a little boy wanting to be like his Daddy. 

Scrapbooking Tip:

Because the pictures were busy I wanted to keep the papers and embellishments simple. One of my favorite brands of paper is Echo Park and their camping collection seemed to be the best fit. I especially loved the wood grain paper and both the brown and orange papers matched Zach's outfit - he was getting lost in all the green. A few leave stickers and a simple journaling sticker adhered with foam tape completed the look I was trying to achieve.

Photo Close Up:

This was one of my favorite photos on the layout - it captures Zach's little personality. He was starting to go the opposite direction and had to get turned around. He caught on quick though - and he stayed with Dave until the job was done!

Travel Adventure

Dave loved creating adventures for our family. He loved to travel! In June of 2009 we went to Niagara Falls. It was a great trip, and I'm so glad that Dave took us. We made some awesome memories, and I'm so glad that Daddy was there to see the boys experience Niagara Falls for the first time.

Being the obsessive scrapbooker that I am, I had to take pictures of the boys strapped into their car seats on the way to Canada. In fact, we were on the bridge waiting to go through customs when I snapped these.

I love Caleb's expression! I was trying to get him to look out his window because the falls were RIGHT THERE!! He wasn't very impressed. On the other hand, Zach was getting excited because I was acting excited. He was smiling and laughing but not sure why.

What was Dave doing? Laughing at me! He always used to ask, "You have a layout in mind, don't you?" As I would snap away trying to get THE perfect shot, he would often say, "Boys, just do what Mommy says and she'll stop taking pictures."

As far as the design of this page, I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation - my absolute favorite go-to for inspiration! Then all my papers, stickers and embellishments came from the same Simple Stories collection. It was a very simple page that came together quickly but I loved the finished result. But the most important aspect of this layout? It brings back some great memories.

Welcome to the World, Baby Zachary!

My scrapbooking style has evolved over the years, but this is the layout I did for the beginning of Zach's album. Again, I chose busy pattern paper for my background. Lately I tend to gravitate toward smaller patterns and also solid backgrounds. I also was in the phase where I was typing all my journaling because I didn't care for my handwriting. That has changed. Now I don't care what my handwriting looks like, what's more important to me is preserve my writing for the boys.

Journaling Close Up

I added white mats behind the photos to make them stand out from the background. I wasn't into inking my edges then - and that would have made them stand out even more . . . . Hmmmmm. . . . . it might be worth going back to do that. . . .

I love this picture - even though you don't see Dave's face you can tell that he's smiling. Smiling at his little boy. . .  and falling in love with Zachary Robert!

Daddy & Zachary

Zachary just celebrated his sixth birthday - and his first without Daddy. Other than our first Christmas without Dave, just five days after his funeral, the boys' birthdays have been the hardest "firsts" for me. I always think back to the day they were born, and it was just Dave and I in the delivery room. Dave held both boys before I did. It was Dave up with me in the middle of the nights. And it was Dave the boys first fell in love with!

These pictures were taken in the first few months of Zachary's life. He was such a fussy baby - especially those first few months. Lots of holding, burping, and letting him fall asleep up on our shoulder so he'd keep his last meal down.

As far as the scrapbook layout, I kept it simple because of the busy pattern paper I wanted to use. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have used light blue stickers directly on the pictures because they blend into the colors of the photos on the right page. But it looked good at the time I was scrapping - and I was most likely sleep deprived because I had a fussy four month old!

Photo Close Ups:

I took this picture at 1:00am Zachary's first night home from the hospital. That was a miserable night with both Dave and I trying to calm Zach down. Daddy had the magic touch! We waited until Zach was in a deep sleep before we tried laying him down and going back to bed.

Daddy and his little man! Zach was about two months old when this was photo was taken. Dave absolutely loved being a daddy - and Zach adored his "Dayee".

I should do a layout of all the pictures of Dave asleep with the boys! As any new parents, we slept when we could - and with Zach we never knew when the next nap might be. If Zach was sleeping it seemed either Dave or I was sleeping too - and obviously Dave didn't waste anytime moving to the couch or bedroom!

I know that Zach's memories of Dave will be few and far between. That is so painful to me. Zach had the world's best daddy and he won't remember. He'll have to be told what Dave was like and how much Daddy loved him. But, you know what they say . . . a picture's worth a thousand words.