Family Traditions?

Last year before Christmas and before their first birthday, I slathered paint on four infant hands and made angel wings out of them on a plate.

(picture to be posted here later)

I have thought about it and have decided it would be fun (now I'm not sure if it's fun, but will be neat, rather) if we would do this every year - make a different picture out of their hand prints on a plate. We would display them along the wall in the dining room and see the changes over the years. Great idea, right? Well, Veronica and Thomas didn't think so.

We packed up and went to my favorite pottery painting place, Ceramic Dreams. The gal who owns this place is so sweet. When I was on bed rest with Veronica and Thomas she let Judson pick up pottery and supplies and have me keep them at the hospital indefinitely. Last year she let me take the supplies home to try to do the plates while the kids were strapped in high chairs. They were quite interested in the place - the paint, the ambiance... but not the paint on their hands. Veronica started screaming when I put a little paint on one hand. Finally I got ONE hand print on the plate.

We decided to distract them before trying more by giving them Christmas ornaments to paint. I was afraid Veronica would not like this either. However, having paint on a brush is a lot different than having someone use the brush with paint on your hand! They LOVED it! Sometimes with pencils or pens they are not sure which end to write with. They didn't have any trouble figuring the paintbrushes out... dip in the paint, slather (Veronica) or dab (Thomas) it on the ceramic.

I was hoping this would warm them up to the paint a little. I tried Thomas's hand... he agreed with Veronica's first impression. I was able to get a very smeared hand print of his on the plate though. I tried for Veronica again, but they were not going to be so open about that idea. So, I switched from having a bunch of hand prints making a Christmas wreath to two hand prints making some holly.

(picture to be posted her of this year's plate)

We still got the plate - tradition held - better luck next year?