a little of this...

We haven't been doing too much exciting lately.  Just waiting for spring to come and school and work and housework and taking care of a baby who has decided he doesn't like to sleep!

A few weeks ago, we had the biggest snow storm of the season, with around 5 inches of snow.  This was also the most snow that was on the ground at any one time the whole winter. Now it's 70 degrees!  It has certainly been a crazy winter.  It will be interesting to see what Spring and Summer are like.

 This little butterball is so close to rolling over.  I think he could do it if he wanted to.  But he's pretty content to wiggle, and almost roll over and drool on the blanket!

 A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law Charise and her kids came to stay with us.  Bart built a tent in Kade and Ky's room for the boys to sleep in. 

 One day while they were in town, we all went to the children's museum.  Kade enjoyed dressing like a football player-doesn't he look tough?

 Lynndon was so cute splashing in the water, I love her expression here as she splashed a little too hard!

 Krew was so good, just watching all that was going on around him.  It makes me excited for when he is old enough to run around and explore at places like that!  (oh, and if  you think I look exhausted in this picture, try to imagine what you would look like after carrying a 17 pound baby on your front for 2 hours!)

 I loved to see the big boys dressed in their firefighter gear, because I have some cute pictures of the same 3 boys dressed the same almost exactly a year ago when we went to the children's museum together last.

We were sad to say goodbye to Lynndon and Cooper this time because they are moving far away in May, and we don't know how many more times we are going to see them (and their parents!)

4 months!

My baby is now 4 months old!  Where have these past four months gone?  I know.  They have been filled with feeding, diapering, dressing, burping, bathing, snuggling, rocking, smooching, and loving this chubby little baby!

He loves to chew on his fingers, as well as anything else he can get his hands on, talk to the baby in the mirror, and roll onto his side!  He has the sweetest smile, the cutest giggles, and the sloppiest kisses!  Oh, and the chubbiest legs--at his 4 month check-up he weighed 17 lbs 5 ounces (which is 87th percentile).  All the more baby to love on!

baby boy nursery reveal!

This nursery project was my baby for so long (before I had an actual baby). I wanted every detail to be perfect, but I also wanted to do most everything myself. I spent hours planning, and shopping, and sewing, and painting so that my little man would have an awesome room. After looking at a lot of nursery pictures online, I knew I wanted a gray, green and turquoise nursery, perfect for a baby boy. The argyle in the nursery adds just the right touch of manliness, and was a fun theme to work with. The nursery has been done since before Krew was born, but I've been too busy snuggling with him to take all the pictures I wanted to show it off. So, here it is!

BEFORE:

{Yes it really was this bad.  It was my craft room/guest room/office/put everything in there and shut the door/this is only temporary because we know it's going to be a nursery soon (3 years later) room.}

AFTER:

 One of the first projects I started with was the bedding.  I bought white bumpers from IKEA, and added the colorful ties-so much better than the wimpy skinny ties that bumpers always have.  I could not find turquoise or lime green sheets, so I bought some flannel and made my own.  Next, the crib skirt.  Plain, white, not ruffly crib skirts are so expensive.  So, I bought a twin sized bed skirt, and turned it into a crib one, and added the pleat in the center.  So easy!  Then I appliqued an argyle pattern and Krew's name on.

 Next, I made these three pillows.  I love the pom pom pillow, and the word, "hush", but I think the argyle pillow is my favorite. 

 Plus, all the pillow are reversible! 

 Bart has become the master painter in our family, and I love this gray color he painted on the walls.  We worked together to paint this argyle on the wall, and I love how it turned out!  The green sections look very yellow in this picture, but they are much more green in person. 

 I decided to use paper globes instead of a mobile, and I added a garland of mini tissue paper puffs which was actually fun to make.  The K in the picture below was a gift from my friend Bryn, and it fits so perfectly in the room. 

I have made several  wooden signs to put around my house and to give away as gifts.  This "I am a child of God" one is perfect for the baby's room-plus with the argyle on the bottom, it matches the nursery perfectly!

 I made this K sign in photoshop and thought it turned out so well that I wondered what else I could make using this technique.

 The curtains are simple, cheap, white curtains that I bought at Target, and added the wide, green stripes myself.  I love how they look in the room, and since making them, I have seen several pictures of others using wide striped curtains. 

 The rug used to be a gray and white rug from IKEA, but I've been reading several craft blogs that demonstrate painted rugs, so I thought I would give it a try.  I love how just the little bits of color I added make the rug look like it was made for this room!

 And last, a picture of the little guy sleeping in his room :)

krew's newborn photos

During the past several years, as I studied portrait photography, took a few online photography classes, started a photography blog and had 16 paying clients, nothing made me more excited than the idea of someday taking newborn photos of my own child.  During the 2 years we struggled to get pregnant, seeing other people with their new babies was often hard for me, yet taking their photos never was.  I dreamt of the portraits I would someday take of my own little one, and considered each newborn session that I did to be great practice.  Of course, once I found out I was expecting, I began pouring over newborn photos, making notes of all the great shots I wanted to capture of my baby.  The problem was, by the time Krew was born, I had too many ideas, too many props, too many poses, and I forgot about the fact that not only would I be the photographer during the session, but the mom as well.  I forgot that when I do a newborn session for someone else, when the baby gets fussy, mom picks them up while I set up a new shot, or make necessary adjustments on my camera.  I forgot that when I am just the photographer I'm not running on four hours of sleep and recovering from a delivery.   Also, it took me forever to edit all the pictures since I had a newborn baby that needed to be snuggled (no complaints about that from me). So, the experience was quite a bit more stressful than I had planned for, and I can't help but feel that these pictures are missing something. 
But, then I thought about the "photo shoot" I did with my twins when they were a few weeks old.  I had a point-and-shoot camera, horrible lighting, and about ten minutes.  Of course there have been times when I regret not paying the big bucks to have a professional photo session done with them, but I treasure these pictures.

Why? Because they are pictures of my tiny babies and that's all that matters!

Now that that stress of the situation has passed, there are several photos that I am in love with!  And now, after that lengthy explanation, here are some of my favorites from Krew's newborn photo session(s)!