Santa Baby 2016

We had yet another wonderful experience getting our Santa Pictures done. We used FotoFly Santa and they blew us away with the amazing pics they got. IT took 20 minutes and the pictures were So amazing for the price... miles above a "mall" Santa. Even though Big A realized this wasn't the "real" Santa he was fine getting his picture taken with a "Helper".

Big A is Lucky 7!

Big A is now officially a 7 year old. I say this every year but seriously, how is this possible? My little boy is growing up so fast it is crazy. In just the last year the changes in him are astounding. He is such a bright, funny, kind, playful, thoughtful little guy. I am truly the lucky one, this "7" is my Boy!

A thank you to FotoFly photography for once again giving me outstanding birthday shots of A!

Easy DIY Photo Ornaments

 

One of my favorite things we do for the holidays is have a mini photo session of the kids with Santa at one of our local photography studios (FotoFly … AMAZING!) The pictures are priceless and I have probably gone overboard using them in my Christmas décor. One thing that I have loved doing is making ornaments out of them to hang on the tree. At first I had them made at some of the photo sites but the deals kept getting lesser and lesser and the prices kept rising and rising. So I figured, hey I should totally be able to do this myself! So off to Joanns I went and about $2 later I had created several photo ornaments that looked awesome and totally got the job done!

Photo Ornaments

 Supplies:

Bare Wooden Shapes or “frames” ($.29 - $1.29 at Joanns or Michaels)

Paint (I prefer spray paint)

Mod Podge (or other adhesive)

Drill w/ small bit

photos

optional: Glitter

 

Get your supplies together



Paint your bare wood (I think spray paint is the easiest!)



Cut your photo out to either cover the shape or to fit in the open "frame" area.

Drill a small hole in the wood to put ribbon or thread through


**If you are wanting to "glitter your frame or shape apply Mod Podge to your wood ornament and then cover with glitter, let dry. Knock off excess glitter and spray with clear spray paint to set the glitter

 

**adhere the photo to the wood shape or into the open "frame" area 

 

**Thread ribbon or Thread through the hole to create a "hanger" for your ornament.

 

***Voila!***

 

 

Big A hits The Big 6

It’s funny how you associate different connotations with different ages. Ages one to five I associate with a little kid. Once you hit 6 however I start to think of them as a bigger kid, far from a baby, definitely not a toddler, a big kid. My Big A has hit this milestone. I can’t believe it. I guess I am trying to remain in a self-induced state of being oblivious. I mean I see how very big he is getting (He grew close to 3” last year) he is by FAR the tallest kid in his class. I help him with his homework every day and I see how much he is learning, how quickly his base of knowledge is growing. I visit with him, we have actual conversations about how he feels about things and his opinions, no longer silly childish gibberish but thoughtful, intelligent opinions. So yea, I get it, I KNOW he is growing up. He is not a baby, not even a little kid, He’s my Big Kid.

Here's some shots from his "6" photo-shoot he had at our local studio, Fotofly. Seriously they take the MOST amazing pictures and are very affordable. You should check them out HERE.

Little A is the Big 3!!

I still occasionally refer to little a as my baby. I guess the time has come to officially stop doing that. Our little sweetheart is now 3 (however when you ask her she says she is now 5, she wants to be the same as her brother). She is such a small fry but she is so smart and so feisty.  I always think of the Shakespeare quote with her “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”  

She talks so intelligently about things and asks questions (never ending, 100’s a day questions) about everything. She wants to know about everything, why it is, what happens next. Her brother asks some questions but takes lots of things at face value. Not little a, she wants the “who, what, when, where, why, how” of everything.

She is completely brave and fearless. She will climb the highest tree, speed down the street on her bike, dive headfirst in the pool, nothing stands in her way. We never have to coax her into trying things, it’s quite the opposite, we have to try and keep her safe from going too fast, too high.

This has been such an amazing year watching our little girl grow into being a “big girl”. Can’t wait to see what amazing adventures this year will bring…

 

Here are some pic's from her 3 year old photo shoot at FotoFly, AMAZING pictures as aways!!!

 

Turning 2

Our "Little A" has turned 2

 

 

I don't know where the time has gone. I still refer to her as "my baby" all the time. This is not factual anymore. She is now a sentence saying, crib climbing, opinionated toddler.

 

We had an amazing time for her birthday, SO much fun celebrating with friends and family. Her theme was Minnie and we did cupcakes (Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Almond frosting). She was totally spoiled and seemed to have a wonderful time. 

 

We also had her birthday photo shoot at FotoFly which turned out AMAZING as always. They have never failed to amaze me with their pictures.

The Birthday Girl from July 2012 to July 2013...

 

Celebrating at Toys R Us...
 She picked out play donuts!
Definitely related to her GrandMA!

Birthday Breakfast at Kneaders