Merry Christmas 2014

 Merry Christmas!

Last night at church Charlotte turned to me, grabbed my face, kissed me and said "Happy merry Christmas Mommy, I love you to the moon and back" and that made my whole Christmas.  No joke.  We had a very light Christmas it was more about quality over quantity, but it was absolutely perfect.  I love my family so much.  Russ leaves with the moving truck Saturday morning.  My whole house is in boxes, and it is absolute CHAOS moving with kids.  It is crazy how empty everything is, but we are all looking forward to being in NC next week!

Fry Family Session

 I got to take pictures of this cute family as a Christmas surprise for their Dad.  They are all just so photogenic this session took less than ten minutes, and Russ calls me a "ninja photographer" so I guess I lived up to my name.  Really though this family was just so fun to work with, I had to bring the whole family with me for this shoot and the girls were SO sweet to Charlotte.  Right when we got there their dog ran outside and so Russ had to go catch him because we didn't want the kids to get all messed up before pictures.  Even with all the chaos it was SO fun to work with them, I hope your Dad loves his present!!

Just some updates

 This little marshmallow girl, I just have so much love for her.  Ever since getting this sleep suit she has been sleeping amazing.  It is my bff.  No joke.  I was looking at her tonight while I was feeding her and I teared up (#hormones) because she is just so perfect and little (not really she is huge) and just I can't believe I was entrusted TWO humans to take care of.  I feel like I am 18 still and shouldn't have two kids, but here I am at 27 years old with two amazing (sometimes super cranky) kids.  Speaking of hormones though my hair started falling out.  I could make someone a wig with the amount of hair I am losing, it is kind of alarming.  I still have some hair left on my head though so its probably fine.

 Russ is defending his thesis TOMORROW.  I am so so proud of this guy.  He has put so much effort and time into it, all the while being the best dad and husband.  We have really tried to enjoy our last few weeks here in MI and the free babysitting so we have gone out a whole bunch with just each other and it has just been amazing.  I had missed him!

 Charlotte is the best big sister.  If I have to leave the room and shower, or make lunch, or do laundry she is always there to keep Elizabeth entertained and happy.  She will be 3 in a few short weeks and I can hardly believe she will be that old.  She is still my little sidekick and follows me around everywhere.  She is so sweet, and loves her sister more than anything.  Don't get me wrong she still has her diva moments and can throw 7 tantrums in 10 minutes but hopefully she grows out of that soon? 

 Sometimes while Char naps we hang out and just play on my bed.  This particular day I had TRIED to get them both to nap at the same time but little miss wasn't having it.  I brought her to my bed and we played for a little and she just passed out right next to me it was so cute. 

 Ok don't judge me but sometimes I let Charlotte pick out E's clothes...she usually picks out something hilarious and this day was no exception haha.

We tried taking another Christmas picture and this time it actually turned out pretty good, but I didn't get it together in time and we will just send out a "We've moved!" card in a few months when things settle down.  

Downtown N and R Session

 I finished my last session tonight and it couldn't have been any cuter.  We went downtown where all the lights are and stood in the middle of the road for some of them, it was so much fun.  They wanted to do a session downtown because that is where they went on their very first date.  Love these two, thanks for letting me take these pictures for you guys!!

4 month update

 Age: 4 months

Height: 26 inches

Weight: 15 lbs  

Size (diapers, onesies, etc): Diapers we moved up to a size 2 about 2 weeks ago, and will probably finish off this box and move to size 3 soon since she leaks sometimes! Onesies and sleepers she is 3-6 months but I think soon we will have to move up since she is so tall!

Eyes: Still blue, they are SO beautiful and look like Charlotte's and Russ' eyes the lightest of blues.

Hair: Her hair is lightening up so much, I still think it will be white blonde and it has a bit of a curl but not as much as big sis.

Sleeping: She was sleeping SO well up until 2 weeks ago and I researched and researched and just thought it was maybe 4 month sleep regression but I found the meriln's magic sleep suit (she looks like a pink marshmallow) and BAM she started sleeping 10-12 hours a night again.  It has been our life saver.  She goes to bed around 7 pm and usually we don't hear from her until between 5-7 am, sometimes we will have to go in there around 2 am to put her pacifier in but other then that she has been great!

Eating: She is eating 4 oz every 3-5 hours during the day and then right before bed she will sometimes drink up to 6 oz.  She still loves food and is getting the chubbiest cheeks <3 

We love you Elizabeth, and we seriously can't imagine life before you! I cannot believe she is already 4 months old, but I absolutely LOVE this age, she laughs and giggles and loves to chew on stuff.  She is a drooling machine and her favorite person is definitely Charlotte.  They are so sweet together I can't even handle it sometimes how cute they are.  

 

 

Christmas Card Fail

Well we tried.  We tried to do our own Christmas pictures this year and they were a complete fail.  So I am going to just send one out with just the kids.  It is so hard to get 4 people ready and excited for a timed picture.  I so miss my mom friend Jenny who always took our family pictures for us!! 

So there was this one:

 Which wouldn't have been that bad if Russ had just been ready....

Then there is this one:

 I am trying to get everyone to "be HAPPY!" but with two kids it is impossible to get them to both smile at the same time I have learned.

Then there is this one:

 Which all in all doesn't seem too bad, but Char is blurry and Francisco's hat is tilted over, and Elle's headband is WAY too big on her...Mom fail.

Then this one is probably the best one we were going to get:

But I think Char's fakest of fake smiles and that HEADBAND wtf was I thinking....That one might go out after all because in a way it explains my life right now. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from us!

so thankful

I am so thankful for my family.  I seriously could not imagine my life without these 3 people in it.  Elizabeth's personality is really starting to shine through, she will be 4 months old this week and I can hardly believe how fast it is going by this time.  She is super chill and go with the flow unless she is hungry or tired then she will let you know via scream ha so Char will then run and find me and let me know what she needs its really cute how these two sisters are together.  

Russ is going to be done with his thesis TOMORROW and I can hardly wait for him to pay attention to me again haha he has been working non stop with only a few breaks like today to get our Christmas tree.  I am just so proud of all that he has accomplished along with having a family, he is only graduating one semester later then he was supposed to so that in itself is just amazing, I don't have words to explain how much I love him and how proud of him I am.  

We move in less than 3 weeks.  It really has not hit me yet, but I am excited when I think of starting in a new city, with my little family it will just be a huge change but I really am so ready to just be a family unit of 4 for awhile.  Not to say I am not extremely grateful we have lived so close all these years but I am ready to spread our wings and fly!

Anyways sorry for all the rambling it has been a busy weekend wrapping up holiday sessions, I have one more next weekend and then I am done until the spring!

 

N and R Holiday Session

 I got to take pictures of one of my best friends and her boyfriend today at a tree farm.  I absolutely LOVE them together and they wanted some holiday pictures done.  The location was perfect and we ended up getting our tree in the process too! I want to do more sessions at tree farms they are so festive and so much fun to do it at.  I love all of these pictures because they look so in love and happy, but I am especially obsessed with this last one I took of C with them.  I am really going to miss them when we move...and so will C <3