#Instagratitude Re-cap

I cannot believe we are already at the end of November! What a fun month this has been! I thought at the beginning of the month that I was wrapping up all sessions and seeing the end of the portrait season nearing. Well... turns out I still have some sessions on the calendar and I don't think I'm taking a holiday this year! Hah! It's awesome though. I am still making up from taking all that maternity leave, so I'm totally loving every minute of work right now. I hope that doesn't change anytime soon!

Anyway - So I participated in #instagratitude this month. You know, I didn't really think everyone in the world was going to be posting thankfulness posts in the month of November. I'm not really sure what I was thinking! But it was a fun little challenge and truth be told - not difficult at all. I almost wish instead of winging it daily, that I had really planned ahead what I was most thankful for in my life and spent 30 days expressing those things with intention. It was an uplifting time, yet a total breeze to be sitting on the couch and pause to take in my surroundings... to think "what am I thankful for in this moment?" And you know, then I'd snap a picture of my living room or my daughter's silly toys. Which created a bright moment in my day. Of course, it's awesome to stop and think about all the small things to be grateful for, but a few times I had the thought of wishing I were approaching the project a little differently... with more intention. Perhaps I'll revisit this whole idea next November!

Anyway - here are some of my favorite posts. These are actually the ones I posted to Facebook. It's near impossible to quickly grab Instagram images for web publishing without sharing them on facebook! But you can always browse my entire instagram feed to see what Facebook is missing! (I try not to spam my facebook friends TOO much... :))

What a happy November! Holidays, vacations, portrait sessions galore! All the things I love. I am feeling so blessed. #instagratitude

Gratituesday: Seasons Changing

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I get on such a natural high during the changing of the seasons. The newness... the colors... lights... enthusiasm abounds. Plus, it really is the best time of year! I hope you are enjoying the hustle and bustle of it all. This week in particular is one of my favorites because it's right at the beginning of the Christmas season... there's so much wonder and excitement that awaits us! So fun!

We are home from our vacation and my goal today is to unpack our luggage, restock our refrigerator, and start decorating for Christmas around here already! I'm excited to share this Christmas with Sunday now that she will be exploring the wonder of it all. Hopefully I'll get some updated pictures of our holiday decor up here soon. You may have guessed that this picture above isn't the most recent. :) Oh but I do hope we will have some of the pretty white stuff soon as well!

Happy Holiday Season, friends! I've got some goodies in store for you this year as well... stay tuned! :)

Join us for Gratituesday at heavenly homemakers!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I LOVE Thanksgiving... this is the kick off of the entire holiday season in our home! Que the Christmas music, delicious foods and cozy decor...!

Now that we have a November 20th birthday in our home, I have made the official decision to put off all holiday decorating and other traditional holiday activities until after Sunday's birthday in order to focus on the celebration of her. Yes, I once was the lady who decorated right after Halloween. I have no shame. But now, I figure... we should let Sunday have her big day before we transition into celebrating the holidays. And that we did!

But we're here now! One of our holiday traditions is whisking off to the beach after Thanksgiving dinner. We load up the car and drive 5 hours to Oak Island, NC for the long weekend. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. It's so quiet and peaceful down there this time of year. We do a lot of sweatshirt wearing and sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch while overlooking ocean. Oh yes, it is that cliche. Tommy always jumps in the water at some point and I always step out in the sand with my camera in hand and visions in my mind of beautiful beach landscape shots. This will be our 5th year (last year our plans were derailed by welcoming a newborn!) and I hope this is still just the beginning of a lifelong tradition!

But first up... before we take off to the beach, we are headed to Thanksgiving dinner with the family. This year I'm trying something a little different. Will you join me? Thanksgiving Unplugged (oh Tommy is going to LOVE this!)

Thanksgiving Unplugged is bold campaign created by nationally renowned etiquette experts Diane Gottsman and Thomas P. Farley to challenge Americans to disconnect from their digital devices before sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of fixing their gazes on LCD screens or popping in earbuds, families will commit to focusing on giving thanks, savoring a good meal and enjoying the company of their relatives and friends. Freed from the increasingly inescapable distraction of cell phones, laptops, tablets, hand-held games, music players, social media and the web, families will once again reconnect with the true spirit of the holiday.

So after I post this, I'll be unplugging for the day. Okay... the truth is, I'll be unplugging until we hit the road to the beach. Y'all know I can't enjoy a 5hr car ride without my phone to entertain me! :) But I will be leaving the phone in the car as we celebrate the holiday with our family. You should give it a try, too!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. I am so super grateful for you and all of your words of wisdom and encouragement you have shared with me this past year. I hope you have a wonderful day with your friends and family! <3

Lynchburg Snapshot Studio: Sunday's Birthday Party

While I was planning Sunday's first birthday party I was racking my brain for activity ideas. I knew we would eat and have a cake smash, but I felt like there needed to be something else to fill the time. I thought about a cake walk with toy prizes... or maybe a small craft for kids. But space restrictions and a wide variety of ages of guests limited a lot of the ideas I was coming across in my google searches. I didn't really want to have a gift opening time even though it probably would have been a great time filler. I finally decided to bring in Lynchburg Snapshot Studio. It turned out to be the PERFECT activity for a first birthday party! It was set up and running throughout the entire party so just when guests started to feel like time was ticking slowly, they could get up and hop in the photo booth! Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun with it and it was a great way to get pictures of all the attendees, especially pictures of them WITH the guest of honor.

Here are just a few of my favorite shots from the photo booth images... I can't wait to make an album of these for Sunday to browse through when she gets older!

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Lynchburg Snapshot Studio is a portable digital self-portrait studio that provides a fun, memorable experience for wedding receptions, corporate events and private functions. Email info@lynchburgsnapshotstudio.com to check availability.

letters to sunday: first birthday

Sweet girl,

9:16am... exactly one year ago you were placed into my arms. It was a moment that changed our lives for the BEST.

My sweet, smiley, snuggly girl. How do I say how wonderful you are without talking in circles and repeating everything I've ever said about you? :) You are my favorite little person in this whole world. You were the perfect addition to our family and you made this last year the best of our lives.

It's so crazy now... how much you communicate and understand us. It's like it happened overnight. You turned 11 months old and suddenly you understood everything we were saying. Here we are, one month later, and you don't miss a thing!

If there is something nearby to help you balance, you are standing on your feet. You love to walk around while holding onto furniture and every now and then you let go and try it on your own! Before we know it, you will be walking!

You say "Bye Bye" now with the cutest little wave! So that was officially your first word! You also say Dada and a couple of people SWEAR you have said their names (Aiden and Soda Pop!). So fun. :) We practice Mama and Grandma a LOT.

Now that you can sign you are constantly - and I mean constantly - signing to nurse. If you see your mama, you crawl right over to me look up at me and sign "more!" Which means "Pick me up and nurse me please!" It's probably the one thing that drives me a little batty. I find myself hiding from you sometimes so I don't have to tell you "no." Because that is your least favorite word in the world. And really, honey, you simply cannot eat all. day. long!

I finally finished your birth slideshow - almost a year to the day you were born. Looking back through those pictures now is a completely different experience than looking at them soon after your birth. I know that little baby now... I recognize those familiar expressions you had even at just a few minutes old. I hope one day you will watch it and see the wonderful experience we had bringing you into this world!

Have I mentioned how snuggly you are? You love ANYTHING soft and fluffy and it is the most precious thing to watch you squeeze and nuzzle your blankets or stuffed animals! And almost every time I pick you up you take a moment to lay your head on my shoulder... even if you are just giving me a little hug before you pull back and ask to "Nurse, please." Gosh, I adore you!

You are completely into 12 month clothing now... the onesies are worn less often and real shirts and jeans are worn more often. You are growing up!

You were so super behaved at your first birthday party! I pretty much expected that because you love to people watch so much I knew you would be completely content even if you were completely exhausted at the same time! Oh and you LOVED your birthday cake! Well, mostly you liked the whipped cream icing, but that was to be expected!

As I type, you are napping away after playing in your crib with some books. This week you started falling asleep on your own, peacefully and quietly, when laid in your crib with a few toys. It's a whole new world for us and we both seem to really enjoy it. :)

When you wake we are going out for your birthday! Your Aunt Carrie and Uncle Zac are here (which is appropriate since they were like two of four people who had to miss your party) and we are going to spoil you all day!

Happy Birthday beautiful angel! You are the light of our lives... have I already mentioned that?!

All pictures in this post were taken by my friend Heather at Visions By Heather Photography.