Photo Bomb

photobomb (verb) - to drop in a photo unexpectedly right before it is taken.

My nephew (3) is a master photobomber and he doesn't even know it. :) I can't wait for years of photos like these:

Shaped Bokeh

Even since I started using Pinterest, I wanted to try this- shaped bokeh! Now that I have such a cute little model (who can't run away yet) I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go! I followed the directions in the link above, practiced a little before setting up my shot (discovered that the closer you are to your subject and the further your subject is from your background, the bigger the effect - thanks, Laura) and poof! Snowflakes in my Christmas tree!

It helps to have an awesome assistant, too!

PS - This is also my submission for this month's Rock the Shot contest! www.rocktheshotforum.com

13 Weeks Old!

I can't believe Haley is 13 weeks old already. Here is her most recent rocking chair photo! She has grown so much (although she is STILL in newborn clothes!).

More photos to come!

Express Yourself

I LOVE accessories, so of course I am having fun accessorizing my little princess. I spent some time over the last week (an hour here, an hour there) making some super cute headbands for little miss Haley. I didn't do photos for a tutorial, but I posted the links with the instructions I used below!

How to:

Gray headband (this has a hidden loop to clip any flower on!): http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-stretchy-baby-headband-tutorial.html
Fabric flowers: http://cherrystreetcottage.blogspot.com/2011/03/fabric-flower-tutorial-at-last.html
Ricrac flower: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2012/07/ric-rac-flower-tutorial-by-oh-for.html
The big pink flower is just a piece of ribbon that was a flower chain.

Here is a sizing guide for the headbands:
10" for newborn
12" for 0-3 months
14" for 3-6 months
16" for 6-9 months
18" for 9-12 months
I hot-glued all of the flowers to these: 



Finally, here is my model!

There will be MANY more accessories to come!

How Time Flies

Haley and I are both named after my Great Great Aunt Mae and I just happened to receive her childhood rocking chair when I was little. I am super excited to be able to use it each month to show how much Haley has grown. Of course, with her being so little I had to wait a little longer than I wanted to start this project, but here are her first two pictures. MANY more to come! I love it!

At Haley's 4 week appointment she was a whopping 5 pounds 10 ounces, so at 6 weeks she was probably close to 6 1/2 pounds. :)

At Haley's 2 month appointment she was 7 pounds, 5 ounces (the size I thought she would be when she was born!) and has grown almost 3 inches!

I just love watching her grow and learn. It is so fun to see her progress and see her little look of concentration as she is trying to figure out new things. Being a mom is the best!

Bathroom Remodel

So...back in February we decided to remodel the bathroom. It was partially because we wanted a makeover and partially because it NEEDED it...the bathtub had been leaking, causing water to go into the floor under it and into the basement bathroom, which also caused MOLD to grow. We had just found out I was pregnant and mold + baby = not good, so out came the saws-all!

Here are the before pics!

The previous owners PAINTED the counter and the tub. Then, when the painted the walls they must have spilled in the tub so to cover it up they "splatter painted" the tub. Really?!?! Then they used those cheap sticker tiles on the floor and they started to peel.

The vanity was super cheap and no amount of varnish could've fixed it. We also had NO storage in it so I had to put a second set of drawers to hold my makeup.

This is during:

This is when we took the tub out and cut out the parts of the floor that were rotten.

New tub and walls are ready for tile!

Travertine floor to ceiling with glass and slate accent tiles. I LOVE the way it turned out! That was the first wall color we tried...WAY too green. We tried a few after that before we found one we loved...a slate gray with blue undertones that matches the accent tile perfectly!

Jesse putting up tile!

And this is how it turned out!!

So, here is the end product! 12x12 travertine on the floor, polished 12x18 travertine on the walls, a paint color we love!

I just LOVE our vanity and the hammered copper sink! Oddly, even though it is way smaller than the last one it has WAY more storage space! I also love that the smaller vanity makes the room look a little bigger.

So glad that project is done, but mostly, I am glad it is a safe place for Haley!

Backing Up...Haley's Room

OK...I think this is the last big thing I need to get caught up on from before Haley's arrival! The Monday before she came (Labor Day) Jesse and I worked hard (ok...he worked hard and I watched) and we got her room all finished. The funny thing was, when we were all done Jesse looked at me and said, "Well, we are ready! I think she could come any day now and we'd be all set!" Little did we know...two days later she was here!!

Here is what her room looks like!

So many shoes already!

The beautiful quilt my mother made!

Backing Up...Showered with Love

I have some amazing friends and family who threw some great baby showers in honor of the little princess! Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to my cousin's house (such a lovely shower, Heidi!) but I do have photos to share of the other shindigs!

Kristen and Laura started out the festivities with this shower, themed "A Picture Perfect Shower"!

My sister-in-law wrapped up the festivities a few weeks later with this shower themed "In Full Bloom"!

Cousins (and my poor parents)

Haley is blessed to have MANY cousins! She is slowly getting to know them all and they have had such a good time meeting her.

In fact, 6 days after Haley was born she got ANOTHER cousin! Yes, as you saw in the bump photos I posted previously, my sister Holly and I were due exactly 7 days apart. She was due first (9/16) and I was due second (9/23). It was so fun to be pregnant together, but even more fun to play with the kids together.

So...onto my funny story about my parents (I swear this is all related)...

My parents knew I had an ultrasound the morning of the 5th and were actually on their was from Duluth to Lincoln, NE to visit my oldest sister and her family and celebrate my niece's 1st birthday (9/8). After my ultrasound I called my mom to tell her that the doctor might want to see me that day, but that I didn't think would be a huge deal so don't worry about changing plans yet. Then the nurse called and told me I had to go the hospital for additional tests, so I called my parents and told them that they should just keep on going until we have a little more data.

Long story short, but the time the doctors finally decided that Haley would need to enter the world that day and scheduled my c-section, my parents were almost to my sister's house. After talking with them more we all decided that since it is such a long trip that they should just stay there as planned unless something is wrong and then they would visit the following Sunday and Monday.

So...they were able to celebrate Kinsey's 1st birthday and then drive back up to see us at the hospital and meet Haley! They visited again on Monday and then headed back up to Duluth.

Meanwhile...

My sister Holly had a routine appointment on Monday (9/10) and her doctor noticed she was a little further along than she would like to see 4 days before her scheduled c-section (set for 9/14), so her c-section was moved up to the very next day (9/11)! She called my parents and they were literally in downtown Duluth when she broke the news that their grandson was also making an early appearance. So, my sweet parents went home, did laundry, repacked the car and headed back to the Twin Cities the next morning to meet Max.

Wow! Talk about being devoted to your family! My parents are amazing (and are troopers) and are also lucky they are retired so their schedule allows for all this craziness!

Now for the pictures!

With cousin Andrew (8)! 

With Auntie Mysie!

With cousins Channing (almost 4) and Maxwell (born 9/11/12). 

Max's foot and Haley's foot...too funny!

Tummy time for all!