M Family Pics 2014

You guys.  I don't even know what to say.

As I mentioned before, we had our annual family pictures taken last weekend.  After an afternoon of rushing to get ready, driving to Ridley Creek State Park, awaking 3 out of the 4 kids that fell asleep in the car, trying to make them "picture ready" while dealing with their "I'm tired"(s) and their "I'm hungry"(s), chasing down a rambunctious 2 year old, making sure none of the kids are kidnapped, trying to get them to smile, trying not to have them roll down the leaf hill (Reid) and/or jump off the stone wall (Reid again) and remembering to get all the shots we want to try to take all while not saying "fuck it, let's just leave." That is picture day for us, in a nut shell.  I feel anxious and stressed out the rest of the night. (And immediately head for the wine rack.) I drive away from the session hoping for ONE GOOD SHOT.  Just one.  It's seriously one of the most dreaded days of the year for us.  And it's not because I don't absolutely LOVE to see Stephanie Glover every single chance I get, but because the day is fucking exhausting. 

But the result?  Breathtaking.  And that's why we do it.  I mean, this picture right here???

You have GOT to be kidding me with this one.  It's a picture that I will treasure forever and ever.

Stephanie, thank you so much for putting up with our crazy family year after year.  You've captured some of my greatest moments, and I'll never be able to give you back what you have given to me. I have so much love for you!

And with that, some of my favs from our session on November 9th...

Sorry, not sorry, for the picture overload.  There's even more than this, but I didn't want to over do it ;)

Happy Anniversar(ies)!

13 years ago, today, I started dating a handsome guy that could make me laugh more than anyone has before.

8 years ago, today, I married him.



Even now, after all this time, he makes me laugh every single day. He has seen me though the hardest days of my life and has been there for me to celebrate the best ones. I love him and the family we have created together and I can't imagine my life with anyone else.

Today, I just want to thank him for being an amazing husband and father. I am a VERY lucky girl.

Happy Anniversary Bobby <3

Family Picture Outfits

So, it's almost that time of year again... our annual fall family pictures with Stephanie Glover Photography!!  EEEKKK!  If you can remember from last year, we took a chance and did a purple/grey/white theme and I absolutely LOVED the way it turned out against the fall colors.

Here is my 2013 outfit board...

...and one of our 2013 family pictures {and my 29 week baby belly... Hi Emmie Mae!}

So this year, I've decided to stay on the non-traditional route and go with a navy/grey/white theme with touches of soft pink for the girls.  I really love it and I'm hoping it will look as cute as I think it will!  We'll see after this weekend, I guess, right? ;)  Here's the board I've created...

 

I absolutely adore Brynn's dress, and I got her new grey star boots, since she wore the boots from last year almost every day from November to June {I'm not kidding.  The new ones are hidden until after our session this weekend!!}  And Reid's sweater?  OMG.  Carter wore a tan version of that GAP sweater in our 2010 family pics and it's one of my all time favs {and OMG baby Carter!!}  So when I saw it in navy for Reid, I just HAD to have it.  Emerson is not wearing that exact sweater dress, but a similar grey cable-knit GAP hand-me-down sweater dress from Aubrey.  I adore it and I'm so glad it's the perfect size for her! And Carter's sweater is super comfy, which is basically all he cares about these days, ha!  Should be fun negotiating him into wearing jeans that day though {woo hoo... send wine!}

Here is a link to my Polyvore board this year so that you can see where most of the items are from.  Not everything is exact, as some of the items {like Em's dress, my navy jacket, etc} I already owned and it's no longer online so I found something similar.  But most of the items are new and linked correctly.  Happy shopping :)

And now I can't wait to see how our session turns out! Let's just hope for good weather. And FOUR cooperating kids.  That last one was a joke. {We'll just have lots of wine on standby for after the session. And that was not a joke.  You get me, right?}
 

WW: M Family Pics '13

On Sunday, we made our way to Prophecy Creek Park, just north of Philly, for our annual family session with the wonderful Steph, of Stephanie Glover Photography.  

Now, I'm going to be honest... when we left the park an hour after we arrived, I didn't think we'd get very many decent pictures out of the session.  And not because of Steph, obviously... we all know how talented she is.  But because of the fact that it was cold, WINDY LIKE WHOA {my hair was everywhere, let me tell ya} and the kids were just not having it.  Especially Brynn, who flat out refused to get in any pictures, especially those that included her two brothers. And we actually had the opposite problem with Carter who wanted to be in ALL THE PICTURES.  All of them.  Poor kid had to be physically removed from some of them. 

As we drove home on Sunday, I looked over at Bob and said that I'd basically call the entire session a success if we got one good family picture out of it.  Bonus if we got one of each of the kids.  Obviously not together... Brynn made sure of that.  Ahem.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I get an email on Monday night from Steph with a total of 60 pictures from our session.  Sixty.  What?  I expected four.

Steph, I can't thank you enough, once again, for your amazing work.  You're the best ever.

Here are just some of my favorites from our session this year...

I still wish it wasn't so damn windy {Bob may or may not have been injured by my hair during this shoot} but I just love the way these turned out.  If you're in the Philly area and looking for a miracle worker a great photographer, don't forget to check out Stephanie Glover Photography!

And for those interested, here's a link to the outfits we wore for this session... so glad I changed it to the grey and purple, I just love this color scheme with the fall foliage!

Happy Wednesday!

 

An Anniversary. Or two.

12 years ago today, I started dating the man of my dreams.

And 7 years ago today, I married him.

Laura Novak Photography

Here's a picture my sister took before we went out to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate!  Love this guy so much {and OMG my belly is totally taking over this picture!}...

It's funny how we've changed through the years.  Our anniversaries used to include a lovely night with a romantic movie, maybe a trip to the winery.  Late night dinner for 2 at our favorite little restaurant where we enjoyed each other's company over great food and drinks.  

But now?  Now it's more like a fast {but very yummy!} dinner with the senior citizens and we'd rather skip out on dessert at the restaurant in exchange for CFA milkshakes and a kid-free trip to Target.

And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Wishing a very happy anniversary to my wonderful husband... what a crazy road it has been and I look forward to celebrating so much more with you!

WW: Fall Picture Outfits

Well, it's that time of year again and we're getting excited about our annual fall family pictures coming up this weekend with Stephanie Glover Photography!

This is a tradition that I just adore, mostly because it's amazing to see just how much our family can change with each passing year. I posted a Through the Years post {what seemed like yesterday but was actually last fall} and with the addition of our session in 2012... {aww, itty bitty Reid at just 2 months old!}

... you can see just how much we've grown.  Andplusalso? It's crazy to think that we're adding yet another baby to the mix soon!  {Turning this year's family session into a maternity session as well. EEEKKK!}

So, of course, before any photo session, I somewhat obsess over colors/themes/ideas of what everyone will wear.  I try to go with a different "pop" color each year and, while I originally was going to go with a burnt orange {because, let's be honest, who doesn't love burnt orange in the fall? #guilty}  I actually found a sweater that I fell in love with for Bob in Target and never looked back. Yep... I changed our whole theme to match this one sweater. 

So this year's color scheme? Purple and grey.  And I'm so excited about it.

Here's what it will look like altogether...

I can't even with those boots for Brynn. Love.  And the puffer vest for Reid?  Come on. I was also SO EXCITED to find PURPLE in the BOYS aisle for Carter and Bob.  #winning #iknowimexcited #okayillstopwiththehashtags

Anyway, here's a link to my board on Polyvore so you can see where all the items were purchased.  The only items that are different from the board linked are my purple cardi/sweater and Brynn's purple scarf {which is from Etsy}.  The sweater I'm wearing is actually from Banana Republic, but I got it over a year ago so it's no longer online.  However, the Target sweater I linked on Polyvore is similar in color/style so you get the idea and it will totally work if you want to go with the same/a similar theme.

So please send us lots of luck {omg, pictures with 3 kids is exhausting} and good weather for Sunday, thankyouverymuch.  I know Steph will do an amazing job and I can't wait to share the results with you!

Also, since I've been totally slacking here lately... let's do a linky.

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