ava turns 4

today my baby girl turned 4. we spent the day celebrating and having fun doing everything ava loves! we started by opening up some presents...this one was from uncy d, aunt amber, kaitlin, & jack. she LOVES her ballet barbies and was so excited when she opened this one up!

on our way to chuck-e-cheese...ava wanted to see mickey mouse, but the chuck-e-cheese mouse had to fill those big black shoes today. she was okay with that!
hollis and daddy watching ava ride the rides...hollis wasn't too sure about any of them at first. he wanted to sit in them but freaked out when we put in a token and they started to move and make noise! too funny!

ava loves this ride and insists on going on it first every trip! her feet can't quite reach the pedals so daddy has to help her get it going! too cute!

after chuck-e-cheese, grans took hollis home with her and bo and i took ava to see cars 2. she loved it and brought her purse full of cars to play with during the movie. then we headed back to grans house to swim, swim, swim! ava turned into a fish today and swam all over the pool without her water wings. she really amazes me every day! then it was time for cake...the cake ava made...her GIANT cupcake.

making wishes and blowing out candles.

then we watched lilo and stitch {well, part of it} before we had to head home. both of the kids were so tired from all the fun! Ava had so much fun today and we had such a blast celebrating and spoiling our girl.

night, night!

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f.o.u.r.

via pinterest.

to my girl. i hope you know how much i love you. how much every day you brighten up my life and the lives of everyone you come in contact with. your little presence is like a magical force; people are drawn into you. you draw them in with your squirrely ways and silly talk. i love every second. {however, i am hoping the stranger/danger starts to sink in soon...} you have a kind heart and love to love. you love all animals {except sharks and snakes scare you...wonder who you take after ;) }. you love to be outside doing pretty much anything. you are mostly fearless and are usually ready to take on the world. you are a peacemaker and you love your brother with all your heart...even though he can drive you nuts. {yes, i can tell} you love the computer, television, you would sit in front of it all day if i would let you. you love to be a helper, to be included in what is going on around the house. your favorite toys are your cars, horses, and of course, your barbies...and you can't go anywhere without your pink blanket and a pillow pet {..or two, or three, or four...} you are a night owl and i don't think you get enough sleep...it's like you don't want to miss anything. you amaze me every day and i am so blessed to be your mama. xoxo sweet girl.


happy birthday to you.

i love you squirrel. happy birthday.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo...

mama

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glimpses of my old self.

i thas been a while since i have done a weight loss update, thought i should let you all know how that is going. so far i'm down 30 lbs. yay! i have reached my second goal, back to my hollis pre-pregnancy weight. {my first goal, in case you were wondering, was to get my wedding ring back on my finger...mission accomplished!} now i have 20 more to get to my final goal, weightwise, my ava pre-pregnancy weight {or pretty darn close to it!}. weight watchers really is working for me and i am SO happy. as the weight is coming off {slowly....but it's coming off} i catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror or see my faint reflection in a window and in those glimpses i am starting to see my old self. it is amazing how much 50 pounds can physically change you and you don't even realize it. crazy! i feel so good and now i need to get back to exercising. i know this will help me reach my goals a bit faster and make me look and FEEL even better! i have been so inspired by my bestie jen. She has worked out almost 31 days straight {31 days before her 31st birthday}. i am so proud of her for being so dedicated and sticking with it! i can't wait to see her and hopefully have some of her good exercise vibes rub off on me...maybe she can get me started while i'm there...hint, hint... {jen, i know you're reading this! ha!}
so, that's all. sharing this photo again...it is one that when i look at it i see a little bit of the old me. and it feels so good!

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i heart faces {whimsy}

this weeks i heart faces challenge is "whimsy". this is an old favorite, i'm talking 2009, here. it is just oh, so summery and i have always loved it...thought i would share it for this challenge.

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iphone photo love

bo bought me an iphone for mother's day and i LOVE it!!! it has become my camera stand in on many a family outing and even around the house, when things happen and i don't have time to run and grab the camera. i am trying to work on the fuzziness of some of the photos...but here are just a few of my little cuties from the week we had!

my girl before going to sydney's 7th birthday party...she insisted on wearing the hat...

at grans house...playing in gran's shoes...girls got attitude...
a bed i FINALLY found. i have been searching for one for our room...then i find out bo hates them. good thing this one is a double, perfect for ava's room! {and some photos, of course!}

me and my boy. snuggles...always good.

hollis looking cool after an evening swimming at gran's house...yes, we hang out over there lots. and we love every second.

ava before ballet class. she looked so cute, i had to snap a photo.

my mom's friend jean took this photo of hollis. i loved it. had to include it. that's ava's hat...she refuses to wear it. he loves it. i think it is now his...watch, not she's going to want to wear it all the time...isn't that the way it always works?!

xo,

a

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a few from the birthday!

via pinterest

NO...she's not 4....yet...

we had ava's party last weekend at a local aquatic center. it was so much fun! i love how they shut down the park just for our private party, so fun having it all to ourselves. ava had a blast and i don't think she wanted it to end! here are just a few photos...i have so many more but haven't even had a chance to go through them all, and i'm not even going to promise them to be posted...because we all know how life goes...can't believe my baby is going to be 4 in less than a week...she is amazing, changing every day, growing up into such a sweet, smart, compassionate girl. she is my dream come true.

her birthday is thursday and we are going to spend the day doing all of her favorite things! i can't wait to spoile her rotten! i just love her to bits.

xo,

mama

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bumbleride giveaway

We love our bumbleride stroller! The indie twin is fabulous! I would love to get a single for hollis now that ava is getting bigger and not needing one so much! Once again, the bragging mommy is giving away a bumbleride stroller, a Flite! Head on over to enter! I don't know a mom who wouldn't love to have a bumbleride! they are high quality, easy to push, and super comfy for the kiddos! yep, i love a great giveaway!

good luck, friends!!

xo,

a

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playing catch up...in no specific order.

i know. it's been a bit since i've updated the blog with photos of the kiddos and what we've been up to. mostly we were hit with a viscious bug a few weeks ago and it took a couple weeks to cycle through the family. hollis, then ava, then, of course, me. it was so bad my mom had to come get the kids for a few days. i just couldn't do anything. it was awful! but we are better now and ready to get back into the world! just a few random photos from the past month or so...i have lots from ava's birthday party and her four year old photos to share...coming soon, i guess!

we made some cute cards for father's day! we are so lucky to have so many wonderful dad's in the lives of our children. their daddy, uncles, grandpas, and great grandpas!

this was the night before ava got so sick. little sleeping beauty! we had spent the day swimming and out in the sunshine.
love this shot of bo and hollis. we got rid of that rocker yesterday. kind of painful. we rocked both babies in that rocker. i'm so sentimental it makes simple and logical things more difficult than they should be.

my little man. he LOVES to sleep! {& i am so thankful!}

father's day. bo had to work, but he got in a few stories before he took off!

ava and her horses! she loves them so!

now this just cracks me up! hollis will ride anything...ANYTHING. matchbox cars, stuffed animals, hats...if he can sit on it, he can ride it! and the life vest was a nice touch :)

my little fish. we are getting this girl out of water wings this year. she is doing so good. still not a strong swimmer, but we are getting there! going to my mom's later today to practice!

bo and i celebrated our 6th anniversary on the 11th. i was so.sick. he remembered and brought me these beautiful flowers. we are going out this week to celebrate! better late than never, right?

we spent a fun day out at the lake with the family. ava loves her maddy and sydney. it is so fun to see these cousins together! they have so much fun and i love that ava has such sweet girls to look up to.

so, that's all for now. i'll try to get some more updates up soon for my few loyal readers :) i adore ya'll and love that you enjoy keeping up with us! i'll try and spice things up for you soon!

xo,

a

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working

wow! we have been so busy around here. keepingup with the kids, shooting, and trying to get the house all organized has proved to me a lot for this mama to handle! i wanted to share a few photos from some recent sessions. it seemed like i was shooting non stop in april/may and now that summer has set in, it seems i've slowed down a bit {which has finally given me a nice little break}.
this first family is the very first family that i shot that i did not know personally. they were my first referral. this is the third time i have photographed their family. i can't tell you how how much it makes my heart burst when i meet up with them. they are such a precious family, but around a year ago they were the first to take a chance on me. that is something i will never forget.

meet their sweet little niece...she is turning one! cutie!
corey brought out her sisters and niece and nephew for a few family shots. they wanted to give their dad a special photo for father's day. beautiful family!

this family was also a referral from an old high school friend of mine. another super sweet family i loved meeting and getting to spend a morning with :)

turning one

such gorgeous little girlies :) and very sweet sisters! i really love the four year age difference...so nice to have a helper with the little one!

this next family is just so precious. jami is a high school friend that contacted me about newborn photos early in her pregnancy. it was so fun to reconnect with her through photographing her maternity photos as well as her sweet baby boy. he is so gorgeous! it took a few days, but we finally completed the shoot and i got some images i am so proud of. it is no secret that my passion is newborn photograpy. i could have moved in with them for a few weeks and spent every day with this little guy. {of course, then i would have missed my own littles...but goodness, he is sweetness personified!} picture overload, coming up!

i loved getting a few shots of them just hanging out together.

jami has always been exremely beautiful. but i really think motherhood has brought out even more beauty in her. there is just something in her eyes when she is with her baby boy, like you can see how much she loves him and how much he has changed her world.

congratulations on your gorgeous new bundle of love!

xo,

a

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