Twins?

 I love taking photos. I think there's something really beautiful in capturing a moment in time.

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything."

                                                                                                                                -Aaron Siskind 



Sunday we went to the Duke Energy train display downtown. I forgot my camera, but used my husband's phone to take a few snapshots.

When I took this photo:

I instantly thought of this photo:

 

That photo was taken in 2007. 

They resemble each other so much and the position of the photo is nearly the same. 

 

I hope to take this same photograph over and over for years and years to come. 

I'm truly bless with this beautiful family of mine.

Happy Holidays!

We put our tree up a few days ago. I love this time of the year, and it's crazy to say, but I enjoy it even more now that I have children. It's beautiful to see the excitement and to relive things through their eyes. We each have a collection of ornaments for our tree. Here is Riley's:

And Raiggie. I think this is Raigan's "I don't want my picture to be taken face." That's what she would tell me if she could speak in 9 word sentences. She can say thank you, but we're not quite to 9 words yet. God love her, she always has a camera in her face. She'll thank me later in life. I hope.

It's so hard to believe that I was pregnant (and miserable having preterm labor contractions) at this time last year. It's so crazy to think about how fast this year has gone by. I just can't come to grips with it: my sweet baby is going to be a year old. I almost forget how hard my pregnancy last year was with her and have begun to think about having another baby. Brandon is done though, and I'm not sure if I would want Raigan to be a middle child. I just want her to by my little snugly baby for forever.

The thought of having more children than hands intimidates me as well. We'll see what happens in the future. It's hard to think too that this time next year I will graduating and alllll of that hard work that I have put into school with finally be done. It seem so far away, but if it went as fast as this year did, it will be here before we know it.

Do you have your tree up yet?

Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for so many things but especially my family. We ate and then ate again, and then ate leftovers.

Raigan wasn't too happy, but she ate a lot.

I guess the turkey made her sleepy, but there was no time for naps, we had multiple dinners to eat. 

Pumpkin Pie, my reason for existing.

My brother, Chuck is teaching English in Japan and missed out on Thanksgiving this year, poor guy didn't get any pumpkin pie. We skyped him though, so he could feel there with the family. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is swiftly approaching, which I can hardly tolerate because that means my baby will be a year old.

A YEAR OLD!!!! 

Uggghh how did that happen?

When did that happen?

Okay, I'll collect myself here...

I have a few things that I'm addicted to as I have mentioned before... like mail, little girl hair bows, magazines, party supplies. At least they are all legal things. Right? That's what I tell myself anyway.

Another of those things happens to be Christmas ornaments.

When Riley was a baby I bought her about 10 my first Christmas ornaments, because how often is your baby going to have a first Christmas? Only once.

With all that being said, each year as a family tradition, we go pick out a Christmas ornament for our tree.

I think I love ornaments so much because they can tell the story of your life. There's just something so darn poetic about it. Like this one:

 This is the year we bought our first home and here's an ornament of it!

These are the ornaments from this year. We got them from Hobby Lobby.

Riley's:

Mine! I love nutcrackers. My mom always had a ton of them when I was a kid. 

This is Hub's. 

I have a ton of nicknames for Brandon, one of them is bears.

 Since Raggie is a baby, I thought she would too young to pick out her own, but she wasn't. I wanted her to get this cute cupcake one, but she choose this one instead and WOULD NOT let go of it for anything! haha

Here's our little ornament family for Christmas 2010!

What are your family traditions?

Finally... The Halloween Post

Haha first of all, doesn't Raigan's face crack you up? How can a baby be so serious? haha

This is as close as Riley got to the pumpkins. She is a girly girl and does not like the texture. I wish I could find the picture of Riley as a baby we have of her first experience with pumpkin Found it!

The funny thing is she made this same face this year when she touched the pulp. haha God love her. It is a family tradition that she has to take part it though, even if she just observes from a safe distance.

Raigan on the other hand, well... let just say we couldn't keep her hands off of it. Or her hands full of it out of her mouth!

She would sneak some when she thought we weren't looking and kept taking bites! I wasn't worried about the pulp (which I would imagine it to be healthy for you- although I have no knowledge on the matter at all) but the seeds and her choking on them, but she did just fine.

Don't those big blue eyes and tiny chubby fingers just make your heart melt?

Here are the end results:

                                   (Daddy's)                                                        (Mommy's)

                               (Riley's)                                                                    (Raigan's)

We were a family of crayons!

If you mix red and blue together you get baby purple crayons.

And no, I'm not sure why our front door is wide open?

Hub is such a good sport, not many men would dress up as a giant blue crayon and have fun with it. That's one of the things I love most about him, how playful he can be.

This was our modest loot. Riley didn't trick or treat for very long, which is okay because it's about the experience not the candy that is acquired. I'm afraid now that Raigan has experienced a raspberry dum dum we're all in trouble. 

I hope your Halloween was filled with  love, family, costumes, pumpkins, candy, and fun memories too!

Happy 4th of July

I have a love affair with cupcakes. I think the teachers at Riley's preschool think I'm a little bit of a weirdo because I bake and send in cupcakes more than any normal parent should during the school year. It relaxes me, that's weird, I know. It's summer time, so that means I need to find other people to eat my cupcakes so I don't.

Happy 4th of July. I love you America. Thanks for all of my blessings that you give me the freedoms to have.

Happy Memorial Day!

We spent memorial day weekend swimming at Silverlake at their pool opening party on Saturday. They had clowns, a magician, firework show, and lots of other fun stuff, just a wonderful way to start off the summer. I cannot believe that I didn't take one picture. I was there alone with both girls while Hub was helping a friend move, so maybe I was more focused on keeping Riley in sight, rather than photographing her.

We spent Saturday evening with Hub's grandparents, aunt, sister, and brother in law which is always such a nice time, and the food his grandparents makes is soo amazing.

Sunday morning Hub took his little bro to the Red's game while I ventured down to the lake with the girls and my friend Tracy. Riley LOVES the lake and the water and has no fear of it which is wonderful, yet stressful for me at times. haha. Hub met us down there in the evening and we had such a wonderful time, and I DID get pictures down there:





haha I just ADORE this picture of Raigan driving the boat!







On Monday after we boated all morning, we drove down to Lexington to Hub's sister's house because her and her husband were having a cookout!

Our weekend was jam packed and so much fun!

Easter Gift Bags

These are the gift bags I made for Riley's preschool.







They contained a toy filled Easter egg, carrot shaped candy, chewy candy bunny teeth, stickers, and a stretchy bunny.

I love Easter!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, but Brandon says that I say that about all the holidays...