Our Sweet World

I have been a HORRIBLE blogger lately...

2010-04-23T18:58:00.002-04:00

and for that, I am sorry!! I have been so completely busy that past few months, between my kiddos and my work, I hardly have time to sleep....let alone blog! But, I have had quite a few people ask if I had given up on blogging, and that made me realize how badly I needed to update!

So.....here are some photos from Easter! I've got a bunch of photos from Keaton's birthday party and our trip to Disney to post as well, but I'll start with Easter and work backwards!

For Easter, we had an Easter Tea Party at our house for the nieces and nephews - they had a tea party with tea cup cupcakes and bunny-shaped PB sandwiches and we decorated Easter eggs!!

Below is Miss Ceili - she has been begging to have a Tea Party with her new tea set since Christmas, so she was excited to finally have one!!

Here is Tommy - our best friend's little boy, who happens to be Ceili's best friend as well!!!

Below is Miss Keira, showing off her beautiful jewelry!!

And here is Nate (Tommy's brother), who happens to be one of Ceili's other best friends!! Ceili is right between Tommy and Nate in age, so they always have a blast together!!

And sweet Kalen James, showing off his bunny ears!!!

Shae is such a good sport when it comes to all the things we do for the kiddos!!

I think Ty liked his bunny ears too!!

Carter was not too thrilled with his bunny ears though - we could only get him to put them on for a split second!

Keaton was not feeling the best, so this is about all we got! He slept on Daddy throughout the entire Tea Party part....and woke up just in time to have a cookie before we decorated eggs!

Below, Ceili and Keira help each other decorate their Easter eggs! These two crack me up - yesterday, I just said Keira's name and Ceili said "Mom, please don't talk about Keira." I asked "Why not?" She said "Because that will just make me miss her more!" How sweet are they?!?! We really wish they didn't live almost 4 hours away!!!

And Carter LOVED decorating his eggs - I think he could have decorated them all day!!

Keaton loved decorating the eggs - no tongs needed for him though!! He would just reach right in and grab his egg out of the bowls! He is Mr. Independent these days and NEVER wants help....unless he has tried and tried and finally gives up!!

Here are Ceili and Keaton at Ceili's preschool Easter Egg Hunt...it was a little chilly out that day, but they still had a blast!!

After mass on Palm Sunday, we took the kiddos to Greenwood Mall to see the Easter Bunny...they were ALL three brave, as they held hands on their way up to see him...

...but that bravery only lasted until they got about 2 foot from him - Ceili walked right up and sat on his lap, but Keaton and Carter were not so sure!!

Carter wouldn't get close to him, and Keaton just stood there and cried...as their Mommy's stood there snapping pictures because it was just too funny!!

Keaton was just fine as we walked away though, smiling and waving to the Easter Bunny like they were best friends!! As long as he got a sucker, he was happy!!!

OK....that's enough pictures for one post!! I'll post our actual Easter DAY pictures later...on another post! Hope this makes people happy...I promise to TRY to keep both of my blogs (this one and my photography one) more up-to-date!! My photography blog is even more behind....I believe I'm about 4 months behind on that one...and I just keep getting further and further behind!! Sorry folks...but I'll do better going forward!! :)

TWO YEARS already???

2010-02-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

I canNOT believe that our little guy is TWO years old today!! It seems like just a few months ago, we brought home our 8 lb 3 oz blue-eyed, bald-headed baby boy....and now he is our almost 28 lb blue-eyed toddler boy with his big boy hair cut!!!

The little boy we thought would never walk is now running all over the place, climbing on anything he finds, dancing with his sister to the Alvin in the Chipmunks soundtrack, and even trying to learn to jump off furniture! He is a boy of very few words, but he tells stories with just his big, beautiful, blue eyes!! Keaton has totally captured my heart as his Mommy, but he also captures everyone's heart that he comes across....from people he sees on a daily basis to people he flirts with at the grocery! He has got a huge, gorgeous smile that just melts your heart, which makes it almost impossible to tell him "No!"

Keaton is our shy guy - always hiding behind Mommy's leg or nuzzling his head into my neck when others are around. He is a HUGE Mommy's boy, and I LOVE IT (most of the time!)!! He is the biggest cuddler - is almost always content to just sit on my lap and cuddle...who in the world could turn that down?!

At two, Keaton only says a few words, which include "Mama", "Dada", "Nana", "Papaw", "dog", "more", "milk", "love", "ball", "down", "Tay" (which his how he says "Ceili") , "Tee" (which is how he says "Keaton", and "Tar" (which is how he says "Carter"). He knows all of his body party, as well animal sounds - cow, horse, cat, dog, chicken, elephant, monkey, bird, sheep, lion, and even dinosaur!!

Keaton loves to read books, color, dance, play with his cars and dinosaurs! He also LOVES trying shoes on that belong to others...he is constantly putting Ceili's shoes on throughout the day! He absolutely loves to wear boots around, and loves it even more when they are Ceili's boots!! He also loves to play dress up with his big sister (I think that is just part of having a big sister!) and loves to hold and feed her baby dolls!

This past year has gone by so fast, but Keaton has changed so much! He almost doesn't even look like the same child from just a year ago! This year, we decided to have a Fire truck birthday party for Keaton, and I can't wait!! One of Keaton's favorite toys over the last year was his ride-on fire truck, which is the main reason why we chose a fire truck theme! Below are just a few pictures of our little fireman - I will be posting more pictures of him AND pictures from his birthday party soon!

Happy Birthday Keaton Charles!! Mommy loves you to the moon and back!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2010-02-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

And we're back!!!

2010-02-02T20:56:00.001-05:00

We have been so busy the past few months and have had so many things going on that I have just not had the time to blog.....but I am committed to do better from now on!!! I've had quite a few complaints about people checking the blog and seeing no updates....so hopefully this will make some people happy! We haven't gotten a whole lot of snow this year, but we did get enough to play outside for a bit in last week! Ceili was so excited to walk outside and see snow on the ground - she immediately wanted to go outside and build a snowman! I did talk her into going to school first....and had to convince her that a snowman was just not possible this time! When Daddy got home, we all bundled up and went out to the backyard for some fun on the sled!! I think Justin definitely got his work out that afternoon, pulling about 55 pounds of weight in their sled....but their smiles were soooooo worth any muscle-burning Daddy had to endure!! Below are some pictures from the other day - there were so many of them sledding that I loved that I just couldn't pick - their expressions were priceless!! I just love them!!!

We love the Fall!!!

2009-11-18T21:42:00.001-05:00

Fall is almost over already and I have not posted any pictures of all of the fun we have had!! Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and cousin Carter invited us over for a Fall dinner and party a few weeks ago! The kids got to pick out pumpkins and decorate them...which was a huge hit!! We had yummy chicken and dumplings for dinner and just had a fun time hanging out...below are a few pics of the three kiddos all dressed in their Halloween shirts for the party!!

The next day, we decided to go down to the pumpkin patch at Huber's...this is one of our favorite traditions every fall! We love it down there, and the kiddos had a great time picking out their "perfect" pumpkins! Glad Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and Carter could join us this year!!

Below are just a few pictures of the kiddos playing in the backyard...they LOVE playing in the leaves and swinging on the rope swing!!

Perfect

2009-11-05T00:39:00.001-05:00

"Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness." Wisdom 4:13-14

As I sit here and try to find the right words, I realize there are no words to describe how this last month has been.

Today, it has been one month since our best friends lost their baby boy, Alexander Clayton...or Allie, as his family and close friends call him. He was 15 months old and absolutely perfect in every way. He was the most beautiful baby boy I have ever known, both inside and out. He was such a content little boy - always smiling and happy! He was loved by so many people, especially his Mommy, Daddy and two older brothers.

Little Allie, in just 15 short months, has made such a huge impact on so many lives and will continue to do so on many, many more I am sure. Of course, there are a million questions everyone asks themselves as to why Alex was taken at such a young age. We may never know the exact reason, but we have to trust that this was his plan. His job here on Earth was carried out, and he was called back Home. It is so hard to try to find peace in what has happened, but our faith is what is going to help us through. I truly believe that Heaven is a happier place with little Allie up there.

Little Allie was his mommy's cuddler - always nestling his head into her neck as she held him. His mommy happens to be my best friend, and I just absolutely hate watching her go through such a tough time, knowing I can't say or do anything to make it better. I can never say that I understand what she is going through or how she feels, and I never feel like I have the right words to help her through the day. All I can do, though, is be there for her and her family to talk to and try to help out in any way that I can.

I have been wanting to write a post for Alex, but every time I started to, I couldn't find the right words to say. After many failed attempts, I realized there are no "right" words to say...just a million various thoughts that I needed to write down. Please keep our best friends, Adam & Sarah, and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Here are just a few pictures of sweet little Allie.

Dear Alex,

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of you and remember your perfect little face - your porcelin skin, big beautiful brown eyes, long gorgeous eyelashes, sweet perfect little smile and little Buddah belly. You have forever changed my life, and I thank you for that. I feel incredibly blessed to have been lucky enough to have known you, and I will carry you in my heart every day for the rest of my life. I love you, sweet little Allie, and I miss you very much.

Love,

"Aunt" Holly

My sad attempt at updating...

2009-10-02T22:01:00.001-04:00

We have had an extremely busy few months, and I have been horrible at updating our blog!! Here are a few from back at the beginning of the summer of the kiddos on their new playgym their Daddy built for them in our backyard - this has been used on a daily basis over the past few months!! I don't know what we would have done without it this summer!!

We drove the Jeep down and met the Anderson family in Brown County one day for a Subway picnic at the park and a pony ride!! Our kiddos are all so close in age, so they LOVE to get together!! Ceili is just 9 months younger than Tommy and 7 months older than Nate...and then Keaton is just 4 months older than their youngest, Alex...they will all have so much fun growing up so close! Ceili and Tommy are the best of friends, and you can almost always find them walking together holding hands...just like the last picture below! So cute!!

I've got a million more things to put on here, but I will keep posting a few at a time and hopefully get up to date rather quickly!! Keep checking back!

Closer to 2 than 1

2009-08-26T20:43:00.042-04:00

Our little guy is now closer to 2 years old than to 1 year old, as he is a week over 18 months old now!! I can't believe how fast time has gone by with our little man - can he really be 18 months old already?!?! Keaton has changed a TON in the last 6 months - he is such a big boy now! He is now a whopping 24 pounds and 32 inches tall!! He is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height! Here's a list of some of his favorite things and characteristics at 18 months:
- His Mommy: He is a 100% Mommy's boy, and I mean 100%! He will not let me get more than about 6 inches away from him without throwing himself on the floor, kicking and screaming until I pick him up! He wants to be on my hip 24/7, even though he has a house full of fun toys to play with!
- His Lovey: He carries at least one with him ALL THE TIME!! He may even be more attached to his than Ceili is to hers!
- Firetrucks: He absolutely loves his ride-on firetruck and just about every other firetruck he sees! Maybe we have a future fireman?!?
- His doggies: He really loves his doggies...however, he is NOT fond of other dogs at all at this time!
- His Sister: Ceili & Keaton really are so sweet together, even if 98% of the time she is pestering him and he is screaming because she is touching him!! The little bit of time that they get along, they are the best of friends! He loves to follow her lead, and I just love it when she is sitting on the floor watching a show and he lays down next to her on his belly to join her!
- His Daddy: Although he doesn't typically prefer Daddy over Mommy, he does get extremely excited to see Daddy when he gets home or comes in from working out in the yard! As soon as he hears the garage door open, he gets excited and runs around saying "Da Da, Da Da!!" It is so neat to watch him interact with his Daddy, and I am so lucky to have chosen such a wonderful man to be the Daddy to my kiddos - there truly is not a better man I could have chosen!!
- Cuddles: He is such a cuddly little guy and loves to just sit and cuddle...he reminds me of how I was when I was younger. My mom always called me her Laphound...and I constantly find myself calling him MY Laphound!! If you ever are in need of a hug, this little guy is the one you want around...that is, if you can get him off my hip first!
- Purses: He absolutely loves to carry Ceili's purses around on his arm, perfectly situated in the crease of his elbow! He is so proud of himself when he shows you that it totally melts my heart every time!!
- Babydolls & Dollhouses: You can definitely tell Keaton has an older sister - when I am upstairs doing laundry and he walks away, he can almost always be found in Ceili's room playing with her babydolls or dollhouse! He will be such a wonderful Daddy someday!
- Swinging: He loves to swing on our playset in the backyard - he already swings on the big boy swing instead of baby swing! He wants to sit and hold on like the big kids, and he actually does a great job!
- Eating: Keaton loves to eat just about anything!! Such a difference from his sister, he will eat almost anything you put on his plate...except mushy stuff like mashed potatos, applesauce or macaroni and cheese!
- Straw cups: As much as I hate these cups because they leak all over the place, he absolutely loves to drink out of his straw cups! I think he likes to use these because Ceili uses straws in a lot of her cups...and he will do anything to be like her!
- Music & Dance: Keaton loves to listen to music and dance!! It is so fun to watch him dance to ANY music he hears...even if it's just my generic ringtone on my phone! He loves to listen to his lullaby CD before bedtime - as soon as he hears the music start, he calms right down and listens to it as he falls asleep! He also loves it when we sing - especially Daddy's favorite song from his childhood, which goes a little like this:

"I'm a little pile of tin...Nobody knows what shape I'm in...Got 4 wheels & a running board...I'm a 4-door, I'm a Ford...Honk, Honk, Rattle, Rattle, Crash, Beep, Beep!"

- Books: Keaton is constantly bringing us books to read!! He would just sit on your lap and read books for hours on end!
- Talking: He doesn't say much yet, but the things he does say are "Mama", "Dada", "Nana", "Dog", "Down", "Done", "More", "That". He also knows that a lion says "Rrroarr!!"
- Body Parts: He know most of his body parts, including his head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, ears, belly, belly button, hands, arms, feet, toes, and legs!
- Peek-a-Boo: He loves to play peek-a-boo, whether he just hides his face with his hands or hides behind furniture! He could play this for hours and hours, if only adults could stand to play peek-a-boo that long!!
- Toilet paper & Trash: Whenever Keaton does wander away from my side, he likes to go in the bathroom and unroll the toilet paper and drag it all over the downstairs of our house! He also loves to throw things away - whether is really is trash or one of his toys! I always have to check the trash before I throw something away to make sure no toys are on top!
- Climbing: He is a great climber and can get up the stairs in about 10 seconds!! By the time I realize he's by the stairs, he is already up them by the time I get over there!

Wow! Those are just a FEW of Keaton's favorite things! He is a shy little guy, which I am hoping he will overcome within the next few months. He has a huge phobia of strangers...which I guess isn't a horrible thing, but it sure does make working out at the gym difficult! Keaton has such a big smile and an even bigger personality! He is such a joy to be around, even if I never have a moment to myself while he's awake!! He's got the same beautiful blue eyes that his big sister has and hair that his about as blond as can be! He is definitely such a blessing to our little family, and we are so lucky that we were chosen to be his Mommy & Daddy!

Below are a few snapshots of Keaton lately...just being Keaton!!

(notice his lovey even sits with him at the table!)
(he decided to pull the entire roll of toilet paper all the way from the bathroom, through the kitchen and into the living room one night! again, notice lovey is in his hand here too!)

(here he is playing peek-a-boo with his empty snack bowl! again, lovey is in his free hand!)

(here is our little guy that we thought would never walk - he proved us wrong and is EVERYWHERE nowadays!!)

(here he is playing in the baby pool one HOT day...he loves to splash and play in whatever water he can find!)

There are a lot of other pictures I need to post from all of our recent activities, and with luck, I will get them up soon!! Stay tuned for pictures from Ceili's birthday, vacation, the Louisville Zoo, riding in the Jeep, Ceili's soccer, and a lot of other fun things that have kept us BUSY lately!!

Photography Website!!

2009-08-19T23:03:00.006-04:00

I am so excited to announce that my photography website is finally up and running!! It's been a long time in the making and I am so happy with how it turned out - I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! As many of you already know, my new business name is Holly von Buchler Photography and my website is www.hollyvonbuchler.com. Along with the website, I have created a new blog that will be used just for my photography business www.hollyvonbuchler.blogspot.com. Check them both out and save them on your favorites!! Enjoy!!!

Happy Birthday Ceili Marie!!

2009-06-28T23:11:00.064-04:00

Our baby girl has turned FOUR!!! She has gone from being our sweet baby girl to being our sweet, fun-loving, energetic, smart, full of personality, beautiful little girl! She has brought so much joy to our life over the past four years and we are so proud and honored to have her as OUR little girl!

At four years old, Ceili can spell and write her own name, my name ("Holly" & "Mommy"), "Daddy," "Nana," and "Oma" from memory! She can recognize and write almost all of the letters and numbers, and she can count up to 40! She loves to draw, paint and work in her preschool workbooks! She loves playing boardgames, such as Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Memory and The ABC Game! She loves to play dress up (at least 3 times each day!) and loves to put make-up on! At the same time, though, she loves to play outside in the dirt, searching for worms!! She is such a girly girl, but a tomboy at the same time...and I LOVE it!! She loves to talk...to everyone about everything! I am sure this comes as no surprise to those who know Justin and I...she was doomed to love to talk, having a Mommy AND Daddy who love to talk!! I just love listening to her talk...she has such neat conversations with people these days! She likes to play with her barbies, baby dolls, animal figurines, ride her big girl bike (with training wheels), spend time with family and play with her friends! She loves to do all of her activites...dance class (& dance camps this summer!), soccer league, preschool, swim lessons, and she is begging me to let her take karate! As much as she likes to keep busy, she also likes to just relax at home and just hang out! She gets so excited when I tell her we are able to just stay at home ALL day, with nothing to do! She has numerous nicknames...Ceili Beili, Sunshine, Munchkie, Munchkaroon, Blue Eyes, My #1 Girl, Coo-Coo (she calls me Moo-Moo instead of Mommy, so I call her Coo-Coo instead of Ceili), C-Lo, Miss Priss, Sissy and Tater Tot! I am sure there are more, but that's what I can think of right now! She also loves to give people nicknames...Nana is Ninny or Nanny, Papaw is Pappy, Mommy is Moo-Moo or Ma-Mo, Daddy is Diddy, Keaton is Kotton, Auntie Mamie is Mames, & Mrs. Rippy is Ms. Rips! She is just full of so much personality these days!

We had a Candy Land Birthday Party for Miss Ceili this year and had soooo much fun!! There are plenty of pictures from her party coming soon...but until then, enjoy these pictures I took of the kids one evening as well as a "preview" of her party!

It's a Jeep Thing!!

2009-06-09T14:44:00.006-04:00

These pictures are OLD...I am soooo far behind on blogging our life the past few months! With nice weather, brings lots of fun things to do...and I promise to have pictures from some of our fun from the spring/summer so far!!

Anyways...onto the below pictures! Justin has wanted an old Jeep for a long time, but it wasn't until we went to Michigan last summer and rode the dune buggies, that he really began his search for HIS Jeep! Who knew he would find it just 5 minutes from our house?!?! When he saw this Jeep, he knew he just had to have it...so we went and checked it out...and the rest is history! He got his 1984 CJ7 Jeep, which of course made his year! I knew he would be thrilled as soon as it was in our driveway; what I didn't know, though, was how much I would enjoy his new "toy" as well! We have taken it to Brown County and out around town a few times, and we ALL (Ceili & Keaton think it's a roller coaster!) LOVE it!! Here are a few pictures from the day the Jeep received its own parking spot in our driveway...

Lucky for us, my brother-in-law just got a 1978 (I think??)Ford Bronco this past winter, which was his life-long dream! We have already taken the tops off and driven a couple of places together (check back for pictures of that!)...and I am sure there are many, many more trips in our future!! Oh the fun we will have!!

I am so Lucky

2009-05-10T23:36:00.022-04:00

to be the Mommy of one sweet, amazing, beautiful little girl and one sweet, cuddly, adorable baby boy!!

I always knew I wanted to be a Mommy, but I don't think anyone can prepare you for the feelings you develop for your children. It's amazing how full of love your heart can be that very first second you lay eyes on your bundle of joy...and the feelings just get stronger day by day! I am fortunate enough that I get to spend every (almost) waking moment with my little ones! Sometimes I might be begging for a break, but as soon as I am away from them for 5 minutes, I miss them dearly!

There is nothing better than the cuddles you get from your children - so close and tight...and more calming and relaxing than anything else in the world!

I love it when Ceili just looks at me and says "I love you Mommy" or "You're the best Mommy in the world!!" I love it when she grabs my face with her hand and pulls it closer to her so she can kiss my cheek...all on her own without any prompting! I love bedtime, when we lay in her bed, read 3 books that she picks out, say our prayers with her bear Parker, and lay there together, listening to her Mercy Me Lullaby CD. This is her best "thinking" time...one night, she asked me "Mommy, if God doesn't have wings, how does he fly? Because angels have wings but He doesn't?" Then, before I could answer, she said "Maybe He is just so big that he doesn't need wings!" All I could say was "I think you are exactly right baby girl!" I just love our "special" time we get to have when Keaton is napping...doing crafts, playing dress-up, doing puzzles, reading books, whatever SHE wants to do! And I love when we have our "girls" days and get pedicures together - she gets soooo excited and loves being pampered by the Nail salon!! I could write all day about what I love about that little girl, but I will leave that for another time! I just hope that as she gets older, she still loves to spend time with her Mommy!

And I love Keaton's big blue eyes and huge smile that just light up the darkest of rooms! I love when he just crawls over to me and gives me kisses. I love when he is playing with his toys and decides he wants to just cuddle with Mommy for a second...then back to playing it is! I love when he lets me just hold him...he is the best cuddler! I love his laugh when Ceili does something funny or when I have a funny reaction to something he does! I love when he says "Mama" - it took him 14 months to finally say it, but it was definitely worth the wait!! I love watching him explore and discover "his" world...and then looks at me to make sure I see him! I love that he is such a Mommy's boy...even if means that I never get to use the restroom by myself!! I love that he can spot me as I enter any room, no matter how large. And I love how excited he gets when he does see me - it just totally melts my heart every time! Before he was born, I never thought I could love my second child as much as my first...and somehow, it just happens!!

On Mother's Day this year, I just wanted to take time to reflect on how incredibly lucky I am to have my little ones and to have the opportunity to be a Mommy to them. I love being a Mommy, and while it is a 24/7 job...it is the best job in the world! I am so thankful that I was picked to be their Mommy...how lucky I am!

Thanks to my Mom for being such a great role model for me and showing me the type of Mom I want to be. I was fortunate to have such a wonderful Mom that really knew what I needed and when I needed it...whether it was a band-aid for my "invisible" boo-boos or a hug because I was grieving the loss of a friend. Any time I needed her, she was there for me, and she still is to this day. This is the type of Mom I want to be to my children...a Mom who is always there to play hide-and-seek, pretending not to see them, even though there are tiny feet sticking out from the covers and little giggles that I pretend to not hear! I want to be a Mom who nevers misses the opportunity to build a fort in the living room and have a "sleepover" in it, complete with movies and popcorn! And I want to be a Mom who takes the time to do tea parties, dress up and even digging in the dirt to look for worms!

Enough of my rambling...below is a picture of me with my kiddos on Mother's
Day. We have been battling mono at our house between the two of them, so we had Nana and Papaw over for breakfast and then spent the rest of the day at home, hanging out and planting some flowers and our new tree. It was a perfect Mother's Day, sick kids or not!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-14T08:57:00.042-04:00

After church on Palm Sunday, we went over to the mall to have a visit with the Easter Bunny! As you can see, Ceili was more than excited to sit on his lap...and Keaton was a little less than excited about the situation!
Growing up, we always hung Easter eggs from the trees in our front yard...so, of course, we had to decorate our tree out front the same way! Ceili was soooo excited and proud of "her" Easter Tree!!

To start off the Easter weekend, Ceili's preschool had their Annual Easter Eggstravaganza!! We had a HUGE pitch-in breakfast, an Easter egg hunt, and fun games for the kids to play!

Then, on Saturday, Ceili and Keaton were invited to their very first Easter Party by their cousin Carter! The party was B.Y.O.B - Bring Your Own Bunny and was complete with little bunny-shaped Peanut Butter and Honey sandwiches and little Bird's Nest cupcakes! YUM YUM!! The kids got to decorate easter eggs, which was a blast of course!! The party was adorable and the kids had a great time!!

Ceili with her Bunny ears on

Keira with her bunny ears

Carter with his bunny ears

And Keaton with his...he hasn't felt the best this week - can you tell??

Auntie A helped Ceili with her craft - Miss Ceili is attached to Auntie A's hip these days!

Ceili with her finished eggs that we took to Nana and Papaw's for the Easter egg hunt on Easter!

Above are the cousins with their bunnies (Kalen was there too, but we don't trust any of the older ones to hold him on concrete just yet!!).

Ceili was really excited to set out a treat for the Easter Bunny on his very own plate! We bought him a gummy carrot...and he must have liked it because it was gone in the morning!!

Below is Ceili with her Easter basket, full of goodies!

And here is Keaton with his...

After church, we went to Nana and Papaw's for a yummy brunch and Easter Egg hunt! The little ones had so much fun hunting all over the yard for eggs - it brought back so many memories of when I was a little girl!!

The Easter Bunny brought Miss Ceili her very own "real" Princess mirror - it's even engraved with "Princess Ceili" so everyone knows it's hers! Along with the mirror, she got big girl make-up, complete with eye shadows, mascara and lip gloss! When we got home from Nana and Papaw's, she couldn't wait to try it out! Below are just a few pictures of my big girl putting her own make-up on...I was amazed at how well she actually did and that she really knew where each kind of make-up went on her face!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2009-03-17T23:46:00.027-04:00

Ceili has been VERY interested in St. Patrick's Day this year! She even painted this picture of a rainbow with a pot of gold...her attempt at catching the leprechaun!! We set it out on the kitchen table to see if he would come so we could catch him the other night. The next morning she was soooo excited to go downstairs to see if we caught him...he wasn't there, but he must have been there because he did leave behind some of his gold coins!! Ceili was so excited that the leprechaun had been there and left gold coins that she didn't even care that we hadn't actually caught him. Here are some pictures of her with her picture and coins!
This morning, I thought she would think it was fun to have a special breakfast for St. Patrick's Day. I made green eggs and pancakes for breakfast with green milk to drink! Ceili thought it was the greatest!! It's amazing how easy they are to please at her "almost FOUR" age!!

Keaton, on the other hand, would not even touch his breakfast! He is my child who eats ANYTHING, but would not even think about trying his green eggs and pancakes! However, he had no problem drinking his green milk - I did sneak that past him!!

Day at the Children's Museum

2009-03-11T01:11:00.058-04:00

Since Keaton's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, I thought it would be fun for us to take a trip to the Children's Museum to celebrate. And who better to join us than his favorite cousins?! My sister Shawna and her two little ones (Keira and Kalen) were in town, so they were able to join us...as well as my sister Jamie and her son Carter and my mom (Ceili and Keaton's Nana)! This was actually Keaton's first trip to the museum...but definitely not the last! The kids had such a good time - it is always fun to watch the cousins play together!

Keaton LOVED watching the Choo-Choo trains go by...he found the perfect spot to just sit and watch!! (click on the storyboard below to view larger)

Ceili thought it was a lot of fun to walk through an actual train car...and thought it was hilarious to look at us through the window!

Lego Land was the PERFECT place for Keaton!! He had so much fun playing with the HUGE Legos...I think he would have stayed for hours if it was up to him!!

Ceili might have thought she was a bit too big to play with the big foam Legos, but you're never too big to go down the slides!!

A trip to the museum just would not be complete without some time spent in the PlayScape area! I wasn't too sure there would be much for Keaton to do in there, but he proved me wrong. He absolutely LOVED the water...splashing and splashing until he was soaked! I should have known he would love that part - he soaks me every night at bathtime because he splashes so much!!

And just look at my bald baby - have you ever seen a more handsome bald baby boy?! I just love his little bald head - at least he knows he's got a nice-shaped head for when he goes bald someday...if he ever grows hair to begin with!!

Of course, Ceili, Keira and Carter had fun in the water too...

And Baby Kalen...he may be too little to play at the museum right now, but just give him time and he'll be joining the "big" kids too!

One of our favorite parts of the museum is the carousel...Ceili HAS to be on one that goes up and down! This was Keaton's first carousel ride - he wasn't too crazy about it to begin with, but as soon as we started moving he thought it was the best thing ever!!

Keaton did not know what to think about this silly mirror...even distorted a bit, those have got to be the two best-looking guys around though!

We could NOT leave the museum without visiting the Dinosaur exhibit! It just so happened that the week before, Ceili had learned all about dinosaurs at preschool. She has gained a huge interest in them lately, wanting to read books about them all the time!! She was more than excited to tell Mrs. Rippy (her teacher, whom she just adores!) all about them...she even got to try on a dinosaur costume! She thought Mrs. Rippy would think it was really cool to see a picture of Ceili dressed up like a dinosaur. And, of course, Mrs. Rippy LOVED to hear about Ceili's trip to see the dinosaurs!!

And here is Ceili and Nana, as Ceili rubs in the disinfectant before going home...we want to take home the memories from the museum, but not the germies!! We had so much fun at the museum, and now that we have a membership I am sure we will be going a lot more often!

We went Bananas

2009-03-02T21:54:00.048-05:00

...as our little Monkey turned ONE!! Below are the 3 pictures I used for Keaton's birthday invitations...thought I would do something different for his Monkey-themed party! He is such a good sport...good thing he likes bananas!!
I am not the most experienced when it comes to decorating cakes. However, I was soooo excited to make Keaton's monkey cake for his birthday - my mom always made ours growing up and I have the best memories of that! It is something that I want to continue and do with my children...so I think we're off to a good start! The cake was actually a lot of fun to make...even if it did take 2 days to bake all of the cakes I had to use to make it! I have to give credit to Justin for the fondant work he did on Keaton's smash cake - it turned out just perfect!! We were pretty proud of how the cakes turned out...and of course, they were banana-flavored!! I am already looking forward to making Ceili's cake for her 4th birthday in June...can never plan too early!!

Above is the food we served at the party. When I decided to do a monkey-themed party for Keaton, I was so excited to think of the things we could do that were monkey-related! I thought it would be fun to only serve food that went along with the party - I was happy with how it all turned out!

Above, the Birthday boy in his Monkey sweater with his cake!

Below, Keaton didn't really know what to do with his cake at first. After a minute or so, he realized it was fun to play in...and EAT!!

Keaton received this sock monkey from his Nana and Papaw for his birthday, and I just had to get his picture with it! How handsome is my big boy?!

Coming Soon...our trip to the Children's Museum on Keaton's birthday, Fun at the Park, and Keaton at ONE!!

Happy Birthday To You!!

2009-03-01T17:45:00.022-05:00

So this post is 100% in honor of Shawna's birthday!! I don't know how, but I never posted these pictures from my gorgeous, sweet, fun-loving Goddaughter's 2nd Birthday!! Keira had a Hungry Caterpillar birthday party...and it was decked out with every detail from the book! Below you will see the cake...how PERFECTLY adorable did it turn out?!?! Keira absolutely loved her "taterpillar cake" - she is still talking about it almost 2 months later!!
The next picture cracks me up every time I look at it - this is how excited she was when she found out it was time to open presents!!
And here she is with part of her gift from us! She loves Ceili's umbrella and never wants to give it back, so I thought she needed her very own umbrella (and matching raincoat, of course!)! She thought it was a great idea too - she just put it right on and wanted to walk around to show everyone...how adorable is she?!
And...below are some of the maternity pictures I took for Shawna! I think I would have a million babies if I could look like this during pregnancy!
Below is one of my favorites...again - how cute is my neice?!
And about 10 days or so later, this little guy entered the world!! Kalen James is just as sweet and precious as his big sister, not to mention the fact that he looks just like her!! If we ever wondered what Keira would look like as a boy...this is it!! I have been keeping these pictures a secret until the birth announcements were out and received by all - I would have hated to spoil it and post them before people got to see them first-hand on the announcements!!

So, Shawna, I hope you enjoy this post that is dedicated to YOU!! Happy Happy Birthday To You! We love you!!!

Just a few

2009-02-27T00:38:00.006-05:00

favorites from a recent session! This sweet baby girl is another Baby Planner, so I get to watch her grow over the next year...which I love!!

Stay tuned for pictures of our baby boy's Monkey Birthday Party!!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!

2009-02-18T04:41:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's already been one year since we met our sweet baby boy! This little boy has brought so much love and joy to our family, making our little family more complete! I have never had a preference on the gender of our children but could never have imagined having a boy (mainly b/c I am one of four girls)...and now I can't imagine our life without having one of each! Ceili was a cuddler, but this little guy is Mommy's Snuggle Bug!! He just loves to bury his head into my shoulder and love on me, and I have to admit that I love it too!! I can't wait to see what the future has in store for our baby boy - I am certain it will be full of love, laughter and many fun-filled adventures!!

Happy Birthday Keaton Charles - we love you more than words can say!
Above: our sweet, perfect little boy one year ago!
Below: our full of energy, always smiling, lovable, sweet, perfect little boy today!

Waiting

2009-02-04T15:23:00.008-05:00

This little girl is so excited to meet their new baby!! With her bag packed for Grandma and Grandpa's, she is ready for this baby to come! Can't wait to meet their new little bundle of joy soon!

We had a nice warm session inside and then went out to grab a quick family shot in the snow!

If all the Snowflakes

2009-02-01T15:54:00.011-05:00

were lemon drops and gum drops, oh what a snow that would be!! Ceili LOVES to catch snowflakes on her tongue...so as we sang, she tried to catch as many as she could! I think she was successful!! Ceili has had so much fun playing in the snow this past week...and it looks like she's going to be able to play some more after the snow we've gotten so far today!! Here are some pictures from our first day out in the snow...there are more I will share later!

December in Review...Part 1

2009-01-17T13:39:00.032-05:00

So...I don't know how I never posted pictures from December, but here are just a few from that busy, busy month!!

We went to the Christmas Tree lighting downtown with my family...a tradition that I hope we never stop doing! It's always fun to watch the little ones as the lights are turned on!
Ceili absolutely LOVES the movie Polar Express and had been asking for months to go on a train ride...so when my mom and I found this train ride, we knew we HAD to take the kids on it! We invited Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and Carter to go along with us...a great time was had by all!! This is definitely something we hope to do in the future years as well...such a neat ride!
Anytime Nana and Papaw are around, the kids want NOTHING to do with their Moms and Dads...except maybe Keaton sometimes! (He is such a Mommy's boy!) Nana and Papaw love it though and wouldn't have it any other way...and neither would we!
They replicated the book and movie so well, down to just about every detail. Below is just one example of the characters they had...such an awesome experience to feel like you were really on the POLAR EXPRESS!!
The three kiddos, all comfy in their jammies, couldn't have had a better time!!
Santa even rode on the train for half of the ride - he sat down and spent about 10 minutes with each family!! The below picture isn't the best, but if you look closely at the bottom right, you can see Ceili. I just LOVE her reaction in this picture - nice capture by Daddy!!
They even punched the tickets like in the movie...he punched their first initial on each ticket, which was neat for Ceili to watch!
Below is Keaton eating his first cookie...what a mess he made, but he loved it!!
Ceili was such a lucky little girl this year! She mailed Santa a letter, and HE WROTE HER BACK!! She was soooo excited to get his letter in the mail that she has, since then, written him 3 or 4 more letters!! She must have been a really good girl, because he keeps writing her back! In her last letter, she asked Santa to "Please visit us again, and bring my brother a doll house!" She received a doll house from Santa this year, and I guess she is tired of Keaton playing with it!!

The mom of this little beauty

2009-01-10T00:20:00.006-05:00

is waiting on the edge of her seat for this preview!! This baby girl reminds me so much of Ceili at the same age...petite, perfect round and bald head, blue eyes and a smile that melts your heart!! I was lucky enough to photograph her as a newborn as well, and it's always fun to watch them as they grow! Hope her mom and dad enjoy this sneak peek!

Just in time for Christmas!

2009-01-06T23:10:00.013-05:00

This little guy was born just in time for Christmas...what a special Christmas gift!! He is such a sweet baby boy, and I look forward to capturing him as he grows throughout his first year!!

I can't believe

2008-12-18T11:08:00.008-05:00

this little guy is already a year old!! I have had the pleasure of taking pictures of him 4 times throughout the past year now, and have become quite good buddies with him and his big brother! I think I take pictures of their boys about as often as I take pictures of my little ones - and I love it! It's so much fun to watch them grow...and isn't he just adorable?! Check out his gorgeous blue eyes!!

A First for Miss Ceili

2008-12-08T23:43:00.005-05:00

Ceili, like I have said before, just doesn't have hair that grows at anything but snail speed! In her almost 3 1/2 years, she FINALLY had enough hair to go to Cookie Cutters for her very first haircut!! I am hoping the 3 inches they cut off will help her hair grow a little quicker (maybe at turtle speed) and get a little thicker! She had a good time, sitting in the pink Barbie chair and watching Dora while she got her hair trimmed! She did such a good job, and even though I got a little teary-eyed, we all love her new haircut!! Here are a few pictures from her adventure at Cookie Cutters. The first one, I had the hairdresser hold the comb up to show how much she was cutting off...not too much, but enough!! Check out her hairdo in the second picture - I think she could make a fashion statement with those pigtails and clips!! Ceili had such a good time that the next day, she asked me if she could get her hair cut again!

What else to do on a rainy and snowy day

2008-12-08T03:12:00.050-05:00

but to drive over an hour to cut our Christmas tree down?! So maybe it was rainy and spitting snow this day, but we made the best of it and had a great time picking out the PERFECT tree this year! Ceili had a blast helping Daddy cut it down too! Although it would have made sense for us to each have a nice warm cup of hot cocoa, Ceili decided we needed to go into their Homemade Ice Cream shop and eat ice cream instead! What a funny girl! We have made this a tradition every year since Ceili was born (she was 6 months at her first Christmas!) and hope to continue it each and every year!

(click on storyboard to view larger)

Bald Babies

2008-12-07T11:18:00.006-05:00

have a special place in my heart! Ceili was pretty much bald her entire first year, and it looks as if Keaton is following in her footsteps. I just love little bald babies, and I am sure you can see how this baby girl won me over!! Her brothers weren't too bad either - such cute personalities each one of them had!!

Such a fun session

2008-11-25T09:54:00.011-05:00

with such a cute family! We had a perfect day for our session - we couldn't have asked for it to go any better! Isn't their little girl just beautiful?!

Halloween Festivities!

2008-11-18T00:33:00.081-05:00

I know these are late...but there are ton to make up for the lateness!! We took the kids to Zoo Boo with Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and Carter...and had tons of fun!! Ceili went as a wizard and Keaton was a turtle - their Mommy was a little behind on their costumes, so we had to make it work with what we had! Carter was a little golfer - too cute!

A few nights later, we all sat around the kitchen table and carved our pumpkins! Keaton just wanted the pumpkins for himself...and even ended up chewing on some pumpkin guts!!

Ceili decided her pumpkin had to have triangle eyes, a square nose, exactly 5 teeth and hair! She was so proud of herself for giving her pumpkin hair all by herself - she did such a good job!!

And Keaton just played with the pumpkin guts...and threw a royal fit as soon as I took the bowl away from him!

And our finished pumpkins...from L-R...mine, Keaton's, Ceili's and Justin's.

So, when I was a baby my parents carved a pumpkin and put me inside my pumpkin and took my picture...Mom always says she was Anne Geddes before Anne Geddes was herself! So, when Ceili was a baby, we carved a pumpkin to look the same as mine as a baby and we stuck her inside the pumpkin for pictures. And...what else could we do but do the same for Mr. Keaton?! So...the tradition continues on...

Nana and Papaw stopped by before Trick-or-Treating to see Little Bo Peep and her lost Sheep!

I took the kids trick-or-treating while Daddy stayed back and handed out candy. Ceili had a BLAST and even asked to go again the next night...and the next night!!

Justin always works so hard on decorating for Halloween and Christmas...I had to show you that his efforts definitely paid off this year! He made the fence one day while the kids and I were gone...and it was just the touch we needed...now it looks more like a graveyard! Kudos to Daddy for making it the house everyone wanted pictures of their kids in front of!!

Just gorgeous

2008-11-18T00:15:00.003-05:00

That's all I can say...these 3 are JUST GORGEOUS!! I just love them to death!

B-U-S-Y!

2008-11-14T19:42:00.014-05:00

is all I can say about the last month or so for me. I have been editing, editing, and editing some more...and below are just a few of the kiddos from the past couple of weeks. There are too many to post here, but I figured I would at least give you a glimpse at where in the world I have been! Stay tuned for pictures of our kids from Halloween...I promise to put them on soon!!

Simply sweet

2008-10-15T22:38:00.010-04:00

This little one couldn't have been any sweeter! He stayed awake the entire session, which I think is the new trend among my newborn sessions!! Here are just a few from our afternoon...

Recently

2008-10-12T00:29:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to lately! Miss Ceili has started preschool...what a big girl! She absolutely loves school and adores her teacher, Mrs. Rippy!
I walked downstairs one day and saw this...too cute!

I almost always have an eager 3 year old that wants to help me with EVERYTHING I do...especially laundry! She takes the clothes out of the dryer and hands them to me to be folded. When her little arms can't reach any further, she climbs into the dryer and hands the clothes out to me. Every once in a while, I turn the dryer on and let her spin around for a few minutes...just kidding!!

We drove past this sunflower field one day and I just knew we had to go back to take pictures...and that is exactly what we did about a week later! The sun was really intense that day, but we were able to get a few good ones!

Keaton is getting to be such a big boy these days...he now drinks out of his sippy cup like a pro and has his 2 bottom teeth finally! Below is a picture of his new skill...I will work on getting a picture to show off his new pearly whites too!!

And poor Keaton has had 4 ear infections already...although you would never know by the way he acts, always smiling from ear to ear!! Because of the medicine they put him on to get rid of the last one he had, he had a couple "explosions". He had one while we were outside and, of course, I didn't realize it until I felt it on my arm after picking him up. Justin and I decided to forego the bathtub and just gave him a quick wash in the kitchen sink, which of course meant we had to take a couple of pics!!

Sisters

2008-10-05T12:40:00.005-04:00

This little girl is a big sister now, and what a great big sister she is! It was so sweet watching her with her baby sister...being so gentle and telling her "It's OK" when she would cry. Can't wait to see them in a few months to take pictures again!

All Boy

2008-09-28T14:00:00.008-04:00

Carter is all boy...picking up every stick he finds and turning rocks into cars! Our session was a lot of fun - finding sticks, rocks, and squirrels...just don't ever tell him you see a spider!! Carter is such a serious little boy most of the time, but I think we captured that gorgeous little smile he has perfectly! I just can't believe how big he is getting these days!

Our Kiddos

2008-09-25T21:05:00.019-04:00

are getting so big!!
I find it hard to believe that Ceili is almost 3 1/2 years old! She is one of the big kids now...and there is nothing she is too little to do these days! With clothes and shoes on, she is finally 30 pounds and 36 inches tall!! I have a feeling her baby brother will be catching up to her one of these days!! Because she is 30 pounds (really 29, but don't tell anyone!) we have moved her to a new carseat that she uses the "real" seatbelt instead of the harness. She got to pick it out all on her own, and she picked the perfect one...gray with purple and pink flowers! She loves her new seat and is excited to let her brother move into her old seat now that he is almost too big for his carrier! She has also started playing with the big girls on the street in the evenings...riding bikes on the sidewalk, putting make-up on and playing Barbies! Lastnight, I walked out to find her face covered in beautiful make-up...I will put a picture of that up soon! It was a sight to be seen, that's for sure!
You will notice that she is holding her hand up, cupped like she is holding something, in these pictures. When I asked if I could take her picture (yes, I have to ask these days or she gets mad!), she told me she wanted me to take her picture with her "pretend" ant that she was holding. So, here are the pictures I was allowed to take of her with her "ant!"
Keaton is 7 months old now, and at his 6 month check-up he weighed in at 15 lbs 12 oz and measured 27 inches long! He is in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th for height...going to be tall and lean! Some of his favorite things are his lovey, the exersaucer, his drum and his duck. He is a total Mommy's boy, who looks just like his Daddy and thinks his sister is the best thing in the world! From baby food to Mommy and Daddy's food, he LOVES everything! I don't think there is anything that boy has tried that he doesn't like...what a total opposite of his big sister! Once those teeth finally come through, Ceili is ready to feed him off of her plate!

I thought that last picture of the two of them was too sweet...I did NOT ask her to hold his head like that and kiss him, but I love that she did it!! She really is so sweet to him...most of the time!!

We had so much fun

2008-09-18T23:23:00.007-04:00

...driving around looking for places to take Keira's pictures, while camping in Ohio over Labor Day weekend!! Shawna and I decided it would be fun to drive around and do more urban-like photos this time, so spaghetti dinner on-the-go and camera in hand, we set out for some good spots! And, we found some great spots...and were thrilled to find an old yellow VW van that happened to match Keira's bumble bee dress!! What a find! And even better, the doors were unlocked...so in went Keira, and boy did she have fun!! She is such a beautiful, happy little girl, and Justin and I are lucky enough to have her as our Goddaughter!!

Vacation pictures...FINALLY!

2008-09-18T00:25:00.001-04:00

We went up to Silver Lake, Michigan and camped at Jellystone Campground, where we camped when we were younger with our cousins. It was great to watch our little ones have the same experience we had about 15 years earlier!

The kids had a great time swimming and building sand castles...and even went on their first Dune ride, which was a great time for all!!

Auntie Mamie made us all homemade ice cream...which was oh-so yummy!! Below you can see Ceili feeding Carter...she takes being a big cousin very serious!!

We found this place called "Maude's Garage" that had a bunch of neat treasures...and this old rusty truck out front! Keaton wasn't sitting up completely on his own yet, so we just had him lay on it for a quick picture!

And Ceili and Daddy outside of "Maude's Garage."

Papaw, Auntie Mamie and Ceili decided to walk up to the top of the lighthouse at the beach...Jamie borrowed my camera to go up since her memory card was full. Here are a few pictures she captured while they were up there, as well as one I took of the lighthouse. It was a long way up there...and they said Ceili just kept on the whole time!!

Go Colts!!

2008-09-14T23:37:00.001-04:00

There's more than corn

2008-09-12T23:24:00.010-04:00

in Indiana...there are adorable little boys in overalls too!! My sister asked me to take pictures of Carter in front of corn with his little jean overalls on...we found a field that hadn't turned yellow yet and went for it! I think the pictures turned out great for having about 10 minutes to take them...with Ceili having to pee out in the middle of nowhere and Keaton screaming in the car! All things considered, Carter loved "hiding" in the corn and gave us some great laughs!

"Halfy" Birthday

2008-08-18T01:16:00.004-04:00

To You, "Halfy" Birthday To You, "Halfy" Birthday Dear Keaton, "Halfy" Birthday To You!! Today is Keaton's half birthday, so we had a small cookout to celebrate the whole first 6 months he has blessed our lives! I made him a cake...well, half a cake and got him some balloons. I tried just getting him half of a balloon, and the lady at the Party Store looked at me like I was crazy!! I don't know why she couldn't just cut them in half before she filled them?!?! She said it was something like they wouldn't stay blown up...I think she's the crazy one!!
It is so hard to believe our little baby is 6 months old already...sitting up, laughing and smiling all the time and talking up a storm (well, in baby terms)! Below are some pictures from his special day...we look forward to what the next 6 months of his first year have in store!

(click on storyboard to view larger)

Every time I do their pictures

2008-08-09T16:14:00.006-04:00

they look more and more alike!! These two are extremely hard to tell apart, even for Mom and Dad...and boy are they handsome!! They crack me up how often they are caught doing the same thing...like mirror-images!!

Below are a few of Keegan... And a few of Jameson...

These two boys...

2008-08-06T16:17:00.007-04:00

...are so much fun to photograph, and I have had the pleasure to work with them 4 times in the past year and a half! The older brother was the first paid session I ever had...and it has been so much fun to watch him change since then! I have had the chance to take pictures of the little one throughout his first year so far, and I look forward to capturing his one year and their family photos this fall! Their sessions are always a good time, and below are just a few for Mom and Dad to view while their album is being completed!

(click on storyboard to view larger)

Dimples!

2008-07-30T00:38:00.006-04:00

This little boy is the 3rd child of my sister's close friend, and he is just as gorgeous as his big brother and sister! He has the sweetest dimples too - check them out on the storyboard near the bottom!
Big sister was home that day, not feeling well, and when she walked into the room during part of the session, I just had to capture her beauty! I looked up and this is what I saw...what a beautiful little girl!! She is less than a day older than Ceili and they remind me of each other with their blonde hair and blue eyes!!

Three Boys Part 2

2008-07-25T09:58:00.008-04:00

Meet Boy #3 for this family...he is just as sweet as his older brothers! He is one lucky little boy to have 2 older brothers that adore him as much as they do! He is the newest son of our best friends and we can't wait to watch him grow and explore!!

Just two

2008-07-21T01:45:00.003-04:00

...of our little ones recently! They are both just getting so big...Ceili is such a big girl and Keaton is changing by the day! It's been a while since they made an appearance on here, so I thought I'd put a couple on here. Hopefully I will have time to put more on later...

Her personality

2008-07-20T21:32:00.005-04:00

...was just too cute!! She turned 2 recently and will have a baby sister this coming October!! She was so much fun! I think her parents and I lost 5 pounds each, chasing her around in 90 degree weather the other evening! I can't wait to meet and photograph baby sister in a few months!!

Nilla Wafers...

2008-07-12T13:32:00.006-04:00

...were the key to this little boy's heart! He was a little sleepy the morning of our session, but as soon as he had a Nilla wafer in his hands, he was all smiles!! Hope you have a Happy 1st Birthday, Cutie!
...And I love bare toes!!
I am thinking we might have a future photographer here...he was fascinated with my lenses and caps!!

Weekend at the Lake

2008-07-08T21:19:00.009-04:00

We love going down to the lake whenever possible...and we took advantage when Mom and Dad said they would be down there for the weekend. We took the kiddos down for some fun in the sun! They have a small beach you can dock at and swim and play in the sand...and Miss Ceili was determined to go there! Luckily for her, Papaw can't say NO to her, so to the beach we went!! The kids had a blast there, and here are a ton of pictures from throughout the weekend...

Ceili stole Nana's Pringles and took them down by the water to eat them all by herself...Pringles are something she does NOT like to share!! When I saw her sitting there like this, I had to snap a couple of shots. Luckily she didn't know I was taking them because she probably would have gotten up and walked away so I wouldn't have been able to!

Ash and Gustavo were there for the weekend as well, so Ceili was in heaven!!

Captain Ceili made sure we all made it back to the house safely!! She just loves being out on the water!

If you take a short hike, you are able to see this AMAZING waterfall that is probably 50 foot high and 60 foot wide! We took a few pictures there and made our way out of the water just before rocks began falling! We were lucky to have moved in time or someone would have been hurt for sure.

Ceili's other favorite thing to do at the lake is to go FISHING!! As soon as she hears that we are going down there, she searches high and low for her Princess fishing pole! This time, she decided that she wanted to hold the fish to throw them back, so that is exactly what she did!

Here, Gustavo is showing her how this fish talks to her...she adores him so much!

And nothing is better than Nana's kisses!!

Teeny Tiny

2008-07-08T14:48:00.006-04:00

This little girl was so tiny...just barely 6 pounds! What a sweet little baby she was...just slept through the whole session, despite Mom's attempt to wake her for a few at the end! We were able to get a couple with open eyes as I was getting ready to walk out the door though!!

Three already??

2008-06-30T22:10:00.006-04:00

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It is so hard to believe that our little girl is now three years old! Time has gone by so quickly, and it just seems to keep speeding up. At three, Ceili is such a little girl...no more toddler in her anymore! She is talking up a storm these days and using her imagination like no other! She absolutely loves to play pretend...with just about anything and everything! She still loves to cuddle with Mom and Dad, which is always a nice treat! She really is the sweetest little girl, most of the time!

This past year has been a big year for Ceili, from potty-training to becoming a big sister, and she has done such a great job through it all! She is such a trooper! She loves to help Mommy and Daddy, whether it is helping Daddy out in the yard or helping Mommy bake in the kitchen. She absolutely loves helping us with her baby brother too...singing to him when he cries, feeding him his bottle or just talking to him to make him smile! She is the best big sister and we have had so much watching her grow into this new role!

Here are some pictures we grabbed one evening to mark her third year. Coming soon will be pictures from her Princess birthday party...stay tuned!

Three Boys

2008-06-23T15:22:00.006-04:00

These two adorable boys are about to have a baby brother...tomorrow in fact! We definitely had our hands full trying to get these two to stay by mom instead of play, but if we were patient enough, they each would come up to Mom and hug and/or kiss her belly for a split second every once in a while. So, I just had to be ready with the camera - and I think Mom will be happy with what we got! I know she was nervous that we didn't get very many, but there are plenty more where these come from! Enjoy your preview...and I can't wait to meet your newest little guy and take his pictures!!

A Day at the Zoo

2008-06-22T22:05:00.008-04:00

Ceili absolutely loves going to the zoo - I think we could go everyday and she would never get tired of it! So, below are some pictures from our most recent trip there...

Ceili, trying to keep hydrated on a day that nearly hit 90 degrees!

.Tubby Time.

2008-06-22T19:20:00.010-04:00

Keaton is now starting to like his tubby time...FINALLY! He really hated it there for a while...the combination of being naked and then being put into a tub full of water just did not go over well with our little guy for about the first 3 months! Now that he is a little older, though, he just sits there and smiles through it, while his big sister pours water on his legs and belly! Here are a few shots of him recently during bathtime...

And Ceili of course, who has always LOVED bathtime...

Memorial Day weekend...

2008-06-22T16:02:00.007-04:00

...at Nana & Papaw's! We had a cookout at our favorite nearby hangout...called Nana & Papaw's backyard! We were joined by Auntie Nawna, Uncle Don, Keira, Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt, and Carter too! Of course, the kiddos had a blast playing, as always! And both of my little ones had some fun laying in the hammock with Nana...such treasured memories I know they will have in the backyard at Nana & Papaw's house throughout the years!!

Best Daddy in the World

2008-06-15T00:00:00.003-04:00

In celebration of Father's Day, this post is dedicated to the wonderful man I chose to spend my life with and raise a family with.

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Justin is such a great Daddy...always there to kiss boo-boos or offer a gentle hug when Ceili is upset. He genuinely loves to have the kids around...even if it is just having Ceili help him in the yard or just holding Keaton on his chest in the evening. I have loved Justin from the minute I met him, but I have re-fallen in love with him in a totally different way now that we have kids.

I never thought I could get so much enjoyment out of just watching him interact with our children, but it brings me pure joy every time I sit back to just watch...I find myself smiling without even meaning to. As much as it breaks my heart sometimes, I think it is so sweet when Ceili wants Daddy to hold her or wants to spend time with him instead of me. As much as I would like to think that I am Ceili's one and only favorite...I know that I share that title with her Daddy too, which I think is just wonderful! I am so excited to watch as his relationships grow with both Ceili and Keaton.

Below are just a few pictures to honor him on his special day!

:too many favorites:

2008-06-06T12:59:00.010-04:00

This little girl turned ONE this past weekend and was so much fun to take pictures of! She is such a doll...there were too many favorites from this session that I couldn't just pick a couple! Can't wait for Mom and Dad (and Grandma & Grandpa too!) to see the rest of their album! Hope your party was a lot of fun Birthday Girl!!

:such a big boy:

2008-06-04T01:08:00.006-04:00

It is amazing how quickly time is going by with Mr. Keaton - he seems to grow so much each day!! And what a happy baby he is - always smiling with those big blue eyes that are just to die for!! I am just so in love with our little guy - his sweet smile can brighten anyone's day!

.family.

2008-06-03T16:01:00.008-04:00

These 8 are cousins and are lucky to be so close in age! They will have great memories growing up together - what a fun session!!

Recent Pics...

2008-05-19T22:42:00.012-04:00

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We went up to Chicago to celebrate Ashley's graduation as well as her 21st birthday! What a big weekend for her!! We are so proud of our baby sister...hard to believe she is 21 and a college graduate - my how time flies! While we were up there, we all took advantage and went to the Aquarium before we headed home on Sunday. When we all showed up, we realized that all of the grandkids happened to be dressed in jeans and white shirts...so we decided to take a picture by the water with the skyline in the background! OK - maybe their outfits were planned...but how cute did they look?! We took this picture and had it printed BIG for Mom for Mother's Day! Now, she has all of her grandbabies in one picture...may not be the best picture of each child, but it is NOT easy to try to get all the little ones to look in our direction. We will take what we can get!
Below are just a few pictures of Ceili and Keaton from the past week or so...I've had people remind me that my kiddos hadn't made an appearance on the blog for quite some time, so I thought I'd throw these in to keep the audience happy! Just look at Ceili Marie...she really does look like she is about to turn 3, doesn't she?! No more toddler look anymore - she just looks like such a big girl these days!!
And check out these baby blues!! Keaton has got some of the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen...let's just hope he keeps them!! Such a sweet boy, changing by the day!

Twins!

2008-05-19T15:35:00.007-04:00

I absolutely LOVE to photograph twins! These two were so much fun and just too cute! They had just turned ONE, and they definitely kept me on my toes!! Hope Mom and Dad enjoy their preview...

Three Months Today!

2008-05-18T23:57:00.007-04:00

Keaton Charles is three months today...and my has he changed over the past three months! He is now smiling, cooing, and laughing at everyone and everything! I really think he has the sweetest little smile...what a handsome little blue-eyed, bald baby boy we have! At his two month appointment, Keaton was 11 lbs 3 oz...I am guessing he is 12 1/2 or 13 lbs already! It's amazing how fast he is growing and changing, day by day! He is just such a happy little baby and loves to hold his head up like a big boy!!

Day at the Park

2008-05-16T20:50:00.010-04:00

This was a great session - what fun kids! The three of them are cousins - the girls are sisters. There were so many great pictures to choose from that I had a hard time choosing the ones for this preview! I hope the family enjoys the preview - there are plenty more in your album!!

Check out these two...

2008-05-09T13:16:00.009-04:00

...handsome brothers! I have enjoyed taking pictures for this family over the past year and a half, and I am excited to continue to capture the little one throughout the rest of his first year! These two are just too darn cute!

You know it's spring...

2008-04-15T22:21:00.021-04:00

...when you have too many pictures to post! Here are a ton from the past couple of weeks...

Ceili, Keaton & I went to the zoo with our friends from Ceili's preschool class and had a great time!! As you can see below, we looked like we had our own preschool class with us, as the 7 of them sat down to have their snacks!
And here's Keaton in his stroller at the zoo, just hanging out!
Mr. Keaton is getting so big and changing daily...but one thing that stays the same is the love for his "friends" that go around in circles on his swing!!
He has started smiling too...A LOT!!
With spring comes playing outside, which means BUBBLES (thanks Auntie A!) and going to the park!!
As many pictures as I have of our little girl where her eyes are bright blue & looking at the camera, none of them make me smile like the below picture does! This has got to be my new favorite picture of Ceili...you can tell by her face just how happy she is to be swinging...it is just pure joy to me!! This picture captures our little girl just how I like to think of her!!
We walked down to the playground so that Ceili could swing...and Keaton was happy to just be along for the ride!
Mom and Dad had us all over for dinner last Sunday night and Auntie Mamie made a cake for dessert. As soon as Ceili found out there was cake, she told us that it was her birthday cake and we would have to sing to her so she could blow the candles out. Who could say no to that?!?! So, Nana put candles on the cake and we all sang...and Ceili was a happy little girl!!
Auntie Mamie and I decided to take the little ones to the park and they had so much fun! Carter loved swinging and Ceili had a ball on the slides!!
And below are just some of my happy, blue-eyed babies!
I absolutely love this hat on Keaton and couldn't decide if I liked the picture best in color or b&w, so you get both!!

Seeing Double...

2008-04-08T15:00:00.008-04:00

I have had so much fun taking pictures of these two since they were born and look forward to our future sessions! They have changed so much over the past few months and are looking more and more alike these days! Can you tell which is which? To make it easier for those who know them, I have put the pictures in order - Jameson then Keegan and so on.
I had to put the below pictures on here. They came to our house for the session this time and Ceili just couldn't get enough of them...and they couldn't get enough of her either!! She decided to jump in a couple shots and this is what we ended up with...
I just love this picture and how the boys look like mirror images of one another...their hands on their feet and knees...so cute!!

Easter at the Lake

2008-04-04T14:55:00.017-04:00

We spent Easter weekend at the lake with my parents, sisters and their families. The kids all have so much fun together, so it's great spending the whole weekend under one roof, where the kids can just play the entire time! We tried getting a picture of all the grandkids together, but have you ever tried taking pictures of 6 kids, 4 being under the age of 3?!?!
Ceili loved decorating eggs and was a little upset when I told her we were out of eggs!
Below, Ceili is enjoying a piece of chocolate from her Easter basket...our little Chocaholic!!
Ceili loves holding her baby brother, even if he is almost half her size already!!
Keaton has started smiling a lot lately...so sweet!!
Daddy and Keaton took a few naps like this throughout the weekend...how comfy do they look?!

I had to put this picture of Ceili on here because people are always saying how great of a model she is...little do they know, I get the below face more often than not!! She loves showing her little attitude these days - when the camera comes out, so does her attitude!! Little does she know, though, even with her attitude, she still looks cute!

Brown eyes

2008-04-01T20:44:00.006-04:00

This little boy has some of the most beautiful brown eyes I've ever seen! He is so photogenic for a 5 year old...so sweet and innocent-looking!

Better Late Than Never...

2008-03-27T19:01:00.016-04:00

I have been waiting to post some of these pictures because they are on the birth announcements, and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. Now that most of them are out and should have been received, I thought I'd post them...along with some others we've taken the past few weeks. Keaton is growing so fast - I never thought he would be so big so soon! We are just having the best time with him - Ceili loves him so much and is really genuine when she talks/sings to him and touches him. She is so gentle with him (most of the time) and it is so sweet to watch him just stare at her (smiling here and there) as she talks and sings to him. They are going to have such a great relationship - I just know it!!

Just now, as I was sitting here typing this, Keaton began to cry in his swing. Immediately, Ceili walked over and wiped a little bit of drool off of his mouth because she thinks that is why he is upset. As I walked over to pick him up, I told her "Thank you for wiping his mouth - that was very sweet!" Her response was "It's my pleasure!" She really loves to help out with him, even if it's just wiping drool off of his mouth! What a big girl she is these days - cracks me up with the things she says!!

I just love these pictures of the two of them together - how sweet do they look?! This one makes me think that Keaton is telling Daddy something very interesting...wonder what the secret is?!
The below picture is one of my absolute favorites!!

Ceili Concert

2008-03-24T21:21:00.005-04:00

Ceili Rain is a great Christian band that we have listened to for years...even named our daughter after them!! They come to Columbus every year and we have always gone and helped out and have gotten to the band members quite well over the past 7 years! Justin, along with two other guys (Chris and Joe) from Columbus, were asked to open for them this year at their concert...and boy were they excited!! They practiced quite a bit together...even though we were due to have Keaton at any moment!! It was a big deal to Justin to be able to open for them, so we packed the kids (Keaton being only 5 days old at the time) and headed down to Columbus to support their Daddy during the concert!! I know, I am totally crazy for taking a 5 day old down there, but I would have hated to have missed it...it was so neat watching him do something he loves to do and something that was such a big deal to him! Plus...Ceili thought it was really cool watching Daddy up on stage - you can see her watching him in a couple of pictures below, being held by her Auntie Nawna! All in all, we had a great time. Keaton slept the whole time in his car seat, so that made it a lot easier! They did such an awesome job - you never would have guessed it was their first time to play together in front of an audience...even when Justin broke his g-string during the concert, he stayed calm and didn't show one bit of stress or being nervous!!

Below is my baby sister Ashley and her boyfriend Gustavo while we were at the Ceili Rain concert - my whole family made the trip down to watch Justin as well as his dad and Lisa (who we have to thank for video taping the concert for us!) I had to post the below picture - how cute are they?!?! Ceili has fallen head over heels for Gustavo (or Escabo as she calls him) - he is so good with her and really enjoys playing with her!! Love you guys!!

Carter Turns ONE!!!

2008-03-24T20:10:00.005-04:00

Carter turned ONE last month and is such a big boy these days!!! His birthday party was so cute and fun - I think he had a great time!! Jamie had a little outfit made for Carter for his party, and it was oh-so-cute!! What a cute little man Carter is - not much baby in him anymore!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

2008-03-17T21:39:00.008-04:00

We started our day off by going to Keaton's 1 month appointment - can you believe he is a month old already?!? He is now 9 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches! He is in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height...total opposite of his big sister!! He is getting so big, so quickly...even smiles and coos already!

We then went to see Horton Hears a Who...Nana and Papaw were supposed to go with us, but who knew that the movie times would change from Sunday to Monday?? Hopefully they will be able to see another movie with us soon though! Ceili liked the movie, even though she slept through about the last half hour of it!

FINALLY!!!

2008-03-12T23:15:00.014-04:00

These pictures were all taken couple of weeks ago and I finally had time to edit and post them! It's amazing how much he has already changed in such a short time...
Big yawn!
Wink, wink!
Keaton did not like his sponge baths...and poor thing did not lose his cord until he was almost 3 weeks old, which meant more sponge baths!! Ceili waited patiently for it to fall off because she wanted to take a bath with her baby brother so bad...and made sure to remind us that they could take one together once she saw that the cord was gone!! Needless to say, we put Keaton's tub in her tub and they took a bath together...pics of that to come, but here are some from his first bath at home...
And some of our big girl too...

At home...

2008-02-28T10:58:00.006-05:00

We are really enjoying our time at home with our little guy - even if it means Mommy has to sleep in the recliner with him every night!! He is so precious and makes our little family seem more complete now!! We love watching Ceili with her little brother - she just adores him! She loves kissing him and talking to him - she is so protective of him and wants him to be involved in every single thing she does!! She was heart-broken when I told her he wasn't going to go to school with her last week or to dance with her this past Tuesday! She just wants him around her all the time, which is a huge relief for me!! She cracks me up when he cries - she tells me "Mommy, your baby is crying!" I have tried and tried to tell her that he is OUR baby...but she insists on calling him MY baby!! Here are a few pictures that we snapped while Keaton was in a good mood the other day...more to follow, I am sure!!

Our Newest Addition

2008-02-24T22:53:00.007-05:00

Keaton Charles von Buchler was born on February 18th at 10:10pm...FINALLY!! After a long day, we were finally able to meet and hold our little boy and couldn't have been happier! He was 8lbs 3oz and 20in long...and couldn't be more perfect!! Baby Keaton was greeted by his big sister, Nana, Papaw, Grandpa Charlie, Grandma Lisa, Grams, Auntie Nawna, Keira, Auntie Mamie, and Sarah. We are so thrilled to finally have him here and at home. Ceili is completely loving being his big sister and loves kissing him, holding him and singing to him!! She keeps telling us that she will protect him...and I have no doubt in my mind that she is right!! She loves her little brother so much already - I can't wait to watch their relationship grow as they get older!!

Here is his big sister giving him a kiss for the first time!
Here he is on his first phone conversation with his Auntie A...she was so upset she wasn't able to be there to meet him, but she did get to hear him make some little noises and he was able to hear her voice!!
Here, Ceili held Keaton for the first time...and would not give him back to Mommy for 40 minutes!! She loves holding him so much!!

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates...

"Happy Vawemtime's Day!"

2008-02-16T10:08:00.007-05:00

...that's how she says it at least!! We hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day - I know we did! Ceili had her Valentine's party at preschool that morning, where we took heart cut-out cookies that we made together. Then, she got to spend the whole day with Mommy, just hanging out at home since Mommy is supposed to be on bed rest! We then went out to eat with Daddy, Nana and Papaw at Olive Garden - afterwards, she went home with Nana and Papaw and had a slumber party!! She had a lot of fun, of course - they made cookies together and she couldn't have been more proud of herself! It was nice for Mommy and Daddy to have one more evening to ourselves before Keaton is born! That is twice this week - she spent the night with Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and Carter earlier in the week as well! It is so nice to have family so closeby and be comfortable enough to leave her overnight - she gets special time with them, and Mommy and Daddy get time to ourselves!!

Now, we are just hanging out and spending time with our little girl these next couple of days before her brother arrives and she will have to share her Mommy and Daddy for the first time! We will be induced Monday morning, so stay tuned for pictures - probably not until the end of the week or so by the time I get around to it!!

Princess for a Day (or hour)

2008-02-16T09:54:00.008-05:00

I decided I better go ahead and get a pedicure before the baby is born, so who better to keep me company than our little princess herself?! I paint Ceili's toes all the time, but she has never actually had a pedicure at a Nails place before...so I asked if they would give her one as well. And for a small price, she was made to feel like a real princess! She was so cute, sitting there in that big massage chair with her tiny feet dangling down, just waiting for the man to come back and paint her toes!! They even put the little foam things between her tiny toes! You could tell just how special it made her feel - so worth it to see her this way!! She is such a special little girl, and I hope she always feels that way! As the man was painting her toes, she just sat there and smiled and told me "Mama, I like the man painting my toes!" I am so glad I decided to take her with me - I almost dropped her off with my mom and went by myself. I hope this is something we can continue to do together as she gets older - special time for just the two of us!! Below is a picture of her finished nails - the man painted flowers on her big toes, and she thought that was great!!

Sweet Baby Boy

2008-02-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

This sweet little boy was so much fun to take pictures of...once his belly was full! He was so sweet and loved to be held! I hope his mom and dad (and grandma too) enjoy this preview...

Anytime now...

2008-02-05T14:12:00.000-05:00

Our little boy has not arrived yet...but he WILL be here within the next 2 weeks and we are soooo ready!! We thought we'd take a few pictures to document this special time in our lives...and document how sweet Ceili is to her brother already! She just loves kissing him and talking to him, so of course, we had to capture that!! Here are some pictures we did this past weekend - a few of Ceili and me and just one of Justin and me. It's kind of hard to get the best pictures of Justin and me when we have to use the self-timer, so we settled for just this one!
We are so excited to welcome our little boy into this world and see his tiny fingers and toes!! We are also excited to see his big sister take on her important role! She's becoming such a big girl these - doesn't she look like a big girl?!?! Fully potty-trained, talks up a storm, so independent and full of personality...so much fun she is these days!!

Keira Turns One!!

2008-02-03T18:05:00.000-05:00

Our niece, Keira Hollyn, has turned ONE!! I can't believe how fast the past year has gone by - it seems like she was just that tiny little newborn and now she is taking steps, saying words and showing her little personality off!! What a beautiful birthday girl she was - her mommy did such a great job with the party...everything was perfectly brown and pink polka dots, down to the very last detail!! She loved the balloons at her party and just wanted so badly to pop one...and boy did she try!! It was a great birthday party - everyone had a great time, even if Ceili felt horrible the whole weekend!!
The below picture just says "It's My Party and I'll do whatever I want to do!!"
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Awaiting...

2008-02-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

Ceili is sooooo excited for her baby brother to arrive soon! She talks about him all the time - loves kissing my belly, singing "Twinkle. Twinkle Little Star" to him, and telling us what she is going to do with him once he is born. She says that she is going to "hold him and love him and play with him and change his diaper!" The nursery is done and she is so excited to show every person that walks through our front door!! I was wanting to show some pictures of his nursery...and what better way than to let his Big Sister show it off?!!? We chose to do his room in a Jungle theme...had to do something fun since Ceili's room is an Ocean theme! Justin really did a great job with all of the painting...we've got an elephant, a giraffe, a lion, a zebra, and even a monkey hanging from a tree!! It looks great and I can't wait to watch him enjoy it as he grows!!
The trunk Ceili is sitting on is very special to us! As most of you probably know, Justin (along with his 2 cousins) is in the first generation in the von Buchler family to be born here in the U.S. His grandparents, along with his father, uncle and aunt, moved to Columbus, IN from Germany in 1955 to join some other members of their family that had made the move earlier. This trunk is one of the trunks that was handmade to ship their belongings over here. We found them in Justin's grandparent's basement while we were cleaning it out a few years ago and just knew they were WAY too neat to get rid of. The top of the trunks has their name and address in the U.S. painted on it along with their flight number and information. The original tags are still hanging on them and they are just really neat pieces of work!! This is the smaller of the two trunks, and we thought it would go great in Keaton's room to use for his blankets and other keepsakes. I sure hope our kids think these trunks are as special as we think they are!!
Already trying to climb into the crib on her own, she thought she was hot stuff when I put her in there to try it out!!
The below picture shows just how excited she is for her baby brother to arrive - with her arms up in the air and her feet out, she was screaming "Baby Keaton" as loud as she could!! I cannot wait to see how great of a big sister she makes to Keaton - she is the most caring little girl I have ever known! I just know that she will love him to pieces and protect him like all big siblings should! We are scheduled to be induced on February 18th...so we've got just about 2 weeks until we meet our little boy and we couldn't be more excited!!

"Did Santa Come??"

2008-01-08T21:36:00.000-05:00

That is what Ceili asked us as soon as she woke up Christmas morning...and we asked her once we came downstairs. Her response, after looking around the living room for about 10 seconds, was simply "No!" as she shook her head. Once I showed her that Santa had eaten the cookies and drank the milk she set out for him by the fireplace, she nodded and realized he HAD come!! After I thought about it, we had been telling her that Santa was going to come while she was sleeping...but we never even thought to tell her he would also LEAVE while we were sleeping! Poor thing was expecting Santa to be sitting in our living room when she woke up! :) Needless to say, though, Ceili had a wonderful Christmas and got lots of goodies!!
Ceili loved her Christmas dress - she called it her Princess dress!! She would just twirl around in it and say "I look like a princess!!" She actually even told me that she just needed her crown and she'd be a beautiful princess!! She loves wearing "princess" dresses and nightgowns, and a princess she is for sure!! What she may not know though, is that dress or no dress and crown or no crown, she's always a beautiful princess!!
We celebrated Christmas at Nana and Papaw's the Sunday before and spent the whole day there - everyone had a great time!! The 3 little ones wore their matching jammies and looked oh-so-cute...until Ceili had an accident and had to change out of them. Growing up, we have always had our "stairs" picture on Christmas morning, so we took the one with ALL of us "kids"...but there are so many of us that we may just need to stick with the grandkids from now on!!

Below, Carter and Keira are sharing the push-toy...how cute do they look?! Same color hair, same height, same jammies, etc...if you didn't know better you may actually think they are twins!!
After Christmas Eve mass, we went over to Jamie and Matt's for some Chinese food and to hang out a bit. Shawna used to have it at her house but then once she moved, I started having it at my house. Well, this year, Jamie decided to offer to host it since I am pregnant this year. It was nice of her to do it because I didn't have to worry if my house was perfect or not...or cook like in the past! Once we got home, we opened our Christmas Eve gift...and to our surprise, we all got new jammies!!! Above is a picture of Ceili and Justin with their new jammies!! Before bedtime, Ceili helped me get Santa's cookies and milk ready and set them by the fireplace for him to have a snack while he stopped by our house. She was very particular on which cookies we had to put on his plate...and, I have to admit, she did eat a cookie or 2 while we made his plate!!
Above: Our tree Christmas morning, with the presents just waiting to be opened!!
Below: Some of my favorite additions to the tree this year...

Ceili helped me make the Reindeer ornament with her handprints this year and thought it was the greatest craft!!
Ceili surprised us with this ornament with her handprint in it - she made it for us with Nana during one of their days together each week! We love it and will cherish it FOREVER!! She was so proud of it - what a big girl she is becoming!!
I decided that I wanted to put picture ornaments on the tree each year and just change the picture out every Christmas season. This is the picture I picked for this year - one of my absolute favorite pictures ever!!
These are our pictures on the steps for this year - didn't turn out quite how it was "supposed" to, but she was just too anxious to see what Santa had left her to sit and pose for a picture! And, we didn't feel like "making" her do it, so we took what we could get...because after all, that is Ceili!!
Below, Ceili is excited to see what Santa left her!! She has been wanting this Princess vanity for a while now, and every time we would go past the Disney store, she would have to stop and show it to us...and of course play with it as long as we'd let her! Well, about 2 weeks before Christmas, she went into the store and turned to the spot the vanity had always been sitting and it was GONE!! She was so confused and just kept saying "Where did it go? I need to find it!" Well, Christmas morning, as soon as she saw it, she said "I found it!!" She also loves pretending to cook, so the kitchen was a huge hit as well!!
I carried on a tradition from my childhood...sour cream coffeecake for breakfast on Christmas!! I also made a breakfast casserole - I think Ceili and Daddy enjoyed it all!
Christmas evening, we headed over to Granny and Papa Bob's to celebrate and eat dinner. Here is Granny, with Ceili, looking at the Christmas book they got her. And then, there is a picture of my Granny with me after she gave me the quilt she made me! It is absolutely beautiful - it's amazing what my Granny can do!! She is so talented - I hope someday I can be even just a little bit as talented as she is!!

The Friday after Christmas, we headed over to Kim and Bill's house to hang out. There were 9 kids 5 and under...4 that were 4 or 5 and 5 that were 2 1/2-3!! The kids all go to school together and have so much fun...all of us parents were even able to play a few games in the kitchen while the kids played. How often does that happen with a house full of little ones?! Below is a picture of the kids once they were worn out and decided to watch a movie. We were missing 2 for the picture because they had already left, but we thought it was too cute how they were all cuddled together watching tv!! I think that is about it for December...I'll try to get some more pictures edited and posted soon!

Blue Eyes

2008-01-05T22:17:00.001-05:00

Here is a sneak peek for this little one's mom - how cute is he?! He's got such beautiful blue eyes - something I've always loved!!

Although the session was all about the baby, I had to snap a few of the proud big brother as he watched us during the session! I took his pictures about a year ago, and he is definitely one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen!!

FAMILY

2008-01-03T22:34:00.000-05:00

I had the priviledge of taking some family photos for my aunt and uncle's family while everyone was in town for Christmas - the little ones were great! You have all seen the twins before, but we were able to include their older cousin in the pictures this time as well! What beautiful little ones they have!! I hope they enjoy their sneek peak - and a Happy Early Birthday to Miss Caroline who will turn 2 this coming week!!

Ceili has Returned!!

2007-12-29T21:41:00.000-05:00

It has been way too long since I posted pictures of our Ceili and I've had some complaints, so here are a TON from this past month!! Ceili has had so much fun playing in the snow and baking cookies with Mommy - it is just so much fun watching her in her everyday life, being the silly and sweet girl she is!

Ceili and I played in the snow and she desperately wanted to build a snowman, but the snow wouldn't pack for anything. I felt horrible and wished I could make it work, but it just wouldn't. So, when I had to work the next day and Justin was home with her, I asked him to try to build one with her...and it packed for them that day!! They were able to build a snowman and a cave in the yard, both of which Ceili was soooo proud of and excited to show me when I got home!! What a sweet Daddy she has to make her wishes come true!!
The dogs (Izzie is the white one and Hannah is the black one) also absolutely LOVED playing in the snow!! They would whine just so we'd let them out to play - getting covered in snow and loving it!! The dogs don't get their pictures take very often, so here are a couple of them...
Ceili started dance this past month and can't get enough of it! She likes to stand in front of our fireplace and practice her kicks and turns in the window, where she can see her reflection! After two weeks of class, they had their Christmas program, in which her class danced to Jingle Bells. It was so cute - they had bells on their wrists and ankles, which was her favorite part of course!! Ceili did such a great job - jumping up and down and shaking her arms to make them jingle - and she even did some of her kicks and turns for everyone to see!! Here are some pictures from that day - not the best quality, but it was more important to capture the moment than make them look perfect!!
Below is Ceili with our friend Tammy, who happens to be Ceili's preschool teacher as well. Tammy's son, Andrew, is in Ceili's dance class, and the only way for me to get her to look at the camera was for Tammy to hold her! She just loves Tammy (and Andrew, I must admit!) - any time she is around, she wants her to hold her (and even take her to the potty) instead of anyone else...so sweet!!
Below are pictures of Ceili dancing, with Andrew right by her side!! Those two are always within inches of each other - maybe this is Ceili's first crush!! She will tell me "I like Andrew - he's a nice boy! He likes my hair!!"
We thought it would be fun to put together this Gingerbread Choo-Choo Train - I think more of the candy was eaten than actually used for decoration, but it was a lot of fun!! Ceili did a great job helping decorate it - she'd put one piece on the train and about 3 pieces in her mouth!!

We were supposed to have Baking Day at Nana and Papaw's with Nana and Auntie Mamie, but we had that snowstorm and ended up cancelling. So, Ceili and I decided to go ahead and bake all day anyways, and we had a blast!! She was able to use the apron that St. Nick had put in her shoes just a week before, which made her feel like a princess!! She loves helping me in the kitchen - we were able to bake a couple different kinds of cookies, including cut-out cookies that she had so much fun decorating!!

Of course, baking wouldn't be baking unless you were able to taste the ingredients here and there...

Ceili's preschool had a Polar Express Night, where we all went in our jammies and brought our pillows and blankets to watch the Polar Express movie and eat cookies, popcorn and hot chocolate. Ceili, of course, had to sit with her friend Andrew...and I must say he liked sitting with her too!! (they even shared popcorn!!) Here are a couple of them as we waited for the movie to start...

Ceili received a Cinderella Tea Party set from our friends, Adam and Sarah, for Christmas. She absolutely loves playing with it and "making" me tea! We were getting ready to go upstairs for her bath time and I thought she might like to have a tea party in the bath tub...I think it was the best idea I've had yet!! She thought it was soooo great and was just so excited that she was jumping up and down saying "We're going to have a tea party in my bath!!" We put some of her Strawberry Shortcake bubbles in the bath and she made us some "strawberry tea" and we had a blast!! I look forward to more Bath Tub Tea Parties in the future!!

Blue Eyes

2007-12-26T22:22:00.000-05:00

Here is a sneak peek of a cutie I photographed the day of the snow storm - we even battled the weather and took a few outside in the snow! What a cutie he is!!

Not Such Babies Anymore

2007-12-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

My neice and nephew that are just 7 weeks apart are getting closer and closer to their 1st birthdays. They are becoming little toddlers these days, having teeth come in, eating big kid foods, standing and beginning to talk...it doesn't seem like a year has already gone by! Below are some pictures of the two of them that I took a little while back - I had to wait until Christmas cards and birthday invitations were out before I could post these, so sorry they are a little late!!

Keira Hollyn will be turning one on the 5th of January - what a big girl!! Here are some pictures I took to use for her birthday invitations - she is such a photogenic little girl!!

And now, here are some of Carter Matthew. This poor little guy wasn't feeling well the day we took these, but he did a great job for having an ear infection! What a sweet boy he is, even if he is as stubborn as his mommy!!

My have they grown...

2007-11-30T21:44:00.000-05:00

These two have grown so much since we did their newborn photos - how adorable are they?! They are so much fun to take pictures of - my first set of twin babies...identical twin babies at that!! Last time Keegan was the cranky one...this time it was Jameson's turn! Hopefully next time, we can get them both in good moods!!

Just a couple

2007-11-25T14:55:00.000-05:00

Here are just a couple of pictures of Ceili from this past week - I found these railroad tracks a while back and thought we'd take her Grandfather's suitcase out there for a cute picture. I love how they turned out!! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving - now it's time to break out the Christmas carols and hot chocolate!!!