♥ 4 Months ♥

Happy 4 Months, Sweet Baby Girl!

I cannot believe that you are 1/3 of a year old already :( 

Four months ago you came into the world so beautiful and tiny and perfect.


And even then, at that tiny little age, you knew exactly what you wanted and when you wanted it.  And you let us know when you weren't gettin' it ;)



Oh the preciousness of a new baby.  The scrunchy little face.  It's about more than I can handle.



And then you came home with us to be a part of our family.  Such a special day.



And you grew.


{ One month }


And grew some more.

{ Two Months }

And grew even more {stop doing that so fast, k?}

{ Three Months }

And here you are, FOUR months! 



At four months you are weighing about 16 pounds, according to my scale.  You're a good little sleeper, most of the time.  Most days we are on a three nap schedule.  You like a snooze a couple of hours after waking in the morning.  Then another after lunch {this is usually a longer one.  Sometimes up to three hours!}.  And sometimes a tiny little cat nap to get us through until bedtime.  Bedtime is typically between 8 and 9.  You and Kam go down at the same time.  About 60% of the time you wake 3 times in the middle of the night to eat, but are right back to sleep.  And the other 40% of the time you get up around 2am to chitty chat with your Mama for a couple hours.

You are growing like a weed!  3-6 month clothing is a thing of the past!  You are in 6-9 month clothing now.

You love to smile.  You are the smiliest baby I've ever known.  Happy.  Content.  You are truly a blessing to us.



Happy Four Months, Little Sweet Pea!
Love you so much!!

Pumpkin Fest!

Last week we ventured out to the Pumpkin Fest at Wooden Shoe.  Typically we head to Wooden Shoe in the spring to see the beautiful tulip fields.  But last year was the first ever Pumpkin Fest, and since we're suckers for all things pumpkin and autumny, we were totally there!


There were bales of hay for climbing.



And Gramps came along to keep us company.



Cow trains to ride. 
The same cow train I rode back in April when I was 7 months pregnant with Tay. 
The one that almost sent me into labor ;)



But the cow train is a highlight for the girls, so they hopped right on!



Where y'all goin'?  The Pumpkin Fest, of course!



And we even got a quick photo before the rain started falling :)

Next week it's the Pumpkin Patch! 
{If the weather man is right about the sunshine.  The last four days were supposed to have been dry, ahem.  And it's been sprinkling non-stop.}

So . . . have any of y'all been to the pumpkin patch yet?  Harvest festivals?  Apple pickin'?  I want to hear about it!

Hair Clip How-To

We've been busily crafting hair clips the last couple of days.  Mostly during naps and after bedtime for the littles because Taylor needs all attention on her while she's awake ;)  It seems as though some of you think they are just as adorable as we do.  I've had inquiries regarding how to purchase some {thank you!  Most of the money is going straight toward the girls' dance costumes for their Christmas recital, but I've promised them that they can keep some of it to do with what they please.  We are planning on putting some in the Etsy shop, so if you are interested, let me know which designs, and we'll create a custom listing}.  And others have been curious as to how to make their own.  Well, we love to share, so here ya go.  A little mini tutorial for these little felt hair clippies.

First, we start with wool felt.  It holds up well, and looks beauty-ful.  You'll also need scissors, a snap clip, embroidery floss, needle, and any embellishments you choose.

Next, you'll want to cut the felt into the shape of the clip.  You'll need two pieces.  One for the top, one for the bottom, and you'll want the felt to be a tad bigger than the clip so that you can stitch around it.  Take one of the pieces {this will be the bottom}, and poke a little hole near the back of the felt so that you can slip the clip in. 

This is the under side.



Then you'll snap the clip closed on the felt, and proceed to the top portion.  Stitch your embellishment on the top piece.



Time to make a clip sandwich.  Take the top felt piece and position it on the clip that is snapped into the bottom portion.  Then stitch around using a blanket stitch {or any other stitch you wish.  I just like this particular stitch because it finishes it off so well}.



And voila!

I love making these clips because they don't take too much time, they're super adorable, make great gifts {truth be told, I wear them myself}, and you can put all of the supplies in a little tin and take it with you for craftiness on the go!

Enjoy :)

Photo Tip Thursday

I'm finally getting around to getting this photo tip segment up and runnin'.  Back in August I guest posted over at Kelli's, and had such fun putting together a short list of easy tips to better your every day photographs.  I thought maybe we could all benefit from a little photo help.  I'll try to post a new tip each week.  I probably won't go into a lot of technical detail.  Most of us are just mamas who want to document the everyday with our little ones.  But we can certainly improve those everyday snaps!

This week I am going to re-post my original photo tips.  Here we go!

Photography has always been fascinating to me.  I would spend hours poring over photo albums when I was little.  I love the way you can come across an old photo, and be completely transported back to that time.  I love to journal, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing like a photo to tell the whole story.  And if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a good picture . . . well, that's priceless.

So, let's talk about some simple ways to improve your everyday photos.

Have your camera ready.

Okay, this seems like a no-brainer, but if your camera is hiding away in its bag in a closet somewhere, guess what, it's not easily accessible.  And it's going to be more than a little difficult to capture those fleeting moments.  Get your camera out.  Use it daily.  I take my camera to the library, grocery store, and dentist.  Cameras are not just for birthdays, holidays, and vacations.  Capture the little moments.  You'll be so glad you did.

Now that you have your camera ready . . .

Say no to "the cheese"

While posed photos definitely have their place, if you really want to document every day life, you're going to have to be sneaky.  Catch your littles playing Barbies, brushing teeth, climbing trees, even pitching fits {hey, someday you'll miss the feisty moments too!}

Remember and implement the Rule of Thirds

Subjects don't always need to be centered in the frame.  In fact, eyes are not naturally drawn to the center of a photo.  Try to compose your shots by envisioning a grid of sorts on top of your photo, dividing it into nine equal parts.   Then place the most important subjects on or near the "lines", especially where those lines intersect.  A simple way to make your photos even more interesting!

Look how little Miss' eye and mouth fall right on the lines.

Find the Right Light

Lighting is probably the single most important factor in photography.  I won't go into a long explanation of how ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture work together to give you a properly exposed photo.  That would take way too long, and probably bore you to death.  What I will say is that, whenever possible, find natural light to work with.  I stay away from flash completely because it is difficult for me to use without creating harsh shadows and giving an overall unrealistic feel.  Sometimes you have to experiment with lighting to see what works best.  For example, on our camping trip, my daughter had crafted a bracelet for her American Girl doll.  She wanted me to get a picture of her with Meghan {her doll}.  It was sunny, but we were among many trees.  The lighting was very uneven.  I snapped a picture:

Hmmmm.  Dark shadows.  Not real flattering.

I simply moved my subject a couple of feet over . . .

And voila!
Okay, so the photo is not phenomenal, but I think you can see that moving a little made a big difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There you have it, a few simple tips to make your photos spectacular.  Now, go find your camera's manual, and read up.  And remember, practice makes perfect!

Wordful Wednesday ~ Mini-Preneurs

The girls {Makenna, especially} have been brainstorming ideas to make a little money.  After all, they spent a good majority of the money they had been saving when we were at American Girl last month.

Makenna's idea was to bake cookies, and head on down to the market to sell them in the parking lot.  Poor little thing, I hated to burst her bubble by telling her that wasn't a possibility. 

So I got to thinking. 
We have plenty of crafting materials around here.
Why not just put our little crafty hands together and see what we come up with.

You know how I love me some cute hair accessories. 
And these felt clippies are a favorite of mine.

Lucky for the girls, they have a super sweet and wonderful dance instructor/studio owner who just happens to have a small boutique at the front of the studio.  And who also happens to love entrepreneurs.  Especially child-preneurs ;)



Hopefully our little clippies have a permanent home soon!

But if not, no biggie.  Kenners just lost another tooth today.  And the tooth fairy is the girls' favorite form of financial support, don'tcha know ;)

Photos Are Up!

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of the well-wishes regarding my photography venture.  I have been praying for a long, long time {really since Sierra was a baby} that God would open an opportunity for me to be able to contribute {however small or large} to our family's finances, while still allowing me to be at home a good majority of the time.   I know without a shadow of a doubt, that staying at home to raise my children is right where God wants me, but I would be lying if I said that I'd never felt any guilt about not contributing financially.  I think it's a battle a lot of non-working mamas face.  Particularly during those times when money is tight. 

I mentioned earlier that I recently finished my first "real" shoot.  Oh, I had so much fun!  I really would be so appreciative if y'all would head on over to my other blog to check it out.  Just click here ;)

Some Things

What is it about a new season that brings on such busy-ness?? 

Fall, especially, seems to be such a busy time of year for us.  Getting back into the swing of homeschooling, back to dance classes, back to Bible study, gearing up for holidays.  It can tucker a girl out, I tell ya.  {You know what else can tucker a girl out?  A little one who insists on being up with her mama from 2am-4am nightly.  But that's another story}.

So, in the interest of playing catch up.  This is what's going on around here:

♥ We've started a new bible study.  Since we've done most of Beth Moore's studies, and we had a time limit {we wanted a shorter study so that we could break before the holidays}, we decided on Fingerprints of God, by Jennifer Rothschild. Last night was our first night, but so far, so good. Definitely different than Beth's, but change can be good, right?

♥ We are officially back to dance class, and the girls are loving it.  And I am SO happy to have been able to get both Sierra and Makenna in classes on the same night, at the same time.  Hallelujah!

♥  I've officially started my photography business.  After thinking about it and talking about it for the last couple of years, I finally did it!  Taylor is still so little, and I don't have plans to leave my babies anytime soon, but I was really feeling like God was telling me that it was time.  So, I got things in order, legally, for when that time might come.  And, literally, within a week I had two people call me about doing senior portraits {three seniors in all}, and another family email about family portraits.  I never cease to be amazed by how God works!  I did my first session, and it was so much fun! Of course, it didn't hurt that she is gorgeous, and a natural model. 

SO.  All of that to say: look for photos coming soon!  You know, once we get over this virus junk, and I get some sleep, and catch up on the laundry, and have a spare moment.

Well, it looks like I've gotten little miss back to sleep.  Better go catch a few winks, myself, before it's time to start another day.

Hope y'all have a great Monday!!

This Is What Sickness Looks Like At Our House

These two lovies are feeling a little under the weather.

{Truth be told, we're all feeling this way, it's just hitting these two a little harder at the moment}.

So we started our day with Blueberry Smoothies.  Frozen blueberries we picked back in August, vanilla yogurt, apple juice, and raspberry sherbet.  It soothed the sore throats.

Later in the day Kam decided she needed some Hot Chockit.  And Kenners joined her.  And then proclaimed, "this is the best hot chocolate ever, Mama".

Once I got Taylor down for her afternoon nap I assembled a Lasagna.  Because Lasagna makes everything better.  And also because we've had days straight of rain, and I like me some comfort food this time of year.

These apples here?  They were used to make apple crisp.  I just took it out of the oven, and drizzled caramel over the top.  And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat some.

What do your sick days look like?

Zoo Trip

So, we decided to head to the zoo last Friday.  It had been about a year since we'd last gone, and I was quite certain Miss Kameryn didn't remember it at all.  Jeremy had to work, so we picked up my mom and dad for a day full of animal fun.

We were on a bit of a schedule {for reasons I'll let you in on later}, but there were certain animals on our "must-see" list.  Kenners wanted to see the elephants {which I didn't get any good pictures of}.  Sierra knew she wanted to see the giraffes.



  And Kam, well, she wanted to see doggies and kitties ;)  

We settled for a few kitties:

It was funny to me just how many animals were at the zoo that we get the pleasure of seeing on a daily basis. {Well, maybe not a daily basis, but semi-regularly, anyway}.  Cougars, bobcats, eagles.

The girls thought the monkeys were pretty cute.  This little guy seemed pretty interested in what we were doing too :)



And, of course, we had to see the hippos. 



I liked this sign ;)  Amen, yes?




May you all be blessed with a great day and also . . . many cattle ;)