Tuesday Tunes

I am completely in love with this tune! I could listen to and sing it all day! Enjoy!

Violet is One!!!!

My sweet baby V turned one on May 5th. It's bittersweet since we aren't having anymore kiddies, but I'm so proud of what a beautiful little toddler she's growing into. She has 4 teeth, walks like a champ and has already started saying more and more words. She likes to imitate everything we do, give kisses (we call them candy kisses), and loves going to the park and swinging. She says, "weeeeeeeeeeeee," when she swings and it's just precious. I could gloat forever about this wee one! We had a rainbow themed party for her and it was a hit! It was a total labor of love, but worth all the effort!

The Rainbow table!

Violet's highchair complete with rainbow bunting!

Cake time!

Om nom nom!

Cakey face!

This was my first layer cake ever so I was suuuuper proud!

Opening presents with Daddy and Millie

Happy Mother's Day!

I have been so busy this weekend with two family photo sessions and then some whirlwind editing to get the images to my clients quickly so I am just pooped! It's been raining all day so it has just been one of those lazy Sundays. I did manage to wrangle up with kids for a few shots with their Mama!

Macy's Heart of Haiti

 This Mother's Day, I'm working with Clever Girls in support of Macy's Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the "trade, not aid" program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake.

My Mom with Violet and my niece, Madeline

I was provided with two handcrafted necklaces made by Haitian artisans and chose to give one to my Mama for Mother’s Day. My Mom has always been one of my best friends in the world. She is always there for me and now that I’m older I love always being there for her when she needs me, as well. We share a special bond that has been concreted by my becoming a mother myself.

It’s so tough living in a different state than my Mom. Thankfully we have cell phones, Skype and Facebook to keep us connected across the miles. I was planning to give my Mom her necklace when she came to Violet’s 1^st birthday party yesterday, but she was unable to attend to attend due to health reasons, so I’m dropping it in the mail tomorrow. I hope she loves it as much as I love her.

What is Macy’s Heart of Haiti? Heart of Haiti is a “Trade, Not Aid” initiative launched by artist and social entrepreneur, Willa Shalit, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy’s. Already, Heart of Haiti has led to employment of 750 artists in Haiti, providing financial benefits for an estimated 8,500 people in the country.

Each item is a one-of-a-kind design and handmade by a Haitian master artisan from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mâché and stone. The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry and paintings and is made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.  

Heart of Haiti products are available online at Macy’s.com.

Rainbow Inspo!

Violet's 1st birthday party is this Saturday and I am super excited! To get myself into a bright, cheery mood I decided to hunt down some rainbow inspo!

Where I've Been & Where I'm Going

I've been off doing all sorts of soul searching these past few weeks deciding what I want to do with my life over the next few years. One big thing I've decided to do is get myself into shape.

I'm not overweight, but I'm out of shape and unhappy with the way I look. Violet's first birthday is coming up so I don't feel like I can use the "I just had a baby" excuse anymore. I started working out on Monday and I love it so far. I wanted to track my progress so here we go:

I'm currently 140lbs.

35" - Bust

31.5" - Waist

41.5" - Hips

23.5" - Thighs

10.5" - Arms

I also took some before photos, but I'm going to save those until I'm at my target size. I don't really have a target weight; I just want to be happy with my body and I'm so willing to work for it. I'm doing the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, some jogging and crunches. I'm throwing in the jogging and crunches daily just because I like to push myself a little further and I want to track my growth through how much longer I can jog and how many more crunches I can do. 

I have other news about upcoming changes, but I'm ironing out some details before sharing. :)

Daffodils

Sadly the daffodils have already all wilted away in our part of the country, but I was able to capture a few daffodilly (totally a word!) photos a few weeks ago. I looked all over for some daffodils that weren't in someone's yard and I managed to find some blooming outside a broken down house on the edge of town.

I had to basically force them to pose together. This was as close as I could get to smiles, which quickly dissolved into this...

I cannot look at this photo without laughing. Oliver's face KILLS ME. KILLS!

Tuesday Tunes

This week's tune is brought to us by the lovely Rural Alberta Advantage. I'm pretty sure I featured another one of their songs in the past, but I just simply adore them. This song is a great post-break up song. Enjoy!

Project 365

Another catch-up post of my Project 365 photos. I've been sticking with this, huzzah! Now I just need to start posting my photos again every Sunday. 

Paint Hands!

Water Baby!

Just a little post bath crazy people time!

Amelia on picture day at her preschool. This makes me laugh every time.

Violet looks so confused!

An excellent eye roll, if you ask me.

Our windowsill garden. We're growing daisies and sunflowers.

Easter Bunny Time!

Easter season is upon us! The kids began spring break today and, unfortunately, Oliver spends his spring break in Indiana with his father's family. I'm glad he gets to spend time with them and I know it's very special for him, I just always miss to him to pieces when he's gone. Spring break is two weeks long here, which means Oliver will be out of town for Easter this year. Thankfully our town had a little Easter event in the town square this morning and I was able to snap some Easter-y photos with the kids before Oliver left.

The bunnies were such a hit. They were precious!

They also had chicks.

And ducklings!

Violet refused to pose with the Easter bunny. She wouldn't let him hold her and she was basically climbing up my shoulders to get away from him if we went near him. This was the only picture that she didn't look petrified in. Oliver snapped this one for me.