Sleeping Beauty

Sometimes at night, when the rest of the household is sleeping....

....a mama has trouble going to bed....

...because she stumbles upon something so precious...

....that it begs to be studied...

....and captured....and savored....

....that these fleeting moments with sleeping babies in the house...

...might be treasured forever...

...in her heart.

Cooking With Kate--A Recipe for Cute Pics

A Recipe for Cute Pictures

First you find your inspiration, whether it be a theme, a place, or a cute prop,

like this teeny tiny apron I found in our Closet Thrift Store in the basement. 

I don't know who gave it to us, but it is darling!

 

In advance lay out everything you need for the "recipe"

by brainstorming how you can piggyback off of the cute prop...

Add your cute little darling to the mix, and you will definitely have the most important part of your recipe!  Be sure your little one is well-rested and fed beforehand so the mood of the shoot is cheerful and not filled with tears.

Let your little one have fun!  Be less about posing her/him and more about watching him/her and catching her/his delight and exploration....

Put all these ingredients in a pan called SIMPLE.  You want to simplify your background and exclude anything that would be a distraction and take away from the photo instead of adding to it.

Add a dash of humor and a pinch of fun on top by being silly or singing their favorite song....

...and bake in an oven of LOVE!  Remember the camera looks both ways...a photo is never just about what is in the picture but about how you FEEL about what's in the picture.  These are not just pictures of Katrielle, they are pics of this Mama's heart too....

Ta-Da!  Follow this recipe for super-sweet pics of your little ones!

Baby Katrielle is One!

Last Friday, our tiny girl had a birthday!

I'm so thankful God has blessed our family with this little one! 

She is such a delight to us.

She LOVES the song "I'm a Little Teapot" so I ended up decorating her room with that theme.  We also decided to do a teapot birthday for her.  I found a darling cloth teapot set at the thrift store and washed it really well for her.  I also found a musical tea seat (new-in-box) this summer at a yard sale for $1 which I gave her. 

I stuck two cupcakes together and made this cake.

Opening gifts chosen and wrapped by her brothers!  Yay!

Alathia chose this crown and jewels toy for Katri because her name means "God is My Crown."

Having 3 big siblings is a ready-made party!

My brother Grant, who works in the oil industry in Pennsylvania, just came home for a visit and was able to come to her party.  But Kate is going through a timid stage, especially with Grandpas and Uncles, so she was not happy about him holding her!

And even though she's seen a lot of Uncle Colter recently, she didn't want him to hold her either!

My mom got her a little tea set that makes pouring sounds and says "Please" and "Thank You"

She loved it soooo much she wouldn't put the tea cups down, not even to drink her bottle!

At lunchtime, we ended up going to the Mexican restaurant to see my brother and had a great time, as my entire family was together.  Since it was her birthday, the waitresses brought out the birthday sombrero and sang to Katrielle and gave her a free birthday dessert of fried ice-cream....

....which everyone was happy to eat for her since she's too little for sweets!

(These pics are from my mom's old camera--so they're not the best quality!)

Someone gave us this brand-new dress for Katri and I thought it would be perfect if it had a little teapot on it.  My friend Amanda found some darling teacup fabric at the thrift store for me, and I used it to sew an applique on the dress and teacup sleeve cuffs.  I even made a little hair band to match.  I love having little girls to dress up!

All in all, I think it was a pretty wonderful day for our little Kay-kay!  We are excited to see how she learns and grows this coming year.  She is our "mystery girl" whom we haven't quite figured out yet.  She is sometimes compliant and mellow, sometimes stubborn and strong-willed, sometimes a go-getter, sometimes a cuddler, sometimes quiet and shy, sometimes outgoing and loud, but always very curious!  (The kids and I sometimes call her "Curious Kate" instead of Curious George.)  She has had a rough month, with a bad cold that lasted 3 weeks, pink eye, roseola, an ear infection, and cutting her eye teeth, but on her birthday she was perfectly healthy and happy, go figure!  October and November are rough months in our town as far as sickness goes, so not having to cancel her party felt like a miracle!

Camera Practice

Practicing with my camera......

 .....is so much fun when you have.....

......a little princess.....

.....as your photography model!

"Princess Kate" as she is called by her sister ever since Alathia heard me talking about the marriage of Prince William and Princess Kate, is 6 months old and very healthy.  She sits up by herself, loves to babble, drools a lot, and enjoys fruits and vegetables!  She's giggling more now too and is a real sweetheart but also has a wild streak like her older sister!

Justus and Katrielle's Dedication

 Our "little" kids.  The second brother-sister set of kids in our family to have a dedication.

Alathia and Jeremiah were 2.5 and 6 months when they were dedicated on my golden birthday 4 years ago.  Justus and Katrielle are the same ages--2.5 and amost-6-months!

 Our family and my parents on the left, Pastor Richard, and Pastor Matt and his family on the right

Katrielle and Marius slept through the dedication.  Camilla is a good friend and one of our pastor's wives.  She had Marius 5 days before I had Katri.  She is one of the strongest women I know--having given birth 3 times at home and having had to push for 3 hours with each one of her kids!