sloane 6 mos

Soooo late editing photos from Sloanes 6 month shoot.  Only a few good ones, but we sure had fun!  *Note to self:  only shoot on white background that is paper - sheets suck as a backdrop.  Much happier with brown fuzzy blanket - even though Sloane kept eating it.*  This kid always has a smile on her face ... I mean how could not love capturing that?  It is so hard to think that she's 6 months already! 

she loved it when I brushed my hair over her face - just made her giggle and giggle

sloane { 5 months }

How cute is this little family?  My friend Holly has some super cute babies!  Went outside for the first time with Sloane since she can now sit up - and even though it was extremely overcast, it was hard for her to open her eyes.  I'm still super happy with how these came out.  Processed with a combo of Lightroom presets (VSCO and Totally Rad) and was feeling a little "fade" with these.  I know it's a bit of a fad right now, but I do like how it softens everything. 

easter { take two }

Easter Sunday = babies, brunch, bunnies and the beach! Great day girls!

easter { take one }

Ahh Easter weekend.  I drove down to Indiana for the weekend to hang with the Pittman crew.  Three Easter egg hunts in a single day - now that's fun.  I met up with the gang just in time for the second hunt at the Country Club.  The kids got lots of candy and scooped it up at record speed.  Impressive really!

Then it was over to Friendship Park for the egg drop - yes, 20,000 eggs dropped from a helicopter in the middle of the park for the kids to snap up.  Now this was interesting.  They did indeed drop eggs from a helicopter, but it took a very long time and it was just a few eggs at a time.  The helicopter came back by four times to drop all of the eggs.  And the heigh from which they were dropped meant the contents often spilled out or turned to mush.  But, hey, it's all in good fun, right?

Then it was back to the homstead for a few minutes of rest and a little Sloane photo session.  Don't you just love those blue eyes??

10 on 10 :: 27 of 30 :: hello sloane

Oh what a day!  It's 10 on 10 challenge day { on the weekend, yeah! } and day 27 of my 30 days of gratitude challenge and the first time I get to see my bf/sister's new baby girl!!  So let's jump right into the fun!!  

day 27 of 30 :: daily routine :: I start every day with a cup of tea.  I love the little leaf stem on the forte triangular tea bags! 

Then I hit the new market at the Evanston Ecology center - was hoping for a couple of vendors to be there, but sadly they were not ... maybe next week. We saw some good stuff tho! 

Then it was time to hit the road ... it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining bright ... if only it wasn't so cold! 

I arrived in Chesterton just a couple of hours after momma and baby came home from the hospital.  Little Sloane was all snug as a bug... she is super cute and so stinkin' tiny she doesn't even fit into premie clothes!  Look at her tiny little bracelet! 

I spent a little time snuggling with her before we decided to start the photoshoot.  I gotta give huge props to baby photographers!!!  I do not have any idea how the pose these little munchkins.  They just don't cooperate.  I'm thinking maybe she was a little too young at only five days old, but I did get a couple of cuties! Holly purchased this crazy long santa hat off etsy and she wanted to try to recreate the shot from the website - impossible!!

After Sloane was done with her first photoshoot, Holly's friend Nikki came over to bring them dinner { so nice } and hung around for a little bit.  Her adorable little boy was so excited to hold the baby.  

Meanwhile, Bella was busy taking photos with her camera.  I caught her snapping a self portrait and asked her to show me.  She's such a ham... 

I hung around till it was about dinner time for the Pittman clan ... snapped a few photos of Jeff with his little girl before I left.   He is one proud papa!  Oh and I caught the BEST baby yawn!  Oh how I love a baby yawn!!! 

Oh and I had to snap a photo of Xavier's sign.  He made this adorable little sign to hang on the hospital room door - they said the nurses were gaga over it.  Apparently this was a first.

Couldn't officially leave till I got one more snap of Sloane and her big sister Bella B!  We were cracking up because it looks like Sloan is throwing the peace sign... 

Back on the road home... 

What a great day!  And then I arrived home to this adorable Christmas Card from my friend Kathryn.  Happy Everything!!! 

an american girl birthday

Bella Barclay turned seven today - 11.11.11. We celebrated at the American Girl Doll store and had lunch with the ladies (and Jeff and Xavier!). It was an explosion of pink and Bella could not have been happier. Maybe a bit overwhelmed by the merchandise surrounding her. See, she's been saving her money and stocking up on Birthday cash to buy a new American Girl Doll and all sorts of accessories. But, what to buy? There's so much! And what girl wouldn't want it all?

The whole experience was pretty seamless. They rang to signal lunch time, we lined up to be seated and stocked up on chairs for all of the dolls and were taken to our table - all set up with crowns and etc. They have a menu of the kid basics plus some adult fare and began bringing beverages and appetizers right away. They took each girl's order and left us with a little box of questions to ask the girls while we waited. The brought out a cake with candles lit and sang happy birthday, passed out little goodie bags and then came back with little slices of cake and flower pots full of ice cream. So cute. Happy Birthday Bella!

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