Seeing All Sides: Brotherly Love

Showing posts with label Brotherly Love. Show all posts

Matchy Matchy with Finn + Emma

One of my favorite things about having three boys is getting to dress them in coordinating or matching clothes. So when Finn + Emma offered to send us a piece or two, I knew right away I wanted matching pajamas. I ordered some and then waited (and waited) for Rhett to make his appearance so I could ~~snap some photos~~ let my kids wear them and swoon over their cuteness. And cute they were!

These organic and eco-safe pajamas are very high quality, much thicker than the pajamas we typically wear, yet made from buttery soft cotton. There are so many adorable patterns to choose from, as well as a large assortment of styles (the rompers might be my fave). It's going to be hard to go back to our normal (i.e. cheap) non-matching pajamas after wearing these!!

If you wan to give Finn + Emma a try, use this link for 15% off all orders over $50! And this rug by Lorena Canals--I blogged about its greatness here. Not only is it the perfect rug for our nursery, but it makes for a pretty great backdrop for photos, huh? ;) You can get one for yourself here.

And seriously, how cute is this? Holden adores Baby Rhett and can be the best big brother there is! I love watching him take on the role of big brother. Although he and Brantley are closer in age, I think there's going to be a special bond between these two and I can't wait to watch the relationship grow.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Finn + Emma, but all opinions are my own.

Holden's 1-Year Photos

Last year, when searching for a newborn photographer, I ended up purchasing a 3-session package: newborn, 6-month, and 1-year. The focus of the 6-month shoot was more on our entire family because it was October and I intended to use the family photos for Christmas cards. For his 1-year session, however, I wanted the focus to be back on Holden. After all, we got 1-year (and cake smash) photos of Brantley so, of course, I had to remain consistent! The session was scheduled for exactly one week after Holden's first birthday. Wouldn't you know, he came home from daycare the afternoon before with a 102 fever (likely a reaction from his 1-year immunizations a couple of days prior). He was also not acting like himself whatsoever, so I decided to reschedule the pictures. Well, then he woke up on Saturday morning acting more like his normal self, so I frantically texted our photographer to see if she could come over after all. We worked out all of the details and the session was back on....and then Holden started acting unhappy again. At that point, I wasn't cancelling again, so we gave him some Tylenol and hoped for the best.

We started with brother photos. Despite the two prior photo sessions, we still only have about two decent professional photos of the boys together and I was determined to try yet again. We walked across the street to the lake and got both boys to semi-cooperate. We bribed Brantley with a "special treat" that I, of course, forgot to pick up at the grocery store. Thank goodness for some leftover Easter candy.

I'm decently happy with the photos. Both boys are looking and they are semi-smiling at the same time, which is a huge victory, but the pictures don't seem to POP in my opinion. Maybe it's because I'm getting better at taking photos myself so I have really high expectations. Or maybe because we were in our own neighborhood and there's nothing exceptionally special about the setting. Who knows. I still love the photos because they feature two of the most handsome little boys I know. And I think they portray Brantley's love/protection his little brother just perfectly!

After 20 minutes at the lake, we headed back home for a few more of Holden himself and the cake smash! Bear in mind, he wasn't feeling great, but I still think she captured some adorable photos of his sweet personality.

All images courtesy of Sarah Ireland Photography.

Follow the links to check out Holden's newborn and 6-month photo sessions (also taken by Sarah Ireland Photography) and Brantley's 1-year session (taken by KJane Designs).

{The Little Things} || Big Brothers are Funny

It's been awhile since I posted a "Little Thing". But truly, those are some of my favorite posts to look back upon. They are a good reminder of the little joys that make life truly worth living. I also love reliving those very moments - though small, they are often very significant moments in my eyes.

I recorded this video last week at the dinner table. We were in somewhat of a hurry to eat dinner and leave for MOPS by 5:45. And I admit, sometimes my type A personality hinders my ability to live in the moment and find joy in life's small pleasures. So when this happened, all I could do was smile, grab my phone, and let it happen. Having two boys who are only 21 months apart can be exhausting at times. But in sweet moments like this, it can be pretty great, too!

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Linking up with Sadie Sky Blog

Train and More Trains (and a Few Other Winter Break Photos, Too!)

What an amazing break it's been. I am so grateful for the two weeks off I had to relax, catch up on a few things (blog posts), and spend with the boys. I also love that my hubby's job is pretty lax this time of year so we got to spend lots of stress-free, let's-not-think-about-work time together as a family and do a few things we don't normally do. Chuck E. Cheese, for instance. And Cosmic Jump. And lunch dates (with kids, obviously) to Wendy's and Fritz's. And yesterday - Union Station. We had never been other than one exhibit (me) and walking through before and after a marathon. But since Brantley has been loving trains lately and is old enough to appreciate a trip there, we packed up and headed downtown.

First up, a train he could actually ride! He was a little apprehensive at first, but quickly got over any fears and cheesed it up for the camera each time he passed by!

After riding the train, we went into the train museum. Brantley, again, loved what Union Station had to offer! He even made some random friends and followed them around, checking out the trains with them!

After making our way through the train museum and playing with Legos for awhile, I bribed Brantley another train ride for a couple of pictures with Holden. Union Station is just too picturesque to not take some adorable photos. They turned out okay. And I thought it was hard to get good photos of one kid...

Before we left, we decided to snap some photos in front of the Christmas tree. I was going to take one of Craig and the boys, and then he was going to take one of me, but instead a random passerby offered to take one of the four of us so I happily accepted. Turns out, the guy acted like he'd never touched a camera before. It took him about 11 tries to get this one photo, which ended up being a blurry (on auto setting). Oh well. It was the thought that counted.

In keeping with the train theme, we then headed to Fritz's at Crown Center a few blocks away for lunch.

After that, we got frozen custard, of course. A must for us every time we go to Crown Center.

And that concluded our day downtown and my last day of winter break (minus the final weekend) this year. Like I said earlier, it was an amazing break and I look forward to my next one! Here are a few more photos to show what else we've done!