Our Family Photos

We had these family photos taken at the very end of September.  Surprisingly, they went better than I imaged them going, aside from Holden's weird smile.   They are not perfect, but as perfect as we're going to get at this stage of life with a 5, a 3, and a (then) 10-month old.

Photos by Maylyn Photograhy.

Back to School Cool

This post is sponsored by Kohl's.  I received the included back to school clothes and essentials as compensation.

As much as it pains me to write that phrase Back to School, there's no denying it's here.  I've been back at work for over a week now and today is our first official day with students.  And if you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the boys' "first day of school" photos yesterday!  I have such a love/hate relationship with this time of year.  I love my job (for the most part) and it can be nice to get back into routine come August (plus, fall fashion, football, and pumpkin-everything!!!!😍), but if you know me and my love for summer (including my lack of showering on a regular basis), you probably aren't surprised to know I cry every year when I have to go back.  August also exhausts me.  One time, I almost fell asleep while waiting for a red stop light to turn green.  I wish I was kidding.  So yeah, back-to-school is basically the worst - yet best - of times.

( button down )

What I do look forward to - back to school shopping!  With any new season comes the need for new clothes for my kiddos.  I've mentioned this before, but I love shopping for my boys!  Brantley is to the age where he wants only "cool clothes" (athletic apparel), but Holden will still let me dress him in the trendy stuff, which is where Kohl's comes in handy because they have it all!  Nike and Under Armour, joggers and buffalo plaid!  (Which apparently I have a slight obsession with....stay tuned.)  And with great prices and constant sales, it's just a win-win for everyone!  We recently did a little online back-to-school shopping at Kohl's and scored some amazing deals!

( raglan long-sleeve tee / / knit joggers )

( UA tee / / UA shorts )

As for the "cool clothes", I'll admit, it's growing on me.  But only a little.  And only when it matches.  I just can't believe how old it makes Brantley look!  Luckily, he will still dress nicely if I ask him bribe him with candy.  

( button down / / joggers )

And let's talk joggers.  I love them.  They are the perfect compromise for boys who hate jeans.  Most (these and these included) have elastic waste bands and come without the annoyance of zippers or buttons.  Plus, they're adorable.  (My husband disagrees, but I'm definitely the trendy one in the family.)  Kohl's definitely has you covered on joggers, as you can see from these photos!

And this top below is the third buffalo plaid top.  Apparently, when I like something, I really, really, really like it!

( button-down / / joggers )

We also ordered Brantley a new pair of sneakers.  I cringe at the thought of buying new tennies because quality, brand name shoes are so expensive, even those for toddlers!  However, the blow is a little less painful at Kohl's because of their sales. 🙌🙌

( Nike sneakers / / joggers )

( Nike tee / / joggers / / sneakers )

  ( Nike therma-fleece joggers )

( UA raglan tee / / gray joggers )

Have you gone back-to-school shopping or is that still on your to-do list?  Are your kids picky about what they wear (ahem, "cool clothes"), or will they wear anything?

For your shopping pleasure, I've linked most of these looks above!  You may also click here to access Kohl's back-to-school kids' clothing, here shop their back-to-school products in general, and here to access current Kohl's coupons.

Beginning today and lasting through August 20th, Kohl's is running their Friends and Family Sale.  Use the code SAVER for 20% off your order plus $10 off $50 worth of kids' and juniors' clothing and character backpacks with  promo code BTS10  

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Affiliate links are not associated with Kohl's.

Our Final Family-of-Four Photos

It's that time again!  Time to share our most recent family photos!  We do photos once per year...any more than that and I think the hubs would shoot me.  I like doing them in the fall because, duh, Christmas cards!  However, this year I struggled with what to do exactly.  Baby 3.0 is due at the end of November.  He'll be here in plenty of time for Christmas.  But I'm a planner.  I like to order our Christmas cards early.  The idea of waiting for a baby to join our photos, then waiting for the photos to be taken and edited, then ordering and sending cards amidst caring for a newborn stressed me out.  Big time.  Plus I wanted one final photo session as a family of four.  So I went ahead and scheduled our photos for October.  Yes, I'm still using these for our annual Christmas cards and yes, the cards will include the baby's name but no picture.  But it is what it is.  I hope to send out newborn announcements shortly after Christmas to semi-make up for it! ;)

As for the photos, I used the same photographer for the second year in a row, Whitney Revelle Photography.  I adore our photos from last year and Whitney has two young boys herself, so I know she relates well to our family!  We met Whitney at 8:30 on a Saturday morning and she worked her magic for about an hour.  To my surprise, Brantley behaved amazingly well and for the most part, cooperated like we asked.  Holden was another story, but she somehow still managed to get some good shots!  Once again, I am in love with these pictures and I will likely treasure them for many, many years to come!

I'll be sharing a sneak peak of our Christmas cards soon, so stay tuned!

Links to past family photos:

2011

2012

2013

2014
2015