Maternity Photo Shoot for My Sis

Today I took some photos for my sister who is "Ready to POP!" with baby boy #4! We used some of the photo props that we sell in our store, Z Create Design, and some of the new maternity photo props that I am going to be adding to our stock very soon!

We can all guess that little Kellyn is going to be as handsome as can be. I mean, look at his brothers! These boys are all going to be heart breakers. 

It was quite the challenge to wrangle 3 rambunctious boys for a photo shoot, but we made it happen and, if I do say so myself, we got some pretty awesome pics!

CONGRATULATIONS to my sister, Nikki, the mom-to-be. I can't wait to meet my newest nephew very, very soon! :)

We took a quick pause to photograph Asher with his Grandma and Grandpa!

FIND THE PHOTO PROPS HERE

(If you don't see the one you want listed, send me a message via Etsy.)

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Happy Half Birthday - 6 Months of Fun!

6 Month Update - Development & Milestones

I've said it and I will say it again, I can't believe it has been 6 months already since our sweet baby was born. 1/2 of a year! It went by so, so fast.

Asher is so much more lively and interactive now than ever before. He is happy all day and lets us know with a huge, as John would say, "Kool-Aid grin" that stretched from ear to ear. He laughs, he plays, he is curious... and he is so smart!

SIGN LANGUAGE UPDATE - 6 Months

Asher is now signing:

Dog

Milk

Up

Eat

More

We have seen glimpses of...

Cereal

Mama

Dada

Water

He gave up on:

Banana 

Carrot

I have now introduced these new signs:

Diaper

Change

Sleep

Sleep Clothes aka Pajamas

Train

Airplane

Car

Ball

Bath

Pacifier/Binky

Play

SIGNING IN USE...

The other night, I had to change Asher's diaper after having already put him to bed. While on the changing pad, he signed "milk". I wouldn't have otherwise given him any since he had just eaten, but once I did he ate the whole thing! This is just amazing to me and really solidifies our desire to continue with baby signing.

Here's a video of our little signer showing off his skills signing "dog" when he sees and hears the pugs during his pictures this morning...

MILESTONES @ 6 MONTHS

• Asher can now sit without using his hands for support (still topples over after a minute or so).
• Crawling "inchworm" style, still, only he is now making more progress in terms of moving across the floor. He can't yet lift his belly and support himself on his hands and knees, but once he figures that out - watch out! He'll be unstoppable.
• Sounding out "brrrr", "thhh", "deh", "meh", and blowing spit bubbles. I swear I heard "mama" and "dada" tonight but it may just be wishful thinking. ;) I DID hear "eee-ooo" while he was trying to  do peek-a-boo and I'm pretty sure he wants to say "doggy" so badly!
• Can drink from a sippy cup (but loses his grip within a few seconds). Just a tiny bit of water with his "crackers" (which I then discovered "may contain milk or soy" - oops - so I made homemade ones and will share the recipe soon. They also said they contain "organic flavor"? What the heck is "organic flavor"??? I am getting crunchier by the minute...)

Half-birthday onesie from Kakabaka on Etsy.

TEETHING UPDATE

We are still on "tooth watch"! Nothing yet, but lots of crankiness in the evenings, so something must be moving around in there. We've got a close eye out for anything breaking through...

We've been giving Asher 2-3 Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets in his bottles whenever he seems to be experiencing teething pain. We also picked up some BabyGanics Teething Pods which I have only had to break out once and it really seemed to have helped a lot. 

SOLID FOOD UPDATE

Asher loves solid foods! He loves them so much that he will only drink half his usual amount of milk in the mornings and is extra finicky with bottles now. I had to start giving him brown rice cereal (against my original plan) so that I could mix more milk into his solids to thicken everything up.

It's been about 2 weeks now that he has been eating brown rice cereal and over the past week or so we have seen an onset of mild eczema on his face, arms, legs, and chest. I am not sure if this is related to the rice cereal or the introduction of stage 2 baby foods (which have multiple ingredients in them) so I am going to be doing some backtracking to stage ones and hopefully I can figure out what is causing this issue. Our city has also made changes to the water recently and it smells like awful chlorine now, so maybe it could be related to that... It's so frustrating! His next doctor's appointment is just around the corner, so unless the skin issue takes a turn for the worse before then, we'll address it then.

POSTPARTUM UPDATE

My hair is still shedding like crazy - when does this stop?!?! Otherwise, things are pretty much back to normal, for the most part. Thank goodness!

Giving Suki the "stink eye". :)

Happy Half-Birthday to our ENERGETIC little jumping bean. He is so sweet and loving but he is also showing signs of never ending ENERGY! Those feet - they just go and go and go. We have our work cut out for us with this one, I think. Oh and that mischievous smile... Yes, we are in trouble. 

We love you baby Asher! 

Don't tell Daddy, but now it is time to start planning your 1-year birthday...

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6 Month - Half Birthday Prep & Pics

Well, almost! Asher's "official" 6 month half birthday is this Friday, August 9th. Can you believe it has been 6 months already?!??! It feels like just yesterday I was feeling him kick inside my belly.

It is just incredible how quickly they grow. Not just physically, but mentally, too. I'll get into detail with everything like a usually do after I take his 6 month onesie growth picture. Plus, I've got some seriously awesome news on baby signing. Be sure to check back in a few days for that!

We have a 6 month baby photo shoot set up with our photographer, Caroline Nicole Photography, on the 17th. I'm still not 100% sure where we are going to do them. I am torn between a beach setting or park setting. Maybe there's a beach with a park that would cover both bases. We'll see. I'll have to brainstorm on some spots. Ideas are welcome!

WARDROBE!

I've been collecting outfits for Asher's 6 month photos for awhile now and am SO EXCITED because they're just absolutely adorable (if I do say so myself)! #1 is perfect for the shoot with Caroline since we'll be outdoors and it will be HOT. I have another onesie on its way that is similar but with a vest instead of suspenders. #2 is going to be perfect for whatever we end up doing on Friday. #3 is going to be used for an indoor portrait session by ME! Or, it may be too big and it will be saved for a later date. #4 I purchased before Asher was born and I hope it still fits! It's size 0-6 month, so we will see. If it fits, I'll bring it along for the outdoor session.

*** WHERE TO BUY FIND THE ABOVE OUTFITS ***

1.  Tie/Suspender Onesie - Laddies & Lasses on Etsy

     Onesie with Vest (not pictured) - The Accent Shop on Etsy

     Hat - Born to Love Clothing (I found on Zulily sale...)

2.  Custom 1/2 Onesie with Matching Legwarmers - Kakabaka on Etsy

3.  3-Piece Vest Outfit - Macys

     Newsboy Hat - Born to Love Clothing (I found on Zulily sale...)

4.  Giraffe Romper - Mud-Pie

5. Ruffly Blanket (Shown under the clothes above and will be the perfect beach blanket for our pics. Also, this store is now on my list for go-to baby gifts - this is the most adorable blanket I've ever seen! I'll have to be extra careful with it during our photo shoot not to ruin it.) - All the Truffle on Etsy

As for me, I am going to wear a white shirt with white pants? Maybe, maybe not. And a turquoise statement necklace. I bought John two shirts to try on. I'm not falling into the figure-out-what-you're-going-to-wear-on-the-day-of-the-shoot trap again. Here's what I have going on in my head:

PROPS!

I also had John make some half birthday photo props for our little guy. One that says '1/2' and one that says '6mo.'.  We also are now selling them! Here's a link to our store if you're interested: 1/2 Birthday Photo Prop

I also found a really neat vintage wine box on Etsy for Asher to sit in. I hope it gets here in time!

Did I mention I am excited???

The good thing about having this photo shoot on the 17th (other than more than enough time to prepare) is that Asher will be sitting like a pro by then. He is getting more and more steady sitting without his hands. In a week's time, he'll have it down, I'm sure. Here's a quick video of his skills...

Needless to say, there is much excitement around here with our little half-year-old. I hope I have a chance to make a half cake for him. More half birthday news and pictures coming soon!

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Photos with Baby Marley

Today, baby Marley and her mommy, Nancy, came over to take some photos while both her and Asher's daddys were outside working on John's boat. We were totally content indoors in the cool a/c while the guys were melting in the Florida heat.

While I snapped picture after picture of this little beauty, baby Asher watched happily from his Rock 'n Play. Both he and Marley were such great sports throughout the whole process! There was hardly a tear all day from either of the little ones, and that is saying something! I was excited to get some extra practice in on some of the new backdrop items I recently purchased and Nancy was just as excited to get some photos of her little angel.

Marley was such a pleasure to take pictures of and she is just so darn cute and photogenic!

After the mini "photo shoot", both babies fell fast asleep. I'm telling you, we couldn't have planned the whole thing better. So, while the "models" rested, Nancy and I whipped up some Carrot Margaritas as featured on Cupcakes and Cashmere. I know, it sounds like a strange recipe - but they turned out awesome. I didn't have red pepper flakes, only ground red pepper which worked just fine with a tiny sprinkle on top. It finished it off with the perfect 'kick'. We even brought a few to the guys who were still working diligently outside in the heat. How they can be outside for more than a few minutes (hours!) in this weather, I will never know. We had a fun time connecting with "mommy-talk" while the babies finished up their naps.

Oh - and I will deny any allegations of using a baby bottle to measure the correct ounces of liquor. ;)

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