Backblog: Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, Matt and my dad devised a sweet brunch out on my parents' patio with us, them, and my sister and her girls. Lilacs, coffee, homemade muffins, a firepit, and a little table for Avonlea and her cousins Luci (5) and Betty (almost 3).

It was the perfect summery morning and we feasted and basked in the sun afterward. My mom said it was her favorite Mother's Day ever.

I just had to sneak this shot of them when we said our prayer before eating. At least I wasn't the only one who wasn't bowing my head. :)

 The strawberry muffins were made from the recipe for Gateau au Yaourt from the book "Bringing Up Bebe" (which I highly recommend--a memoir about an American raising her kids in Paris and learning the French way of parenting). It's a fun recipe, intended for little hands to help, using plastic yogurt containers for the measurements. You can get the recipe for yourself here.

Finally, I posted some photos in honor of my mom on Facebook and came up with this gem.

We've been wondering where Avonlea got her crazy hair.

Now we know.

Newborn Portraits

If there's one piece of advice I could give anyone simply for the perks involved, it would be: become a professional photographer. If you don't want to do that, the second best piece of advice would be: convince your closest friend to become a professional photographer. This arrangement is incredibly beneficial for the non-photographer friend, while the photographer is beset with an insatiable lifelong need for portraits and special event archiving. I think I got the sweet end of this deal.

From doing double duty in my wedding as Matron of Honor and wedding photographer, through pregnancy portraits, family portraits, and not to mention all those class assignments she used me as a model for when she was in school, Ashley DeLatour has documented practically my entire life. And somehow she makes me feel like it's her privilege to do it, when I know that really the privilege is all mine. It doesn't hurt that she's incredible at her job.

Here are some of my favorite from our recent newborn shoot with Corin. Enjoy!

By the way, Ashley and her fabulous photography partner Angie can be found at One Thousand Words Photography.

Backblog: Corin's Mustache Blanket

 My friend Jenny made us this whimsical creation for Corin to snuggle with in his carseat. Avonlea had one with owls on it from her and it was one of my all-time favorite baby things she had. Needless to say, we've had a lot of fun with it.

Backblog: Our First Saturday Morning as Four

We took these photos when Corin was only three days old. 

I love this little series of four when Avonlea comes on the scene in all her 2-year-old craziness.

We all so love this sweet little guy. Doesn't he look like a baby hedgehog?