Sara's baby shower

Soooo I figure I should make this post before my sister gives birth haha! Pretty much the second that Sara announced that she was expecting I said I wanted to throw the shower. Much thanks to Pinterest, it made planning easy. Sara and John do not know the gender of the baby, and I really didn't want to do the typical green and yellow type of shower. Sara and John both lived in France, and both still speak a little French. Sara mentioned a cute French cafe in downtown Cleveland, called Le Petit Triangle Cafe. This sounded perfect to me, as I would be planning from a distance, so letting someone else do all the cooking and cleanup seemed ideal. We set the date for Sunday, December 9th. This seemed like a good time because it was in between holidays and gave Sara enough time that if for some crazy reason she went into labor early, she'd have enough time to get everything together. :)
The planning began very early on, and being that it would be during the holiday season, we got an early jump start on the invitations. I found the CUTEST french invite on zazzle.com. It was exactly my taste, and Sara's as she got to be there to pick them out, haha! Sara and John had flown down to Texas in early October and so she just so happened to get to help with that detail. They said "un petit bebe" so it fit perfectly with having it at a French cafe.
I got started on the menu right away with the help of the Owner of the cafe, Joy. We decided a sit down meal would be best, as we were going to fill the room! We opted for fruit, cheese, and nut plates at each table, then choice of quiche and salad, and then of course some amazing crepes for dessert! Naturally, what is a shower without a little champagne, right? So we had a great champagne bar with bellini's, spritzers, and mimosas. Yum!
I then started thinking about table decorations and went to Pinterest for some inspiration. I found yellow hydregnas with cranberries inside the vases and immediately knew that was what I had to do-I had it-the colors would be yellow and red! Not your typical baby shower colors, but such a great combination! I have a friend down here in Texas that just started a company doing signs and banners, and she made a cute "bebe" sign to hang. It was perfect! Sara's sister in law Katie gave me the name of a great cake place that followed the theme and did a cool yellow cake with some twigs and cranberries for decor.
I also went to Hobby Lobby and got yellow card stock, and made menus for each place setting. It gave the table the extra little bit that it needed. Oh, and how could I forget the favors? OPI "Bastille my heart" nail polish! Who doesn't love a great red nail polish!? :) Everything came together so perfectly.
The best part by far was seeing how many wonderful women came out to celebrate Sara and their baby! Enjoy the photos!

Life as a Texan

So a few times I have posted on facebook about not wanting to be called m'aam. In Arizona and California it truely is like calling someone "old lady." I have many memories of my mom being called m'aam and she would quickly respond, "Who are you calling m'aam?! Don't you call me that!" Of course this was done with a smile on her face.
I am a big believer in that you need to adapt to your culture and "When in Rome, Do as the Romans do." For example, when I lived in Germany, I spoke German. By the time I left I was pretty fluent. Wish I could still say I was, but you forget if you don't use it...anyways, point being, in the South they commonly say "sir" and "m'aam" and I am learning how to adapt. Sadie is taught at school that she is to say "Yes, m'aam" to her teachers. I completely respect this. However, they have taught her to call ME "m'aam" as well, and this I am not a fan of! Haha! She now knows that she is to call me, "Yes, Mommy." :) One day I was picking her up from school and her teacher said something like "you say yes m'aam to your mommy." Sadie got upset and said, "I don't say yes m'aam to mommy, I say yes mommy!!!" I explained to her teacher that we don't do that in our house but that it is fine at school.
I thought I would share a short funny video of Sadie trying to get a rise out of me by calling me m'aam. Enjoy!

Some other funny Texas terms that I posted about is hearing people talk about the "light bill." I call it an electricity bill, as it is all encompasing, but being the perfectionist that I am, have to fight the urge to correct them and say, "don't you mean the electric bill?"
Sometimes people here have such thick accents that I often times cannot understand them. Friends in Arizona and California say that they can hear a little accent in me, which surprises me because most people here instantly know that I am not from the area from my lack of accent. It's interesting how that works.
Anyways, January flew by-how can that be?! I have a busy month ahead with lots of newborn shoots and a bridal show at the end of the month. Time is just flyin'!

Christmas 2012

 

 I love Christmas. It has been my favorite time of year for as long as I can remember. This year was HECTIC to say the least. Because I am a crazy person, I decided it would be a good idea to throw my sister a baby shower 3 weeks before Christmas (which I will cover in another post). The shower was in Cleveland, which meant traveling via air twice in a short time span. I felt like we pretty much got home from the shower, unpacked, did laundry, repacked, and headed back to the airport. Lol!

We spent Christmas in Arizona, and it was whirlwind. We flew out on Sunday the 23rd bright and early. Got in around 9 and my aunt Mary Ellen was at the airport waiting for us. We went to breakfast at IHop then headed back to the airport to pick up our bags, as they had to go on a later flight. We then headed to my grandparents house in Scottsdale where I had a photoshoot scheduled for noon. Crazy right? It was for one of the sweetest families. I have known them since high school so it was a lot of fun to see everyone. We even made due with the harsh noon lighting by finding some good shade in the back. As soon as the shoot was over I showered and did my nose treatment (I have been having to do this crazy antibiotic nose inhalation for a month now because I can't get rid of a sinus infection with oral antibiotics). Then Adam, Sadie and I all took a nap together before everyone started arriving for the White Elephant party. The party started around 5 but people started to arrive around 4 I think. After the party we headed up the mountain to Payson, where my parents live. The next day was, of course, Christmas Eve. I was very happy that we got to spend it in the pine trees instead of the valley. We did our usual Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparent's house up there. Christmas morning everyone kind of slept in. My mom made her famous biscuts and gravy. We ate and then opened gifts. Sadie had a lot of fun! That afternoon while Sadie napped Adam and I got to go on a hike. It was pretty with lots of snow on the mountains. In the meantime, our neighbors on both sides were sending us photos of our house and street-a white Christmas at home in Texas. We were pretty bummed to say the least! That night my mom hosted Christmas dinner. My aunt Mary Ellen and cousin Shannon drove up, and grandma and grandpa came over. The next day we went to visit Aunt Norma and then headed out to the cabin where there was LOTS and LOTS of snow. Of course, I forgot my camera, so the photos I do have came from my iPhone. My parents have done an amazing job expanding and remodeling. The boys made a fire and we all had hot chocolate. Sadie and I took a nap. We woke up and headed back just before dark. The 27th we went back down to the valley for the annual family Karaoke party at cousin Ron and Vicky's. Before that, we stopped at grandma and grandpa's house for a car so that Adam and I could go see our friends, the Kelley's. Sadie was going to go with us, but had been wanting to go for a boat ride for days, so she stayed behind while Adam and I headed off. We had such a great visit with Karly and Carl. They are the best of friends and we are so thankful for them. We quickly had to get to the karaoke party, so off we went! Had a great time catching up with my cousins and trying to talk them into a Texas visit. :) After the party, we headed back up the mountain to Payson. The next day it was back down to the valley for Adam and me, as I had an 8th grade class reunion. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone, and it seemed like we all picked up right where we left off. Crazy! Adam and I got to stay at my grandparent's place that night which was so relaxing. The next morning, grandma and I headed out to Mesa for another shower for Sara, then got back to the house in just enough time to pack and get to the airport to catch our flight back to Dallas. Our flight got delayed, which put us home at about midnight. We got in and got Sadie to bed while Adam and I set up "Christmas morning" for the next day. I think we finally got to bed around 2am! The next day we had our own little Christmas, which was really nice. For New Year's we had a handful of good friends over, including Sadie's friend Molly. They had a blast playing together. That is pretty much our holiday in a nutshell. Here are some photos of the week! Enjoy! Happy New Year!

                                                 Hanging out with daddy on the boat dock

                                   This was my dress when I was her age-my mom made it!

                                                               Beautiful AZ Sunset

                                                       Seeing grandpa for the first time

                                            Nice shot of Aunt Mary Ellen and Shannon

                                        Sadie in her typical fingers in her mouth pose

                                                                   White Elephant

                                       Uncle Carl, my grandpa Dalton, and Aunt Wyleese

                                               Christmas Eve, pretty fog in the distance

                                                                 The boys grilling

                                        Rice Krispy treat train my mom and Sadie made

                                                    Uncle/cousin Logan singing to the kids

                                                 These ducks went everywhere with her

                                                               Singing before gifts

                                                      The ducks even help pick wine

                                                     Best family shot we could get

                                                  Grandma Lainie and Grandpa Dalty

                                                              Christmas morning

                           Opening princess stick on jewelery from Shannon and aunt Mary Ellen

                                                 Daddy gets to wear a princess necklace

                                                            Turtle from Aunt Norma

                                                   "Christmas morning" at our house!

                                                                       At the cabin

                                                          Playing with cousin Shannon

                                      Photo that the neighbors sent of our house on Christmas :(

                                                       With my sweet girl at the cabin

                                   And finally our street on Christmas, sent by other neighbor