Family Day 2020

This year we were determined to get out and enjoy Family Day together. My FB memories tell me that the last two years we’ve been home sick and haven’t done anything so this year we decided to go out to Saltery Bay for a fire, complete with hot dogs and s’mores! Our plan was almost changed due to a sick Kennedy but we decided to go anyways and hope for the best. She was certainly tired and under the weather but was a total trooper too. She was sound asleep in the truck before we even got moving! Thanks to all those that came out and joined us today as well! I have found this year that I’m more in the moment and haven’t been taking nearly as many photos as I have in the past, but here are some of my favourites.

She was so tired we were snuggling by the fire and she just about fell asleep in my arms

My wishes for my beautiful little girl

Here are my 10 life lessons for my sweet Kennedy Joanna.

(1) You are, and always will be, more than just what you look like on the outside.You are a beautiful human, on the inside and the outside.

(2) You can be tough as nails and soft and vulnerable at the same time. It is so important to be able to be both, in this tough world you are growing up in.

(3) You can be a girlie girl all dressed up in dresses with fancy hair, or rock that awesome pair of jeans and a hoodie, with your hair up in a messy bun, too.

(4) It’s more important to be a good, kind person than anything else in the whole world. Your Daddy and I believe that our biggest job is to raise good people and I hope we are doing that with you.

(5) You are so smart and so capable of doing anything you set your mind to! You are going places in this world my love and I can't wait to see where you end up.

(6) You are sassy and outspoken, but remember always use that in a respectful way to get your point across to those around you. Words can hurt and the pain can last a lifetime. 

(7) Use your words wisely and try to think before you speak. This isn't always easy but it's a very important life lesson to learn.

(8) Remember to work hard for all that you want to achieve and don't expect others to get you to where you want to be. Your work ethic determines who you are and how you are viewed in the world.

(9) Love those that matter unconditionally and let go of those that hurt you. So much easier said than done sometimes but never be afraid to fall in love because you never know when your forever love will appear. 

(10) Always hug your Mama tight and say I love you, no matter how old you get or how much she drives you crazy! I still hug my Mama tight and tell her I love her every chance I get so I think you should too! :) 

Big thanks to Auntie Sheri for this BEAUTIFUL new photo of our little KJ girl. And big props to Daddy for rocking the awesome messy bun hairstyle too! 

My favorite maternity photos ever!

That's a tough one for me to say because the maternity photos that Jim and I had done in my first pregnancy I do still love...but these ones are just so much more amazing to me because they show the whole family that Jim and I have created together in our 14 years together.

They are special because they include our boys, and maybe a little extra special too because they have our daughter in them too. I'm not saying that if this baby was another boy that I wouldn't have done maternity photos, or that they would be any less than these ones are...but I can easily admit that these feel really different to me and I'm not totally sure why. If you'd asked me 2 weeks ago what I was thinking of for these photos I was feeling very undecided and unsure and just really wasn't into even doing them, even though I knew I wanted them for the memories. This pregnancy has left me feeling so blah and not pretty at all.  Even though my belly isn't as big as it was with the boys, I think I just felt really different during those pregnancies than I do now and I can't explain why that is. Maybe it's true what I've heard that for some women their daughters just steal their beauty completely during their pregnancy. And for a girl who doesn't usually ever feel that pretty, I've been feeling especially un-pretty lately!

I woke up on the morning of our tentative outside shoot and really didn't feel like putting the outfits together, doing my hair and makeup or even really smiling...but Jim basically told me (in as loving way possible) to suck it up because we were going to do them anyways. He said I wasn't going to magically feel better the following weekend (which was supposed to be crappy weather again) and I wasn't going to magically be more into it as the weeks went on and I got bigger and closer to delivery (and risked a complication and missing doing the photos all together!) The weather was looking to cooperate so he told me to text Jenn and set it up, so I did...and I'm so glad she was still on board for that day!

Once we got out the door and started the shoot I knew we were going to capture some great shots that I'd be really happy with. And in the end my expectations were FAR exceeded with what Jenn created for us. There are many that I love, and some that I know I will cherish and remember forever.

Here are my favorites from our outdoor shoot that was done on Sunday, March 19 when I was 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

Love this picture...but I do wish Jim had remembered to put his wedding ring on! :)

My loves and I

Love this one of me and James!

Wow, can you say growing up too fast?

So much cuteness

This is the face I see whenever he wants to kiss the baby!

My adorable brown eyed little boy seems so big these days now that he's about to become a big brother.

Outfit #2...I like this one of me and Jimmy!

Location #2 - I think this might be my favorite of me and the boys together!

LOVE this one so much! We look young and skinny :)

Outfit and location #3 - My favorite of the family photos we took!

Such handsome boys I'm surrounded by...can't wait to see what our little lady is going to look like!

At this point the boys had left to go to Sunday dinner so Jim and I were able to capture some beautiful photos of just the two of us.

This was my favorite outfit of the day and the location and sunlight were just beautiful too! I'm having a hard time actually picking my favorites out of this bunch!

hahahahahaha....you should have seen me trying to get up after this next set of photos were taken.

2 days later at 33 weeks and 5 days pregnant (and exactly 3 weeks away from baby girl's delivery) the boys and I went into Jenn's home studio to capture a few really fun photos I had found on Pinterest that I really wanted to do with just the boys and I and the belly! I may actually love some of these photos more than the outdoor ones but I think that was because the session was super short, the boys were in great moods (and very much understood the bribes that were on the table...Timbits AND Putter's ice cream!) and I felt way more relaxed because there was no time crunch on us as there was a few days earlier. It was mainly just Jenn and I having fun while I switched tops MULTIPLE times and lots of laughing while she captured exactly the images I was hoping for! Here are the highlights from that short but awesome session!

These first two turned out EXACTLY as I had hoped they would! Both are going to be printed for the wall of the nursery!

Jordie cuteness

And some love from my big guy James

Not sure why but this picture just touches my heart so much. This guy made me a Mommy almost 7 years ago and I can't wait to see him take on the role of big brother once again!

Jordie and Blaze

Another good one of me and James

A few more artistic shots of just the belly to finish off the day's photos!