This Year's Ornaments

We like to pick out ornaments for each child that serves as a reminder of their year. Elena received a Clara ornament - she began ballet this year and attended the Nutcracker with Ma... and LOVED it! We gave Evan a Hot Wheels ornament - it's actually just like one Ben received growing up. And Asher got a little Moose ornament.

As a photographer I'm just really proud of this picture :)

Asher just wanted Mom and could not be persuaded to get excited about his bag.

Nope! I don't care!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

I think at some point every kid faces the crushing disappointment of finding out that the one Christmas gift you want in the entire world is deemed too dangerous to own by their parents.

A few weeks ago, Elena was browsing a Walmart circular when she suddenly stopped on a page and gasped with glee. She had found a picture of a very happy girl making the most scrumptious cakes with a miraculous toy - an Easy Bake Oven. Elena ran over to me announcing that this was the toy that she "most wanted" for Christmas.

My immediate thought was - no way. Way too messy, way too dangerous for solo play, way too big to store in my kitchen (since it certainly couldn't be kept in her room).

I needed a reason to give her, so I first pointed out the price. When I told her, it was $18, her eyes widened - $18 must be a lot of money based on my tone of voice. Then I looked at the picture of the packaging and saw that the recommended age was six and up (perfect!). I explained the "6+" symbol to her and that it is there to protect 4 yr olds.

She turned around; engulfed in disappointment.

A few minutes later she came back and asked me, "Mom, do you have $1?" Sensing a trap, I didn't answer her question, but reached out for the circular she was again handing me. And then I saw this:

I burst out laughing!! But Elena never cracked a smile. She acted like the new price and recommended age had always been there, that I was crazy for thinking otherwise, and she still does not admit to tampering with the circular. Heaven help us.

Another Moose Party

We had a little family party for Asher on his actual birthday, December 8th. We ordered pizza, sang happy birthday, and then ran out the door for youth group (he's definitely living life as a third child).

My quick attempt at a moose cake: I think it looks like a teddy bear/cat with antlers.

Our extravagant decorations and birthday card from his sister.

"What? ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!"

SO loved!

Happy Birthday Asher!

The Elkins' Family Tree

Early this week we loaded up the kids and the bungee cords to go get ourselves a tree. The weather was pretty chilly, which I really appreciate when doing something related to Christmas. We looked for the absolute tallest tree we could find in our price bracket, and found a great one. It was probably a foot taller than it's peers. Score!

Then came the fun part of decorating it. I felt like I was racing the kids; first to find the breakable ornaments before they did, and secondly I was trying to get as many as I could on the tree before they all ended up in one large clump.

It was a very merry time!

"Hey, this one has my name on it!"

The first of many attempts to get to those ornaments

This is the tree nearing completion:

These ornaments are not waiting to be hung; believe it or not, they're on the tree.

... and apparently this was Elena's favorite branch.

Asher's A-MOOSE-ing First Birthday Party

(I tried to get clever with the title, but this is all I was coming up with. If you have suggestions, I'm all ears.)

We were in Houston with our Elkins' family over Thanksgiving. While there, we had a little party to celebrate Asher's first birthday (he's turning 1 on Dec 8th).

His siblings and cousins loved singing to him!

I think this is as close as he got to the cake; barely touching it! :)

Greetings!

The past couple of months have been busy for me and the photography biz. One shoot after another where the entire goal was simply to get one great picture to adorn a Christmas card. You know, you'd think I'd take a hint and start thinking about taking pictures of my kids and choosing cards for our family, but it didn't really cross my mind... until now!

So the priority this weekend was to get a picture of all three kids. We got the picture, (only took 300 attempts) and now I'm down to picking out the card.

I've been looking at Shutterfly's options for Christmas cards, and I just love them! There's a great variety of style's to choose; modern to traditional. My favorite feature is that on most of their folded cards you can print on the inside flap a little Christmas letter, or put down a collage of pictures! Here are some of my favorites...

I love the plaid!!

Fresh and classic!

I love everything; shape, colors, font... family :)

Now my absolute favorite card for the one (emphasis on the singular) good picture we got of our kids can't be revealed yet! You'll just have to wait and see what arrives in your mailbox.

I now have our card wrapped up, most of the Christmas gifts near completion (family members don't look...hehe), and am on to picking out Elena's birthday party invitations (can you believe she's going to be 5???).

So thank you, Shutterfly! And thanks for this great opportunity!

Asher - 11 Months

This past month has been full of new little tricks for Asher. The biggest change is how much we're now able to communicate with him.

He definitely understands the word "No!" And we're having to use it more often. Kitchen cabinets are an area where he keeps pushing his luck. The funny thing is that he acts totally guilty if you catch him opening one of the cabinets.

Whenever he tries to communicate "no", his head shakes side to side. I get a lot of "no's" at the dinner table now.

If he hears "hi" or "bye" from anyone at all, he waves.

He's fascinated with putting things in a box or crack and then trying to get them out only to repeat the process.

He will sometimes throw a mini-tantrum. They're mini because they're over before they begin, but it's officially a tantrum because he arches his back and screams!

He LOVES to see Ben come in the door. If I'm holding him he reaches out towards Dad, falls on him, and gives a big hug and grin. Then the two of them head out the door to get the mail. He's so excited along every step of the way to the mail box, that it sounds like he's having an asthma attack.

A week or so before he hit 11 months he took his first steps! He did it multiple times one evening, but hasn't been to urgent to repeat his success.

Sneezes are so funny that he tries his best to give his own rendition of an "ah-choo." I find it completely adorable.

It's pure joy to see him make new discoveries. And I love learning more and more about him each day.

Love you Ash-man!

A Perfect (Kinda?) Fairy Tale

A Princess, a Dragon, and a...

MAGIC MIRROR!

Conceptually, I thought it was pretty brilliant, but from a craftsmanship standpoint, I'll be the first to admit it's lacking.

Yet another picture of a distraught Asher. You'll just have to take my word for it... he's really a happy baby, we just have a way of doing all of these fun fall activities when he is not at his best.

So obviously, one of our clan was having a rough evening, but the rest of us had a great time! A couple of block parties, wonderful friends, and sweet treats!

Pumpkin Patch - Take 2

This months MOPS play-date was held at a nearby pumpkin patch. I was excited about it for two reasons - 1) I went to this patch last year and thought it had a great variety of fun activities for kids and 2) I wanted to try again to get pictures of Asher. My sister joined me, so we were able to get pictures of Aubrey and Asher together:

Telling him a secret

Giving a sweet/violent kiss

Which left Asher in this emotional state... sigh, no better than last time.

Elena was thrilled to get her face painted!

She chose the puppy-dog look

Elena and Evan got to pick out a little pumpkin and decorate it with stickers.

Not sure what happened to the other "girly eye" on Elena's. And by looking at Evan's pumpkin, I don't think he got the point of the exercise. All in all a fun day!

Beauty and the Beast

When Elena's Ma heard that the musical, Beauty and the Beast was coming to San Antonio, she happily got tickets for Elena to go (it's a favorite of hers). Ben took her Sunday night and although it was a late night for the little girl, she loved it; and was a completely enthusiastic audience member.

Worn OUT!

Carving the Pumpkin

After we picked our pumpkin we headed back home, where Ma then helped the kids carve it and harvest the seeds. The recipe she used on the seeds was so delicious!

Evan would not go near the inside of that pumpkin. :)

PUMPKINS!

This is the first of multiple pumpkin related posts. :)

We headed to the local pumpkin patch when Ben's family was in for the weekend of Evan's birthday. We attempted a cousin picture...

and individual kiddo pictures.

Sadly, Asher had a cold that weekend, and was especially grouchy about getting his picture taken...

But as for Evan... well, he had a ball... as Evan does.