You Can Dress Them Up But.....

You can dress them up but you can't take them out!!  We've all seen it happen where you get all dressed up and go out just to drip sauce on your white shirt, or spill wine on your khaki pants, but these photos really prove just how you can dress kids up but you can't expect them to stay clean.

Note: All the following photos were taken at weddings!

The Flowergirl dress hanging in the tree until right before the ceremony started in order to keep it clean.  Smart move Mom

Oh yes, BBQ and a white dress!! 

And the little ones aren't the only ones that "You can Dress them up but not take them out" applies to...as the following photos prove.....

And then sometimes it's Mother Nature's fault:

                                   Who could forget the photos of the bride's dress from "The Morning After"
                                                               and here are a couple more from that wedding....

Sweet Blessings

The sweetest blessings come in the tiniest packages. and those tiny blessings steal your heart.

This is something I learned six years ago when I had my daughter.  In 2012 my family was blessed once again to learn what it was like to have your heart stolen by someone you never met. 



12 weeks

20 weeks

With finally having a nice camera to take pictures with and knowing that this is probably our last pregnancy and baby I took photos to document how I grew.  I loved being pregnant with my first but never had a huge belly, this time I was huge.  Enjoy the photos taken by my wonderful hubby showcasing how the belly grows over time...




28 weeks

From here I had a noticeable growth every two week. 

36 Weeks

Easter 2013 we painted the belly

36weeks.  From the front you can't help but think it looks a lot like an egg!

The day before I was due (40weeks) Big Sister telling the baby to hurry up

The day after my due date....I went into labor a few hours after this photo

I love that my husband and I captured these pregnancy moments.  The 9months that you grow a baby inside you seem both to fly by and drag their feet while you're pregnant, trying to get ready for the baby which it seems overwhelming at the time and by the end with back pain, and swollen feet and all the other things that happen to our bodies the end can't seem to come soon enough we want to meet this baby we've put so much work into growing.

That time came for us 2 days after I was due.  I was in labor for 12+ hours and so tired after labor, all the morning sickness I had with both pregnancies, the back pain, the tiredness, and the long labors and the hard work of labor...I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat for my girls.  They've filled my world with smiles, giggling, and love that you can't put into words.  There are hard times I won't cover that up....but the meltdowns, tears, tantrums, and sleepless nights, are over powered with hugs and kisses and when they finally say "I love you too"

It's hard to believe that those pregnancy pictures were 2 years ago now, the time has flew by.  I'd like to share some of the last 2 years with you, and I'm happy to say that my break from the blog and photography (while I never really retired my camera) is over...I'm looking forward to sharing more stories from Little Deer Photography and capturing many more moments!




 Just can't get over newborn toes and sweet sleeping bliss

And then it seems you blink and the new born baby is already a year old and running all over...hold on to each moment you have

One year old!

That face! and a mouth full of teeth

Of course there are special moments between newborn and one year:

My family photo 2013 

As much as my baby grew and changed so did I (with some work)

I was able to lose almost all the baby weight in a year's time thanks to breastfeeding, babywearing, and eating healthy

My older daughter seemed to grow just as fast as the baby, she went from being my baby girl to my big girl, my helper, and such a sweet heart (when she's not testing out her new older kid attitude)

2012

2014

 I LOVE moments like this.

Words can't describe what it means to become a parent.  Yes there are challenges and your life is forever changed, you're happiness depends greatly on their happiness and you no longer only have yourself to worry about but now the baby.

It's the best thing in the world!  I couldn't imagine my life without either girl in it!  They give me so many reasons to smile everyday.

My husband with our baby

photographer in training

Thank you to my friend Karen for this photo

I realize this is a poor quality image taken with my phone but I love it.. It shows what lazy morning in my house is like, PJs and cuddling

Knoebels

My husband works for Jack Williams Tire and Auto Center and every year they go to Knoebels for the company picnic.  This was the first year we went and we were so happy to be bringing our little girl with us.  We all had a great time.  So before I start talking about my daughters first amusement park I want to thank Jack Williams for this fantastic day and for the wonderful idea of having their company picnic at an amusement park!

Safety always comes first, once we found out we were going to Knoebels and we were going to take our baby girl we went out and bought a Kiddie Leash.  I know it sounds a bit like treating your child like a pet but it was so nice to know that she was attached to us at all times, there was no running off into the crowd for a ice cream stand or running to the next ride, we all walked together and it brought us all peace of mind to know that nothing would happen to her.  And she loved wearing her "backpack"  she even wanted to wear it to go shopping the next day!!  What a great investment for a little peace of mind :)

What is the first ride you go on when you get to a fair or amusement park?  Please leave you comments here or answer the question on my facebook page here.

For us it's different each time we go somewhere and it depends on who we're with.  When it's just my hubby and myself we run like kids in a candy shop for roller coasters, on this day when we took our daughter for her first ride at Knoebels we got in line for the Giant Wheel which is 110 feet high so we could look over the beautiful park.

My wonderful DH of 5years

  My husband decided to wear black framed chrome sunglasses; which made for some neat photos while were were on the Ferris wheel.  The photo on the right is of him looking down on the crowd which if you look closely in his glasses you can see as well :)

My little girl takes right after her daddy in that she loves the drop rides!  I can't stand them for they make your stomach jump right to your throat, but they giggled the whole ride! :)

Waiting, impatiently for Mommy and Daddy to stop taking photos so she can go on the next ride! 

We love having the wind in our hair, the sky as our limit, and flying under the rainbow on the Italian Trapeze

A daddy's dream; 

to teach his little girl how to drive.

We're starting way too soon!

At lunch you could see her daydreaming about what we were going to do next.  We could hardly get her to eat once she made some other friends and they went off to play in the gravel by a tree until we decided to head on to the rest of the park.

After lunch we went on the Pioneer Train which goes under the wooden roller coaster Twister.  Below is a neat shot I got as we went under and got a view of the structure. 

Not only do we love Knoebels for their great rides, and free admission but everywhere you go you're not only in so big amusement park here you're surrounded by nature.  There's trees and flowers everywhere.  It's very beautiful!  

Life happens very quickly, and it can change at any time,

your little ones grow up too fast,

one day they are just learning to crawl, 

the next they are running around and big enough to ride kiddie rides and going to school.

Soon enough they will be off to school dances, dating, and then on to their own lives,

so make sure you take time and slow down to enjoy all life has to offer.

This day it was a wonderful trip to Knoebels for us, next who knows...but we'll be sure to take our cameras so that we capture all these wonderful moments so that we'll have them to look back on.

Thanks again to Jack Williams for this wonderful family trip!  I can't wait to do it next year!  And see all the wonderful workers that have become our friends.

Now for my readers, if you live in PA and have a Jack Williams near you, this is a great family owned business, they have wonderful employees and I know that they treat their customers well.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  I hope you enjoyed it and are having a great summer,

until the next post....