Hospital Stays are Fun {When you are a Celebrity}

Yup, that's me in that picture above. They needed a baby for a retirement portrait with this doctor who is part of the practice I go to... he didn't deliver Ella, but she was a lovely baby with a full head of hair and so they asked our permission to take Ella to the nursery for some portraits.

Little did I know, at the end of the shoot this Dr. wanted a picture of the baby with the mother, just for fun. I hadn't been cleared for a shower yet, they shot with a wide angle lens that distorted the right side of my face (as you can see), and they specifically told me "don't worry, they won't put this one up on the wall." And then they did. Awesome. So here we are with a Dr. who didn't deliver my daughter in bigger-than-life-size glory.

The nice thing is that all of our attending nurses have passed along the info that I'm the mom on the wall downstairs... so I get asked about it at least once a day and they all want to know the story behind the picture since they all see me every day on their way to work. And maybe it's just me, but everyone seems to be so much nicer this time around than our last experience in this hospital. So even though it's horribly embarrassing to have my face on the wall, maybe it's pays to be a celebrity.

Surprise Baby Shower {for me!}

The day before my due date my sisters and mama put together a surprise baby shower for me. It was quite possibly the busiest week known to man, so I have no idea how they pulled it off. I was so shocked when we arrived at Cafe Zupas to find a table full of friends, balloons, presents, and of course, color-coordinated decorations and favors.

I felt incredibly special. So special that I hardly noticed the contractions I was having admist the festivities. I went into labor at around midnight following the shower... I can think of no better sendoff than dinner with girlfriends, laughing heartily, and opening darling gifts for our baby boy. They ordered amazing sugar cookies from Schmidt's Pastries to serve as dessert and put them in favor bags for the ladies to take home. Thank you to everyone who came, and a shout-out to my sister Stacey who coordinated from afar. It was a glorious event!

ps. did you notice how there was a note on the invite for friends to contact the mama-to-be via email or something if they couldn't go... I've been getting phone calls and email from friends all week. Brilliant idea, Erin! My talented sis designed the invitation above and took all of the photographs below:

Baby Boy is Here! {Announcement}

Our son was born yesterday afternoon... he was cheeky indeed and determined that the right time to come was while his Daddy was in New York taking the bar exam. I was grateful to have the support of my mom and two sisters during labor and delivery, and Kyle will be home this afternoon to meet our little bundle of joy and help narrow down our list of names.

He is perfect in every way... and I most especially love his rockstar hair. It's clear from my horrible heartburn throughout pregnancy that he's been working extremely hard on the perfect hairdo for a very long time.

My amazing sister took photos throughout labor and delivery and all throughout the craziness of yesterday, and I can't wait to share some of them with you. I took only 12 pictures yesterday. Here are a few favorites...

Taste the Rainbow {random fact about me}

I eat Skittles, M&Ms, Nerds, and pretty much any candy with assorted flavors in color order.

I guess subconsciously I think they'll taste better that way? Strange.

Handmade Quilt {A Gift for our Baby Boy}

My incredible Aunt Lorrie made my whole week when I opened the mailbox to find a package from her. She is one of those people who go above and beyond to make you feel special, and she certainly outdid herself yet again. She made this incredible quilt for our baby boy and I'm obsessed. It's currently sitting over our couch in the living room and I just can't stop staring at it. The colors she chose are perfect, and it will perfectly enhance the bedding I've made for our kids' joint room. I love how clean and crisp the lines are, and the colors she chose are so soothing. I can't wait to take pictures of our baby boy with this as the background. Thanks Aunt Lorrie! You are amazing!

Isn't it gorgeous? Get ready to be really envious...

Getting Ready for Baby

I feel very blessed to have wonderful friends and family members who have showered us with love and gifts as we prepare to welcome our son into the world. Last night our dear friends met us for dinner to celebrate our pregnancy and brought us balloons and a darling little outfit. Friends and family members have been dropping off gifts, which has been completely unexpected and so much fun.

It seems a little more real that he's almost here and now that we've filled the dresser with tiny outfits and onesies and put a basket of tiny shoes next to our daughter's. We can't wait.

Come back tomorrow to see the handmade quilt we received from my aunt- it's amazing!

Happy Birthday Sam {Party in the Park}

I helped my friend Garin with a party for her husband last evening. They are in the middle of packing up to move to California, so I offered to bring some of my serveware and my glass water bottles along to the park. It's amazing how some lovely serveware can dress up a card table in no time! I think one of the reasons I love to entertain is because my serveware does all the work- I just swap out the linens or add a few paper crafts, etc. It makes entertaining fun and easy, to be sure.

You can find pretty much everything you see HERE (also, Old Town Imports is having a huge online warehouse sale soon, leave a comment below if you want to be added to the email list)

I think Garin would agree that the details that made this gathering special were simple ones... matching serveware, a little bit of decorative paper, glass beverage bottles, balloons, and a simple favor (instructions below). It didn't take much time or effort, but the overall effect was fantastic.

We made these really simple favors by filling poly bags with candy, cutting the bags down, adding a paper topper (width same as the bag, height according to what looks best proportionally), and added decorative touch with a white circle cutout. Garin traced and filled in a letter "B" on top. We glued the circles to the toppers and then sewed along the bottom edge to attach the topper to the bag and seal the candy inside. I will definitely stick with sewing the favors next time I make these (I've tried staples, hand sewing a button on, and a glue gun, but this was by far the cutest and the easiest).

Kensingtonblue.com Updated {Utah Wedding Photography}

I am currently booking weddings for the end of August and beginning of September before we move, so please spread the word if you know anyone getting married (and don't forget, you get a free mini session if they book a package with me).

I will also be booking a limited number of couples and family sessions before the big move, so please shoot me an email if you want to reserve a date.

Thanks!

All the galleries on my website have been updated, so take a peek:

Couples
Bridal
Wedding
Maternity
Newborn
Babies & Kids
Families
Personal Work

Coolest Cookie Cutters Ever

photo via Williams Sonoma website

I'm sure you saw these when they were a hot item back in February, but they are pretty much the cutest cookie cutters I've ever seen. You can even customize them with your own messages. They are back in stock and available online too. See more information HERE.

I have literally had a tab up in my browser dedicated to this page for the last week... wishing, hoping, praying for some reason I could justify purchasing them.

Still haven't come up with one. Anyone need me to throw them a baby or wedding shower? I could celebrate Valentine's Day 6 months early and surprise my sweetheart? Perhaps I could give them as thank you gifts to family for after the baby comes along with a handwritten note? Any suggestions?

Phipps {Family Portraits}

We went up to Timpanogos Park yesterday morning for this mini shoot with some of our best friends. My daughter sat in a stroller while we got a few family shots and she was our little cheerleader who shouted "say cheese!" at appropriate intervals. Woody and Buzz Lightyear came to the rescue on this shoot- it's hard to photograph kids who know you well because, much like your own children, they tend to ignore you. But how can you ignore Woody? No way, no how.

We managed to get a few great ones in our very short time together, I managed not to go into labor, and I managed not to cry when thinking about these dear friends packing up and moving to CA. Well done all around, I say!

Saying "Thank You"

My dear friend Melanie sent me this thank you gift a while back. My eyes lit up when I unwrapped the silver tissue paper to find a hand-written note and this collection of vintage buttons. Gorgeous! How did she ever let them go? I certainly would not have been so generous.

Her thank you note and gift got me thinking about how often I express gratitude through a written note or small gift. I definitely need to do it more often, because it certainly makes me feel special when someone takes the time to express gratitude for a service rendered. Thanks to those of you who always make time to say thank you, it means so much.

I'm thrilled when I receive a thank you note of any kind these days because they are so few and far between. I feel like "thank you" notes (or emails or phone calls) are sort of a dying art. Do you feel that way?