Spring School Photos 2015

School photos wouldn't be school photos without at least a couple of awkward photos from the kiddos now would it?

The culprit this time around is Stella!  I swear I sent her to school with a bow ready to be put in her hair by her teachers.  Who knows if it even made it there?  I suppose I should just be happy that they make it to school every morning with their teeth brushed and their hair combed right?  Or at least I hope they do (Steve does drop offs every day).  :)  

Without further ado................

I guess they came the day before to do the classroom photos.  I literally laughed out loud when I came across this photo!  Stella looks so rock and roll, it is not even funny.  Between her hair, that Beatles t-shirt and her black boots, I was rolling!

Lottie's photos came out adorable!  She is just growing way too fast!  I want to keep her at this age forever!  

Lottie's class photo!  Of course she would be seated next to her BFF Blake!

Last but not least - my sweet girls!  Honestly, they are both at the most perfect ages.  I want to keep them like this forever!  Time - please slow down!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lottie - 3 & 4 Year Growth

Lottie - 3 Years

Weight: 30 lb, 12.8 oz (50%)
Height: 3' (23%)
BMI: 16.72

We survived our first THREE years!  I sometimes can't believe we made it through the TWOs!  And from what I hear THREEs are much more, shall I say challenging????  WOOHOO!  :)

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HOLD UP!!!!!  I just saw the 3 year growth update in one of my draft folders!  I can't believe I never got around to posting Lottie's 3 year growth update!  On a side note, they weren't kidding about the THREEs!  :)

Oh well, now I will just get on with posting Lottie's 4 year growth update.  Drum roll please................................................ for the first time EVER, Lottie has finally gotten over the 50% hump in height!  She has always been around the 25% in height.  Steve and I could never understand why she was shaping up to be such a shorty considering neither of us are short.

Lottie - 4 Years

Weight: 37lb (67%)
Height: 3'4" (57%)
BMI: 16.26 (76%)

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I don't even know where to begin so I'll keep it short (if not, I will never finish this post).  This past year Lottie hit so many developmental milestones!  It has been such a gift to watch her breathe her first breath, take her first step, recognize her first object, write her name for the first time, etc.

I could go on for days about all of the things Lottie has learned to do - both mentally and physically this past year.  But, for today, I will just say how proud I am of the little girl she is growing into. She is polite, well-mannered and outgoing.  I truly can't imagine my life without this little person in it.  She makes me strive to be a better person every day.

Here's just a glance back from even before she was born................

I think I was right around 32 weeks pregnant with Lottie 

The day she was born - her BIRTH DAY 

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

Lottie & Stella 

Lottie - 4 years

Stella - 22 months

4 year photos

We love you Lottie!  Although, I would give anything to keep you at this age forever, I can't wait to watch you grow this next year!

Charlotte - 4 Years Old

Eeeeekkkkk, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that my baby is 4 years old!  For the first few years it has been all about keeping her alive and thriving.  Now, I feel like it's becoming more about molding her into a lovely young lady.  And that is exactly what she has become.  She is full of personality, spunk and has a heart full of gold!  I could not be more proud of the little lady she is blossoming into.

Now, we all know I love some milestone photos!  We had so much fun getting her pictures taken.  Of course I took her to ole trusty....... JC Penney - where else?  I thought they came out so cute.  And can you believe it?  She let me wash, dry and curl her hair.  I was in little girl heaven!!!  I have been dreaming of curling, crimping, braiding this girl's hair for years.  She prefers to wear her hair down with headbands most every day, so curling her hair was such a treat for me.

I can't wait for all the little girly things we get to do as she grows older!  What a blessing she is to us!

World's Worst School Pictures????



Do you ever wonder what it must be like to be a daycare / school photographer?  Probably not - because that would be weird.........  I can't imagine that it would be quote on quote easy, especially with the little ones.  BUT, sending home the photos below really threw me for a loop!  Steve and I have never laughed so hard.  I mean seriously - could my girls' photos get any worse?

Let's start with Lottie.............

I swear I sent that girl to school well groomed and a bow in hair!  But, looking at the photo below, she looks like she just rolled out of bed and couldn't be bothered to run a brush through her hair.  

And that expression on her face is priceless!  Surprised?  Frightened?  Amazed?  Bewildered?  Terrified? 

I've got a feeling from here on out, these types of expressions in photos will be more predominant than the sweet smiles and big grins of past. 

Here goes................

Warming up........................

Aaaaahhhhh - a cute one..............Although, I guess she decided to accessorize herself with those shoes and jewels.  She must have went back into her room after I left for work and took out her bow, changed shoes and added jewels.  I wouldn't be surprised if I got the photos back and she was in a different dress.  Steve takes the morning shift so it is always a surprise what they are wearing when I pick them up in the afternoon.  And that Lottie is such a little grown up now - she MUST dress herself!  Don't even think of picking something out the night before and laying it out for her.  She is not having it!

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Stella.........................................................

My "cry baby" - literally!  Sweet Stella loves to cry and it looks like she really gave those photographers an ear full. 

Poor old girl - she will soon grow out of it.  Right??????? 

Between the wild hair and facial expressions, the photo below really captures her little personality.  :)

And finally................... a photograph more awkward than the ones before it.

I hope your school photos turn out better than ours!  Although to be fair, I wouldn't have them any other way!  Well.............. maybe that's not entirely true!  :)  

Holiday Photos

Steve hates me!!! 

I wonder how many of my posts have started with either "Steve hates me" or "Poor Steve".  Ha!!!

I ordered two groupons for JCP photos.  It was $25 bucks and you get two portrait sheets along with 3 photos on a CD for you to keep and do what you wish.  Each and every time we have visited since Lottie turned about a year old have been a disaster.  No one ever seems to want to cooperate when it comes to taking photographs.  Steve hates being photographed and sits grumbling about it and as soon as we step into their itty bitty studio, Lottie loses her mind and starts throwing fits!  The only person who seemed to cooperate this time around was Stella. 

Once it's over and the poor photographers are tortured to death, we usually all end up leaving unhappy and Lottie gets sent to time out as soon as we get home. 

But, I continue to put our family through it!  WHY?????????????  I know these babies aren't going to be babies forever and well, one day (a really long time from now), I know I will cherish these photos and love looking back at them when they are older.  Steve however will surely remind me of how awful the experiences were and how I loved to ruin his Saturday or Sunday when he could have been sat watching "football"!

 

 

Oh and excuse all the bun pics - that's all I've got time for these days!!!  :)

The Coopers - Watch Us Grow

We may need to make this a tradition!  Tripod in full effect!  Now all we need is a fancy camera!  Can you hear me SANTA?????  :)

 

My grandmother (96) has been a little under the weather and not feeling like herself.  Unfortunately, she has had a couple of hospital visits and a stay at a rehabilitation center to get her back to her old self.  While in rehab, my uncles have pitched in and completely renovated her home while she was away.  One of the more modern things they are doing is making her a photo gallery of all of her kids and their family.  She comes home on the 18th!  YAY!  With that said, Steve and I whipped out the tripod to try to capture a picture of the four of us!  HOLY COW- just trying to get out the door and in the yard seemed like a task in and of itself!  But we did, and here is what came of it............. Hopefully one of them will work in my g-ma's new living room!  :)