Who's The Boss

I'll never forget the first time she requested to watch "Who's the Boss". I was wracking my brain..."When did I introduce her to the world of Tony Danza? I don't have 'Who's the Boss' on DVD, do I? I probably should....but, no."
It wasn't until in utter miscommunication-frustration, she followed up her request with, "Mooooooom, I wanna see the meeean witch on Whosthebossz" that it finally clicked.

Thus began her Wizard of Oz fascination. The kid is obsessed with musicals, but good ol' Dorothy holds a special place in her little heart. We watch WoZ daily, along with the terrible-but-kinda-grows-on-you-after-500-viewings, remake "Dorothy's Return to Oz". Poor Zoe is her unwilling sidekick, playing the role of Toto to perfection- as best her tea-cup yorkie self can handle.

Every raised surface in our house is a stage, on which she belts, "Ober-der, Ober the rainbow..." ("somewhere" is not quite in the vocab yet!) and when we drive, everything she sees out the window, relates in someway to the Land that is Oz. "Mom, dat tractor like in Wizard of Oz?" (we have the name down now.) "Mom, see dose trees? Da Yion live in der. He jump out and say rooooar!" And as if you were thinking the car was at least a respite from the Wizard of Oz DVD loop occurring at home, think again. The Wizard of Oz or Wicked soundtracks are her driving tun-ages of choice. (My vote lies with Wicked) ;)

And so, it seemed only expected that when I asked her a few months back what she wanted to be for Halloween, the answer was unmistakably: "DARAFEE!!"

Of course, lil' sis' costume was still up for grabs so I let Quin help me choose....

**As far as the editing goes, yes, I realize we are tipping the scales at a "10" on the cheesiness factor. But let me tell you something- her little face when I showed her these pictures...worth every single solitary yellow-GD-brick-placing-second. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father's Day 3.0

Hello All!

I know, I know...it's been about 100 years. I apologize and hope to be back on the radar more often now that the newest Baby Maconachy is getting a bit easier to manage. Did I mention I had a new baby? Oh, yes. Well, more on that later...

 Anyways, I wanted to jump on before it was too late and share our newest Father's Day picture. This has been SUCH a fun tradition for our family. My husband thought it was adorable the first year, but I believe he got teary the second year when he saw how much his baby girl had grown (and sprouted pig tails). I can not WAIT to give him this latest installment with our latest little "installment" included! ;)

Since we are going to be away for Father's Day this year, we are celebrating a bit early and I wanted to share this with you all so you could see the progression. It's never too late to start this yearly tradition for your own family!

So, an early Happy Father's Day to all of your fabulous Daddies out there and especially to ours...he's kind of the best!
 
For more on how the tradition started- click here .

Father's Day 3.0 

Planes, Flare, and Automobiles

Mr. M (which stands for Man) is one of my favorite little dudes. It just so happens that his actual name starts with M too, but Mr. Man suits him just as well. This kiddo is ALL BOY and I love every inch of him.

I'm been photographing him since the day he was born, literally. (Ok, so maybe it helps that his mama and I have been BFFs since the days of all-nighters, sorority parties, and mac & cheese for dinner on the pull-out couch. But I'm pretty sure I'd be just as obsessed with him if we weren't.)

Knowing this little man's love of planes, cars, and...well, running-- I came prepared for this shoot! His Mama and I may have lost a few pounds chasing after him...but for that, we thank you, Mr. Man! xo

Since Mom isn't using these pics for Christmas cards, I can finally share some pics with you of someone other than my own child! You're Welcome.  ;)

"Pink"

So, I am fresh off the I Heart Faces conference, and am bursting with info and inspiration. I can't wait to share some of it with you- right here on the blog, very soon!

For now, I figured I'd join in on their latest challenge, entitled "Pink" in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a non-judged month, which means it's just for fun...so head on over and play along! You can enter as many photos as you'd like! :)

Sorry for the picture repeat for those of you who followed our "Dance Class Horror Story" last month! ;)

 

Big Sister!

Well, the cat's out of the bag...Yes, Quinlin is going to be a big sister!

I wanted to thank everyone so very much for all of the sweet comments, "likes", messages, etc.  I've read every single one of them and I feel so very lucky to be surrounded by such amazingly supportive people.

As most of you know, our path to pregnancy has never been an easy one as we have to go "The Dreaded IVF Route" each and every time. It's pretty much not fun...at all, but we feel lucky to have the absolute BEST doctors, families, & friends in our lives. And although this past year has been a difficult one, I feel that the details of that story are neither here nor there. We are focused on the present...and especially the future as we get ready to add another member to our little familia!

Many of you have asked about our announcement picture- so here's the story:
I decided to stay off (the ever-dangerous) Pinterest because I knew I would immediately find a cute idea and try to replicate it and I really wanted the announcement to be original. Not that I was trying to be a super hero or anything, I just wanted the idea to originate from something within our family, our daily activities, Quin's likes/dislikes. I wanted it to really mean something to us after all we had been through.

Well, as many people with a 2-year-old girl will tell you-- dolls are all the rage. My daughter is seriously obsessed. I'm scared to count the number of dolls in the house for fear that I may need to admit to having a small shopping/hoarding problem.

Quin's day consists of following me around the house, replicating everything I do for her- for her baby doll. From standing on a chair in the kitchen preparing meals for her baby doll to putting the poor doll in time outs. Q's babies get sick, take baths, have their diapers changed, and are even in the midst of potty training. I should mention that the dolls are having much more success on that front.

We seriously have every piece of baby furniture in two sizes: human size and doll size. It got to the point where I had to buy one of those hideous hot pink fabric tent "houses" for the living room just to house all of Q's doll furniture & accessories. It matches perfectly with our living room furniture and isn't an eye-sore at all...

One day, when my husband and I were watching Q vacuum her doll house floor with her Minnie Mouse vacuum in one hand and a baby doll cradled  in the other, we turned to each other and I said, "Well, she sure is going to be well-trained!" Viola- light bulb moment. The announcement idea was born.

I should mention, it took 3 adults to lug all of that furniture out into the middle of the woods, 1 of us to hold up one end of the string of stars, another one of us to direct Q, and me to actually man the camera while all of this craziness was going on. It was most certainly not a one-woman job. Huge thanks to my hubby and amazingly creative sister (chalk board artist, anyone?) for their help!

Here's the announcement again along with some other favorite shots that didn't make the cut. Thank you again for reading, sharing our excitement, and following our journey!

xoxo -j