Eliana's birth announcement garland/bunting

I never sent a birth announcement out for Vanessa or Parker and I wasn't about to do that again with Eliana. I didn't realize that was something you did when I had Vanessa and with Parker we were so busy with him after he was born that time just slipped by without one being sent.



I struggled with which picture of Eliana I would use to send as the announcement. I ended up coming down wanting to send five different pictures. After my first idea of a "book" style announcement ending up costing too much, I decided to make a bunting or garland style announcement. I really only sent this to close family and friends so I think most would actually hang it up for a little while. If not, atleast it was a cute way to send them all my favorite newborn pictures of Eliana.

Cost Breakdown-

Newborn photos: Free (took them myself)
Picture prints: $5.15 for 100 prints (received a free coupon for 100 prints from Shutterfly-only paid shipping)
Embroidery floss: free (was gifted by my mom)
Tempura paint: $3.99
Mini paint roller: $1.50
Pink envelopes 20ct: $5.99
Hang tags 20ct: $2.99

Total Cost(20 announcements): $19.62

 

I saw a similar announcement available by another company. I made a few changes, and created this main annoucement picture. I LOVE IT! I don't own Adobe Photoshop so I used a combination of free programs called Photoscape and Gimp to edit the photos. I also thought it would be fun to add her footprint to the announcement.

 

 

 

The above silver tool I use for scrapbooking to add brads and such to pages. I don't have a hole punch that made small enough holes so I used that instead.

 

 

The final product, which is hanging up in the nursery. They were a little time consuming when I was punching holes and tying the pictures together, but overall it was easy to do and a unique way to announce Eliana's birth to our friends and family.

Wordless{ish} Wednesday/Wittle People Wednesday: Trains

Today I wanted share pictures of Parker and his trains. He has a small obsession with them. We weren't able to bring them all on the plane with us, he just has way too many. These few trains are his favorites though.    

Memories, Dreams and Reflections 2012

I participated in MDR for the first time last year, and I loved it!  I was a little bummed at first, as I didn't think I would be able to participate this year with the whole relocation to another country, but we have a lot of down time and my only outlet right now is blogging. This is definitely something I want to keep up with each year.

 

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do!

 

1. Me 

There certainly wasn't a shortage of pictures of me this year. With all the belly progression photos, family photos and such. For once, I didn't struggle with this.

2. I love you

Without question, these kids are my world!

3. Still laughing!

Parker is such a hoot! He went from being a pretty shy and reserved, to being so funny and outgoing.

4. Winter Wonderland

I didn't take this picture, but I had to use it for this prompt. It was actually taken by E.Ulloa photography. When I think of Winter, I think of Christmas and then Santa.

5. Birthday

Well, as most of you already know, Eliana was born on Oct, 11th, 2012. She has a pretty cool birthday. After spending a month in the hospital on bedrest, she made her debut a few days after I was released, and a day shy of 37 weeks.

 

 



6. Friends I had a different series of pictures on mind for this prompt. Unfortunately, they are located on our desktop which is unavailable right now. These still show some very important people in our lives.

7. I Was Inspired

I was inspired during the pregnancy to completely re-do Parker's room. Since he is sharing his room with Eliana, not only did it have to be a room to accomodate both a toddler and baby, but it also had to be relatively gender neutral.

 

8. Spring Fever



This past spring we had just announced to the world that we were expecting baby#3. It feels like it was the only yesterday that we were telling our parents the happy news.

 

9. Travel or Vacation

We were able to take a small vacation to Idaho for my sister in laws wedding. One of the days we took Nessa fishing. I think she had a blast, I know the rest of us did.

10. Summer Days  

When I think of the summer, I think of long days spent swimming in the pool. Living in AZ, you either stay indoors, travel to cooler weather or go swimming.

 

11. A Day in My Life

I love this series of pictures. It is very close to all the faces I see on a daily basis. Unfortunately, with our move to Montreal we won't see my parents, in person, as much, but with all the technology we have, speaking to them each day is something we will make sure happens.

12. All Smiles

Eliana first smiled at me around 5 weeks. I was able to capture these first smiles on camera a few days later. Now, she smiles all the time.

13. Autumn Harvest

First picture of our complete family. I'm so happy.

 

14. Family or Home 

Love this picture of our family.

15. Celebrate  

Parker turned 2 on August 31st. We celebrated his birthday in a pirate theme. He had such a blast!

 

16/17.Let's Do It Again/I miss you





I had to combine the next two prompts using this picture. This is my absolute favorite family photo. I hope we can get a photo like this again next year. Due to our move to Montreal, I miss my parents.

18. Beautiful

  My two girls are absolutely beautiful and I don't think it's because I'm biased. When Vanessa was born with blue eyes, I was always told they would change brown and they never did. I would never guess that I would have two kids with blue eyes. That norwegian/swedish gene is sure evident in the girls.  

 

 

19. Dress Up

We were really excited to trick or treat with the kids this year. We lived in such a beautiful area, lots of young families. Little did we know that a lot of people actually drove to this area to trick or treat. It was packed!! Lines to get to the door's. They barely gave out any candy because of all the people. Lots of places ran out of candy within the first hour.

20. Macro

Eliana's hair was so light and she was born with much less than Parker or Vanessa. I think she might have a little curl to her hair too. I made sure to take pictures of all these features when she was first born. It is a little sad to think she is our last, but our amazing family is complete.

21. Holidays

Parker is known for not looking or smiling at the camera. This also wasn't taken by me, but I had to use it. I love this photo! Taken by E.Ulloa photography.

 

22. My Favorite 

This was definitely a tough one for me. I don't have just one favorite picture, I love all the pictures I take. I think what makes this one stand out for me is my husbands expression, the look of unconditional love for his child. The love my husband has for our kids make me love him more and more everyday.

 

23. Don't Ever Change

Just stay little...

24. Just Because

Sometimes, I feel the best photos are taken spur of the moment. You see that the lighting is great, the kids are happy or they are doing something super cute. You just hope, with everything, that your camera is close enough to capture the picture before it all changes.

25. Hopes and Dreams

This was a tough day, we had to say goodbye to a home we intended to live in for a long time. We had to say goodbye to friends and family that we practically grew up with. We now have a new direction for our family. A chance to grew up in a completely different country and culture. New dreams for our kids. It's exciting and I pray that this is a good step for us.

 

 

Eliana is 3 months old!

Well, we've made it to Montreal! It's been a crazy week here including our little miss turning 3 months. Most moms of new baby's say this, but I don't like how fast time is going.

Current stats:

Weight: 12lbs 9oz (25-50th percentile)

  Height: 24" long (50-75th percentile)

Clothing size: Still wears 0-3months mostly,

but can wear some 3-6month clothing

Diapers: Size 2 in disposables. We haven't used cloth since a

couple weeks before our relocation.
 I hope she still fits in newborn cloth because

she doesn't have too many one size "girly" cloth diapers.

 

 

 

Eliana had a pretty good growth spurt, length wise, since her 2 month check-up. I was pretty surprised when her pediatrician told us she was 24" long at her last appointment. Compared to Parker at this age she is small. He was over 15lbs at 3 months. She has some little rolls on her arms and legs, but he was such a roly poly little baby.
 

At 3 months old...

...is sitting with the help of her boppy.
...has found her hands, and will sit for hours holding her hands. It's so cute.
...bats, grabs, and eats her toys. Her favorite toy is her birdy arches floor toy
...rolls from belly to back perfectly


...still has unbelievable blue eyes!! I think we are keeping them.
...she has the funniest bald stripe on her head. I tried to take a picture, but it didn't turn out. The bald stripe goes from ear to ear on the back of her head. It's adorable.




...loves when her brother plays with her.
...loves to talk to sister.
...coos, giggles and has such a big personality. When I watch the videos of Vanessa at the same age, they are very similar. Parker was sooo quiet and reserved.




...loves showers, and thanks to the AMAZING bath tub in our suite, loves to take baths with mommy.

...loves when mommy vacuums. Still the one sound that soothes her when she is upset.



This past month was so wonderful! As a family we had so many great experiences and Eliana had a lot of firsts. Here's to another great month. Love you baby girl. xoxoxo

Happy New Year!!