For the last several years, I was obsessively, maniacly taking photos. I’ve chilled a bit. No longer do I constantly take photos at family events. No doubt, I am still the one with the camera on hand. But the sheer number of photos is no longer beyond huge. Maybe it will be again one day but I’ve slowed down…savored the moments a little more without the help of a lens. It’s a nice change. It’s a refreshing breeze of new air. It’s thrilling to be in the action instead of just capturing the action. And with all that said, sometimes when I see an image later on my computer screen, it reminds me of why I take pictures. There might be that photo that literally takes your breath away. For me this was one of them…
(yes, Weston’s eyes are officially blue. I am beyond thrilled.)
this was another…
Both were taken at Jeremy’s hometown when we went to visit for Will’s birthday. It was such a fun weekend. Nothing compares to spending time with family. Well…maybe matching shirts and navy and white stripes with barefoot tootsies.
We actually did four birthday celebrations for Will. One with our Chattanooga family…one with my family….one with friends…and one just our little family. He now thinks that every time we have a meal that it requires candles and a song and special treats. I may have to rethink our birthday celebration situation.
Grammy did a Thomas train cake for Will. He loved it. Oh heck…we all did…it’s cake afterall 🙂
We also got to see some cousins and their cute little baby girls. It gave me the baby fever all over again. I love my boys but ohmygarshthemgirls….I just know in my heart of hearts that I am meant to have a baby girl one day.
Weston’s face cracks me up here. I think he was smelling something. Let’s not name who…because they are ladies 🙂
Weston got some Grammy time…
while I snuck outside and snapped a few of this pretty girl and her mama…
Okay…so this one is straight outta the camera….I feel like it might be one of those ones that people look at later on and say that she looks exactly the same even after she grows up. Do you have one of those? I think I have a few that I look just mini…and less wrinkly.
Will got to spend the entire time with his cousin Asher. This kid is hilarious and so cute it kills me. He’s the closest thing to Will in our family in age so this was really a treat.
Will and Asher will definitely be doing this photo again in years to come. I will force them. And if that fails, I will bribe with a new car. Of course, a mother’s definition of new is “new-to-you” or may or may not include Matchbox makes and models 🙂
The funnest part of the trip to the home enthusiast in me was visiting one of our favorite stores – Southeastern Salvage. We have always bought furniture there because it is uh-mazing with reasonable prices. We planned on only getting our window-shop on but in the end, we splurged on a new dining room table that we pined over. haha. punny 🙂 More on that later.
So that’s my Chattanooga recap. I have another of our trip to Pittsburgh…just a ton of photos of go through…
oh and in other news….today we signed a contract to get our house repainted….I may be freaking out with happiness. Sometime in early summer it is happening and I am gonna be diving into paint decks pronto to find a color that I will hopefully love for years and years to come 🙂
love all the adorable photos…and can’t WAIT to see your dining table and your house painted!! Good luck picking out colors!!
I love how that sign says please do not eat or put your feet on furniture. I wonder if they have a lot of trouble with people eating their furniture. Must be some pretty great furniture then. Although I have seen some stuff from Jonathan Adler’s collections that I could eat up. Happy Friday!
That first pic is just precious…beyond words. I have a blue-eyed boy too and it’s the best but hard to deny those sweet baby blues. I can’t wait to see your new dining table and congrats on getting to have the house painted!
The first 2 of Weston are so precious seriously, my uterus tingled. Those eyes just pull you in. They are so cute. I am also a big Southeastern Salvage-r at the one here in Nashvegas.
So excited about the house painting! 🙂
I get you on the pictures. Especially at the beginning of our marriage, I practically had the camera as an extra facial feature. But now I just feel like the time is too special to just look at the moment through a second lens too much. But it does feel nice to get great shots. And you my dear take some pretty great ones.
I usually love your posts, but this one made me sad. Understand your desire for a girl, of coure, but what about all-boy mommas? Some of us may never get the girl and I guess I thought you might be one to champion that.
Seriously. I would eat furniture all the time 🙂 They provide free popcorn and lemonade so I guess they just missed a clarification 🙂
xo – kb
So funny and weird.. I was just at Southeastern Salvage a couple of weekends ago and was thinking ” I wonder if Katie Bower knows about this place?” Wish they had one here in Altanta… Looking forward to seeing the table you picked out….
Of course if God only gives me boys then I’ll be ecstatic. Obviously right now I am a huge fan of boy-mama’s. My girlfriend just had her third boy and I could not be more excited for her 🙂
xo – kb
Cute pictures!! I totally agree on how many pictures. I love having them but I always feel like I am missing out on the moment too.
But gosh darn those boys are cuuuute!!!!
Love looking at pictures of your boys! It so reminds me of mine when they were little. I to had a brown eyed and a blue eyed boy. Until they turned five and then my blue eyed baby turned green! My daughter did the same thing, went from blue to green. Watching them grow is so much fun! I look forward to you posts and watching your boys grow. Perhaps you’ll have a girl the next time, you never know. 🙂 I was blessed with two of each and I thought I wanted all boys. God knows best though and I wouldn’t have thought I would have enjoyed my girls so much, even if the drama is excessive. 🙂
House paint is so hard for me! I found that driving around, finding a house I liked, stalking for a few weeks, and finally knocking on the door and asking for the paint name worked for me!!
Katie- thanks for this! I too always have the camera busted out at everything! But since having baby boy #2 I have chilled out. Just not enough hours in the day for a lens and cuddling baby. Also glad to hear Will had a bunch of birthday celebrations. Our Eli (who turned 3 right after Will) did as well. I figured with the arrival of his baby brother Noah, that it was good to go over board celebrating just Eli. He has been so good sharing the spotlight with new brother the past couple of months 🙂
So excited for you to get rid of the toothpaste walls! you’ll have to get a frame, a vase or something in that color to remind you where your rocking house came from!
Love love love the boys shirts!! Where did you score Wills? I’m looking for a big brother one
Me too! 🙂
Will & Asher melt my heart….I still go back and look at the photos you took of Asher in his overalls. SO PRECIOUS! You make me want a house full of kiddos 🙂
Goshdarnit, Weston is such a cutie! He looks like he has such a little personality! Amazing pic ♥
Your baby photos are so adorable! And, they make me cherish my babies even more when I see how you feature their eyes and squiggles and smiles. Also makes me wish I had you as a photographer!!
Such adorable pictures and a fun recap. Then you go in and throw the house repaint! Exciting!!
Ok, that first picture takes my breath away too. Perfection.
Everything else is great too though!!! 😉
The pictures of Weston are too cute! I love the brother picture – absolutely gorgeous! I am glad you are taking the time to enjoy a little more rather than capture. I can’t wait to see the new table and the paint color you pick!
Love to see that the boys had fun making the rounds for Will’s birthday! Weston looks so much like your husband it’s crazy! I always thought Will was a good mix of the two of you…but Weston…he’s your hubs to a T!
Good luck with the house painting! I’m sure whatever color it ends up, it’ll be lovely!
The picture of Weston on his belly takes MY breath away and I don’t know him or you:) My grandson and my brother’s son are the same age and we have taken pictures of the “cousins” since they were infants and they’re now 20 years old. It is so much fun to look back at some of them and the clothes we thought were so cute back then look goofy now, especially to the two boys. I agree with Michelle about driving around and finding a house that you like and knocking on the door to ask the color. That’s what I did when we painted our house years ago and I was very happy with it. BUT………..the yellow has really faded over the past 10-12 years and we’re going to have it painted again, this time a light tan/beige color for the house with white trim and turquoise shutters and front door. Good luck to both of us on our new house color!
Is there anything cuter than baby photos? I think not.
Katie,
Do you know about Real Deals in Jefferson, Georgia? It’s just a few minutes from my house! It looks just like the photo of the salvage place you posted, and it’s only about an hour or less from you. It’s furniture and decor, and it’s FANTASTIC! …you must check it out! Hint: Go upstairs. The whole top floor of the warehouse is clearance, though they don’t really advertise that that level even exists. There’s a back door that leads upstairs. Eek! You gotta go! Play date with our kiddos this summer and we’ll “stop by.” 😉
I did the exact same thing. I was getting worried that someone might think I was a Peeping Tom. (Peeping Mom?) Thank goodness for my neighbor who was so organized she had a paint folder with an extra chip in it…
My, what cute boys you have! The better to… I don’t know… okay, that went nowhere. But dang – I thought you couldn’t top your photos of Will and then you go and add another one to the mix. Cuteness overload.
I definitely slacked off of photo-taking over the years, but you should live it up now. Wait until they are 14 and roll their eyes and say, “Mommmm…” with an exaggerated sigh while hiding their faces. Some days I feel like I am trying to get a picture of an endangered creature in the wild.
Yay for blue eyed babies!!! My daughter has them and I look forward to finding out the eye color of baby 2 when he/she arrives. I’m jealous of all those cute cousins! I have one nephew who is special needs and although physically close in age to my daughter, he can’t talk and is hard to play with.
So random, so unrelated… but where did you work before you got married? Just realized I know next to nothing about your pre-blog life.
You have the most adorable little boys ever! And the picture of them together in the stripes is just too cute :).
I worked as a lifeguard/pool manager/swim coach and instructor through college…then as a subcontractor to dermapathology labs…a server at Bahama Breeze at nights to pay off student loans…and later as a reinsurance intermediary. Really diverse.
xo – kb
I got them both from Kohls. Gotta love Kohls cash!
xo – kb
I wish we were painting inside…sadly no…just the exterior! But when we do, I’ll be sure to keep a little toothpaste in my life 🙂
xo – kb
I didn’t! I’m so excited about that now! I must check it out!
xo – kb
Hi Katie! I love your photos. You’re so lucky to have cute babies. I wish I can have blue eyes baby! I can’t wait to see the new photos of your kids. God bless always!
That first pic is an absolute stunner – that’s why I pretty much can’t be separate from my camera either 🙂
I live in Chattanooga! I love your blog. Next time you visit I would love to try to meet up in real life. I think Will and Caleb would get along great!
I love the shot of Weston on the bed! He looks so snuggly.
Although I don’t always have a camera in my hand, I know what you mean. My mind. is. constant. Like nonstop “look at that- I could spray paint that. I need to pin this. I want to instagram that. What is she thinking? What’s that smell. Is it going to rain today?”
I think if men could read our minds they would go nuts. But this year I’ve been trying to work on ‘living in the moment.’ I think it’s going to be a long term kind of goal 😉
I’m sure they would!
xo – kb
PAINT!?!?!? I might be as excited as you, and it’s not even my house! I can’t wait to see what y’all pick!
PS: I evacuated to Chattanooga from New Orleans two days before Katrina hit. I ended up staying from August til December to finish out my semester at UTC where my uncle teaches Econ. Such a lovely town with the sweetest people 🙂
I live in Chattanooga and frequently visit Southeastern Salvage…in fact, our kitchen table is from there as well. We scored it for a whopping $50! 6.5 feet long! Love that place! And love this city.
sothecooksaid.blogspot.com
Such sweet photos. 🙂
http://happinessiscreating.com/
Weston’s eyes are fan-tas-tic! How old was he when they really turned blue? I’m praying my little guy’s eyes turn blue. They seem to be lightening up, but nothing official yet. The oldest two have brown (after me), Number 3 is hazel, and I’m desperate for Number 4 to be blue like daddy! He’s only 5 weeks, so I think there is hope. When did Weston’s eyes show their true color?
They were always blue…even the whites of his eyes were bluish…so we were waiting for them to turn too…but apparently it seems like they will keep their blue color 🙂 I wish I had more of an answer…it was just a waiting game really!
xo – kb
Nothing better than a great used furniture local! I can’t wait to see your guy’s new table!
Hi Katie,
I love reading your blog. I just got into these blogs recently, thanks to buying our first home last month. (The previous owners were an elderly couple in their eighties – so I got a ton of updating to do!) But I particularly love seeing your projects sprinkled with random pictures of Weston smiling wide in the sidelines! Because (1) he’s such a cutie, particularly in this post’s bed shot, and (2) because he’s pretty much the same age as my sweet lil one and only. 🙂
Seeing you trucking along with baby (and toddler) and all keeps me optamistic about getting through my to-do list. Thanks a ton!
PS: If your ever in the Dallas area with time to kill, you’re welcome to swing by my place for a baby playdate! 🙂
Deal!
xo – kb
Love these photos!! Your boys are precious 🙂
It is CRAZY how much Weston looks like Jeremy. You guys make the most beautiful babies!
CRAZY! ANd I like them babies too 🙂
xo – kb
You have two precious boys– y’all really know how to make ’em! 🙂
The black and white photo of Weston on his back is so beautiful. Heck, all of your photos are always amazing. But I stared at this one extra long 🙂
PS – Happy birthday Will!