swinging.

swinging,

asher . september 2014

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aren't photographs wonderful? i took these pictures laying in the mulch at the playground but for all anyone knows maybe they were taken in a studio or maybe they were photoshopped,

or maybe they were just taken in a dream?

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a boy + his dog.

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oh these pictures! they make me so happy. i took these at the beginning of our last FabKids shoot, before asher would give in and put his new sweatshirt on.
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the dreamy golden sunshine and this filled to the brim with joy little guy and his dalmation who happens to match his outfit ...  perfection.

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sidenote, this little red shirt is making an appearance a LOT on the blog lately. partly because some of these photos were taken on the same day and sprinkled into separate posts. partly because, it's awesome.

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FabKids // september picks.

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I don't realize how fast the month is going by until I get an email saying that the new FabKids outfits are reading to pick from and I almost always haven't even photographed and shared my boys in their outfits from the previous month!

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This month Roman knew right away that he wanted to choose this outfit with the flannel shirt. I definitely didn't have this outfit in mind for him because I figured that a long sleeved teeshirt would get a lot more use. However, he really insisted that he wanted this shirt and Aaron and I thought it was pretty darn cute. :) His "Mr. Cool" shirt underneath is from a FabKids outfit he chose a few months back that I don't think I ever got a chance to share! I'm really happy with this outfit and the biggest reason is that the pants FIT him. I have had the hardest time finding pants for Roman this season! He is growing like a weed and when we went pants shopping at Old Navy and Target I had the boy try on every style pants available with no luck. I'm normally not a huge cargo pants fan but these FabKids pants fit him and it's a miracle! I love the rich brown color as well.

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I was really excited to get these black skinny jeans for Asher this month. Last month I picked skinny jeans for Asher and I am in love with them! They are absolutely adorable and he wears them ALL the time! I love that the waistbands on FabKids pants are adjustable and it has benefited both of my boys. Asher is a little skinny scarecrow and even though these pants are only a size 2 I have to pull the waist as tight as it will go! I'm really excited to have a new pair of these skinny jeans for him and I love the Rock Legend sweatshirt as well! I'm slowly trying to transition Asher to the next size so I got a size 3 in this sweatshirt but it's a little roomy. :)

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Be sure to check out FabKids for yourself! FabKids is a subscription clothing company offering brand new outfits to pick from each month! If you sign up now you'll get your first outfit for only $15! You always have the option to skip any month with no charge and you can cancel your FabKids subscription at any time. One thing that I really like about FabKids is that when you become a member you get offers for a lot of great deals in addition to your monthly outfit. FabKids is always offering fun discounts like boy one outfit get one free, $10 pants, and they also have sale items as well that go pretty cheap!

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Thanks so much for reading along. I love sharing my boys' FabKids outfits with you guys every month! We have so much fun with our monthly photo shoots!

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( This post includes affiliate links to FabKids. If you use my link, you will receive your first outfit for only $15 and in return I will receive points towards free outfits for my kids. FabKids sent me these outfits to share with you all but this post and all opinions are my own. Thanks for reading along and providing my family with these awesome opportunities! )

little reader.

( My First Book Fruits by Sophie Helenek )

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Hey there! I wanted to pop in and share these photos I took of Asher over a month ago. Author Sophie Helenek was kind enough to reach out to me and send Asher a copy of one of the books from her new series, My First Books.  We received the Fruits book and Asher proudly carried it around the neighborhood as I took some photos of him. The boys and I have so much fun when we get the chance to work with companies and our package finally comes in the mail!

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Even though Asher is 3 now, he really gravitates towards these simple "baby" board books because he can grab one and read it himself! He loves to look through books and point out all the pictures that he knows. It's really sweet. :) Our little boy who we thought would never start talking goes on and on and on these days and I just love hearing all of his bright and shiny 3 year old thoughts!

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You can check out Sophie's new book series here. I love that she has a "musical instruments" book! Sophie is such a sweet lady and I've really enjoyed working with her and watching her gain success with her venture into children's books!

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I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

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back to school.

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Well, the first week of school has come and gone. Roman's school lets out two hours early for the first two weeks due to the heat, which is making for a nice transition. I don't want to think too much about my little boy being gone until 3:00 everyday yet! We went to Target + Old Navy last Friday to finish up our back to school shopping and it was so much fun. Well, until Asher's melt down that lasted two days over the light-up Ninja Turtle shoes he didn't get to buy, yikes...
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Roman seems very happy with his class. He miraculously picked a navy blue lunch box over all the obnoxious cartoon character ones which secretly made me happy and he told me all about trading some of his goldfish crackers at lunch with his classmates; it was, "so awesome," he says. Roman was super excited to tell me that he got a chance to be a "behavior bee" in his class, which means that he was rewarded for his good behavior by being able to sit in the bumblebee bean bag chair. His face was just lit up when he told me about it in the car. He really is just the sweetest, sweetest little boy - his teacher is pretty lucky I'd say.
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I am exhausted from my first week of school. I feel overwhelmed and stressed and a little in over my head. I really am not used to being so busy and it's just really tiring especially on Tuesdays + Thursdays where my days are 12+ long with work and school now. I'm still trying to figure things out as far as classes transferring / financial aid etc. as well so needless to say, I am super glad that it's Saturday. I don't work OR have school today because Aaron is working in the mountains and I'm hoping the boys will want to pretty much sit around and do nothing all day. Maybe I'll sort through some laundry as well since we have a new (to us) washer + dryer set!
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FabKids sent us these "back to school" outfits and oh my gosh, I am in LOVE with them. These little Fender and NPR tee shirts are just the coolest things ever and they are super soft / great quality as well. I've had these outfits waiting in the wings to be photographed for a while now but it's just been too gosh darn hot to put the boys in jeans. Last night was a super cool / rainy / fall weather kind of evening so after baths I took the boys out to the porch to do our traditional back to school sign coloring. I love how Roman went for a "color-blocking" technique and Asher was very excited and worked hard on his as well, although afterwards he ripped both of these papers to shreds in true Asher style! At least I have the photos though, right? ;)
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How is the back to school season going for you all?
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on Asher - NPR shirt: c/o FabKids jeans: c/o FabKids shoes: Old Navy ( on clearance now! )

on Roman - Fender shirt: c/o FabKids jeans c/o FabKids

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And hey, if you like flashbacks like I do, here is our very similar back to school post on this same porch from last year! Time flies...

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( This post includes affiliate links to FabKids. If you use my link, you will receive your first outfit for only $15 and in return I will receive points towards free outfits for my kids. FabKids sent me these outfits to share with you all but this post and all opinions are my own. Thanks for reading along and providing my family with these awesome opportunities! )

FabKids // July Picks.

We are having so much fun using the FabKids subscription clothing company! My boys now know what to expect when a FabKids package arrives at our door and they tear in immediately to check out their new outfits! Roman and Asher really have enjoyed the process of choosing outfits each month and then seeing that blue package arrive at the door.
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We have a pretty good time with our photo shoots as well. :)
I am really happy with the shorts that came with these outfits. They remind me of the shorts from our April outfits; they are thin and soft and I love the fun pattern! Asher's outfit came with 2 little tank tops (which are sold as a pair for the price of one!) and I'm pretty much dying over that cuteness. I tried to talk Roman into the tank tops as well since he is hot blooded as ever and needs a few more of these, but once he saw this shark shirt his mind was made up!
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You can check out FabKids for yourself here!
The monthly price is $29.95 and includes a two piece outfit that you and your child get to choose. You can skip ANY month as many times as you want. FabKids also offers a lot of great deals and specials to their members such as $10 shorts or buy one get one free outfits + anyone can use a referral link to earn free outfits! Also, if you use the links from this post to sign up - your first FabKids outfit will only be $15!
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You can see other FabKids posts here, here + here.

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*FabKids provided me with the clothing featured in this post in exchange for these photographs + this review. 

This post also includes referral links. Thank you so much for supporting my family and providing us with these fun opportunities! We truly appreciate it!*

a third year story.

the days before asher's birthday, i spent time scrolling through old photos on my blog and flikr and remembering and crying, of course. pictures are so powerful. pictures tell stories and the life and tales of this little boy, my asher, can be followed in pictures as well. i have so many memories of him that have been saved in this way.
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a tub surrounded by windows where he started making his way into this world, toes wrapped around an umbilical cord, a little mouse struggling to breathe and laying cozy in a warmer, those first days of breastfeeding in the nicu, a chubby baby just learning to stand and walk in the corn fields of indiana, throwing rocks at mountains,
jumping and jumping and jumping on beds.

those round light curls + blue eyes + soft baby fair skin.

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i put together some of my favorite pictures from asher's 3rd year to post here today:

to help tell the story of a little heart full of wonder + wild-boy love.
;)

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