The Moon Team

Fairy Dust and Glitter Wings

Tanner had an amazing day today.  In addition to getting lots of rare one-on-one time with mom and dad, she had her very own fairy princess photo shoot in a purple flower garden! A couple of months ago we took Jaxson to White Lake Studio in Cumming to have his pictures made, and while we were there we saw some pictures of little girls dressed up like fairies in fields of purple flowers.  Right away, we knew we had to make an appointment for Tanner!  We spent weeks looking for the perfect outfit and practicing flying like fairies around the house, and today was the big day.  I was hoping Tanner would wake up from her nap in a good mood and cooperate, and she did...in fact, she was excited!  It was such a different situation than my usual expectations for toddler photography...the photographer, Bryan White, let Tanner run and play and explore all over the property, and he followed her lead.  It was so calm and magical...a perfect experience.  I can't wait to see the professional shots, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek from my view.

Walking into the woods...

 

Sprinkling fairy dust!
 

Hiding in the flowers. Where's Tanner?
 

The iridescent wand.
 

Did you know she can fly?
 

She dances, too!
 

Telling a story...she loved this watering can.  ("I'ma getchu!")
 

A tad bit mischievous...true to character.
 

Beautiful Tanner.
 

Thanks, Bryan.  The memories are priceless!
         

Shopping for Baby Shoes for Easter?

You should definitely check out this website.

I just found the cutest shoes on there for Jaxson!

Also, go check out my friend Amy's blog...and enter her contest.  It's always entertaining to follow the adventures of Little Miss Libbi!  (Jax thinks she's cute.)  ;)

Playground!

Nick's always wanted to build the kids an awesome playground.

He designed one, enlisted some friends, and went to work.

He also had excellent project supervisors.

And this little helper, who was anxious to participate.

The girls played on it a couple of times before it was completely finished...

And that was fun...

But now it is done!!!

They are SO excited! :)

Katelynn's special request was monkey bars.

They're grown-up sized.  See?

And little kid-sized too.  Kinda.

Jax wanted a chance to play, too.

 The girls decided it'd be fun to slide together.

But we have to watch out for Tanner; she's fearless!

Katelynn's fearless, too.  Hereditary fearlessness from their father, I suppose.

These princesses think they're hot stuff in their new play castle.

I think their dad's hot stuff.  He can do anything.  We are so thankful for him!

Want to come play?

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

I'm always frustrated that my Christmas tree is lame, and I've figured out why: it's not my mom's.  I remember staring at my mom's Christmas tree for hours and hours, and I always looked forward to getting out the ornaments each year.  My tree just isn't the same!  (Yes, I realize I need to make these same memories for my kids...but still. :))  So, since you didn't grow up with my mom's tree, I thought I'd introduce you:

This ornament says "1981," meaning it was for yours truly. :)

 

This one's a little curious...it's a blue baby ornament, but it says 1983.  So I guess it was mine?  Perhaps it's a unisex toddler ornament.  Because my brother wasn't born until 1986.

Little Miss Sunshine!  I loved this book series. :)

The sail boat.  This might have been my brother's...and probably came from somewhere cool since my Gran used to travel a lot and bring us unique ornaments from every city she visited.

The pottery dogwood.  This simultaneously reminds me of A) the cool artisan/craft festivals in Asheville, where I grew up; B) dogwood shaped pressed butter mints that my mom used to make (we made a bazillion for my aunt's wedding one time); and C) my parents' house in Dogwood Forest, which has...shockingly...a ton of dogwood trees.

Cascading bells!  I LOVE these. :)  When my kids are old enough to not break things, I'm going to have a tree that's all cascading bells.  Guess I'd better start collecting them...

This was one of Katelynn's pacies.  So sweet.  And random.  

The slightly creepy elf...which was bought on my parents' first Christmas Day as a married couple in Washington D.C., making it 38 years old!

The crocheted Santa.

And the crocheted ball.  These are ooollldddd.  

The snowball.  Favorite.  Ornament.  Ever.

There's a baby inside!  Notice it was given to me in 1981...my first Christmas...by a lady named Grace Dalton.  I don't remember much about her, except that she was a sweet little old lady who served me hot sugar cookies when we went to visit.  They were delicious!

I'm thinking my Gran might have visited San Francisco for this one?

The hidden pickle.  Yeah....I don't know.  It's pretty and shiny though!

The carolers on the mantle.  These jokers must be antiques!

Here it is!  It's real, so it smells good.  And I love the quilted tree skirt. :)

               
Oh, Nostalgia.

What was your tree like when you were a child?

We carved it: 2009

It's pumpkin carving night with The Moon Team! First, Daddy handles the nasty stuff.

 

They're definitely his girls, because Tanner LOVED touching it.

Katelynn did too.

 

Nasty.

 

I'm partial, but I think they're beautiful! :)

 

And I never get tired of this little face. :)

The little truffle had been quietly getting his jungle gym on...

 

When we interrupted him.  Jax, meet Pumpkin.

"Hey mom, look at this big cool orange thing!"

"I want to get in it...Hi Mom!  I'm the cutest lil' punkin' EVER." ;)

He liked it way better than Tanner did.  The secret?  Socks.  We learned that the hard way.  Meanwhile, Katelynn sketched out our pumkpin masterpiece.

Here he is...

 

Ta-Da!

 

What they don't know is that pumpkin night is my favorite, because I "have" to do something crafty and it's considered good parenting.  That, my friends, is a win-win situation.

 

I LOVE carving pumpkins.  :)  Haha BOO.

 

She loved it.  Which is awesome.  Because my whole goal was to make what was in her head come alive!

 

And because I'm being all emo today, look how much she's grown since last year.

 

And look how much SHE'S grown.  Blows my mind.  Makes me want to hold them all a little longer... because I have a feeling they'll be carving their own pumpkins before I can even blink.  

I heart family time. :)