Canon 5D Mark II, 50 1.2

F 2.0, 1/125, ISO 400

We’re still here.  Hanging out.  The girl is sick.  I’m sick.  Dealing with major drama.  That made me sad.  And angry.  And a little freaked out.

I’ll be back in a couple of days when I have something more positive to say.

For Brayden’s birthday shoot this year I really wanted to make it fun for him.  No one ever believes me when I say this, but he really doesn’t like getting his picture taken.  Or, I suppose I should say, he really doesn’t like it when I take his pictures!

He can be really shy so I thought about doing an indoor shoot where he would be most comofortable.  Plus, we were really limited on time so I thought indoors would be best in case we get bad weather.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was really cool, but too similar to what I did last year.  I decided to adapt it and tape the balloons to the wall in my studio instead.  Brayden loves rainbows and I knew the color would pop really well.  We blew up the balloons with a balloon pump (don’t use helium!) and simply taped them along the wall.  I wasn’t sure the tape would hold, but luckily it did.  I didn’t want to have to put that many holes in the wall!

I also saw these streamers on Pinterest and loved them.  They are really easy to make and took no time at all!  I used construction paper that was bigger than your normal 8.5 x 11 (maybe 8.5 x 22?).  We hung all the streamers the night before and that ended up working out really well.  They stretched out a lot overnight and looked even better!

Lastly, I bought a confetti gun, which was SO much fun.  Except, it was really loud and Kennedy did not like it

When Brayden walked in and saw the set up for the first time he said, “Wow, I love this party mommy!  It’s so cool!”.  And you know if Brayden says it’s cool, then it must be really cool!  I just wanted him to love it and I think it shows in the pictures that he really did.  It was simple and fun and no tears on this shoot!  Yeah!

Canon 5d Mark II, 50 1.2

F 2.0, 1/200, ISO 320

Happy Valentine’s Day from me and my love bugs

and from my cute little cupid

(Backdrop inspired by Ruche)

3 years ago Mom*tog started as an idea.  A fun place to blog pictures of my boy and connect with other moms who had a passion for photography.

567 posts, over 11,000 comments, 1.3 million hits (whoa!), almost 600 of you blogging on Real Mom*togs, and 1 baby later, Mom*tog has become more than just a blog.  It has become a place where we can encourage each other as moms and photographers, a place where we can relate to one another, and a place where friendships are made.  I so appreciate each and every one of you coming to my little blog, looking at (endless amounts of) pictures of my kids, and reading my words.  You all are such a great support system to me and I hope you have learned a little here along the way as well.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Mom*tog would not be what it is without each and every one of you.

For the birthday of Mom*tog I always like to release a new project.  This is one I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time.  But, I’m no graphic designer so I approached the girls over at Photo Card Boutique for their expertise.

Each year when I make my own personal family albums I can never find album templates that work.  I end up buying several templates and then piecing them together to get the right look for my family album.  It’s very time consuming and also costly.  I wanted to come up with a line of templates for moms and by moms.

The first template is the ABC Line, which is inspired by ABC board books.  I wanted an ABC album for Kennedy that could be personalized to our family.

The entire album can be customized for your pictures and your text as well.  I can’t wait to get this ordered for Kennedy.  She will love it (and so will Brayden!).

The second line was inspired by the letters I write to Kennedy each month.  People always ask me what I do with them.  Well, this is what I’m doing with them.  Each month I insert the letter into this template and add pictures.  I plan on giving it to her maybe when she’s 18 or she gets married.  Or maybe I’ll wait until she has her own kids.  I wanted the album to be an heirloom piece and have a timeless design.  There are places for letters, stats, memorable moments, and pictures.  And of course all the text is totally customizable.

And don’t worry, there will be a boy design coming soon!

There are also corresponding invitations

blog boards (love these)

mommy calling cards

and much, much more!

You do need Photoshop to use these templates.  Intimidated by Photoshop?  Don’t worry, the templates are user friendly and we’ll be adding some video tutorials to help you out soon!

As a birthday present to you all templates in the Mom*tog line are 25% off for the next 3 days!  Yeah!

I can’t wait to get more designs up.  It’s so fun working with Angie and Katie to come up with templates for moms just like us.  I hope you love them as much as I do!

Dear Brayden,

I’ve been staring at a blank computer screen for awhile now.  I’m not sure that words can properly convey how proud I am to be your Mommy.  At your birthday party today, I held you as everyone sang happy birthday and I had to fight back tears.  How did I get so lucky to be your mom?

You are crazy and stubborn.  A little OCD and a major perfectionist.  You are known to be a bit of a whiner and have an attitude from time to time.  But, you are also crazy smart.  Handsome like your Daddy.  You have a wild imagination.  You are sensitive and compassionate.  You have a huge heart and a love for life.  You are silly and love to laugh.  You tell the best knock knock jokes known to man.  You make me laugh until I cry.

The other day you were very sad because you said that when you turn 4 you will have to move out of the house because you’ll be a man and you can’t live with your Mommy and Daddy when you are a man.  I want you to know that you can live with us until you are old and grey if that’s what makes you happy.  I will always love you as fiercely as I do now.  Even when you are as big as Daddy you will still be my baby.  Even when you are taller than me and I have to stand on my tippy toes to hug you, you will still be my baby.  Even when you have your own babies, you will still be my baby.  Nothing will ever, ever change that.

Thank you for making me a Mommy.  Thank you for making my life complete.  Thank you for loving me even when I am not perfect.  Thank you for letting me see the world through your eyes.  It’s a magical world and I’m so lucky to be a part of it.

I love you with my whole heart and soul, Brayden Bittel.  I am so, so proud of the boy you have become.

Love,

Mommy

It’s Brayden’s birthday party day!  He woke up this morning and said, “Everything looks so cool, Mommy!”.  That makes staying up until 1 am totally worth it

Here is the last freebie from Photo Card Boutique!  Isn’t it cute?  I already have one printed and ready to go for when the birthday decorations come down.
Family Subway Art Free Printable

Can’t wait to share what we’ve been working so hard on! Check back on Monday!

Back in November when I did my 31 Random Acts of Kindness, my favorite one was the notes I left for moms to find on changing tables.  Everyone needs to be told that they are awesome every once in a while.  Especially when changing your baby’s dirty diaper for the upteenth time that day, right?

Today’s freebie from Photo Card Boutique was inspired by those notes.  Print these out, cut them up, and leave them for a mom who might need a little encouragement!  See a mom struggling to get her kids out of the car and into the store?  Leave her a little note on her windshield.  Keep a stack in your diaper bag to leave on changing tables.  Leave a note and help spread joy!

PCB Mom*Tog Mom Lift You Up

Photo Card Boutique and I have one more awesome freebie tomorrow and then check back on Monday for details on our new project!  Eeeeek!  So excited!

It’s birthday week for the almost 4 year old and I’ve been running around trying to get all the final preparations done.  School party and robot cake pops, super hero party, packing for our trip to Legoland.  Lots and lots to do.  The only way I can stay organized is by having my handy, dandy to do lists.  Nothing feels better than crossing off an item on your list.  I like to have a list for today and one for tomorrow.  The to do list for tomorrow comes in handy for prioritizing my projects and keeping me sane!

Plain old boring to do lists are no fun.  That’s why Photo Card Boutique made a pretty one just for you!  Yep, another freebie!  Print it out (it’s sized to print on your normal printer!) and start checking things off your list!

PCB Mom*Tog To Do List

I’m really, really, REALLY excited to announce a project that I’ve been working on with the lovely ladies over at Photo Card Boutique.  But, that will have to wait until Mom*tog’s third birthday on Monday!

This week we have some awesome and FREE downloads for you all.  Because every birthday celebration needs presents, right?

I’m sure you are way more organized than me.  This is what my desktop normally looks like (don’t judge):

Just in case your desktop needs a little organizational help the ladies over at PCB created this for you:

Look how much prettier my desktop looks (no more Brayden, but I see him everyday so it’s ok!).  And it’s organized!  I can actually find everything!

You can download yours here!  Did I mention that it’s FREE?

Here are instructions on how to install:

Mac:

-  Click on the “apple icon”

-  System Prefrences

-  Desktop and Screensaver

-  On the left side, find where the file is saved and click on it.

-  Click “fit to screen” and change the background color to white

Here are instructions for PC.  I believe you’ll also want to change it to “fit to screen” and change background to white.

Enjoy and be sure to check back tomorrow for the next freebie!

6 days left as a 3 year old.  3 still sounds like a baby to me.  A toddler.  But, 4?  4 is a full fledged boy.

4 year olds can write their names.

*** Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 50 1.2

F 2.0, 1/200, ISO 500

With the help of their dinosaurs, of course.

F 2.0, 1/125, ISO 500

I’m so proud of this kid.  It’s crazy that he was inside of me 4 years ago and now he’s a funny, sensitive, smart, kind, crazy, loud human being.  I’m so lucky to be his Mommy.

F 2.0, 1/200, ISO 500