Browsing Category

Family

Hello 2020!

New Year’s Day is always an exciting day! It is a day that brings new adventures. It is a day that allows us to look forward to change. It is a day that opens the door to new goals and dreams. So as we ring in the new year, let’s give thanks for all of our blessings!

For my family, we say goodbye to our first year as a family of 5, and we say hello to a new year ahead of growth and more adventures to come.

We are so excited to celebrate new beginnings… HELLO to a new decade – Hello 2020!

Take time today to thank God for the blessing of Day 1.

Lamentations 3:23 – Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

From my family to yours, we wish you a Happy New Year! Hello 2020!

Thank you for the beautiful photos La Brisa Photography.

January 1, 2020 by Jenna

Christmas Traditions 2019 is a recap of a few of our favorite holiday activities. These are the moments that we will remember for years to come.

CELEBRATE, DIY, Family, Holidays

2019 Christmas Traditions: Christmas Cards | Family Photos | Matching PJ’s | Santa Photos

These are a few of my favorite Christmas Traditions… Family Photos + Christmas Cards + The Santa Visit + Matching Holiday PJ’s!

SANTA is always a fun visit for us. It is our chance to see who will smile and who will cry. Is it bad that I always (secretly) wish for tears?? Sadly, my dream didn’t come true. Kensie held it together and we are officially the ‘smiley-Santa-photos’ family. Oh well, at least I am thankful for the joy. Don’t get me wrong, Kensie is extremely skeptical of Old St. Nick, but I am sure next year she will be his biggest fan! Payton and Paisley, on the other hand, never wanted to leave his side. It is so sweet to watch their belief shine! Enjoy our Santa visit! Continue Reading

December 19, 2019 by Jenna

All things Disneyland! My Disneyland family vacation recap, plus great tips and tricks to make your next Disney trip pure magic!

Family, LIFESTYLE, Travel

ALL THINGS DISNEY – OUR 1ST DISNEYLAND FAMILY VACATION + TIPS & TRICKS

Disneyland, Wow! Where do I begin? Everything about Disney is dreamy and we fell in love with the magic of it all.
We had been planning an all-out trip to Disney for years now and it did not disappoint! I wanted to share all of my favorite photos and ALL.THE.THINGS. we did, saw and ate because truth be told, we had the best time. And I also wanted to document it all for my forever memories, it was by far the best family trip to date.

We knew we wanted to visit Disneyland in February because LOVE is in the air at the park and this AZ girl loves cold weather! The weather was chilly and the crowds were smaller, both wins in my book! Continue Reading

February 23, 2019 by Jenna

CELEBRATE, Family, Holidays, LIFESTYLE

Hello 2019!

For my family, we say goodbye to a year full of wonderful memories & exciting changes, and we say hello to a new year that promises to be adventurous and joyous as we continue in our journey as a family of 5!

We are so excited to celebrate new beginnings… HELLO 2019!

January 1, 2019 by Jenna

Cute photo ideas with candy corn! Our candy corn photo shoots is a scrumptiously adorable tradition that our family will always remember.

CELEBRATE, Family, Holidays, LIFESTYLE

Candy Corn Photo Shoot | Scrumptiously Adorable

When my oldest daughter, Paisley, was 4 months old, I got this crazy idea to take photos of her in a tub of candy corn. Don’t ask, I have no idea!… But to this day, those photos definitely have a “sweet” spot in my heart. So of course, I had to reenact this photo-shoot with Payton, when she was 7 months old and yet again for Kensie who is now 6 months old. Each photo shoot has it’s own personalized touch, and it is so much fun to see their “sweet” personalities shine through.

One thing I learned through the years of doing this photo shoot is that the older the baby, the “sweeter” their sweet tooth! At 7 months old, Payton already had a desire for all things yummy and we had a heck of a time keeping the candy out of her mouth, where Paisley and Kensie just thought they were surrounded by toys to play with.

Without further ado, enjoy these SCRUMPTIOUSLY ADORABLE photos! Continue Reading

October 30, 2018 by Jenna

Advice from one mom to another... No matter what, newborn photos are completely worth it! Treasured photos for a lifetime!

Family, LIFESTYLE

Third Baby – Newborn Photos

Newborn photos… oh, the good and the bad! They are the most loved photos for documenting the beginning of your new babies life. And yet, they are dreaded by all post-labor moms who are still healing and still packing around the post-labor body weight! It’s generally recommended to take newborn photos within the first two weeks of life. “It’ll be easy”, they said. “The baby will be cooperative”, they said. Well, how bout the poor momma who still looks eight months preggo and is now sleep deprived?! This is the hardest stage for the exhausted momma and family, and yet this is what we do…. and it’s SO worth it!

[Words I live by: The only picture you’ll regret is the one you didn’t take!]

With all three of my girls, my newborn photos have been some of the most cherished photos to me, but looking at them always brings back the reminder of the craziness going on behind the scenes. The lack of sleep, the cooperation of older kids, the spit up, the blow outs, and all the things we do for a good photo… bribery, silly noises/faces/dances and of course the occasion threat… #goodtimes & #stillsoworthit!

So with all the exhaustion, how do you pull it off without sinking the ship altogether?! Word of advice from one mom to another… I have always tried to plan ahead in the last weeks of pregnancy and prep everyone’s outfits for this photo shoot. I highly recommend doing this, so when the day arrives to take these photos… You are not scrambling to pull something together in the craziness of newborn cluster feedings and exhaustion. Well in advance, and with a clear mind, I will hang all of our outfits in my closet, already ironed and ready to go! Why wait until your in survival mode to get prepared and set up?! Also moms, remember that your body is still in eight months pregnancy mode… So choose an outfit that will be flattering to your “still kinda pregnant” body, i.e… a maternity dress, a flowy blouse or a button down top usually work great.

With that being said, here are a few of our favorites! Third time around and I am still so thankful for these photos. Like I said, they are so worth it! They document where we are as a family when our sweet Kensie joined the crew.

Thank you La Brisa Photography for capturing our family in the comfort of our home. These photos will always be cherished! You are the best!

Welcome to the family – Kensie Steele! #WodiskePartyofFIVE

Say CHEESE!

Catch Up – Our journey to Kensie! Pregnancy Announcement // Gender Reveal // Birth Announcements // Newborn Necessities

July 24, 2018 by Jenna

CREATE, Family, LIFESTYLE, Mommy Break Features

Baby Love | Creating Birth Announcements with Shutterfly

Our third little girl has joined the family our life has been nonstop ever since! Newborns love attention and want to be held and loved on ALL.THE.TIME. While this time is precious for me, it can be hard to do with two other kiddos running around the house. So my “to-do” list has become more of a “if I can get to it” list. One item on my list that kept getting pushed off was making Kensie’s birth announcements. We had beautiful pictures taken by the fabulous La Brisa Photography. The edited images were back in a jiffy and just waiting for me to make the announcement. In my mind, I thought it would be such a daunting, time consuming task. Which is ridiculous because with Shutterfly, it is such a quick, easy and painless creation! I should have made them sooner.

This post was in collaboration with Shutterfly. (#partner) I received some of these items in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. #MyShutterfly

Shutterfly is so easy to use and their quality and results are fabulous. I am a big fan! I was able to upload my beautiful newborn photos and create a photo card masterpiece in minutes. I was beyond thrilled with their card styles and options, that I actually found it hard to pick a favorite. I decided this time around to do something different and I created two cards to alleviate the pressure of choosing just one. I love that Shutterfly offers the opportunity to make each card your own, with the choice of card layouts, colors and fonts… It really is your own presonalized creation.

I made one card in a tri-fold/multi-sided style to give to my family members that want cuteness overload, and a more traditional 2-sided 6×8 photo card for our friends. Both birth announcements turned out fabulous and we couldn’t be more pleased!

: SHUTTERFLY BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS : Continue Reading

July 9, 2018 by Jenna

Newborn Necessities from one mom to another. Sharing items that I love and that have helped me get through the exhausting new baby stage, with ease.

Family, LIFESTYLE, Monthly MUST Haves

Newborn Necessities | Must-Have Favorites From One Mom To Another

Girlie number 3 is six weeks new and I am living on caffeine and snuggles! Since we are in the newborn survival stage I thought it would be fun to share a few items that have kept ‘us’ going – items that both Kensie and I love. They are mostly nursing and sleep related because let’s face it, up until now that is all newbies do in the beginning. And if you recall from my previous posts, since we didn’t know her gender prior to birth, practically every item listed below has been 2-day shipped to my home via Amazon Prime. Lifesaver!

To give you a little back story, I have really struggled with nursing all three of my girls, and to say the first few weeks of nursing has been rough would be an understatement. Between the pain, engorgement, plugged ducts/mastitis, latching and what seems to be a never ending cycle of feeds… it is and has been an exhausting journey, again! But, I am hanging in there and the nursing/feeding items below are probably why. Don’t be afraid to admit it is hard, because it is… use whatever aids you need to get through! Not all nursing journeys are easy, so do your best to not doubt your body or be too hard on yourself. And yes, I need to be better at taking my own advice. Which is why I am sharing my ‘breast friends’ below!

Newborn Necessities

June 5, 2018 by Jenna

Family, LIFESTYLE

Fry’s + The Arizona Diamondbacks For The WIN!

This post is #sponsored by Kroger Family of Stores, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. #LoveMyFrys

For anyone that follows me, you know that I love Fry’s and that since having my third daughter I have especially become fond of their Fry’s ClickList grocery pick up. As an AZ resident, my family also loves Arizona Diamondbacks baseball. And yes, we are super excited about their first place start to this season! So you may be wondering… “What do Fry’s and the Diamondbacks have to do with each other?”… Well thankfully for people like me (and maybe you?), quite a bit! I just found out that these two loves of mine have united. Diamondbacks/Fry’s V.I.P Reward program allows you to purchase select items at any of the Kroger Family of Stores to earn Diamondbacks rewards. WIN-WIN!

Here’s how it works:

May 27, 2018 by Jenna

CELEBRATE, Family, Holidays, LIFESTYLE

Hello 2018!

For my family, we say goodbye to a year full of wonderful memories & exciting changes, and we say hello to a new year that promises to be exciting and joyous as we soon welcome our third baby! We love that our family is growing in 2018!