They picked well this year! To be honest, they selected their costumes back in August because they were so excited. We have been counting down to this day! The big sisters also had the privilege of selecting Kensie and Kingston’s costumes, and we are obsessed! I am not sure Kingston loves his 1st Halloween costume… but he looks HOT! HAHA!
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!
They picked well this year! We decided to let the girls select costumes that made them happy! So we jumped on Amazon/Target online and let the girls browse and pick what stood out to them. As an added bonus we let the big sisters select Kensie’s costume, and I am pretty sure she is not thrilled about the head piece. HaHa – The life of the littlest sister!
What a great month!
You were a month filled with gratefulness, thankfulness, and the reminder of kindness. November, we filled you up with great moments and treasured times… Mainly Kensie’s first cross-country adventure and our hubby/wife trip to Washington D.C. DC was beyond words – FABULOUS! We also celebrated daddy’s birthday, Thanksgiving, our first girl-only STAYcation slumber party and Christmas came early this year with decorating the house and setting up the tree.
November you were good to us, but we are so excited for Christmas and the holiday month of December! Bring on Jesus’ BIRTHDAY!!!
Yet again, this year I decided to let the girls pick costumes that resemble their personalities. My girls are the epitome of opposites, one is a perfectionist that likes pretty and sparkly things and the other likes to be goofy and silly most of the time. So their costume choices this year did not come as a surprise to me.
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!
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!
Say CHEESE! 
Catch Up – Our journey to Kensie! Pregnancy Announcement // Gender Reveal // Birth Announcements // Newborn Necessities
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!
You were a month of traveling and holiday fun! Between Thanksgiving celebrations, my husband’s birthday and my annual best friend trip it was an adventure-filled month…. Just the way I like it! I was able to jet set away to San Francisco for a kid-free girls weekend full of yummy food, beautiful sites, much cooler weather and lots of shopping. It was dreamy and exactly what this pregnant mama needed! I am now in my second trimester so hopefully this morning sickness will fully go away soon, counting on it December! But, what I loved most about this month was the excitement it brought for the holiday season ahead. It was a month of gratitude and family time and a special first… Our oldest learned how to ride a bike! This is a big deal in the parenting world of firsts!
As the hustle and bustle of December begins, I pray that I can stay grounded in the true meaning of Christmas – Jesus is the reason for the season, and continue to demonstrate for my girls what giving and showing love is all about. Blessings to you this Christmas, remember to pause and cherish each moment.
My girls love playing dress up and make believe, so picking out Halloween costumes every year has become an exciting time for all! This year I took my girls to the store and let their imaginations run wild. I gave them each the opportunity to pick out their favorite costumes and they both picked adorable and creative looks!
You heard it right, Baby Wodiske is joining our family in April 2018! While it still hasn’t completely sunk in yet that we are going to be a family of 5… We are thrilled to grow our family and we feel extremely blessed. BUT, why does 3 seems a lot scarier than any of the other pregnancies?! (EEK!) I am thankful to say that our transition from 1 to 2 went very smooth and we have been blessed with two sweet girls who are going to be the BEST big sisters. We are saying goodbye to man-to-man defense and transitioning to zone defense as our little team of 3 will officially be outnumbering us! Let the games begin!
I come from a family of 3 kids and I am the beloved middle child, so having a family of 5 has always been a dream of mine. Although life is harder in the baby stage, I know it will all be worth it to have the fun bigger family to make memories with forever!
With all the joy of growing our family comes all the agony of morning sickness! Unfortunately, morning sickness for me is for REALZ!… and whoever dubbed it “morning” sickness never had to endure ALL DAY sickness! Sadly I have endured nausea and vomiting with all three pregnancies. I am praying that in the next month or two things will calm down and I will start feeling more like myself again. It took until 19 weeks with my first two pregnancies, and right now 19 weeks seems like forever away! For all you ladies who were/are sick during your pregnancies, I feel for you… It is tough, physically and emotionally.
It was so special talking to both of our girls about the new baby in mommy’s tummy and seeing their expressions. They are going to be fabulous big sisters and already have so much love for their sweet little baby! My oldest is already calling it a little baby girl… we shall see!
We couldn’t have asked for a better friend and talented photographer to take these beautiful photos of us as we celebrate our new bundle of joy! Chris, you captured our joy (and craziness) in such an authentic & beautiful way and we will forever cherish these photos! Thank you La Brisa Photography for always capturing our special milestones in the most perfect way.
Well that’s the scoop! I plan on keeping you posted on our journey through this special pregnancy, I’m sure you will hear a lot about my cravings and exhaustion, but most importantly my excitement and preparation. Stay tuned a gender reveal post may be coming your way soon with highlights from both of the girl’s gender reveals and a little trip down memory lane.
Thank you again for joining us during this exciting time. So much fun is ahead!
BLESSINGS!
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MY DRESS / LACE UP HEELS ( SIMILAR) / PAYONT’S DRESS / MATCHING GOLD BOOTIES / PAISLEY’S DRESS (OUT OF STOCK – SORRY!) / GOLD MYLAR NUMBER BALLOONS
