// Our 2015 Holiday Cards

I'm so head over heels in love with our holiday cards for this year! We didn't get around to doing any last year... or the year before that. This was the first one of us as a family of four! I wasn't able to lock down a family photo shoot in time to get seasonally-appropriate photos, but I did manage to use the film photos we shot back in the summer. I love that Linden and Toby are the main focus of the pictures. Since they were self-shot, we didn't get any with the four of us. Toby did take the stellar one on the back cover though! I love looking at that photo because despite the fact he's not in it, I know how overjoyed he was when we let him run around with the camera. Toby gets so proud when he photographs things, and it's definitely a skill I want to help him build over time.

Since these were our first cards in so long, and because so much has changed in the past year, I wanted to go all out with a tri-fold design. More bang for my buck! The more the merrier! This design was a template on Shutterfly, and it only took me about 10 minutes to do it - start to finish! I love the chalkboard texture and style of the card, too. I'm so so excited to mail these out later this month! I think my favorite thing about the cards is that I didn't have to narrow it down to just one photo. I love simple cards, but since I didn't have one of all of us, I wanted to showcase a variety. (Pretend you don't notice that I used one photo twice! haha) The matte finish of the cards is really nice, too. I ordered the matching return address labels, just to continue the theme. The heavy black writing on the envelopes helps tie the design together (in my opinion!) Overall I'm pretty stoked on the outcome. It was fast, easy, and I think they're so stylish! Normally I love to design all of my own things, but there were too many good designs to choose from. I'm going to make sure I stow one card away just so I can have it as a keepsake! I'm not the only one who does that, right? (I seriously have a box with a wedding invite, college graduation announcements, birth announcements, etc! I'm sentimental, y'all!)

Do you and your family do holiday cards each year? I'd love to see them! (If you're hoping to have some made in time for the holidays, Shutterfly is having a 30-50% off sale right now!) You can also try a free Shutterfly card to check the quality, too. Just use the code CARD4U.

xo KB

This post is in partnership with Shutterfly and Collectively, Inc. All opinions and words are my own!

// Lucky Ladd Farms - Eagleville, Tennessee

We headed over to Lucky Ladd Farms a couple of weekends ago, and we spent an entire Sunday afternoon tromping around and having a fun, family day. Lucky Ladd Farms is up in Eagleville, Tennessee - about halfway between Franklin and Murfreesboro. Some of our good friends live down the road from it, so it was the perfect opportunity to do two things in one day. The boys had an absolute blast. You can totally tell how zonked Linden was in these photos. About halfway through he was tapped out so I tossed him on my back in my Vienna Springs ring sling and let him chill while Toby ran around. We took Linden's mini cooper with us because we knew he'd be more likely to stay put than if we brought him in his stroller. So many kids climbed into his car while he was out and about. I'm pretty sure we had a small train of children following us at one point and then taking turns in his car when we were chasing him. It was hilariously adorable. (I'm telling y'all - best $100 spent EVER!) I was honestly pretty impressed with Mike's ability to drive that far and enjoy a day at the pumpkin patch because he had been awake for over 24 hours, and had just come home from a 12 hour night shift. He's kind of Superdad to us. Anyway, we had an absolute blast, and these photos speak for themselves. It's so fun getting to do these things together. Also, can I just say that those boys of mine are absolutely precious (!!!) in their rain boots?! I can't wait to go puddle jumping with them.

xo KB

Toby's wearing:

Old Navy tee

H&M shorts

Target vest

Stonz rain boots

Linden's wearing:

Baby Truth tee

H&M bibdana

Handsome Pants leggings

Stonz rain boots

// Him + Honey : Nashville Film Portrait Photography

We wanted to snap a few film photos of our little family before Linden turned one. We shot these a couple of weeks ago and printed them just in time for Linden's party. We wanted to be sure and capture him in "this moment" - a tiny pocket of time where he's the most precious little thing in the world haha! We know that's not sure to last. Toby wanted to test out his skills behind the lens, too, and he's responsible for a few of the photos, including the very last one above. We're trying to give Toby more and more room to grow and develop into a kid and it's been so fun to watch. Both he and Linden amaze me every day.

It may have just been an overcast day in the boonies, but I'll treasure these sweet photos forever!

xo KB

// GOTCHA!

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, TOBY!

Today marks THREE YEARS (!!!) since Toby came to live with us. THREE! That tiny, frail and scared little three year old is now a rambunctious, overly energetic six year old. It's almost hard to believe! Just like in past years, we wanted to celebrate this day. We had cake and a few small gifts for Toby to enjoy on Sunday. Isn't that cake incredible?! He's been chowing down on it ever since haha! 

Toby has taught me so much in these past three years. How to be more patient, how to love unconditionally, and how to be a mom. He made us a family, and that alone is reason enough to celebrate.

Just as I had predicted last year, he's an amazing big brother. Linden is so incredibly lucky to have this kid to look up to. I can't wait to come back next year and celebrate four years! I'm hoping this year brings some big and exciting things to our family, so fingers crossed! xo

Past Gotcha Day posts: Bringing Toby Home // One Year // Two Years