One Year Photo Shoot & Birthday Party Time!

I can't believe it.  In a week and a half, our boys will be turning one.  ONE!  How the heck did that happen?  Parenthood is truly the biggest time warp I've ever experienced.  That saying, "The days are long and the years are short" is totally 100% true.  I really can't believe it's been almost a year...

We're in the thick of it now, planning two birthday bashes**-one in CT, and one in MA.  Lots of craft projects and menu planning.  And this past weekend, a one year photo shoot.

Anyone who's ever paid a photographer for studio time knows it's not cheap.  In fact, most of the photographers I've looked at want no less than $250 to take photos of our family for us. They're gorgeous, yes, but we just don't have that kind of money floating around right now.  Because we really wanted formal pictures though, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  Instead of paying a professional photographer hundreds of dollars, I hired my niece Mariah for A LOT less to spend a couple of hours snapping pics for us.  I bought (on black Friday) a few yards of white fleece and a few strands of white lights.  I made a banner out of card stock, twine and duct tape and bought a bunch of balloons.  And then then we just spent some time taking tons of pictures to ensure we'd have a handful of keepers.  The results, while not professional grade, are amazing.  And I feel proud that I saved our family a butt-load of money (for diapers) and that my niece did such a wonderful job. It was a lot of work (we were all sweaty after the shoot was over!), but well worth it.  Take a look at the results:

 

 

 

**Jack & Bobby's wishlist can be found HERE.