little boy style // awesome clearance sale.

     The process of putting together collages of my favorite things is so much fun and I used to love doing this when I wrote for the Spearmint Baby blog. I stopped writing for them when we moved out to Colorado because it was just too time consuming at that point but I do miss these kind of posts. I always feel super particular about what I post on my blog because I'm very picky about how it looks and I just want to scroll down and see soft / pretty photos like I'm looking through a journal of the lovely parts of my life. This was the major reason I felt uneasy when I first started taking on sponsored content. My feelings have shifted a little and I've realized that while this blog is definitely a photo journal and a place for my art, I also LOVE working with companies and branching out into the business side of blogging.

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     Overall I'm pretty happy with the way my blog flows right now. It's a place for me to share photos of my sweet little boys, a place to share deeper feelings and thoughts about motherhood on occasion, a place to connect with other mothers out there. In the past year though, I have also enjoyed branching out a little bit farther into the business side of blogging and it has been so much fun.

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     So anyway, I've put together a collage today and I'm going to share it and see how it goes because I think it would be really fun to start sharing a few of these / a little more about clothing for little boys! I love shopping for my little boys' clothes. Growing up, I played with dolls all the time and sometimes when I'm doing things for my little boys, I feel so lucky because I realize that being a mom is kind of exactly the same as being a little girl and playing with my dolls and I still love it in the same way. :)

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     I always hear moms / women talk about having daughters and how fun it is to shop for little girl clothing but I truly love everything boy. I've realized that you do have to scrounge a bit more to find cute boys' clothing because it seems like boys really do get the shaft in this area. Instead of finding bright fun colorful clothing like I see in the girls' section of the store, I often find the kind of clothing available for boys looks like it could be worn by grown men! This is such a pet peeve of mine.

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    I always try to get the best deals on kids' clothing and almost always shop thrift stores / clearance. This is becoming a little more difficult with Roman and I've found that as my boys get older I have to invest a little more money in clothing, but I am still always looking out for great deals. The one day 40% off sale on Gymboree's summer clearance is absolutely awesome and is full of all of my favorite little boy kind of clothes: little tank tops, colorblock, seersucker, cute prints, oh my. The sale is only going on today, so be sure to check it out and grab a few cute things! It's also a great chance to stock up on clothes for next summer!

striped tanks / bulls eye tank / monster undies /  teal chino pants 

seersucker shorts / colorblock shorts / green denim shorts / striped jersey knit shorts / color block sunglasses

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*This posts contains affiliate links. I was in no way compensated for this post but if you do use my links to shop for your kiddos I will receive a percentage of the sales. All opinions are my own; I love sharing my favorite things with you! Thanks so much for reading along and providing my family with these opportunities. We truly appreciate it!*
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first lost tooth.

 ( photo from instagram ) 

     oh hey, look who lost his first tooth! this moment definitely seems blog-worthy. we didn't even realize roman had a loose tooth but one day while watching a show out in the living room he came into the bedroom with a startled look on his face and said, "i think i lost a tooth!" and indeed, he had! he was a little worried at first and didn't want to look in the mirror.

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     the rest of the day, he talked about it non-stop with me. and kept saying adorably sweet roman-things like, "wow, it's a big day!" i took this photo when we were sitting outside on a blanket, talking about his tooth of course. i could tell that he loved how excited i was and i loved how cute he looked with that one newly missing tooth. i seriously looked at this photo a million times in my phone for days on end after i took it. it just radiates roman's sweetness to me. roman is growing up so much and it tears at my heart but i also love seeing him smack dab in the trenches of childhood. gosh, he is just the best. :)

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FabKids // July Picks.

We are having so much fun using the FabKids subscription clothing company! My boys now know what to expect when a FabKids package arrives at our door and they tear in immediately to check out their new outfits! Roman and Asher really have enjoyed the process of choosing outfits each month and then seeing that blue package arrive at the door.
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We have a pretty good time with our photo shoots as well. :)
I am really happy with the shorts that came with these outfits. They remind me of the shorts from our April outfits; they are thin and soft and I love the fun pattern! Asher's outfit came with 2 little tank tops (which are sold as a pair for the price of one!) and I'm pretty much dying over that cuteness. I tried to talk Roman into the tank tops as well since he is hot blooded as ever and needs a few more of these, but once he saw this shark shirt his mind was made up!
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You can check out FabKids for yourself here!
The monthly price is $29.95 and includes a two piece outfit that you and your child get to choose. You can skip ANY month as many times as you want. FabKids also offers a lot of great deals and specials to their members such as $10 shorts or buy one get one free outfits + anyone can use a referral link to earn free outfits! Also, if you use the links from this post to sign up - your first FabKids outfit will only be $15!
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You can see other FabKids posts here, here + here.

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*FabKids provided me with the clothing featured in this post in exchange for these photographs + this review. 

This post also includes referral links. Thank you so much for supporting my family and providing us with these fun opportunities! We truly appreciate it!*

a third year story.

the days before asher's birthday, i spent time scrolling through old photos on my blog and flikr and remembering and crying, of course. pictures are so powerful. pictures tell stories and the life and tales of this little boy, my asher, can be followed in pictures as well. i have so many memories of him that have been saved in this way.
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a tub surrounded by windows where he started making his way into this world, toes wrapped around an umbilical cord, a little mouse struggling to breathe and laying cozy in a warmer, those first days of breastfeeding in the nicu, a chubby baby just learning to stand and walk in the corn fields of indiana, throwing rocks at mountains,
jumping and jumping and jumping on beds.

those round light curls + blue eyes + soft baby fair skin.

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i put together some of my favorite pictures from asher's 3rd year to post here today:

to help tell the story of a little heart full of wonder + wild-boy love.
;)

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asher's birthday.

asher turns 3 today! i am a total wreck, i can't stand birthdays - i hate them, hate them, hate them!

is  that depressing or what? does anyone else out there hate birthdays??

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my computer was unexpectedly destroyed by coffee last week. ( i mean, duh it was unexpected, who plans these things? ) so, once again, my protection plan came into good use and i was able to get a new computer! it's all wacky right now and i need to adjust the colors and put some editing programs on. in the meanwhile, i'm just sharing a simple old school post of photos from my pregnancy with asher! putting these on here remind me of a different time of blogging. remember when blogging was a little more random, just sharing photos? less styled?

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maybe later i'll share some favorite photos of asher.

i can't believe he is 3! 3 is so grown up. when roman turned 3, i was already a couple months pregnant with asher. it seems like just days ago i was avoiding the hospital like a plague laboring with asher all over the place and now he is 3! ugh. so many thoughts, so many things.

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this morning we had yellow and white balloons all over the living room floor waiting for asher when he woke up since he has been telling us for months that he wants balloons for his birthday. he woke up and just danced around the room kicking the balloons everywhere with his long skinny little legs. he and roman played a little bit, then fought, naturally. i gave asher a haircut and lopped off some of his big wild curls. and now he is making pancakes with dad.

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later, we'll do presents and cupcakes and just hang out together;

celebrating our wild little sprite of a 3 year old boy.

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( positive pregnancy test. i took like 10. )

( my first belly photo )


( 20 weeks )


( a picture of both of my boys. )



( 35 weeks )


( 9 months. )

( due date! asher was born two days later. )
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also, some links:
lots of belly photos if you like that sorta thing + my very first blog post after asher was born!

random things for friday!

this week, i just haven't felt the push to finish up any posts of substance. 

so for now, a random post full of random things to share with you all:

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i'm finally trying to buy some sandals for my boys! i got a great deal on these for asher today at old navy (where i'm working now!) and i'm thinking about grabbing these for roman. i have such a hard time finding boys' sandals. i think that this style of sandal is just so ugly really but i want my boys to have shoes that protect their feet when they are playing! last summer, the boys had a rough time hiking in the mountains with flimsy sandals so i am trying to find something a little more durable. i really like keens but they are just too expensive! any suggestions on cute, quality, affordable boys sandals?

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speaking of clothing, i am happy that asher has branched out in what he will wear. during the winter, he would basically only wear two different pairs of sweatpants and two long sleeve shirts that he would rotate through. he had a very hard time adjusting to shorts this spring because he is very sensitive and particular. miraculously though, lately he has branched out and become less selective about what he wears! this makes things so much easier and honestly i enjoy it as well because i love dressing my little boys! he is still very picky and wears some ridiculous things, (currently he is wearing hiking boots two sizes too big) but i'm glad that it is less of a battle. 

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have any of you signed up with Moms Affiliate? it's a new referral marketing network designed just for mommy bloggers! there are different sections for bloggers to look through and sign up to write articles or advertise products on your blog. i recently signed up with them and have been periodically checking in to see what they are offering. if you are interested in making money from your blog, it's worth checking out!
(bonus: if you sign up i will get a cash incentive and you can too when you refer others!)

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i finally purchased american blogger and hope to watch it in the next few days! have any of you seen it? it's SO weird seeing some bloggers that i've followed forever, like melissa and bridget actually speaking!

( hey look rachael, i wrote about it on my blog! )

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we just finished parks and recreation on netflix and have moved onto watching finding bigfoot. at first i didn't think a show about hunting for bigfoot would interest me, but we are hooked! watching tv and eating junk food is what we do here every night when the boys are sleeping.

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i haven't been on instagram lately because i'm having trouble connecting my ipod to the internet! i've missed it but it's always nice to get a little break from some of my "electronics," as roman would say!
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i've started doing "fun friday" with the boys. i got this idea from a church moms' group that i went to with my friend. basically every friday i have a fun little surprise for the boys. this is way out of my comfort zone because it's one of those "pinteresty" kind of things that i never do but i think it will be fun and roman is super excited! last week i gave them bubbles and jump ropes to play with on the the 4th of july and today i have some really adorable inexpensive little camping themed toys for them which will make them crazy thrilled!
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well, that's all the randomness that i have for today. happy friday everyone!
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if you're feeling bored / generous feel free to vote for my blog!

( I used my affiliate links for FabKids and Moms Affiliate in this post.  )

photographing flowers.

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mostly, i enjoy photographing my children and the ideas for perfect photo shoots in my head usually involve a boy or two.
but photographing flowers can really be wonderful. they just sit there patiently while i click and click away. they are always agreeable and patient. they sit perfectly still while i put my aperture nice and wide
 and focus in on each petal as i please.
so yeah, every once in a while it's nice to find a field of daisies to spend some time with.
it's been done a million times over: making flowers into art that is,
but it really never gets old or goes out of style.
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it's freeing and refreshing. but of course, in the end i usually try to
  corral one of my little guys into the field as well. can you blame me??
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