How To Get Smiling Pictures Of Your Baby

Say cheese! How many times did you hear that as a kid while mom or dad took pictures that you are so embarrassed to see now? I'm not saying it's easy to photograph wild toddlers, sullen teenagers or husbands who prefer to stay behind the camera. BUT at least they understand the concept. Babies, not so much. 

I get a good laugh every time someone comments that Fallon is always so happy when I post her pictures. Of course it appears that way because what you see are the good shots. The ones that took blood, sweat and tears (often literally) to get. Trust me, she cries just as much if not more than your kid. There's a whole lot of unhappy going on in between the smiley pictures so don't feel bad. Days you see a picture on my Instagram feed without Fallon in it? It was either a serene shot of my bed all made up or one of the inside of my daughter's mouth as she wails. But usually I can squeeze in one good smile and that's what I share, that one picture from that one lucky moment. 

You can capture those smiles, giggles, and all kinds of other silly faces your little one makes too. It just might take a bit more effort than yelling say cheese! I'm no pro (I shoot on my old iPhone 6!) and I can't offer much in the way of the finer points of photography but I can pass along some tips I've learned about how to snap the happy moments. 

Plan Ahead

This is going to sound like a lot of extra work just for some photos and maybe a little ridiculous in general, but humor me. Pay attention to which rooms in your home get the most light at certain times of day. Natural lighting automatically makes a picture look happier! Then decide what you want as your back drop. Do you want a blank wall or do you want to showcase baby in her crib? If have the shot you want in mind it takes the guesswork out of the moment and you can focus on the facial expressions instead of the background. 

Know Your Kid

Everybody has a time of the day they like best. If your baby is super happy after a morning nap, use that timeframe. Try to avoid having a photo shoot right before a meal time or bedtime so you don't end up with a meltdown. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Even if the lighting is just perfect, you probably would rather smiling pictures than screaming ones. Be aware of distractions. I know if I want to take pictures of Fallon in her room I cannot have the fan on. She will just keep looking up at it and then over at her mobiles swaying from the breeze. 

Practice Makes Perfect

What makes your baby smile, giggle, scrunch up her nose? Get our your phone or camera and do whatever you know usually elicits those faces. Sometimes it's a hell of a lot harder to get the same result when you're trying to play entertainer as well as photographer. Try the favorites out and if they don't work so well, start trying new tactics. We do all kinds of embarrassing things behind the camera to capture the magic. Sing, dance, play peek-a-boo, shake the cat toy, whatever works. And if all else fails I totally bribe her with snacks. Works every time. 

The More The Merrier

This one is simple. Take a million shots. In a sea of pictures of baby looking at the dog, trying to crawl away, crying to be held ect. there is likely to be one sweet expression. It's a pain to go back and trash all the outtakes but you may also be pleasantly surprised by how many you find to be perfect. The beauty of digital photography is that we can try until we get it right and just delete the rest. 

Happy snapping!

Color Crush: Lilac

Spring is in the air and I'm working on a warmer weather wardrobe (say that 3 times fast!) for Fallon. This beautiful purple caught my eye last year and I'm even more drawn to it now. I've seen so many cute options for little ones and mamas in this shade so I thought I'd link some of my favorite items. Even my La Croix can is this color! Whether you're looking for an Easter outfit or just something pretty for Spring, lilac (or lavender or orchid or whatever else the stores are calling it) is perfect. 

Moccasins / Flutter Dress / Tee / Nail Polish / Maxi Dress / Sneakers / Hooded Sweater

I'm Just Like You

They say the days are long but the years are short. I'm sure that's true because I can't believe how fast 8 months have gone by. But right now the days are just long. I love being a mom, I love staying home with Fallon and I love watching her grow every day. But we've been in the thick of big developmental changes and hardcore teething and I've sort of felt like I fell down the rabbit hole. Caring for a baby who wants to constantly be held, will not entertain herself, fights naps or refuses them all together is exhausting. Keeping up with cleaning, the laundry, the errands and of course being mom to 6 furballs is a whole other level of chaos. And let's not forget trying to have some fun in the midst of it all, well, that's just plain crazy. 

I know everything is a season, I will miss these days when I look back and I probably won't even remember the weeks I actually did lose my mind. But just in case you're in the thick of it too, I wanted you to know that you're not alone. A picture takes a second to snap, literally one second. So don't be fooled by all the happy baby pictures. I'm pretty sure we can all get a smile once a day. And behind that camera is usually Chris or I doing embarrassing things to get Fallon to make those cute faces. We are tired, stressed out parents just trying to navigate the craziness of life like everyone else. There's usually full laundry baskets in the closet waiting to be washed. I'm always forgetting things at the grocery and trying to find the time to go back for them. My hair is usually in a dirty topknot and I drink too much coffee. I get upset, I get frustrated, I get angry. I compare myself to all the other mamas who seem to have it all together. I'm just like you. I was reminded by a friend that while I'm over here wondering how everybody else seems to be doing it all right when I'm doing it all wrong, there are people thinking I'm the one with the perfect life. So that's the entire purpose of this post, to let you know that I'm riding the hot mess express every single day. Some days I do it in pjs and some days I do it in heels. But my life is just as perfectly imperfect as the next mom's and if you need me I'll be trying to find the remote that I swear was just right here so I can catch up on Grey's Anatomy. 

Making Messes Disappear

I may still be swimming in the shallow end of the human baby parenting pool but I'm a pretty experienced pet mama. So I've been cleaning up messes and experimenting with stain removers for years. 4 dogs, 3 cats and a baby girl later, I have my go-to little bottle of magic and today I'm sharing it with you. 

Whether the dog tracked mud across the carpet, the cat hacked up dinner or the baby smeared blackberries down her shirt, I've got you covered. Let's me real, some stains just aren't coming out and some will put up a good fight. But for the most part, I can save you some time, effort and $$$ because I'm guessing most of you already have the ingredients for this homemade stain remover. Trust me, we've tried a zillion commercially available products and while some of them do work, we would go through bottles so fast it seemed ridiculous to keep spending the money. If the stain is really bad it might take more than one try but I have saved a favorite sleeper from the biggest blowout we've had to date so trust me, there's hope. 

You need a spray bottle, vodka and white vinegar. Fill the bottle a third of the way full of water then the rest half vodka, half vinegar. That's it. Seriously. Soak the stain and either let it sit for about 10 minutes and then wipe with a clean rag or let it soak overnight before tossing in with the laundry. Vodka mostly neutralizes the smell of the vinegar as well as the odor from the stain if there is one. But if you have essential oils you may want to add a few drops of lavender or lemon, totally not necessary though. Of course you could always just feed your baby naked. 

Happy mess making!

Fallon's Fortress

We never planned to find out if we were having a boy or a girl when I was pregnant so I knew the nursery would have to start off gender neutral. I had ideas floating around in my head and slowly they started to come together and I came across things I liked. The plan was to create a grey and white room with navy accents and add a pop of color once baby was born and we had a girl or a boy as the deciding factor. I didn't expect to just be finishing up with an 8 month old little girl but Fallon's room is even better than I dreamt it would be. Hopefully she loves it too when she's old enough to appreciate it. So much time, effort and love went into creating this little space just for her. I'll always have those fond memories of picking out the paint color with my dad, the letters for the alphabet with my mom and Chris choosing her crib. Every little detail was thought out and I'll never be sorry we took the extra time to get it right. 

Metal + Wood Letter F

Changing Pad Cover

Feather Hooks

Crib / Crib Sheet - Similar / Faux Fur Blankets / Glider / Pouf

Moon + Cloud Mobiles / White Washed Wood Letter F / Love You To The Moon And Back Sign 

Rug 

I linked as many items as possible but if you want to know where something else is from please e-mail me or direct message me on Instagram. You may very well be able to find some items in store even though I could not find them online to link. 

8 Months Of Fallon

Although she's not growing quite as fast as she was in the earlier months, all of a sudden my baby is starting to look more like a toddler. She still has yet to turn down any type of food, but she definitely has her preferences: cheese and PB, just like her mama! So far broccoli is her favorite veggie, she especially loves the trees, and blackberries are her favorite fruit, she will even eat them before her beloved pancakes. We give her flavored teething biscuits and she's recently started offering them to her pups (and occasionally to us) to share. It's the cutest ever and she didn't even get mad when Ares took her up on her offer. We don't want to discourage sharing, there's nothing in those biscuits that will hurt our dogs, and as long as they aren't breaking any house rules, fair is fair. 

Speaking of teething, she still just has her 2 bottom teeth in but she's been working so hard on the top right canine. This week it has finally started to look like it might break through any day now so hopefully she will get a bit of relief. Overall, it's been making her pretty fussy when she's not too busy eating, playing or "singing". She is really starting to use her voice and discover all the sounds she can make. I've finally come to terms with the fact that she's said her first word, dada. I mean c'mon, I carried and delivered her and take care of her all day long and she looks right at him and says dada but just smiles when I try to get her to say mama. Hashtag whatever. I do love seeing Chris light up when she says it although he pretends like it's no big deal. 

Still no crawling going on but she does go forward onto her hands and knees from a sitting position. And then cries. We've even tried to bait her with food but she's too smart for our tricks. Can't blame the girl for choosing a free ride while she can get it. We are trying to teach her a bit of sign language so maybe she will be less frustrated when she can't tell us what she wants. So far though all she does is wave hello or goodbye. It's pretty freaking cute because she uses her fingers, not just her whole hand, and I'm pretty sure she made our favorite Starbucks barista's entire year yesterday showing him her new skill. Next up is her first St. Patty's Day, 9 month appointment and vacation! 

Healthy Pancakes For Mama + Mini

I'm really glad they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day because we usually do breakfast up right. The rest of the day, well, we try. Now that Fallon is eating pretty much any solids, it's easiest to make something we can both eat in the morning instead of making one meal for her and one for me (and Chris when he's home). My go-to breakfast has always been oatmeal with PB, fruit and whatever other healthy goodness I have on hand to toss in. Fallon eats with her fingers and is so over being fed by anyone but her own self that it's not really a good option for her right now. So when I heard about banana pancakes I was thinking ding, ding, ding this could be our winner. 

I'm sure you've seen all kinds of variations of easy, healthy pancakes recipes similar to this one but after playing around with amounts and ingredients we have found one that works the best for us. Our pediatrician gave us the go ahead to try eggs at Fallon's 6 month appointment so I've had no qualms about them being one of the 3 ingredients in this recipe. And really she's only getting a small amount anyway. The best part about this recipe is that it's so easily doubled, tripled, ect. for whatever type of crowd you're feeding. When I make these pancakes for Fallon and I to share I make it as is but double it if daddy's home because daddy eats a lot more than us girls! I end up with 2 or 4 medium sized pancakes and just cut up about a third of one into bite sized pieces for Fallon and we eat the rest. 

Ingredients:

1 ripe medium banana

2 eggs

1/2 cup oats or flax meal (we like a mixture of both)

Directions:

Mash the banana in a bowl then add in eggs and oats/flax and whisk together. Cook pancakes over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a skillet or griddle. Add your desired toppings and enjoy! We love ours with mixed berries and a little pure maple syrup and sliced almonds for mama + daddy but the possibilities are endless. 

Letter To Me

Dear Mama to be, 

I know you're completely and utterly terrified of breastfeeding that baby you're growing. You're scouring the internet trying desperately to find other women who felt like you and were able to successfully breastfeed. You've always felt this way but thought when your time came it would change. You're ashamed and guilt ridden that you don't want to continue sharing your body with your baby after he or she is born. Well girlfriend, GET OVER IT. 

That little voice in the back of your head whispering to you that this is the road you should take is right. Stop worrying about failing and start believing in yourself. Those mama instincts everyone talks about? They're real and they will kick in. I promise you'll be okay. Getting started will be your biggest hurdle but you've got this. You'll know what your baby needs and you'll be able to give it to her. She's a stubborn little one but so are you. It won't be easy those first few weeks. You'll be exhausted, mentally and physically, burnt out in a way you've never known. But you'll power through. That perfect baby girl will keep you going.

When the pros get concerned, you'll do as they, because they're supposed to know best. But when you reach that breaking point, you realize you were right all along. This is the turning point. This is the moment you realize you can trust in yourself. You were meant to do this and you know exactly how to. Your baby girl will come around on her time, just like you knew she would. And you will begin to relish in the beautiful bond this journey creates. 

8 months later you'll be looking back and laughing at how silly all your worries were. Breastfeeding has become such a part of daily life it is second nature to nurse the baby. You won't need a clock to tell you when she needs to be feed, a book to let you know she needs mama's comfort or a doctor to confirm she's drinking enough. You'll know. This was the way it was always supposed to be and somewhere inside you knew that. Breastfeeding wasn't all that scary after all. In fact, it's the reason you've become a confident mother. It's the reason you feel the most empowered you ever have as a woman. And the reason you're able to keep a teeny tiny amount of sanity left on the days that baby girl is extra challenging. 

You are strong and capable. You will succeed. You won't even mind sharing your body for just a little bit longer. 

Love,

Your Future Mama Self

Rainy Day Sanity Savers

So it's been a whole week since I've posted and I first wanted to apologize for that. Fallon and I caught a little virus over the weekend and between recovering and catching up around here, I just haven't had the time. Well, that's not entirely true. I would have had the time but I chose sleep. Priorities people. Anyway, it rained pretty much all day yesterday and March definitely came in like a lion today. Wicked storms and a tornado touchdown nearby had us praying for a halt to the waterworks. I'm thankful to report the rain did stop and we are all safe and sound. I know some of these things won't apply to those of you with older kids but I thought I'd share some activities to do on rainy days with babies. I think we forget that even the ones who are too little to tell us they're bored can get cabin fever. And that's mama's worst nightmare. 

Take a bubble bath. It's wet outside, why not roll with it and splash around inside. Most kids like to play in the tub (or the sink!) and you can even join them or just hang out sip your coffee. Or wine. No judging. 

Have a floor picnic. Fallon loves food but a change of scenery is always nice and extra fun for kids who usually sit in a highchair. Of course there's going to be a mess but if you ask me I'll take a mess over a meltdown any day. We put down our Gathre mat in the living room and cleanup was really no big deal. 

Turn off the TV and turn up the music. I'm not against kids watching TV but if you're stuck inside all day you might want to hear something other than Disney songs over and over again. Babies usually like any kind of music so you get to pick. Fallon is probably the only person on the planet who appreciates my singing voice and especially loves when I dance with her. Have a little dance party around the house and burn some extra calories for the win.

Bake something. Or cook something. I'm a much better baker and I have a sweet tooth so that's my first choice. Fallon can't participate much yet but she loves to watch the stand mixer whirling around and see all the ingredients go into the bowl. I never give her more than a crumb or two of the finished product but she gets excited just the same. 

Find creative ways to use household objects as toys. It's a well known fact that parents buy all these toys labeled as such for babies and then they just want to play with the boxes they come in. Yet we still buy them. Hmmmm. Yesterday I went up to take a shower and when I returned Chris had a small pot and a spatula and was showing Fallon how to "cook" her toy fish. She was enthralled and having the best time trying to stir the fish around herself after watching daddy. 

Here's to hoping the rain stays away for a little while!