Jake and Mommy

Jake is not a great napper. Usually they are around 30 minutes long and then that is it. By the end of the day he is a total mess (and so am I). On this day, Elise was still napping and Jake was up early so I decided to try a self portrait on a tripod and remote. Wow. That was hard. The focus was really off. I will try again, but thought I would show you the results. 

We both were cracking up.

Jake was so excited he tried to gouge out my eyes.

They are not technically perfect, but I love the moments that we caught. I definitely will treasure these. 

Riding Our Bike

Just a normal day. Riding our bike around the driveway. My little girl is getting so big. 

I don't know when she learned to pedal, all of a sudden she was riding all over the driveway. Crazy.

2013 Goals

I try to never make resolutions. It seemed like I would always get let down when I didn't keep them or I would just forget them in a couple weeks. But last year I did something that seemed to work for me. I made a little tag that had the goals I wanted to accomplish for the year and posted it next to my mirror in my bathroom. I would see it every day and think about how to accomplish those goals. Well- I seemed to really work on those items and I decided to do the same this year. 

Here are my 2013 goals:

I think it helps when your goals are pretty...What do you think? Do you have goals this year?

A New Year A Fresh Start- Smash Journal

Last year I started something called a Smash Journal. It was a way to get down my inspiration, glue in pictures and write random thoughts. I have never been a journaler in the sense that I write in it every day, but I have always been a collector. Old ticket stubs, interesting business cards, magazine clippings, photographs and more always seem to end up in piles around my house. Well, I decided to do something about it in 2012 and I ended up loving the process. You would never call them art journals, but they are as close as I have ever gotten!

Here are some shots of my pretty full Smash Journal. 

I titled this one "Inspired" because I felt like I finally got back some of my creative inspiration. I misted, doodled, stamped and splattered my cover and it evolved a bit over the year.

Some of my favorite photos of my jewelry.

Lovely lace and one of my new obsessions: glitter tape.

Coveted washi tape.

My 2012 goals (and results). I will show you 2013's goals in a post soon.

Pretty full.

My 2013 cover. Fresh, new, my year to create. Create a new life for my family, create new projects and new opportunities and create new things that make me happy.

Lovely layers.

I am already filling up pages. Dreaming, creating...

The Dollhouse

I previously mentioned the the dollhouse I was planning on fixing up for Elise for Christmas. Well after months of work, it was finished (well almost) just in time for Christmas. I am pretty happy with how it turned out and Elise loved it. Here is what we came up with. 

This is the front of the house. It sits on a base my husband made that is on wheels so she can turn it around and play with both sides. We made a little front yard of felt and put some animals on it. I also gave the house a fresh coat of white paint (blue for the trim) and misted some cotton lace in a peach color and glued it around the edges of the house.

This is the back side of the house. I  mostly used Studio Calico papers from their Hey Day collection on the walls. It has a kitchen, living room, master bedroom, living room, bathroom, nursery and kids bedroom.  

These are the secret rooms in the attic that closes up. I decoupaged it with vintage book pages and one of the rooms is for the baby bunnies.

 The front door with sister bunny. The topiary trees are from Michael's Craft Store in their wedding section. They were intended as place card holders but perfect for a dollhouse.

 Mama bunny in her bedroom.

The kitchen. I guess when Jacob gets a little bigger we will have to hide those plates, cups and pots. For now they sit on the table.  

The living room. Some of the rooms have these little clock faces on them.

The baby bunny in her nursery. There was a baby boy bunny but he was immediately lost in the shuffle. I keep looking between the couch cushions hoping to find him...

Little brother bunny in his room.

I stamped a doily on a white piece of paper and then cut it out and mod-podged it to the floor. These rugs are throughout the house.

I purchased this set for the furniture. Originally I planned on finding vintage furniture and re-painting it to make it new again, but I had a hard time finding pieces that weren't really expensive and also I had to think about durability for a 2 year old. 

So there it is. Elise really loves it, but I may love it more. I always wanted a dollhouse like this!

Jacob at 4 Months

I know, I know I am really late this month with these photos. I took them on time, but then when it came to editing and posting I really slacked off. We had the flu epidemic and then colds and then Christmas. I am just getting back on track, so expect a few more days of silence from me. Sorry, I am working on it! Anyway, enough chatter. Here is my adorable 4 month old:

At 4 months he laughs at everything. He has a great sense of humor (I don't know what else to call it) and grabs everything he can reach. Jake has a vise like grip and we have the bruises and scratches to prove it.  

The second we lay him on his back he flips to his tummy and checks out the world from that angle. 

He has found his toes and is very close to getting them in his mouth. I am so excited because I love when those tootsies start getting sucked on. I think it is one of the cutest things ever!!

He definitely is a watcher and likes to take it all in. With a big sister like Elise, there is a lot to process! 

It looks like his dark hair has left the building and we might (hope) we have a redhead! I can't say how much we love this little man. He is ridiculously fun and even Elise has really warmed up to being a big sister. We are a family of four now and sometimes it is still hard to believe!

Gorgeous Eggs Part 2

Oh, I just couldn't help myself... 

 

 

Wordless Wednesay

Gorgeous Eggs Part 1

While working on some projects, I just had to photograph these tiny eggs. Smooth and strong and just perfect. Nature always inspires and surprises me. Hope this isn't too much of a photograph overload!

 

Dreamy...

Making of the Winterroth Christmas Card

We are on our third outtake of our Christmas card around here. I have been hating all of my photos lately and the noncooperation of this family is incredible. I mean, in one photo I actually caught Jake mid spit up (I'll spare you that one). All were either grainy, overexposed or just blurry. I am still not totally happy with the final one we chose, but I was darn tired of taking photos. That is why I made a commitment to myself in 2013 to educate myself more on taking perfect (or as close as possible) photographs. I don't want to forget these moments and what my cuties looked like. 

The best of our first shoot. Overexposed! I was shooting with a remote at the fussiest time of day for these kids, so really if I had done a better job of getting my settings right, this would be our Christmas photo! 

Second try: Elise looks good but Jake is so blurry! Wah- lets try again!

My third and final shoot was of them laying down. I thought that might be better because then Jake would be more comfortable. Well he was....

and I caught this gem. It cracks me up every time I see it. I thought she was exaggerating but then I saw the clump of hair he managed to pull out. Oops.  Anyway, the one I chose is still pretty grainy, but I am pretty happy with it. I hope it looks ok printed. 

Here is the one I used. Not perfect, but it kinda describes our life right now. Exhausting and fuzzy yet fun. What is your favorite favorite Christmas photo?