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Category Archives: Our Everyday
It’s mid January, and I feel like I keep hearing rumors of snow on social media..like it might snow next week..or maybe the next week in NC. Owen would be ecstatic as he’s been asking for snow ever since Christmas. (The Santa Is Coming to North Carolina book was a little confusing to him as to how Santa got stuck in a blizzard in North Carolina.
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Cary Family Photographer | Rebecca Keller Photography |Taken at Suzanna’s Antiques
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A few favorites in January..
1.If you’re expecting, this post has a lot of great wardrobe ideas. It made me kind of miss maternity clothes.
2.Did you miss this post on Suzanna’s Antiques? I love this place – always a favorite. I lovvved that shutter coat hanger – so pretty for a mudroom!
3.Because everything is “car trucks” around here with Harrison, I tried out kit and listed a lot of our favorite “car truck” books, dvds, and toys. (click here to see our list!) The boys absolutely love Truck Tunes 2 , (although the beach truck in Truck Tunes 3 is now a favorite of Harrison’s. I have never even seen a beach truck.) We also love the Green Toys, and there are even bath toys, too!
4.In case you need a super amazing – cannot believe I haven’t made these treat for watching football in February, you need to check these out. OH MY!
5.I’m sure you saw this post, but losing 5lbs the first half of January has made me love my fitbit even more.
A few things I want to tackle/read
1.22 DIY Organizing Ideas for Your Home.
2.How cool are these Vintage Behind the Scenes Star Wars Photos? And now I totally want to read The Making of Star Wars
3.Toddler Meal Planning Ideas – Harrison is so picky, I always need more ideas!
4.I’ve loved following along with Money Saving Mom on decluttering. – you can follow along with what she’s decluttering each day, yesterday was her spice cabinet.
5.It’s the 30th anniversary of the Anne of Green Gables Mini Series..and did you know they are working on a new tv series? so excited!
Pretty stuff around the web
1.The top with feathers – so pretty!
2.Essie’s Retro Collection – love it!
3.you know I love anything lace – such a pretty shirt!
Start of the year + everyone trying to work off all those Christmas cookies. Well, and cakes, peppermint bark, birthday cakes (at our house) and every other sweet imaginable! We were at dinner with friends December 30, and they mentioned using an app on their phone to track calories. (This was the same day I decided to weigh myself after the holidays. oh funnnn, right?) I decided to look at my fitbit app and realized I wasn’t utilizing all the things that I could. So since the 31st, I started using a lot more on the app, and man, do I love the data. I love that I can track my runs or barre class, and see data from every work out.
I do have the fitbit scale, too, so the fitbit takes my weight and activity level for the day and along with the food tracker, lets me know how much I can eat all day. I’ve always heard writing all your food down helps you lose weight, but I really don’t have time for a notebook. I will lose the notebook between my gym bag, purse, diaper bag, Owen’s swim bag, and every other bag we have..and please don’t make me have to figure out calories, etc for every food. The food tracker is great because you can search for a food (or coffee ah-hem) and it just has all the info, you log it, and it lets you know how much more you can eat that day. If I have a day where I’m on the couch editing more, I get to eat less. The days I run three miles I get to eat a lot more..woo hoooooo! I’m excited that the Christmas cookie weight gain is gone, but I am still working on goals, and as always, it’s a lifelong thing. I have the Charge HR (I have the small) because I like to monitor my heart rate, especially when I run. You can click it to record workouts, which is great. All my data from barre and runs is in my app. Other features include sleep analysis, you can log how much water you’ve had that day to see if you need to drink more, and you can participate in challenges with friends. (Who can walk the most steps in a day, week, weekend, etc) My brother is the king of challenges so I may have given up on beating him! A few of my workout favorites: *Pure Barre. (love, love, love it) *21 Day Fix – this is probably my most favorite at home workout ever. I love this strength workout and that there’s not a lot of jumping. Jumping jacks/burpees are just not my favorite. *10K Trainer Free App. I love this app, even if I just want to work up to a 5k. In case I decide to run more, it has been such a great app for building up my running. *Wireless Headphones – I just hate earbuds. These are amazing + I looooove them. Another thing that has really helped with my fitness + weightloss goals has been Whole30. Read more on my blog here. I highly recommend the book It Starts With Food. Reading it really helped me commit to the program. The Whole30 book is also has awesome advice for living out the program everyday and practical recipes. I didn’t realize just how much the “stress” I was feeling was coming from what I was eating. Whole30 has just made me feel so great!
Anyone else working on fitness/health goals in January? What has been the most helpful to you?
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my very loved Charge HR
Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Family Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump.Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about commercial photography and travel sessions.
I ran into a friend today who asked about Legoland, and I realized I had not even blogged our trip! When our dear friends invited us to Disney, we decided to fly in first and go to Legoland. We had talked about/tried to go to Legoland several times before when at Disney, and once we got to Disney, we just couldn’t leave. We wanted to spend every second with Mickey, Buzz, and the crew so leaving just sounded not so much fun. When planning this trip, we knew would have to go there first because we wouldn’t want to leave Disney if we had a choice once we got there. Owen had been asking for weeks, months? maybe a year? to go to Legoland, and this was our chance, so we decided to make it happen. We woke up at 4 am for our flight, dressed the boys in Lego shirts, and headed to RDU. Owen had no idea about this trip beforehand and no idea where in the world we were going the day of. (I don’t know if I can ever keep a trip a secret again. I was WAYYYYY tooo excited!) Oh, and Owen was 5, and Harrison was around 20 months when we went. When we landed in Orlando, we somehow kept Owen from seeing the gigantic Walt Disney World signs and Mickey and Minnies everywhere. He’s a big reader so we were like no way he’s not going to notice.We rented a car and headed to Legoland, which is about an hour drive.
Most of the time I’ve spent at an amusement park with my kids has been at Disney. Legoland is very different so it’s good to do your research before you go and see what rides your kids can ride. I really think five was a great age for Owen to go. Some of the differences are that at Disney, Harrison could ride almost every single ride that Owen could. (and we just did baby swap for the few like Mine Rain that he couldn’t ride) Legoland is a lot of rollercoasters and single person (different than Disney…are there any single person rides at Disney?) rides. Legoland was definitely not the place for Harrison. He also fell asleep as soon as we got there, so he spent most of Legoland asleep in the stroller, which was probably good, since there wasn’t much he could do. (or that they could both do, so we’d be pulled in different directions) Also, at 20 months, he wasn’t screaming/asking to ride things and was pretty content anyway.
I think we ended up staying until 5, and we probably didn’t ride every ride in the park, but we saw most of it. During the less crowded months, you could probably do both the park and the water park in one day. The first ride we rode was the Duplo Tractor, which Harrison loved. (And then immediately fell asleep) The Quest for Chi was fun – you definitely get a little wet on that ride, but it was sooooo hot in Florida (you can see in these photos just how sweaty Owen is. I’m not sure how many water bottles we all drank that day. It was HOT!) in September, we did not even care. People on the sidelines can also squirt you with water, too. Owen’s favorite ride was the Royal Joust because he got to ride the Lego horse all by himself. It also made horse noises and was super cute. The Coastersaurus was also a big hit! Because of all the commercials in the lego movie, the driving school was also on his list. They also have a section with tons and tons of lego cities and all kinds of things they’ve built like Star Wars that were so super cool. That was Michael’s favorite part of Legoland, and we definitely spent a lot of time there. We didn’t stay at the Lego Hotel because we were going to hit the ground running at Disney the next morning, so we drove back to Orlando. It did look super cute, and was right at the entrance of the park. There are some super cool Lego gift shops there and all kinds of things to buy and build. We did get the boys a super cool lego picture frame that they could build when they got home and put a picture from their trip. Owen loooooved Legoland, and is already asking to go back!
P.S. We are huge fans of the Lego Movie.We watched it 3000 times last summer, and may have sang, “Everything is Awesome,” the entire day at Legoland.
Legoland Family Photography | Rebecca Keller Photography
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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Lifestyle and Commercial Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Legoland Family Photography.
Our Disney Adventure…
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Disney World Family Photographer | Rebecca Keller Photography
It’s kind of fun to do the impossible
– Walt Disney
You may have heard my name popping up in Becky’s posts lately. My name is Ericka, and I am the person behind Little Apple Styles. When Becky asked me to guest blog on her page, I was so super excited, then scared, but VERY excited none the less.
Becky had a major problem. Like all major problems, she went to the emergency hotline that is Facebook Messenger! Owen needed Glasshouse Mickey Mouse balloons (Technical name for Mickey Mouse ears balloons enclosed in clear ones) for his birthday photoshoot. We could not find them locally or as deflated contraband from Mickey Mouse Land. Apparently these balloons are park exclusives, and you can see we were in serious trouble! I asked friends, posted in facebook groups, I searched the internet…nada. My next message to Becky was “I can’t find them. What about we go to Disney?” I was obviously half way joking. Five minutes later I was jumping up and down when she said, “SURE, Let’s do it!” I was also day dreaming the perfect picture of Eva and her dad in front of the castle. All the angels in heaven just started singing “Alleluia” when they heard my most favorite photographer and my family were going to be in the same castle – at the same time. Eeeeeek! With faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust, I started our reservations and outfits planning. This time not only for the kids, but also for the adult – the one that did not know he was going to dress up like Prince Charming in the middle of Main Street. Now that I think about it, my poor husband did not find out until the morning of – he is such a trooper! I managed to find an outfit two or three sizes too big that fit perfectly in my luggage.
I was still in charge of those silly balloons. Based on our schedule, the ideal time to get them was soon as we arrived at Disney. Like any other responsible adult, I managed to be too busy getting settled to go to Magic Kingdom – and sent my husband instead. Our conversation may have gone something like this: Sure Honey, I will help you out and pick up the balloons for you. How many do you need? TWELVE? TEN WOULD BE OK? You will be lucky if you I can bring two! Two hours later he was back with three balloons – mostly because it was impossible for him to fit more inside the bus by himself (scene: grown man walking with balloons by himself in Disney, awkward).
Since our vision included more balloons: Becky, two strollers, 4 kids and I walked, your read it right, WALKED to Magic Kingdom to get 7 more balloons. Surprisingly, walking ended up being faster than waiting for the monorail. I have to add the looks that we got when trying to fit into the elevator were priceless! haha
The next day four adults and four kids managed to wake up at the crack of dawn and get ready in record time. It may have been because of the promised Mickey Waffles. We were sleepy, sweaty and full of blisters.. but we did it! Pixie Dust and many prayers for sure! Those balloons were the perfect addition for Becky’s little ones who were dress up in 1920s outfits. Hubby also managed to change clothes and look exactly like Princess Charming. He was actually stopped by a cast member that thought he was the real deal and got concerned his jacket pins were showing! LOL I can still hear us cracking up about that! His little princess was patiently waiting for him – They danced and giggled in front of their castle. It was picture perfect…literally! *insert tears*
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My bucket list also included a Belle/Gaston picture. I found out where and when to find him and brought Miss Eva dress up like Belle – in her provincial dress of course! As soon as we walked by Gaston’s Tavern we saw him. Gaston was giving his autograph to a group of young ladies and showing off his muscles. As soon as he saw Eva, he stopped what he was doing and screamed at the top of his lungs: “Belle, they mean nothing to me. I love you!” Eva got scared and started crying! CRYING… in the HAPPIEST place on earth! She did not want to be nearby (or within the same zipcode) as Gaston. My dreams of the perfect Belle picture were shattered. Many promises of unlimited Mickey Mouse Ice Cream later she agreed to stand by him. Becky managed to get an ah-mazing picture. They were not happily hugging each other like I had originally imagined. It was better, my Belle was ignoring Gaston, who was looking at her in awe. How fitting!
P I N this to pinterest Becky is not only the best Seven Dwarfs Mine Train companion, but also the best Disney photographer. As I look through my pictures, I see so many emotions, so many details, so many memories. LOVE them all!
IF WE CAN DREAM IT, WE CAN DO IT! – Walt Disney
Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope I still have your attention and you did not give up on me already. As a token of appreciation, I leave you with my Top Five Tips from this Disney trip.
1. If people are not staring at you – you are doing it wrong! Have fun …adults are only kids grown up anyways ( I love Walt Disney quotes!)
2. Balloons bring smiles – one or ten of them , from kids to adults. If you buy one, be sure to keep your receipt . If you lose a balloon in the Park, just bring the receipt to any vendor and they will give you a new one.
3. If you have problems finding your stroller, tie several balloons to it. You will be able to quickly spot it in the sea of strollers! Worth the investment. Make sure you do not tie ten though, or you will look like Carl from Up.
4. If your little one is scared of characters – warm them up by bringing them to see princesses first. My 3 year old little playa’ loves him some princesses… and got used to the whole autograph/picture scenario in record time. By the end of the trip was high fiving Mickey and Co. phew!
5. Do not give up on those restaurants reservations. People make reservation changes all the time. I set up a reminder in my phone and checked for reservations wanted at the same time every day until got the ones I was hoping for.
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Ericka Jimmerson is a busy mom of two who runs Little Apple Styles, photography + event styling. Contact her at littleapplestyles@gmail.com if you need help making your event picture perfect!
Rebecca Keller is a Disney World Family Photographer featured in People Magazine who spends her time sipping iced coffee, chasing after her two little ones, reading, running, and editing.
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Harrison’s Second Birthday Shirt by Swanky Shank
Hello 2016! Another fun year to look forward to. I love looking back at a year’s worth of images, how my kids have changed and grown, their interests, favorite toys, facial expressions, oh all of it. Our little ones are still singing Christmas songs, and I still haven’t taken down the tree yet. Oh, maybe tomorrow. The boys were so excited to celebrate the new year with their cousins.
Goals for January
1.If we have more of these warmer weather days (without rain!!!!!) sit on the porch more, with more coffee.
2.Order the hand lettering book I keep putting off ordering.
3.Start the RKP Image of the Year Contest. (I LOVE this contest every year and seeing what everyone picks! If you aren’t on the newsletter list and are a former client or want more info, sign up here. A lot of great info is going out in our January newsletter today!)
4.Owen LOVES crafts. I think he was more excited about the 1.00 crafts in his stocking then the biggest toy he asked for. I’ve been researching some fun winter crafts to tackle this January which I know will bring so much joy to him.
5.I love planning little adventures with my kids during the year. A lot of them usually revolve around fruit – ha! Strawberry picking, peach picking, apple picking, the Polar Express, our whirlwind Charleston trip, our quick Legoland/Disney trip….I need to look at this year and what we can plan out and tackle. Owen has been asking about fruit picking, which you know, January is just not the time for that!
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Playing at their Grandparents house
Rebecca Keller is a Cary Newborn Photographer featured in People Magazine who enjoys iced coffee, reading books, road trips, and is available for family photography in Raleigh, NC and travel sessions.
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