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Category Archives: Our Everyday
1.December goes by way too fast. Christmas shop before Thanksgiving next year.
2.Owen is just so brave. He was so excited about his first piano recital and was even determined to play one page by memory. The recital was definitely passed Harrison’s bed time, and he did a little wandering during the performance. (Good thing we found a seat on the front row so everyone could see his wandering, ha!) The two of them may end up in a band together one day – Harrison loves to play with him. I was just so relieved Harrison didn’t climb up there and bang on the piano with him during the recital, which is always a struggle when practicing. (Trying to draw on his piano papers and tearing them up is also a favorite) Owen grinned from ear to ear when he was finished, and even smiled at me while playing (melt my Mama heart!) It was a joy to see how confident and happy he was – I would have been scared to death playing before a lot of people. Oh, and his recital was held at a retirement home, which I just absolutely loved.
 P I N this to pinterest  His first piano recital
3.I really have enjoyed Periscope. If someone has a great broadcast, it is really entertaining while folding laundry – ha! Who’s on periscope? Who do you like to follow?
4.The Museum of Life and Science in Durham is so much fun in the afternoons. Before kindergarten, I had strict afternoon working hours (plus it was naptime for the kids) Carpool has flipped that a little around so…(anyways, that’s the reason we’ve never been in the afternoon.) Owen had some half days at school, so I picked him up, and we headed out. It was so quiet, the weather was beautiful, and we made some great new friends. The butterfly house is pretty crowded in the mornings, but it was almost completely empty, and the boys loved being able to take their time and look at all the different butterflies. Owen always loves getting one of the information sheets with the types of butterflies, and trying to figure out which ones they are.
5.Holiday minis this year were WONDERFUL. I can’t say thank you enough to everyone who came, had great attitudes, and helped so much with the little ones. So many great memories made and images to go along with them! And thanks so much to Ericka for all her help!
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6.I think pretty much any movie can make me cry. (I really was NOT expecting Star Wars to make me tear up) I would tell you which part, but I don’t want to give any spoilers.
7.One of my favorite things is to run outside with the BOB  and my boys. Thankful for this great weather lately so Harrison and I can chat on our long walks after my runs. Our neighborhood has some crazy hills, so I finally found a route I can run without ending up on one of the huge hills at the very end. My Fitbit  is already telling me my heart rate is crazy by that point – ha! Did anyone get a fitbit for Christmas? If so, add me as a friend so we can challenge each other! I’m not always so great at wearing it, but I try to keep it on. I’ve realized a lot of days I don’t get 10,000 steps unless I do go for a run, so I really need to move more!
8.I tried rocksbox this month, and really loved it! I’ll do a post with what I got this month. Thanks to Ericka and Molly for recommending it! (My referral code is BECKYBFF39 if you decide to sign up! thank you, thank you, thank you!)
9.Owen will be in 4th grade when Harrison starts kindergarten. (um, wow, that is a long time from now!)
10.A Christmas birthday is really just tough, poor guy. We decided we will be celebrating June 25th. (And Owen’s birthday is in June…so yeah, two birthdays!!!!!) He’s getting so big – did you see this video? Everytime he says, “Hi Mommy!” love, love, love him!
11. What I Read in December. December is such a busy month but I managed to read Money-Making Momin one day. I love following Crystal’s blog, and I found it to be a good and easy read. I finished it really quickly, and I think part of that was I had been so busy in December with working and activities, that I was so happy to have a minute to read!
12.Top instagram posts of 2015 –
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People Magazine, newborn photography, a lot of Disney + ballet, my boy going to kindergarten and apple picking with my babies. I love that these were my top images of 2015.
13.Rain Bootswas one of the best investments I made this fall. I bought them the weekend we were supposed to get really bad flooding (which did not end up happening and I was scared to death that morning at a newborn session on the other side of the county. If you’ve ever been at a session with me where it has started lightning, etc, you will know that I am NOT a fan of weather and may run to my car so fast that I didn’t even know I could run that fast)
Happy New Year! I’ll be sending out the January newsletter tomorrow with a lot of information about upcoming events! (Sign up here)P I N this to pinterest
Rebecca Keller is a Mama to two little ones, iced coffee drinker, and photographer in Raleigh NC. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Maternity Photography Wake Forest NC, travel sessions, and newborn photography.
P I N this to pinterestOwen | December 2012
Raleigh NC Child Photographer | Rebecca Keller Photography
Is everyone getting excited about New Years? I know, after Christmas, I get a little sad that the holiday is over and look forward to another reason to celebrate! If you are throwing a New Year’s bash or looking for ways to celebrate with your little ones, I found some super cute ideas on the web for New Year’s and wanted to share them! I’m so excited about confetti – I just love it! (And if you’re feeling crafty and want to make your own confetti poppers, Oh Lovely Day has a great tutorial here)
- Love all of these fun ideas for celebrating with kids from One Good Thing by Jillee. The balloon drop is way too cute, and the glitter shakers, and, well there are so many fun ideas!
- A super fun snack – New Year’s Crescent Dippers from Pillsbury.
- Love this pretty Tinsel Number Banner from Martha Stewart.
- New Year’s Eve Mocktails with gummy bears (so cute!) from Modern Parents Messy Kids.
- And for dessert, Macarons at Midnight from Sweet Tooth or these Glittery Oreo treats from 365 Days of Pinterest.
Enjoy the holiday and ringing in 2016!
Two years ago day, we got the sweetest Christmas present. P I N this to pinterest
Our little guy was five weeks early, born early Christmas morning, and such a gift he has been to our family. (You can read the story of his birth day here)
At two, he LOVES cars, trucks, and trains. Since he started talking nonstop a year ago, he pretty much talks about cars and trucks all day long. Riding in the car is his favorite because he gets to see all kinds of transportation so carpool is a highlight of his day. His favorite food is steak. He loves watching football on tv and screams anytime it is on.He looooves his big brother, and the two of them together is the sweetest thing. I have loved having two little ones and seeing their daily interactions. It’s really sweet how much Harrison wants to be like his brother and copies everything he does.
Since transportation is his favorite, I knew I wanted his two year portraits to be a mix of his Christmas birthday (a huge thank you to Boyce Farms for letting us use their farm) and an old pedal car. The minute this car showed up at our house, he was in love. He has affectionately referred to it as, “that car,” and is happy just sitting in it and pedaling around. I also had to capture a photo with his “bear bear” because it’s his favorite.Though we didn’t do all of the birthday traditions today, we’ve decided to celebrate his half birthday at the end of June.
While we are busy celebrating Christmas, we are also thankful for this sweet little one and the gift he is to our family. Merry Christmas!
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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Christmas Tree Farm Photographer featured in People Magazine. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about travel photography, commercial and lifestyle photography, and family photography in Raleigh, North Carolina.
What I Learned in October…P I N this to pinterest
Raleigh Child Photographer | Rebecca Keller Photography
- It is not fun when it rains for three weekends the busiest month of the year. It just kept raining and raining and raining at the beginning of the month. So glad we were able to find everyone another date and reschedule the Halloween Minis (Whew!)
- There are so many things that can help when you have a trip to the dentist. I’m not sure if I have listed these on the blog before, but I have such a hard time going to the dentist. The anesthesia doesn’t work that great for me, I end up on the highest dose with a lot of heart racing. I still don’t have a great visit every time (my dentist is amazing and just so patient) but don’t laugh, these are a few things that have really helped me. First, I like the blanket thing you wear when you have an x ray. It’s got a little bit of weight to it so it calms me a little bit when I’m shaking so much. Then, I ask for a blanket (or two) Last, I listen to podcasts. I have to make sure I’ve downloaded a few new ones before I go, but it really distracts me from everything that’s going on and helps me be a better patient. Hopefully, if you are nervous going to the dentist, these tips will help you too!
- Trying to finish a book with all of this going on..It just didn’t happen this month. I started Simply Tuesday
and The Best Yes ,and I have loved both of them, just haven’t finished either yet. I’ll just have to give myself a little grace with right now and focus on my little one getting well.
- I had no idea about the back forty at Vollmer Farm. Our first kindergarten field trip was scheduled for the beginning of the month (but, you know, RAIN) so we finally had it yesterday, and it was so much fun. And the former teacher in me was so impressed with Owen’s kindergarten teacher. She just kept lining them up at each station, cute class photo. My favorite part of Vollmer Farms is the ice cream, so make sure you stop by at the front before you leave.
- Apple picking in the mountains is really fun! We love, love, loved Sky Top Orchard, so if you get a chance to go soon before apple picking season is over, I highly recommend it. I’m working on a blog post on this soon! We also stayed at the Grove Park Inn which is one of those places I’d always wanted to stay at, and oh my, the view. Especially in fall. Wow.
- Ear infections are just. ugh. This has been a tough month. Harrison has struggled with them off and on but they’ve really revved up since early September, and October has been nonstop. We are on our last antibiotic right now before the doctor said we would start talking about tubes. Michael has had to travel a lot this month, so that with his ear infections, and the busiest time of the year has been a lot going on. I did have to leave one session a little early to take Harrison straight to the doctor with his high fever. He’s just had such a rough time this month with his ears.
- One person on a rickshaw can carry two adults, four kids, and two strollers. (see here)
- Super excited about the Magnolia Home furniture line. I got to see it at the furniture market this month, and it is just so beautiful. (Fixer Uppers is totally in my what I watch when I’m editing queue)
- Little Apple Styles did such an awesome job designing and sending out welcome packets this month. If you are coming to the Free Holiday Minis, you should have gotten yours in the mail!
Hope everyone has a safe + happy Halloween! We will be out trick-or-treating this evening with Darth Vader and Chewbacca!
A little preview from our trip to Disney World this week. I can’t wait to share all of the behind the scenes and fun things we learned while styling and photographing our little ones. They had so much fun, too, and of course, loved the balloons, costumes, and all of the other fun parts of Disney. Harrison loved his rice krispie treat, too, and Gaston could not stop talking to Belle as soon as he saw her (more cute photos of this soon!) Little E also had so much fun dancing with her Daddy (Prince Charming) There are so many more fun images to share, but here’s just a preview of some of the styling magic by Little Apple Styles. We barely slept this week and of course walked all day, but it was an amazing trip. More photos will be posted on facebook and instagram soon.
Styled by Little Apple Styles
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Camera Gear I recommend for Disney
1 I am going to take my favorite camera because I just can’t not take it. Does that make sense, ha? I do take a lot of cell phone photos while I’m at Disney just because I don’t feel it’s necessary to take my camera out the whole time. I love this camera, though, and I just can’t leave it at home. One of the reasons I first got a good DSLR was I loved the magical way they capture my kids, so for part of the time I will use it. For most photos with the characters, etc, I’ll just use the memory maker pass and have Disney staff take the photo. I have always used Canon and I love, love, love Canon. If you want to buy a less expensive Canon, I’d go with this one.
2.This is a great walk around Disney lens. You can capture so many different angles and you don’t have to bring a million lenses. I recommend only taking one lens to Disney because it’s just too much to be switching lenses all the time. If you want to spend a little less, you can get this lens.
3.I am not a big fan of a lot of bags or carrying a bunch of stuff around Disney because it just annoys me and then I’m just not enjoying myself. We’d had little ones since we started going so I always put a diaper bag in the bottom of this stroller (LOVE this stroller at Disney!) I do not recommend an umbrella stroller if you are the least bit tall. We took an umbrella stroller the first trip and my husband and i were both so annoyed and did not want to push it – ha. We’ve never had a problem with this one, and the storage underneath is perfect to put a diaper bag in.
4.Also, if you go when it’s not, you will not want to be lugging around bags. It will just make you hotter and more miserable. We buy a lot of bottled water at target and keep it in the bottom of the stroller. So, back to the camera. It’s important to me to have one little bag with me when I’m riding rides and walking around. I use this bag because I can barely get my camera with the lens on it in the bag. It can put my cell phone and a credit card or two if I need it in it also, so it’s perfect. I have taken bigger bags, but this is ideal for me. Comfort makes me happy at Disney and not having a ton of big bags is important to me.
5. If I didn’t want a DSLR, I would probably go for this cameraor this camera. I have not used it, but it looks super fun and I’ve seen a lot of photographers recommend it for trips. I, however, cannnnnot leave home without my Canon. (I did order this camera for a Disney trip once to try out, and then ended up taking my Canon. Can’t leave home without it) This camera does let you upload to wi-fi so you can share images from your camera to your phone which is pretty cool. If you want to do this with a Canon, you can also use one of these cards, which are pretty cool.
6.Disney can be crowded so if you want a family photo really close to the castle without a lot of people in it, I’d recommend using a lens like this one. You can stand pretty close and get an image with not as many people in it.
7.These are also fun for your cell phone to take some fun photos while you are there. If it’s the only camera you bring, might as well have some fun with it!
8.If you’re also traveling with young kids, I also recommend this carrier when waiting in long lines or sometimes at night it can be difficult to get around the fireworks crowd with a stroller. We would park our stroller at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom and babywear if we were going in around fireworks time.
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Disney World Photos | Rebecca Keller Photography
Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Family and Newborn Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including Let the Kids Dress Themselves and Lemonade and Lenses. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about travel sessions. Because I chat a lot about my personal life and recommendations on the blog, I may receive commissions from affiliate links in articles.
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