Category Archives: Our Everyday

 

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Happy Valentine’s Day + Happy Birthday to my sweet Mama. I am so thankful for her and what a great example she is in my life. She is unselfish, loving, and my best friend whom I call 300 times a day. So glad we got to spend yesterday with her + my sweet nieces celebrating her birthday. She is always up for one of my crazy adventures (like hiking up and down a mountain with two little ones to pick apples…and pushing one of them in a stroller up and down the mountain. whew!)

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The image on the right is pretty much how Harrison is when I take out my camera or someone else wants to hold him. He is a mama’s boy tried and true. (See below – when he came to the Valentine Minis this year, he did not want to be photographed, he only wanted to sit with me.)

A few of my Valentines from the past few years..

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Happy Birthday, Mimi! We love you!

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Owen’s Valentine’s this year.

Rebecca Keller is a Wake Forest NC Family Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about family and newborn photography in Raleigh, NC.

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Raleigh Kids Valentines | What We’re Reading this Valentine’s Day

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I loooooove Valentine’s Day. And of course, it’s my mama’s birthday, too! I also love reading to my boys and finding great holiday themed books for the boys, so I wanted to share what we’ve been reading.

1.Llama Llama I Love You
The Llama Llama books have always been a hit at our house, and Harrison especially loves this one. It’s a great board book he can play with, and I don’t have to worry about the book being ripped to shreds. (Unlike when he gets a hold of Owen’s piano papers…they get colored on and then ripped to pieces. Owen is a very patient big brother. When one of his recital pieces was turned into a masterpiece/ripped, he just got up there and played it from memory.)

2.Peanuts: Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
This is one of those lift the flap books, so of course, while I’m reading, they are both trying to lift the flaps (are they really listening?) but it is cute nonetheless. (Still wondering why everyone in the class didn’t bring everyone a valentine. You’ll have to read it to find out.) I wasn’t a huge Charlie Brown fan (I know, what’s wrong with me?) until the latest movie…that movie was just so cute, and ok, officially a fan.

3.Happy Valentine’s Day, Curious George
Owen has really started loving Curious George this year, so this book was a hit. It is also a lift the flap book so super fun for the kids.

Not pictured because someone has been reading it all over the house, and I couldn’t find it for the photo above:

Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day Is Cool
The boys love, love, love this book, because not only is it fun to read but there is a poster with stickers, and also valentine’s to decorate. My boys love drawing and art projects so this was super exciting to them.

Two we haven’t read but I want to check out are: Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar
and Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! .

We just finished up our Valentine Mini’s (see previews here) and I spent all last night designing custom Valentine’s so of course I am just so excited about the holiday coming up!

There are a lot more fun children’s Valentine’s books out there. Anyone else reading some cute books – leave your recommendations in the comments.

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I do love February, oh, Valentines day! My business to do list is overwhelming today, so I’m going to try to make this quick. Tomorrow is also the 100th day of kindergarten, so I have a few last minute errands to run. We finished our shirt – can’t wait to share tomorrow! A few photos from the boys playing in the ice/snow.Harrison lasted all of 60 seconds since he refused to wear his gloves.

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    1. Finish shopping for my sweet Mama’s birthday present. (She has a Valentine’s day birthday!
    2. Finish planning our little Valentine’s party when the cousins will be in town – so excited
    3. Books to read this month – I need to finish Spark Joy. I already like this book much better than the The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up I feel like it has a lot more practical advice for those who want to use her method of tidying. Some other books that are on my list this month are Let Your Life Speak,A Man Called Ove, and a few more I haven’t decided on just yet.
    4. Finalize everything for Spring Break. So excited about getting away with the boys during Spring Break!
    5. Ericka and I have been working on several fun blog posts for this month – I need to finish + get those on the blog!
    6. Finish editing our 2016 Clients Valentine Minis.
    7. Announce our next client event/date and start booking! So excited for these!
    8. Finish the RKP Image of the Year Contest. (Round two voting is going on right now – make sure to stop by and vote!)
    9. Use my heart pan a few times this month. So excited about this super cute pan + even made muffins last night.(see here)raleigh wake forest family lifestyle photography_0238P I N this to pinterestRebecca Keller is a Raleigh photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Raleigh Wake Forest Family Lifestyle Photography and travel sessions.I do chat a lot about my personal life on the blog and recommendations for things that I love, and I may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.
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What I Learned in January

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Looking for snow

It’s been a big month – realizing I ate too many Christmas cookies, losing our downstairs heat, an ice storm, and our first client event of 2016. (Previews coming soon!)

A few things I learned this month…

1.For some reason running gets easier halfway through. I’m on the treadmill at the gym, and I’m hating miles 1-2 but for some reason 3-4 are easier. Does this make any sense? Maybe because I know I’m almost there. Working on a post about a few things that have helped me with my fitness goals this month.

2. I know I photograph with it all the time, but I really just love natural light.I love opening all the windows and having the light pour in, it’s calming, and just so pretty. One of the first things I do in the morning is to open all the blinds and let the light pour in. I hate when it starts to get dark + I have to use overhead lights + lamps.

3. Losing heat is no joke, and it can take several days to get a new heater. We were without our downstairs heater for about five days while getting a new one during the week where it was twenty degrees everyday. (Right before the ice storm) Because of our two staircases + just how cold it was, there was maybe one room upstairs warm enough to be tolerable. Thankful for a dear friend that took us in during those cold days. The heater was installed the evening before it started snowing.

4.I’m still in shock that Harrison is staying in his crib. Like the very instant Owen turned two, he jumped out and screamed at the top of his lungs that he was not going back in. Savoring every second that this little one wants to stay in his crib. (This image was taken while staying with friends during our no heat week. He actually stayed in their toddler bed, too. #miracle)

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5.Ice really is not that fun to play in, especially with a two year old that will not keep his gloves on. Playing in the ice lasted about 60 seconds because Harrison was not interested in keeping his gloves on. (I’ll post our ice/snow photos tomorrow)

6.Losing 9lbs this month wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. The fall just gets so busy, and I needed to be disciplined and focused in January. (Read my post about my fitbit and how it’s been helping me here) I’ve also been running + going to barre, which helps, too. I just saw these which are interesting and pretty cool since I have some friends that can’t wear any jewelry while working.

7.No one should ever be embarrassed when having their kids photographed. Harrison absolutely does not like for me to photograph him (as seen here)

8.Gilmore Girls is coming to netflix. So excited!

Books I read this month:

Ok, so I was so excited about reading this month, because the last few months of the fall are usually so busy that I don’t pick up a book too often.

1. Where’d You Go, Bernadette A friend of mine recommended this book, and it was just so cute, I read it all the way to New Bern and back on New Year’s. A great fun fiction read. (I always love recommendations for good books, so if you’ve read a great book lately, please let me know in the comments!)

2.Rising Strong I realllly loved the first two chapters and thought they were really encouraging for anyone starting a business or dream. After the first couple chapters, I didn’t find it an easy read. I asked another friend who had said she was reading it and she was having the same struggle.

3. A book for creatives – Big Magic. I heard Elizabeth Gilbert speak at a convention a few years ago and was curious to read this book. It is very encouraging for creatives, especially if you run your own business. I did not agree with everything she said, but there was a lot of encouragement definitely in the book. I still have never read Eat, Pray, Love or watched the movie, but I enjoyed her speech a few years ago.

4.One Thousand Gifts – Loved this book, and a reminder to be grateful and thankful for what we have, and all the little things. Definitely noticing all the little things during the day that I am so thankful for after reading this book. Highly recommend it.

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Rebecca Keller is a Cary Family Lifestyle Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including the Bump. I do chat a lot about my personal life on the blog and recommendations for things that I love, and I may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.

 

 

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Ok I did it – I’m switching back to paper! I will be honest. I grew up loving a paper planner, but I haven’t used one in years. Maybe after teaching for five years, where all I did was plan entire days all day long (so much planning!) I honestly didn’t know what do with myself Owen’s first year, I had stopped teaching, and planning my days got a lot simpler. So, you see, I have a lot of experience with planning. (but also a lot of experience with planning burnout!)

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After seeing so much chit chat and good reviews on several planners, this year I decided to take the plunge and try a paper planner again. Now before I say anything else, let me tell you about my super amazing planning organization I have had the past few years.

1.Google Calendar. There are so many great options/apps for online planning, but I have just been using google calendar because it’s free, synced to my e-mail, and Michael and I could sync our schedules together. I still try to put big things on there if I remember. I have all kinds of problems with the cloud and syncing my phone/computer so this has always been frustrating to me. I’m sure it’s an easy fix but I seem to be technology challenged in this area.

2.E-mailing myself to do lists. I love my dad so much, and he has taught me so much about staying on top of things, I could go on and on. I’m so thankful for his wisdom and leadership in my life. In high school, he used to leave a to do list by my car keys so I wouldn’t forget anything important. This was around the time, I used to write my own to do list, too, on a piece of notebook paper before I went to sleep, and then yes, put it on the floor where I would see it right when I woke up. When I finally joined the smartphone/e-mail world, I just started e-mailing a list to myself the night before. I need to do lists and reminders, or I will honestly just forget – especially with little ones running around all day. I am usually exhausted when emailing this to myself and sometimes email it to someone else because I’m not really paying attention – ha! Erin Condren has a few different layouts – when picking a planner, I loved that this one had tons of room for my daily to do list, and I can cross them off during the day. (So fun to cross things out and knowing that I am getting things done!

3.Notes on my phone. A friend told me a few years back, why aren’t you adding lists in notes on your phone, so I have had endless amounts of lists in notes, and I still use it sometimes.

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There are a few popular planners out there, and there are some also geared toward photographers, so I looked through all of them. I will be honest, I loved the features of this planner, but I also loved that this one has photo cover options that are interchangeable. You can switch out the cover during the year – how cool is that!

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There are a lot of motivational quotes in the planner, it’s super colorful and it also comes with some fun freebies. (compliment cards, referral cards, do it all dot stickers and coil clips. There’s also a few other extras) I realllly love the bright stickers. Some have birthday, etc on them, but I love that I can write a session or something else important on the blank ones, and they will really stand out on my calendar. I did also order some of the personalized ones for my barre class, swim lessons, etc. The decorative stickers are super cute, too, so I may have to order a few of those.

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If you decide to join the paper planning club, click here for 10.00 off using my referral link! Happy planning, and don’t forget to use your Rebecca Keller Photography images on the cover! (And if you order one with one of your RKP images, please send me a photo!!!!)

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Rebecca Keller is a Cary Lifestyle Newborn Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about family, maternity, and Raleigh Newborn Family Photography NC in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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