Wedding Highlights and Anniversary Traditions for two High School Sweethearts!

This past Wednesday my husband and I celebrated our Two-year Wedding  Anniversary!  A little back story for y’all, we actually met in 2009 up on the Deltona High School Track where they were holding tryouts for the team.  To this day he can still tell me what I was wearing, and the fact that I had a knee brace on…  story of my life with knee problems!  We eventually both got to wear a number 21 jersey…  Hence the engaged on 11-21-14, married on 03-21-16 and both having the number 21 tattooed on us…

LONG story short, we found out we lived on the same street, he made a bet one meet that if he broke 5:00 minutes in the mile he would get a kiss…  WELL, here we are nine years later married with a beautiful baby girl, and yes he earned that kiss with a killer sub 5 mile!

03-21-16

A day I have been dreaming about for the last (at least) 5 years.  I wanted this day to be magical, full of love and joy, surrounded by our friends and family.

Highlights:

My Grandmothers were our Flower girls…  You want to make them feel special and give everyone a smile, include them in on this day, you won’t regret it!

The first time my Daddy saw me…  Y’all I lost a contact from the tears!

My Maid of Honor’s face when my husband stole her closing line (you can totally see her reaction in the video around the 12:30 mark with the split video)!!!  I’ll give you a hint:  It’s Carrie Underwood related HAHA

My Mom’s Best friend of 20 plus years married us!

My childhood best friend photographed our wedding!

That Garter toss dance (around 16:45 mark)!  OMG!!!  He even warned my Dad beforehand!!!

Our friend Patrick dancing up on Mom’s mom and everyone’s reaction in the pictures!!!!

Ending the most magical night with sparklers and a horse and buggy grand exit.

 

 

I mean if you were to ask me, EVERY single moment of our wedding was highlight worthy.

 

 

Anniversary Tradition:

Every year we have decided to go back to our venue (The Estate on The Halifax) and recreate one of our favorite pictures our AMAZING photographer Erika Rech with Erika Grace Photography took!

(From left to right…  2016, 2017, 2018 and some added extra favorites from this year :))

 

 

To say I am proud of how far we have come together as a couple is as understatement.  We have both busted our butts to be where we are today and have all that we do.  The Kline family is currently in the works of some BIG things for our family and we could not be more excited!  So keep your eyes peeled on my Instastories for some clues to our big plans!

If you want to see the most elegant, beautiful and magical dream come true for an adorable High School sweetheart couple…  Here is the link to our beautiful March 21st, 2016 Wedding 🙂

https://vimeo.com/185160370

Abigail’s Fairy ONEderland themed First Birthday party!

I’m not going to lie, I was totally that Mom who started thinking Birthday themes when their kid was only a couple months old!  I loved the idea of pink and gold, however I felt it was so overdone and I wanted something somewhat original…    So, I decided to combine my two favorite themes/ color schemes to have one freaking awesome Pink and gold meets Fairy ONEderland first birthday party!

Like every other Mom, I got most of my ideas off Pinterest!  Fairy Wonderland seemed to be a popular (and SUPER cute) theme but I figured changing it to “ONEderland” was appropriate and made it  unique!

The morning of her Birthday, I wanted to get the balloons in the crib shot.  I ordered a multipack of balloons and a banner (pink, gold and white and a 1 balloons) as well as a “Happy Birthday” banner that was pink and gold.  We actually used this banner and the “one” balloon Multiple times, her first birthday shoot, morning of and at her Birthday party, so we more than got our moneys worth.

I started with brainstorming ideas of decorations, food and supplies I would need and then created a list of foods that went along with the fairy theme; Moss Cupcakes, Fairy Fizz, Twigs (pretzels) and Forest Berries (strawberries and black berries).

I then had to figure out how I wanted the plates, napkins and utensils to look; pink and gold or woodsy.  Since my entire table set up was woodsy, we decided to go with pink and gold to counter act.  The utensils, straws and napkins were all actually found through Amazon (click each link to view my choices).  The “ONE” banner and ” Fairy ONEderland” banner were made by the incredibly talented Michelle Garcia who runs an Etsy store Www.etsy.com/shop/onceuponacrafterxo ( Go check her out, she can and will make anything)!!!

Next was tackling the look of our table.  Using tree cut outs from Michael’s, branches from my back yard (these party get expensive lol), individual flowers, flower arrangements we already had and 2 moss stips put together to serve as the table runner; I was able to get the perfect look!

I made good use of the only free wall we really have in the whole house and used it for both a backdrop for pictures and the gift table.  We wanted all our friends and family to still be able to experience her “cake smash”( I did a separate one with the studio set up) so we decided to have her just do a small cupcake at her party.  So we decorated the wall with single strands of Ivy, her “Happy Birthday” banner and Garland found at Michael’s which made for the perfect backdrop.  Paired with the “1” balloon (reduce, reuse, recycle…  Am i right!) it made for some easy and beautiful decorations.

For those of you who don’t know me too well, I am an only child!  So, Abigail will never grow up with any aunties or uncles from my side but she does NOT need to worry…  These three girls below (her Fairy God Mother’s…  Yes I asked them to dress up lol) MORE than make up for any lack of “aunties”!  Kristie, the one in the green skirt, is her actual God Mother and a proud one at that!

And finally my Absolute favorite part of the entire party planning was the amount of time and effort my Husband took into making Abigail the BEST “tree stump” birthday cake ever!!!  He watched hours of YouTube videos, made several tips to Michael’s for icing tips, butterflies and flowers and started a new birthday tradition.

*Also, the “ONE” banner that happens to match her “Fairy ONEderland” banner…  Also made by Michelle!

Below are just some of my FAVORITES from her FRIST BIRTHDAY, enjoy 🙂

 

*Note:  Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning at no cost to you, I will earn some commission for items that you click through and purchase*

New year, SAME me! Why New Years resolutions are so overrated.

Well, I know it has been a hot minute since y’all have heard anything from me…  I was focused on celebrating Abigail’s first Christmas, planning her first Birthday party (which I will have a blog about this week) and soaking up every minute of all our family time!

So……  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  Welcome to 2018 y’all, I am so excited to see where my blog is going to take me this year and grow as a blogger, mom and wife!

With a new year always comes the influx of gym goes (always made for a good laugh in step class, but can’t knock someone for trying), diet fads and the “new year, new me” mottos.

It never fails, as soon as that ball drops at midnight everyone has New Year goals to;

• Loose weight
• Go to the gym more
• Eat healthy
• Stop drinking
• Become more organized
• Find that dream job
• Be the best you

While there is nothing wrong with this if that is what you believe works for you, however… I have never been one for the whole “new year, new me” thing.  I’ve always felt that I don’t need it to be a new year for me to say “I’m going to do ____ this year”.  I am always going to strive to be the best Mom, Wife and employee, I don’t need to make it my New Years resolution to make it happen.

Is my goal to still loose the baby weight (a year later!)?  YES, but that’s a goal I’ve had since I gave birth and continue to keep until it is accomplished.  It is also my goal to improve and expand my knowledge of photography, not because it is January 2018 but because it is a passion of mine.

New Years gets treated like you are all the sudden given a re-do in life.  If you find yourself in a position where you feel the need to re-invent and re-vamp your life…  Why wait until January 1^st to make it your New Years resolution to change?  

So, cheers to making 2018 freaking awesome and better than 2017!  Being the best you can be, not because it’s a resolution but because YOU want to be!

 

Happy FIRST Birthday Abigail Remi

With Christmas a few weeks ago and now celebrating Abigail’s first Birthday, I have been a little MIA between planning for her party and just simply soaking up every single moment with her!  But I promise there are MANY posts to come within the next week, including all the details for the FairyONEderland first Birthday theme, family photos and of course her cake smash!

But for now I owe my baby girl the BIGGEST of Birthday wishes!!!

Well, today our baby girl celebrates her very first birthday!  365 days ago your Daddy and I were on the way to the hospital because I thought my water broke and was pretty sure I was feeling consistent contractions!  Turns out, I was right!  I was 5cm dilated and having you sometime today (January 11^th, 2017).

365 days ago we began our breastfeeding journey, I made it my goal to nurse you and give you Mommy’s milk for as long as possible!  Although you weaned yourself from nursing around 4 months old, I continued to exclusively pump making sure you still got my milk.

In one short year you have accomplished SO much:

• You said your FIRST word (Dada) and now know: Mama, bye-bye, ohh, uh-oh and Nana (for Savannah)
• You have 11 teeth
• You took your first steps
• You first started eating solids, leading up to you eating EVERYTHING!
• You took your first vacation to the Bahamas

 

……. Just to name a FEW things!

You have taught me so much this past year about who I am as a person, a wife to your Daddy but most importantly the Mother I want to be to you!  I have learned life is all about living in the moment and being present.  Although your Mommy is passionate about photographing your life every step of the way, I make it a point to live in the moment and appreciate the fact that I am able to enjoy taking you to places like Disney, the Bahamas and spend every single weekend with you.  I refuse to watch you grow up behind a camera but I am determined to document your milestones through photography.

Your Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know and we are SO blessed to be your parents!  We can’t wait to watch you continue to learn, grow and love!

Love: Mommy, Daddy and Savannah

The “struggle” of starting a family young… Guess what, it’s not as bad as you think!

Having met my now husband in High School, you can believe me when I say I have heard it all when it comes to whether or no you will “make it” as a couple.

• It’s just high school fling, you know it won’t last
• Do you really want to be tied down so young
• I bet you wish you would have never met him, you could have enjoyed College

Yes, our relationship was tested on several occasions but each one made us that much stronger and allowed us to grow and understand one another as a couple.  It was not just a fling, we were very much in love and content with where we were and where our relationship was going.  I would NEVER change a single thing about that day we met on the Deltona High School Track.

Fast forward to almost 9 years later; now HAPPILY married, homeowners, have a 10 month old daughter and excited to grow our family in the years to come.  My greatest “struggle” is dealing with the comments people may approach you with in the grocery line, out shopping or even some from your friends.

So to you, what I really want to say as a young mom:

• YES, I am old enough to be married
• • I was 23 when I got married in 2016

• YES, we waited until after the wedding to try for a baby, we just got lucky and it happened VERY quick!
• • Chick Fil A employee seriously asked if we waited!
• YES, she was VERY planned
• • One of the first questions the nurse at my OB’s office asked, seriously!!!
• Up until a few years ago, if I ever answered the door I still got the “Can I speak to the man or woman of the household”…  Um you’re looking at her buddy!
• NO, we did not want to experience being Married first because truthfully it felt like we had been married the last 4 years we lived together in our house!
• • Prior to that we lived with my parents…  Since 2009!
• YES, we want to travel the world, with our CHILDREN whom we are very excited about having!
• • We took an AMAZING honeymoon trip to Rome and Athens knowing we wouldn’t be traveling for a while…  So thank you for your concern haha

So to say starting a family so young is a “struggle” would almost be unfair because it automatically discounts us as being able to handle things.  Considering my generation, we are already put into a category of “entitled”, “selfish” and “unmotivated” people.  We bust our butts on a daily basis to ensure we are financially stable and our daughter cared for in the best way possible.  Not only that, at the age of 18 we each started saving money and putting away into our 401K.    It is what you make it and with a strong relationship and dedication, it is completely POSSIBLE to be young, have a family and be successful.

I know we are not the only couple successfully moving up in the world at such a young age.  So to us…  Way to freaking go, way to kick the stereotypical misconception that we are “lazy” or my favorite ” expect everything to be handed to you” comments!!! We are far from “struggling”

Confessions of a working Mom

I am a full time 9-5 Compounding Pharmacy Tehcnician (pretty much like Breaking Bad status) who works about 45 minutes away from home…  So my 8-hour shift turns into about a 10 hour one with my drive every day!  When I found out I was pregnant with Abigail, I always said I could not wait to be that working mom and wife who was able to take care of her family by providing financially while at work and emotionally while at home.  Well, I was DEAD wrong!

I never dreamed of wanting to be that stay at home mom, but now I want nothing more!  So I decided to write some confessions I may have as a working mom, not just for me but for friends and family considering some of these affect them and decisions I make!

 

1. GUILT- Ya’ll this is something that I struggle far too much with when it comes to trying to have a social life!  I am SUPER lucky enough to have some amazing friends who always incorporate Abigail into plans as much as possible!  However, odds are if it is something or somewhere Abigail shouldn’t go…  Momma won’t be goin!  I know this sounds real bad and they say “momma needs a break” but Abigail is my break!  Since I don’t get to spend very much time with her during the day, I have no intentions on handing her off as soon as I get home or not spending the entire weekend with her (sorry, not sorry!).

2. I deep down want to be a stay at home Mom- Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I love what I do but I long for the day that I get to work from home and not miss a single thing my baby girl (and future babies) is doing, learning and exploring.

 

3. I miss those late night nursing sessions and secretly always looked forward to them- I know there is no mom who ever said they enjoyed the newborn stage of no sleep, however I do miss those late night nursing sessions.  Since I decided to go back to work after only a month (NEVER again), I was no longer able to nurse her on demand and had to pump most of my milk.  So waking up to nurse was our bonding time we got together.

 

  

4. Weekends are for family time (We work hard so we can play harder)- Since my husband and I both work 9-5 Monday- Friday jobs; we do our best to reserve the weekends for family time to cram in every single activity we missed during the week into TWO days! That includes trips to the park, Disney, the Zoo, picnics and the beach.

 

 

5. I don’t share well- When I come home from a long day of work, the LAST thing I want to do is share my Abigail hugs (don’t worry I share well with my husband) …  So if you come over on a week day to visit, don’t expect much Abigail time!

 

6. I don’t go to the gym and I don’t feel bad about it- This one goes back to my not wanting to hand her off as soon as I get home guilt. I LOVE running and being outside so I found three ways to exercise while being able to incorporate Abigail; running, bike riding and roller blading.

7.  Pumping is not easy- I have been exclusively pumping for about 7 months now and it has been a journey to say the least.  Being that I work in a lab (with no windows), I used to pump when I first got to work and before I left.  I then realized it was probably easier to pump on my way to and from work considering I have a 45 minute drive.  So if you ever see a pumping mom driving, give her a thumbs up because it take work and dedication to maintain your supply and sanity.

 

If there is one thing I have learned about being a Mom, it is that your child does NOT need a perfect mom, they just need a happy one!  And that is exactly what we are in the Kline household, one incredibly HAPPY family, together.

Faith, trust and pixie dust: Abigail’s FIRST Halloween

Well, like most first time mom’s any “first” is celebrated with the “go big or go home” moto!  And thanks to my husband, we accomplished just that.  Months before Halloween I took to Pinterest for some family costume ideas (probably my first mistake lol) and kept seeing pirate ships every time I typed in “Peter Pan family” …  So a pirate ship is what was made!

Joe literally earned Dad of the year award with this one, not just for making it but for every single detail he added to make it that much cooler than the ones we found on Pinterest (sorry if any of you moms posted your ships on there).  His exact words “only the best for my little girl”!

 

Everything from the anchor

The waves

To the cannon that was “exploding”

He put an incredible amount of TIME and EFFORT into our Halloween costumes (he even sewed Savannah a Bonnet so she could be “Nana”, I mean how much sweeter could he get), we were definitely the talk to of the town!

P.s. Don’t let this picture fool you, Savannah loves us and actually did not mind the Bonnet LOL

 

I honestly could not have imagined a better first Halloween for Abigail, she is blessed enough to be surrounded by such an amazing group of people who are always there for her and experience every milestone alongside her.  They might not all live close by, or have work schedules that allow them to see her as often as they want, but they make time.  And nothing makes this momma more happy than knowing Abigail has such an amazing support system.  She was lucky enough to even have her Aunt Lisa from Charlotte, NC fly down to experience all this with her.

 

Well, with Halloween 2017 being officially over, I can’t be the only mom who is already putting ideas together for next year’s family costume!  LOL

 

Ready to loose that baby weight? Three fun ways to work out without going to the gym.

As many of you new Mom’s have probably discovered by now…  finding time to work out in between laundry, dishes, dinner and chasing down your little one is next to near impossible.  I have a membership to our local gym, as well as parents who are more than willing to watch her, but after working all day the last thing I want to do is leave her to go workout.  I am dying to loose every ounce of this “baby weight” so, I compromised and plan my workouts around bringing and involving her.

 

First up is my favorite (for obvious reasons if you know me), running:

            When I was about 25 weeks pregnant, I made it very clear to Joe that a jogging stroller was a MUST have for me…  Well we bought one that next day (pictured below lol)!

This is a super easy and quick way to get your cardio in for the day, throw a few puffs in the cup holders and your little one will be good to go for miles (I can usually get 3 out of mine).

With the jogger you aren’t just limited to running the sidewalks, we happen to live by our old High School and have permission from our old Track coach to use it any time we want.  If you don’t live by a track, your local park is another great option if you are not too fond of running the sidewalks/street.

 

Next is Roller Blading:

            This is hands down Abigail’s favorite because of how fast we go.  Just the other day she was yelling and waving at every mailbox we passed!  Now forewarning…  If you don’t have the best coordination or balancing skills, this is probably not the activity for you lol

And YES I do wear a helmet every single time!  You’re welcome Mom!

Last but not least is Bike Riding:

This is something we did with Abigail as early as 4 months old.  Yes, we are very aware that the recommended age is a year old.  However, we got crafty and decided to stick the car seat inside the carrier and zip her up, essentially making her safer anyways since she was strapped in.

Oh and whatever you do, don’t forget to zip them up with the clear cover after it rains otherwise you’ll come back with a dirty kid!  Haha

*Pull behind for the bicycle can be purchased at any sporting good store: Dick’s, Academy Sports even Walmart*!

Just because you have a kid does not mean you have to sacrifice your health!  Where there is a will there is a way and I never really gave this statement much thought until Abigail came along (Between pumping, school and exercising).  These are just three ways I have made it work for myself and our family, not to say there aren’t dozens of other effective ways to get your workouts in.

Best thing I can suggest is to find something you love, a workout you look forward to doing and someone who will support you and have fun with it along the way.  For me it’s my amazing Husband and childhood best friend Erika Rech, who also doubles as our photographer for every major life event!

 

 

You’ve got this momma!!!

So you’re getting ready for those Holiday family photos… Tips and tricks for getting the perfect pictures.

It’s that time of the year y’all where everyone is going to be doing family photos for those lovely Christmas Cards we all get, set on the mantle for a month and then chuck!  Well, last month we had a couple sessions with the incredibly talented Erika Rech of Erika Grace Photography, so we could update our family portraits!  The first shoot was a family session with my side of the family and Abigail and the second one was just our little family.  I can not begin to tell you how much these photos mean to me, being the only child and grandchild to Kakky all I ever wanted to do was bring them joy, and we did just that with Abigail.  They are absolutely adorable and perfectly capture the love Abigail has for each of them.

 

 

MeMaw

Pawpaw

Kakky

 

While these shots are perfect (and totally melt my heart)… behind the scenes it took a lot of puffs, bubbles, ABC’s and running around to get her to cooperate as well as she did.

Below are some tips and tricks to surviving your next family session with an infant!

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through this post.

1. Bring your main outfit for baby and your family but always have a back up just incase she gets dirty, spits up (gets it on you) or you get dirty.
2. Have snacks on hand incase your little one gets hangry, but you can also use them as a good motivator to crawl!

3. Bring their favorite noise making toy, this will help get their attention in the way of the camera.  Or if you are lucky enough to have Erika as your photographer, she is witty enough to use the reflector to catch her attention!

4. Coordinate your outfits!!!!  I can not stress this enough nor can Erika (who by the way is fantastic at sending you inspirational outfits/ color combos before hand).  There is nothing worse than having a family photo with everyone wearing a rainbow of colors.   We chose to go with everyone wearing a shade of white with jeans and Abigail being the only one in color.

**Janie and Jack just released a limited edition holiday collection for coordinating family outfits I HIGHLY recommend**!

 

5.  Try to plan the session around your little one’s nap time!  Here in Florida we not only plan around nap time but storms as well!  August and September are arguably the most unpredictable when it comes to weather (also Hurricane season…  joy) so we have found it best to avoid evening shoots (unless you really want golden hour shots, which is what we did) and mid day.  Morning always seem to be a safe bet unless the rain is set in all day.

6.  Speaking of weather… Girls, bring extra make up to allow for touch ups and blot often to avoid sweat!  Erika is great with spotting when someone is in need of a touch up.

7.  One of the BEST tips I can give you when doing family and group pictures is to just GO WITH THE FLOW!!!!!  Hair is going to get pulled, tears will be shed by the little one (and maybe you at one point HAHA) and dogs may not cooperate but there is plenty of fun to be had, I PROMISE!

Pretty much all you can do is expect the worst and pray for the best…  but when you have someone as talented, patient and witty as Erika with Erika Grace Photography, you can GUARANTEE you’ll only get the best!

Enjoy some of our favorites 🙂

 

Literally can’t get enough of of these two!!

 

Even when we are trying to take family photos she’s all about Dada!

 

Daddy’s little girl…  She is already wrapped around his finger and I can’t get enough of them!

 

Mommy has SO much love for this little booger!

 

 

 

Abigail Remi Kline

 

 

Why I am not sad my daughter is “growing up”!

As a mom, your greatest hopes and wishes for your child is that they grow up to be smart, healthy and happy individuals.   I emphasize on “grow up” because I often see posts on Facebook or Instagram with mom’s posting their child’s newborn photos saying how sad they are that they are growing up so fast or wish they would stay small forever…  Well, I recently learned I am NOT that mom!  Not that I am rushing my daughter growing up by any means, but I can not wait for her to be walking, talking and us be able to experience new adventures with her as a family.  I am excited to watch her grow up, learn new things every day, become more independent and watch her personality blossom.

It honestly feels like I just had Abigail yesterday, I cherish those moments her Daddy and I shared as new parents and the bonding I was able to experience with both of them.  And I can completely understand where mom’s are coming from when they say they miss their small babies, we all love snuggling new babies.  But as I was uploading our Disney pictures from yesterday, I couldn’t help but think back and compare Abigail’s first Disney trip to this most recent one.  Her first trip she was only about 9 weeks old, we mainly went for Mommy and Daddy to take pictures of her but it was still a special trip.  Then I look at the pictures from our weekend tip and she is now interacting with Mickey, smiling when she sees Minnie on a float during the parade and waving at people.  She was so much fun to watch and for us, that is what its all about.

Don’t get me wrong, I am in NO way bashing mom’s who just want time to freeze and their little ones be small for forever.  We are all on this motherhood journey together, there is no one perfect way to succeed nor is it a competition.  It is your journey with your child.  But I feel for me personally, if I were to be upset about the fact that she is growing up,  I feel like I would be failing her as her parent.  I want nothing more than to watch her grow, see her learn and show her the world and to do all this she needs to “grow up”.