Guest Blog: Don't Let Awkward Family Christmas Photos Happen to You!

While I'm off enjoying vacation time with my family I have a few guest bloggers lined up to share their Christmas themed posts with you. First up is my dear friend, Merari. She's a talented photographer based in Miami, FL but she loves to travel. You should definitely book her to shoot your next big event...especially if it's an exotic destination wedding.

It's that time of year again. Sleighbells ring, snow is glistening, Starbucks has fancy flavored coffee. yay! It's also that time when everyone sends family photo christmas cards to loved ones. They're kinda like the cool, short version of old-school family newsletters: "Dear ____, this is what we look like this year! Merry Christmas! Love, us"

I've had the comedic pleasure of seeing some incredibly horrible family photos.

 Photos from Awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Need I say more? Now these are all lovely, loving families who have had horrible pictures happen to them.

Don't let that happen to you!

I'm here to share some important awkward-saving tips for your own Christmas family portraits.

Tip #1. As a professional photographer, I may be biased on this one, but I can attest to the investment of hiring a professional.

Do you research and hire someone you can trust to capture your family in a genuine way. I know the Holidays are money-spending days, but it's worth it. No one ever regrets hiring someone awesome to take pictures of their family. If you don't know any photographers, ask friends, or use Google, Facebook and even Pinterest to find a photographer whose style you like and personality you click with.

Tip #2. The days of matching Christmas sweater vests are over! Unless you're into their ironic hipster use, it's best to steer clear. Wear something comfortable and flattering. If you're feeling awkward, it will show. If you'd like to be coordinated, you can have a color palette and pick outfits based on that. It'll look great in pictures! You can even get creative and bring some props.

For example, Rey, Lauren and Zoe did a primary color palette and added balloons. Very cute and un-awkward!

Tip #3. Have fun! If you're feeling awkward and self-conscious, it will show. If your kids are not into posing, it's okay! This is why you got a professional who can work around them and get great candids.

We've all had embarrassing, awkward photos taken of us (I had to pay my mom to stop showing them to friends). With these few tips, you can leave those days behind and make your loved ones unashamed of putting your Christmas card on the fridge.

Christmas Came Early

Liam and I will soon be off to Miami (yeah, I'm gonna get on a plane...alone...with a teething baby... Pray for me, folks!) so we decided to celebrate Christmas as our little family of four just a little bit early. We opted to just do stocking stuffers this year so we all had fun seeing what sweet little gifts we had all gotten for each other. 

Can't wait to celebrate with our family in Miami!

teething?

Well, it seems like our Little Man is cutting some teeth. This could explain some of the sleeping issues we've been having. We were hanging out in bed this morning when he grabbed my finger and stuck it in his mouth (as is his usual practice these days) but this time I felt something kind of hard and sharp. So I pulled back his lips and you can kind of see two little white teeth starting to poke through the gums. Talk about big boy status!

Alex and I tried to take a photo and this is the best we could get:

Can you see it?

Now what?? I guess I'll call his pediatrician later today to see what recommendations they have. So congratulations, Liam, on your first two teeth. Hopefully some day we'll all sleep again and you'll have a gorgeous toothy grin.

sleep training?

Well, Liam's sleeping has been getting worse and worse. He wakes up frequently throughout the night and it's not always because he's hungry. Sometimes he just doesn't feel like sleeping, I guess. We've been trying to be consistent with a bedtime routine and for about a week we've been successfully getting him to bed before 8 o'clock with no fussing...except for last night. He was not wanting to go to sleep. And when he finally went to sleep he kept waking up every two hours like clock work. ::SIGH::

I'm wondering if we should do some sleep training...maybe try transferring him to his crib to sleep at night. Here's the thing...I'm not into the "cry it out" method. I'd like to try a gentler approach. I will only resort to "cry it out" if absolutely necessary. I'm also not going to start him on cereal until six months of age. I know a lot of people say to give your baby cereal at night to make him sleep longer...but I've read that this is a myth. Is it? Either way, our pediatrician suggests exclusive breastfeeding for six months and I am in full agreement.

I'm not expecting him to sleep 12 hours straight right away. The fact of the matter is that he is exclusively breastfed and that means he digests his milk faster than formula, which means he gets hungry sooner. I'm okay with a night feeding or two until he starts solids but this is getting ridiculous. I know he's not always waking up because he's hungry.

So let me hear it, mamas and papas. How have you helped your little one sleep better at night? I'm so nervous about doing any kind of sleep training...but I need my rest! Thanks, friends.

Check me out in my doggie jam jams!

Such an angel when he's actually asleep. ;-)

Kreativ Blogger Award

My friend, Michelle, passed on the Kreativ Blogger Award to me a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to saying THANKS. And now I'm supposed to list seven random things about myself. Here we go...

1. I was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras while my parents were fleeing Nicaragua and coming to the United States. 
2. I had lasik eye surgery when I was 21...by the time I was 25 I was wearing glasses again. Lame.
3. I have lived in Miami, FL, Raleigh, NC, and Denver, CO. 
4. My favorite color is always changing. I think right now it's teal. 
5. I have a hard time liking new music. It takes me a while to warm up to it. So, no, I probably haven't heard of that new band or that new song from that old band. Sorry, hipsters and music snobs.
6. Tres leches is my favorite dessert...I'm pretty sure. But only when my grandma makes it. :-)
7. I love watching movies and tv shows. Looove it. I find it annoying when people brag about never watching tv. I like tv and I don't care who knows it. 

There you go. Seven random things. Thanks again for the award, Michelle. I would like to pass this award to some of the most creative ladies I know: Steph and Tammie. 

four months

Four. Months. Old. For some reason that seems so old to me. Liam continues to amaze me with how much he is learning on a daily basis. Over the past couple of weeks he has rolled from belly to back several times and from back to belly twice. He's vocal as can be and sometimes his little screams are so loud! He loves to talk with his grandparents and tia on FaceTime. He's starting to actually stay awake on outings. I took him to the aquarium and he was fascinated with all the fish. He still loves bath time. He's starting to splash the water with his legs and laugh while doing it. He's not sleeping through the night, not even close! The longest he sleeps for is 3.5 hours, on a good night! And then he's pretty much up every two hours. So I am one tired mama.

He's a little drool monster, but I can't feel any teeth coming in yet. I don't think we're going to start solids with him just yet. I'm planning on waiting until he's six months but we'll see. If he's ready before then, we may start. Right now I just don't think he's ready. Besides, he gets everything he needs from his mommy milk. ;-)

christmas traditions

I've mentioned before that I would like to start some fun family traditions now that Liam is in the picture. I want him to have special memories of the holidays. So I've been thinking about what we could do for Christmas...and I'm at a loss! Alex and I started doing stocking stuffers since we got married, which is fun because neither one of us grew up with stockings as a part of our Christmases. I like filling up his stocking with cute inexpensive gifts. So that's something we will continue to do with Liam (and Jaxon of course!). And then I read on earlymama.com that they do not want to get a bunch of useless gifts for their son so every year they give him something to read, something to wear, and something to play with. I love that idea because I don't want Liam just getting a bunch of toys for Christmas. I would like him to grow up loving books the way I did and a practical (or just fun) clothing item is nice to get too. So Alex and I have decided that's something we would like to establish with Liam and any future children.

But what else? Any other fun Christmas traditions out there? I'd like to continue my family's tradition of staying up until midnight on Christmas Eve to open gifts (as opposed to waking up early on Christmas morning) and I'm not sure how I feel about Santa Claus. I'm certainly not anti-Santa, but I just don't see him as a necessary part of Christmas. I don't remember believing in Santa growing up. My parents always said our gifts were brought by el niñito Dios. So we'll see where we go with that one. We'll probably take him to get his photo taken with Santa this year...just for fun. :-)

What fun Christmas traditions do you have in your family? Any suggestions for the Acevedos?

By the way, it's snowing today! Happy December to all!

baby travel tips

Soon Liam and I will get on a plane headed towards Miami. I am so excited to finally introduce him to so many that are near and dear to our hearts. I think my aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends will just go crazy over this little guy.

As excited as I am, I'm also terrified to get on a plane...alone...with a baby. I know I'll have to breastfeed at some point during the plane ride and those seats are so small and close together. I'm hoping he won't have a fit on the plane. That would be so embarrassing and annoying for the other travelers. And how will he handle the two hour time difference? I already decided I'm checking our luggage because I cannot handle keeping track of our bags and making sure he's okay. And thankfully I won't have to bring a car seat, stroller, etc because I'll be borrowing those items from my sister. So I figure I'll take Liam in his baby carrier. Any other tips from seasoned traveling mamas out there?? What must have items should I include in his diaper bag? What are some good soothing techniques? What's the best way to keep him from getting sick? How can I prepare him for the plane trip and the time change? How do I keep myself sane?!? :-)

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Liam stretching his dedos de gallina after nap time. 

First Family Photo Session

On Thanksgiving Day Alex's co-worker, who captured these lovely images, took us up to Boulder to have our first family portrait session with Little Liam. We wanted to go for a folk-y, rustic look with the mountains in the background. Jessica did a great job! Especially considering Liam wasn't in the best of moods. I can't wait to choose one of these photos for our Christmas card this year.

Thanks Jessica!

happy thanksgiving

Wanted to write a quick post wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
This time last year I was already pregnant...I just didn't know it yet. [Denial?? Haha]
Now we have been blessed with this wonderful little turkey. We are so thankful!

Hope you all have a great day celebrating with loved ones. I can't wait to stuff my face!

mom hair

Hello. My name is Kristel Acevedo and I have mom hair. I always said I wouldn't fall into the "ponytail rut," but here I am. How did this happen? It seems that I have a lot less time to groom myself these days. Don't get me wrong, I haven't turned into a slob. I still shower everyday and put on real clothes, even if it's almost always jeans and a v-neck t-shirt. I put on a little blush and mascara to try and mask my exhaustion. And everyday I brush my hair into a messy ponytail or bun. I'm stuck. I don't have time to blow dry and iron my hair. My hair isn't long enough to braid. And I'm not very skilled in the hair styling department anyway so I have no inspiration. I had decided that I wanted to grow my hair out [it seems I'm constantly in the process of growing my hair out] but now I'm thinking it may be easier to cut it all off. It'll be easier to style that way and I can get away from this ponytail rut. What say you, blog readers? To cut or not to cut? Any other solutions from hair style experts out there?

P.S. It's scary how much my hair falls out these days?! They weren't lying about that post-pregnancy symptom. It's a wonder I'm not bald already.

BabyConnect

I've been meaning to write a post about the BabyConnect app and now I finally have the time! I have to say that I love this app. Some people may think I'm neurotic, but I'm honestly not. It is just a big help to me since my memory fails me a lot these days and I didn't know much about babies prior to Liam being born.

This app, which I use on my iPad and iPhone, keeps track of everything! How often Liam eats and for how long. How many wet/poopy diapers. How much he's sleeping. Weight gain. How much I pump. What milestones he's reaching. Ev-er-y-thing. Sometimes when Liam is being crabby and I have no idea why, I'll look at the app and realize he's been awake for an hour and a half and is probably tired...or it's been two hours since he ate so he's probably hungry. I try to read his cues the best I can but when I'm lost or confused the app is a big help to me. It also helps me notice patterns. That's how I learned that when he's been up for more than an hour he gets cranky. That's how I learned that he sleeps an average of 8-9 hours a night (though certainly not in one block unfortunately!). That's how I learned that he can only go four hours from his last feeding of the night to his first feeding the next day (major bummer!). And that he's a once-a-week pooper.

I would definitely be lost without this app and will forever sing its praises! This app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android...and is also available on the web. I say if you're a new mommy you should download it ASAP.

And here are some cute photos of Liam, because it's not a complete blogpost without some Liam cute-ness.

Gap jeans and H&M cardigan...this kid is stylin'!

Playing with his o-ball.

Rolling from back to side!

daylight savings time is dumb

I've never been a fan of daylight savings time. What's the point? It just messes everything up. People get confused about what time it really is. And, sure, our phones and computers change time automatically, but what about the clocks in ovens, microwaves, cars...changing car clocks is the worst! And having a baby makes the time change even more annoying. Liam never got the memo and his nighttime schedule has been all outta whack. Poor guy has no idea what's going on.

So this is just my little rant. Abolish daylight savings time! It's dumb.

I love this guy. Even with all the lack of sleep.

three months

Today Liam is three months old! That's halfway to six months! Which is halfway to a year! Which means soon he'll be off to college! My sweet little man is growing up before my very eyes. I read this article yesterday and it totally resonated with me. I never imagined myself with a son but now that I have one I am head over heels in love.

At three months Liam is developing quite rapidly. He is starting to reach out to his toys and grab them. The first time he did it I was so excited! I took pictures and put them on instagram, twitter, and facebook! I just had to share with the world. Now when I put him on his activity mat he swats at the animals hanging down. I know it sounds like nothing. I think before I had kids I wouldn't have been very impressed but just seeing how he's gone from this floppy tiny little baby to this boy who is grabbing toys all by himself in just three months...well, I can't help but be impressed. He is also starting to sit in his bumbo. He looks so cute and grown up.

Liam is a very curious little boy. He likes to take in his surroundings. His eyes are always darting all around the room taking in every detail. He is smiling and laughing a lot too. When he wakes up in the morning and I say, "Hello, handsome. Good morning," he looks up to me and smiles. Melt my heart! He thinks Alex is just the most hilarious human being on the planet. Have you seen this video of him laughing at daddy's funny voices? I love it.

Without further ado, here is Liam's three month photo:

He is rockin' those leg warmers!

why I don't hate midnight feedings

Part of me really wishes Liam would sleep for 10 hours every night without disrupting me even once. I miss sleep, I crave sleep. But I get it. He's a baby. He's growing. He has a tiny belly that digests milk quickly and he needs to fill it up again. And despite missing out on some much needed sleep I really don't hate waking up in the middle of the night to feed my boy. I think those quiet and still moments where he's snuggled up to me are some of the sweetest moments I'll ever experience with him. This time I get to nurse him is so short in the grand scheme of things.

Also, it helps that he always goes right back to sleep when he's done eating. He looks so adorable when he stretches his little arms in the air. gives a little grunt, and drifts off to sleep. [I, on the other hand, have been having a terrible time trying to get back to sleep. It's so frustrating! Any tips??]

As much as I enjoy those sweet moments with Liam I'd like to start stretching his nighttime sleep a little more...five or six straight hours of sleep would be amazing! I ordered "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" and started reading it. So far it seems pretty great, we'll see what happens when I start implementing the suggestions in the book. I ended up choosing this book over some others because I do not want to make Liam "cry it out" and I don't really want to impose a strict schedule on him. So again, we'll see what happens. Pray for us, friends. :-)

Sushi Baby!

I love celebrating all of Liam's firsts, especially when it comes to holidays. It's so much fun to celebrate with him.

I wasn't going to dress him up for Halloween but at the last minute I got some scrap pieces of fabric and a hot glue gun and put together this little costume for our little man. He looked delicious!

I think next Halloween will be even more fun because we'll actually go trick-or-treating. I can't wait!

And here is our spray painted pumpkin family...

I'm already planning on how I want to decorate next year's pumpkins!

Hope everyone had a fun and candy-filled Halloween. 

Liam's First Snow

Denver weather is crazy. On Monday it was 80 degrees with sunny skies and on Wednesday we got our first snow of the season! It's mostly melted away by now and it's supposed to be in the 60s on Halloween.

Anyway, it was fun to introduce Liam to the snow. Alex had to go to work, but my friend, Shannon, came over and took a few pictures of Liam in the snow. I realized quickly that we're going to have to get him some more snow-appropriate clothing. Maybe a one-piece snow suit that covers his hands and feet...and some moccassin-type shoes to keep his little toes warm.

Anyway, here are the photos of Liam experiencing his first snow! Thanks for the photos, Shannon.

"Uhh, mom, what's going on here? What's all this white stuff?"

Chillin' in the snow.

View from above. Those shoes were way too big and kept falling off.

What a cute little eskimo. 

"Okay mom, let's get inside, it's cold out here!"

the hard days

I am beyond thankful for the blessing that Liam is to our lives. I am also beyond thankful that I am able to stay home with him everyday. But that doesn't mean it's all rainbows and butterflies. There are some days when I want to crawl into a hole and hide for hours. I just want to sleep and watch a movie without having to press pause ten times and get some work done without interruption and have peace and quiet. Yesterday was one of those days where I just wanted to get away. I was tired and we were having breastfeeding issues and Liam was just being crabby. Thank God Alex had the day off from work so he was able to help out quite a bit. And today I woke up feeling much better. The hard days are certainly no fun but they make me really appreciate all the good days.

Check out this sweet video Alex made. Mornings with Liam are my favorite.

Pumpkin Patch

I don't think I had ever been to a real pumpkin patch before last Sunday. Now that we have Liam we are trying to create fun family traditions. The obvious tradition for the Fall/Halloween season is visiting a pumpkin patch and decorating pumpkins. [I would also like to pick apples at an apple orchard! I think I'll wait until next year though.] Alex found Rock Creek Farm in Broomfield and we were on our way.

It was such a beautiful day! Warm with clear skies and a light breeze. Predictably, Liam fell asleep in the car on the way there. I usually don't like waking him up when he's napping, but I didn't want him to miss our first ever pumpkin patch visit. We didn't bring Jaxon with us this time (sorry Jaxon!) but we did get him his very own pumpkin. Everyone in the family got one. Now, the next step will be decorating them. That's tomorrow's project.

Love those mountains.

Sleepy Boy.

Picking out the perfect pumpkin with Papa.

Me - Liam - Jaxon - Alex

Alex

Source: photosandquotes.net via Kristel on Pinterest

I don't remember the first time I met Alex. I know we went to the same high school. I remember seeing him around. And I remember the girl he dated (I have to say, I didn't think much of her, so I didn't really think much of him either). I even have a couple of pictures of him in my scrap book. He played with the youth band at my church for a while so he's in the pictures of the band that I took. I don't really ever remember saying two words to him. So I guess we must have been introduced at some point in high school or at church. But we had different groups of friends so we just never interacted much. I thought he was just some guy I would never see again and he probably thought the same of me. I graduated high school in 2003 (he graduated 2004) and moved on with my life.

Two years later I walked into Guitar Center with a friend of mine and there he was. He worked there and we recognized each other. Eventually he and my friend became friends. He started coming to my church. We started hanging out. I still didn't think we would ever be more than acquaintances. Somehow that all changed and Alex became the most important person in the world to me. We fell in love, got married, moved to North Carolina, got pregnant, moved to Colorado...and now, here we are. When I saw the above quote on Pinterest (my new favorite website!) it resonated with me.

Alex, I really didn't think you would be so important to me, but you are. I love you.