It’s funny to me the little things we remember and the little things that bring back big memories.  Growing up, my grandparents had this Disney cup that, for some reason, brings back great memories.  I can’t really explain why, but I always loved this cup.  So last year, for Christmas I believe, Grandmom gave Eli the cup. 

Thanks Grandmom!

. . .

[Music by Colbie Caillat]

Hey!  Matt here – Long time no chat!  We need to combine our blogs.  I spend most of my time at the MDP Blog and after I get done editing, uploading, and posting there I’m usually spent and have neglected my family enough.  Thus, this blog get’s ignored.  But I digress…

2010 is off and running!  And so is Eli!  He’s been running for the past 5(ish) months now and has turned into such a little boy.  I love the time we have together and I’m super excited for the spring – beach, pool, park…it’ll all be awesome!  Here are a few highlights from what’s going on these days…

• Eli says ‘ish’ whenever he wants a snack.  It started as him asking for Goldfish – get it… “ish” – but has turned into snacks in general.  Whatever…it’s cute.
• He barks whenever he sees a dog.  Love it.
• He gives Mom kisses, but not Dad.  I guess that’s appropriate.
• Homeboy loves pizza.
• He had his first ‘serious’ fall a couple weeks ago in Alpharetta – as you’ll notice below.  Nothing serious, but we did have to get it glued.
• Has the best Mom ever…or at least I think so! 

Aight…there are tons more…but there’s a quick list!  On to the pictures…

Yeah...he can now open doors...geez.

The remote...baby gold.

Lovin' the slide!

Stud-Muffin

It’s been a while…our apologies.  Some good stuff coming soon!

Gavin went to be with the Lord today.  My heart just burns for Natalie and her family.  I don’t even know what to say.  I suppose the ultimate healing is meeting Jesus face to face, no matter what our battle wounds from this earth look like.  Gavin’s tiny body is now perfect.

Photo by Richie Norton

Hi friends and family,

I rarely post asking you for anything.  Well, today I am.  Matt and I have been “following” (as said in the blog world) a photographer in Hawaii for quite sometime.  When I happened across Natalie’s blog yesterday for the first time in awhile, I saw that something was wrong.  Her 8 week old son (her fourth son, mind you), Gavin, is fighting for his life.  In short, he has Pertussis.  The Nortons have been told that Gavin’s case is so rare and sever that there is no hope for survival.  [Enter Jesus Christ]  Thankfully Natalie and her husband believe in the healing power of the God of the Universe!  They have hope not only for survival, but for full recovery.  She asked her blog friends to spread the word to people who would join them in praying for a miracle.  So please, friends and family, pray for Gavin!

You can read his story here.

Photo by Natalie Norton

[Music by Dave Barnes]

Wow.  Busy has a whole new meaning in our house as we prepare for Christmas and continue to work hard growing our photography business, all while chasing after our fantastic 1 YEAR OLD who is just loads of fun and learning new things every day!  All that to say… I’ve been meaning to post this for days but haven’t found the time to get to it!

I worked with several amazing women to design all of the little details that made Eli’s birthday party so special.  I whole heartedly recommend all of them.  Even if you aren’t planning a party, you should check out their work for future needs or pass their info along to someone who needs them now!

D’lish Discriminating Desserts (Eli’s smash cake)
dlishdessert.com
Molly is absolutely fabulous – - – young, fresh, and amazing at what she does!  I described a vision for her, passed along the cupcake topper designs, and told her to use her imagination.  I actually ordered two identical cakes–one was used for the party, and the other was used for a “Smash Cake Shoot” on E’s actual birthday.  (Stay tuned for pics from that.  We’ll be offering this type of shoot to clients in the very near future!)  I couldn’t have been happier with Molly’s design and the final product!

Seven Cupcakes (cupcake toppers, banner, and stickers)
seven-cupcakes.blogspot.com
Allie is super talented, and her products can really create a unique feel for an event.  One of her base designs was the original inspiration for Eli’s whole party.  Then we worked together to customize everything and perfect each design.  She does really great work!

queen b boutique (E’s bib)
queenbboutique.blogspot.com
Breen has been a friend of mine since high school!  When I found out about queen b, I knew I’d have to do some “business” with her!  For Eli’s bib, I just showed her a picture and described in detail what I wanted.  Breen found the perfect fabric and took it from there!  Since I tend to dream up unrealistic expectations, I honestly wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out.  It’s not that I didn’t have faith in Breen–it’s more about me designing something in my head that just isn’t realistic.  But I have to say that queen b completely exceeded my expectations!   I’ve also had some baby gifts made that turned out fantastic as well!

And last but definitely not least, my mom helped with pretty much everything!  She made many trips to Hobby Lobby (Charleston is clearly out of the loop and doesn’t know what they’re missing out on by not having one!), searched ideas on-line for hours, and helped me sift through my crazy ideas.  So thank you, Mom, for all you did to help make Eli’s party so memorable!  I love you!

And because a post without pictures just isn’t my style, here are some shots of our great friends and family that came to play and celebrate Eli!  Sidenote–I’m pretty sure several of our family members were hiding from the camera, so we’ll have to make up for it over Christmas!

Just a picture I love of Eli with his Daddy

Matt's brother Blake and his wife Erin, who was an enormous help the day of the party!

Eli and Pops (Matt's dad)

Me, Nana (my mom's mom), E, Angel (my mom's sister), my mom

My great friend Jen who took all of the pics during the smash cake, her husband David, and their little guy James

James

Eli and Mia (my mom)

My cousin Skyler. Cheeeeese.

My cousin, Landan. Does he have the greatest hair?

My cousin, Sierra, who loooooves Eli!

My friend Bonnie, her husband Joe, and their cutie Nicholas.

Nicholas. Check out those eyes!

William, who I nannied for when he was a new born.

My baby brother Zach and his girlfriend Jenna. Yes, we have the same name, but I'll tolerate it because she's so great!

Dugger--his parents taught our last parenting class and have become great friends!

Megan and Emily Reese. You may remember seeing pictures on our photog blog of a beautiful, tiny baby girl in a huge hand. That was Emmie Reese 3 months ago!

Matt's good buddy, Drew. I'm determined that he's going to marry one of my friends because he's such an awesome guy!

Showing Poppa (my dad) and Uncle Zach who's boss.

Opening some awesome presents!

Enjoying his new wagon from Mia and Poppa!

Get ready for an epic picture post!  Actually, there is so much info and so many pictures to share, there will probably be more than one party post over the next few days.

When we started thinking about Eli’s first birthday a couple of months ago, we pondered if we should even have a party.  I mean, he won’t remember it, right?  After several wishy washy discussions we decided to have a celebration with lots of family and friends who have provided so much love and support since our wonderful little bundle made his debut one year ago.  Rather than hesitantly worrying about spending energy and money on something that Eli may or may not remember, we decided to just go with it and make sure he has lots of great pictures by which to remember it!

Matt and I nailed down the date, place, guest list, and colors, and then my mom and I ran with coordinating the details.  We had an absolute blast!  The whole vision started with colors that remind us of Eli–blue, brown, and orange.  After receiving a quote for a cake I liked for $400 (What???), I fell in love with idea of making cupcakes and designing cupcake toppers.  We worked with several vendors through their Etsy shops to design every last detail.  We then scoured the internet and the entire state of South Carolina to find the perfect napkins, blue M&M’s with E’s on them, rock candy suckers, containers for the candy buffet, etc.  While we won’t be going all out like this for Eli’s subsequent birthdays, I loved every minute of making his first birthday perfectly special and perfectly “E!”

The pictures to follow are of the cake smash and all of the party details.  I’ll post pictures of all of our fabulous family and friends in a separate post, which will be coming soon!  Also, if anyone is interested in a vendor list, I’ll be happy to post that too!  All in all, Matt, Eli and I had an amazing day!  And as you’ll see in the pictures below, I think it’s safe to say that our boy isn’t afraid to try new things and doesn’t mind being the center of attention!

(Special thanks to my incredible friend Jen of Jen Snyder Design for taking the camera during the cake smash!)

Our baby boy is turning a year old on Monday!  No, wait…  I don’t know how I feel!!! Geez.  But I DO know that we have an incredible weekend filled with family, friends, and celebration ahead of us!

We’ll be back next week with a recap and some pictures, of course.

Happy Birthday Eli!