Nicole Marie Foster

{Edible Play}

I have been following this blog Play At Home Mom for awhile now. They come up with the coolest things for moms to do with their kiddos! Their slogan is “We are a group of moms who have a firm belief in positive parenting and play based learning. We hope to inspire, educate, uplift, and empower you all to be the best moms (and dads) you can be.” and I think they do just that!! They have quite the following on facebook as well where other moms can post their ideas and photos as well. After perusing the albums of photos, my friend Michelle and I were inspired! We knew we just had to get our boys messy!!! Equipped with yogurt, jello powder and dyed spaghetti, we set out to do just that. I’d have to say… I think we succeeded 🙂

I think it’s still up for debate who had more fun: the moms, or the boys. After all this messy play, we put the boys in the lake to wash up. What a perfect Wednesday morning!

Oh, and our little angel baby girls slept the whole time! What good little sisters 🙂

Don’t forget to check out Play At Home Mom for some great play ideas!

Thanks for looking!

{The Z Family}

This sweet family came all the way from South Haven to meet up for their family pictures! Collin and Dylan were expert posers – you can tell their momma takes lots and lots of pictures of them 🙂 We were blessed with a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Z family, it was great meeting you! Thanks for braving the heat with me 🙂

{The Schaefer Kids}

These kids hold a special place in my heart. The four youngest and I spent many fun days together. From building snowmen in the winter to playing at the park in the summer, we made lots of memories. I had the pleasure of watching them for almost 2 years. I moved from working in their home to working at their dad’s office where I have been for the past 5 years. In that time, I have gone from full time to just one day a week. Their dad is truly a pleasure to work for. I have been wanting to take some photos of these kiddos for quite some time now to surprise him and when I heard his two older daughters were in town from college, I knew I had to make it happen! With the help of the kids, we were able to schedule, coordinate and execute this shoot in less than 24 hours – just 2 hours before Lauren, the eldest, had to leave for the airport!!!

They are just the most loving kids. They played along with my little games and didn’t even flinch when I asked them to hug each other! 🙂 This session was a blast and I hope that shines through in these photos!

Doc – It’s a pleasure working for you. I hope these photos show just a fraction of my gratitude for everything you’ve done through the years. Thanks for allowing me the pleasure of getting to know your children!

L & L – Hope you have a wonderful year at college! Thanks for all your help today 🙂

C, B, A & K – Thanks for making me smile! Love you guys!

{The Lacey Family}

You may remember this gorgeous family from Baby Finley’s newborn session a few months back. I’d say she’s changed quite a bit since then!

Josh & Anna, it was a blast, as always 🙂

Thanks for looking.

{Yummy}

My husband Andy loves pie. Apple, Strawberry, Blackberry… he does not discriminate. My wonderful in-laws happen to have a blackberry bush in their backyard. Although my father-in-law slaves all by himself picking each and every blackberry off the bush (;)), he was kind enough to share 2lbs with us!! What does one do with 2lbs of blackberries? If you ask Andy, well, you make pie, of course! So that’s exactly what I did today. Equipped with my mother-in-law’s recipe, I set out to make my first blackberry pie – homemade crust and all!

Andy came home from work, changed his clothes and said “Where’s my pie, woman!?”… ok, not really. Instead, Eli and I pulled it out of the fridge to surprise him (even though Eli kept saying “pie, pie, pie” – I think it’s safe to say he doesn’t understand what ‘surprise’ means). Andy was quite excited to say the least.

I think he liked it… what do you think? 🙂

Thanks for looking.

{Go Big In Your Home}

Anyone who has been to my home can tell you that it’s no secret I love decorating with pictures! I love looking around our home and seeing the faces of loved ones. I always try to encourage people to go big because once you get the photos up on your wall, they’re always smaller than you think they will be. I decided it would be a good idea to take pictures of all the photo collages I have around our house as an example of just that.

We’ll start in the living room.

The photo in the middle is a 24×36. That’s TWO FEET by THREE FEET! The photos surrounding it are 11x14s. Don’t they look tiny?!

This one is a 16×24. (and a bit crooked… Eli pulled it down the other day and I haven’t really fixed it yet :D)

This is a 16×20. It’s leaning against the wall resting on old coat hooks. Get creative with your display & have fun!

This is in Eli’s room. Love that this is the last think he sees when he goes to bed and the first thing when he wakes up in the morning (given that it’s light out…..).

These are 8x10s… I honestly wish I would’ve gone bigger!!

All of the photos so far are mounted on 1/4″ Foam Board. It’s a great way to get prints up on your wall easily. We use the 3M Velcro Strips. Easy Peasy!

This is in Ella’s room.

The big photos are all 11x16s. Again, have fun with your display – personalize it and take ownership – you’ll love it that much more!

(and yes, if you’re looking closely, the birth stats are incorrect… haven’t had a chance to order the corrected one!)

So, go order some HUGE prints! And if you don’t have any that are wall worthy, I can help you with that 🙂

Thanks for looking.

{Sibling Love}

Eli LOOOOOOVES his baby sister. Lots of hugs and kisses and he always wants to “ho her” (hold her).

I think he definitely enjoys being a big brother.

Thanks for looking.

{Watching the Rain}

Some days, you can help but run for the camera to capture moments like this. My little Eli woke up from his nap this afternoon to a thunderstorm, so we sat at the window at watched the rain for almost an hour. Priceless moments – stolen almost – that I will remember forever.

I love the wonder in his eyes.

Thanks for looking.

{The Case Family}

We braved the 90 degree weather on Sunday to capture the beautiful Case family! After a small delay due to the Women’s Soccer Quarterfinals going into overtime (GO USA!) we were able to meet up and have a great time!

Miss Amelia was the perfect little model!! Look at that gorgeous smile!!