© 2014 sarahfortune.

HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.
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Posts Tagged: Photos

Baby Blog, Photos

Baby Blog: 8 months old

This past month has gone by so incredibly fast… they all do.

In just a few days Iris will hit the nine month mark, meaning we’re oh-so-close to that big FIRST birthday. I seriously can’t believe how fast the time flies. On one hand I can’t wait till she starts walkin’ and talkin’, but on the other – I don’t want my baby to grow up. I love her little babbles, her clumsy reach, and her crab-like crawl. It will be exciting though when she can share her words, giving us all a glimpse back into our magical childhood view of the world. And of course it would be nice if she could stay up a wee bit later than seven pm each night.

With her eight month nearly up,
I wanted to share some recent tidbits…

● Iris started standing all on her own! She pulls herself up on anything and everything (including in the crib). She has taken a teeny tiny step here and there, but nothing major just yet. We all think she’ll be walking pretty soon though.

Umm. Should she be STANDING already?

Oh goodness. Now we're pulling up in the crib too.

Just waiting for those first few steps

● She’s having a blast at Montessori (and mama feels great about leaving her there). They have an Instagram account, so it’s exciting when I get to see her face while I’m at work.

Iris' new school is on Instagram. I think we're gonna like it here...

Love seeing my baby's face on her school's IG feed ☺

Ahhh one more.

Baby girl started Montessori today. I know she will do great, but it was so hard to leave her!

Second day at Montessori!

● We celebrated her first 4th of July with family.

Happy 4th!

Ava & her upside down shades. @jblankenship

Cousins! Cole's face cracks me up. @katiemurry

● She likes to clap, wave, give kisses, and put her hand over her mouth to make silly sounds.

Hi. #latergram

● She makes us laugh ALL the time. Definitely has her dad’s humor gene.

Sense of humor: check.

● She loves animals. But they don’t always love her.

Our dog is not an Iris fan. Maybe one day.

● Todd had his first Father’s Day.

Happy early first Father's Day to @jtoddgill. I'll be filling this thing with mimosas & milkshakes all day tomorrow.

Happy First Father's Day @jtoddgill

And here is more of our life over the last month in Instagram photos…

Iris had her last day at daycare today, which obviously wore her out (she never does this). Montessori starts Monday!

Post-bow hair.

Iris & @timcampbell123

Letting her suck on a lemon. Why does she like it?!

@blablakids bunny ear for breakfast

Checking out the awesome view at Poppy & Nana's new house.

Oh, hi!

One of the last times I'll be able to squeeze her into this @mishalulu number.

Iris got to meet Gina & her cute dimples today! @alexngina

Destroying a magazine is serious work.

Rockin the heck out of some blue jean diapers.

Baby doll.

Took the day off to do simple things like dust these shelves and paint my toes. Working full time + mommy full time = very little time for the basics. (Wouldn't have it any other way).

May have managed to squeeze in a little time for this today.

Backyard swingin.

She likes it.

This picture of Iris from @jtoddgill kills me.

Wilson Park.

Iris & Cole.

Double chin grin. ❤

Monday!

Daddy got a new hammock for Father's Day. (I hope she doesn't break it! )

Another Tuesday afternoon with this lady.

Pondering life, I suppose.

Tuning her piano.

Untitled

Untitled

Dinner with Iris.

Who wants to join Iris' band?

Busted trying to get cat food.

How I found whet after her nap. Girl likes her pacis.

☀

Swimming with these cuties.

Jealous.

Hangin with @sarahmahaira. Yep, I brought a baby to a bar.

8 months & a couple weeks. Nearly 22 pounds. Getting better & better at standing. Claps. Waves. Gives kisses. And has zero teeth!

Copycat.

I may have let her try the ketchup that looks like a bottle...

I bought this vintage Elvis shirt years ago & kept it for my future baby.

View out of my kitchen window: husband, beer, and baby in a backpack.

Trouble.

Too hot to go outside. ☀

Keepin cool. (thanks for the suit @kerrisnead!)

Tom Petty themed bath.

She looks like a little GIRL instead of a BABY y'all.

Watermelon mojitos made by my momma.

Oh look, an Iris door.

Everyone is on the beach. We're in our yard. Boo.

Mama had to invest in some pony tail holders.

Hanging with @bevcooks!

Waiting on a visit from Grandpa Don & family.

Loving the new Arsaga's.

Untitled

It finally rained!

Staring at strangers while they eat.

Pooping with the cows.

Quite the audience for a diaper change. #arkansas

Iris with her aunts!

Finally here.

Making our own art.

Iris loves yogurt. #bbhungrybaby

Front.

Back.

Baby Blog, Photos, Words

Baby Blog: Seven months old

Okay, even though Iris is nearing the eight month mark, I really wanted to do a seven month post because it seems like a lot is happening this month. Probably the most impressive thing is that Iris has… dun dun dun – started crawling!

For a few days all she would do is go from laying on her stomach, to pushing herself up into a sitting position. Every time she would try to crawl, she would just sit straight up instead. I thought that little trick would hinder her since she seemed so proud of it, but about a week ago she made her first trek across her bedroom floor. I admit, I used a cup of water to tempt her (she’s totally obsessed with the stuff). Over this past weekend she has perfected her crawl, meaning we are very busy parents over here. Of course she wants everything that she’s not supposed to have and our house is far from being baby proof. She’s dying to know what my flip flops taste like and she loves turning up the volume on our stereo to full blast. The sweetest thing ever though, was when Iris saw Todd come home from work and she eagerly crawled over to him, reaching out for his hand.

Annnnd we have a crawler.

Even more exciting than that, next week Iris is starting Montessori school! This is her last week at her current daycare, which is bittersweet, but we all can’t wait for her to make the switch (special thanks to my mom for making this happen). Her current daycare has been perfect for what we’ve needed it for so far. It’s right next to my work, which allowed me extra snuggles when she was oh-so-tiny. But after touring Montessori, we fell in love. The facilities offer so much, with tons of space, lots of outdoor time, and a healthy food menu for when she eats people food. But mostly, Montessori has a creative focus on learning (even at such an early age) that we think will be perfect for our growing girl.

Here are a few photos from the past month…
Now it seems that most of my photo taking is done through Instagram, but I keep trying to remind myself to break out the real camera. Here are a few moments I captured in our backyard and around the house. Enjoy!

Iris Adella - 7 months

Iris Adella - 7 months

Iris Adella - 7 months

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Iris - June 2012

Baby Blog, Photos

Baby Blog: Afternoons with Iris

Afternoons with Iris are my most favorite parts of the day. Walking through her classroom door at daycare is the usual highlight because once she spots me across the room, she literally cracks up laughing. I’m told that she smiles and laughs all day long, but I’m sure she has her fussy moments too. Lately on the drive home I’ve been trying to teach her to say “ma ma”… but because I’m working so hard on it, it will probably be the last thing she ends up saying. We recently started giving her a third meal of solids in the early evening, along with some little snacks. She’s gotten so good with eating! She opens her mouth for every bite and gets very impatient if you don’t feed it to her fast enough. Once she’s eaten her dinner, we try to spend the rest of the evening outside if the weather is nice (lately it’s been amazing). Whether it’s on our front porch or on a blanket in the backyard, Iris loves rolling around, scooting backwards, babbling ,and trying to put everything she can in her mouth. She is damn determined to have a fist full of grass for dessert.

Backyard Iris

Iris & me

Iris & Todd

My babes.

Iris' new thing is to smile on purpose. It's totally exaggerated & I love it.

We ain't afraid of no imposter blogger. Update: Tumblr contacted me & they're looking into it. Hopefully it will be down soon!

She has an audience.

This suit. I'm dying.

Cold chillin at Grandma's.

Baby Blog, Photos

6 Month Baby Portraits: Benfield Photography

There are two things that I really, really love.

Iris.
And photos.

Okay, I love a few more things too… like my husband, family, friends, and mashed potatoes. But let’s go back to the first two, which are combined to bring you one of my favorite posts of all time.

The week Iris turned six months old we were lucky enough to do a session with Benfield Photography. If you live in Northwest Arkansas, chances are you’ve drooled over their photos – I know I’ve been following their blog for a couple of years now. Excited is an understatement for how I felt when I found out they would be shooting Iris. Todd and I even got in on some of the shots, so now we have some really great family portraits that we’ll cherish forever. Iris was quite the ham during the shoot, which made for lots of cute (and pretty funny) photos.

Here are a few of my favorites, which they posted on their blog here and here. Very special thanks to Dale and Meredith, who are as sweet as they are talented.

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Photos, Pregnancy Blog, Words

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks

These blogs are kind of funny because by the time I write them, the week that I’m writing about is almost over. So that means as of today, I have around two more months left of this growing a baby thing.

That’s only eight more Saturdays of not having a baby, ya’ll.
And that’s if she doesn’t come early.

During our 31st week, Todd and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. I honestly can’t believe it’s been that long. Last year we jetted off to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate, knowing (hoping) that it might be our last summer without a baby. Smart thinkin. This year we kept it simple by grilling steaks and watching football. It may sound like Todd chose our itinerary, but nope. It was me. I’m counting down to fall for more than one reason, and one of those reasons is that I’m going through major football withdrawal.

Every year we try to remember to pull down the airbrushed backdrop that we used at our wedding and take pictures of us as the years go on. This year I especially didn’t want to miss that tradition.

From our wedding…

On our second anniversary…

2nd Anniversary / 2009

This year…

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks

This week was also all about preparing ourselves as parents for Miss Iris (well, as much as you can anyway). Todd and I did a Labor & Delivery class during the week, which included a tour of the delivery area of our hospital. Then, we spent our Saturday learning about baby basics, which wasn’t really that necessary but it certainly didn’t hurt. Except for when they passed around the poo chart. That was gross. I was mostly there for the afternoon (FOUR hour) session that was all about breast feeding. Don’t worry, I let Todd go home for that one. I’ve always planned on going the breastfeeding route, but was completely clueless about the process before this class. If anything, I’ll feel more confident about it going in.

Other happenings this week…

Todd got crafty & made Razorback onesies

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks

Our “baby” from our class

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks

My mom made us dinner.
Shrimp & grits, rosemary lemonade, & chocolate pie from scratch.
I want more… now.

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks

Taylor had her baby!
I got to meet Mr. Seger Monroe Sutton today. So handsome.
Now it looks like I’m up next, followed by GL. We can do this!

Taylor had her baby!

* * * * *

This upcoming weekend is my baby shower and I couldn’t be more excited. More than anything I just can’t wait to see everyone, especially my pals who are coming in from out of town. So yeah, next week’s post should be a fun one!

Pregnancy Blog: 31 weeks