• LIVE, LAUGH & ALWAYS PHOTOGRAPH.

I had the privilege of photographing one of my co-workers from Cumberland Farms at the Wayside Inn Grist Mill.  We had the PERFECT morning.  We arrived on the earlier side of the morning -7:30am.  I say earlier side but when you have a baby early is the norm.  I find it’s easier to photograph babies early in the morning versus  the  afternoon when they could be overtired from the day.  Anyways, we arrived for 7:30am and NO ONE was there.  If you are from the area you know that the Grist Mill can get EXTREMELY busy, especially during the fall!  We had the whole place to ourselves.  There was a light layer of fog and the light was to die for!

Paul and Jamielynn, your little man Jameson is SO CUTE!!!  He was such a great model and his little suspenders were adorable.  You guys were troopers getting ready for an early morning session.  It was SO WORTH IT!  I hope you enjoy some of my favorites!  Congratulations, Jameson is so cute!  Glad we waited to capture those smitten smiles of his.

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Since Vivienne started crawling she wants to climb and stand up all on her own in her tenth month.  She has even let go.  Once she started really moving, there’s no stopping her.  She is a daredevil.  She already has had some bumps and bruises.  This is just the start!

Vivienne says hi!  She knows when to say goodbye and will wave to you.  For a few weeks she was blowing, but she would spit on herself.  I don’t think we ever got a video of this, but I can picture her doing it and laugh when I remember it.

I want us to remember all the things that have happened over the past four weeks.  Vivienne, here are a few memories from month ten:

  • Still teething! You got two teeth this past month.  Your other front top tooth and one to the side.  Big choppers!
  • You say “Hi” all of the time
  • You wave when we say goodbye
  • You walked with your little walker all by yourself. Made me shed a tear.  You are growing up too fast baby!
  • You laugh and smile. You make yourself laugh and it’s so funny!
  • You LOVE your Cheerios!
  • You are eating more and more foods. Finally started eating more meats.  You still LOVE to eat.  I don’t think that will ever change.
  • You crawled up the stairs with no practice AT ALL! How did you know what to do?
  • Diving into the couch and the pillows with no fear in the world. Or with the boppy pillow you lie down when we say do night night
  • Finished your swim lessons. Can’t wait to get  you in the pool and the ocean this summer
  • You sort of say “All done” when you are finished eating! You raise your hands and start pulling your bib off
  • You weren’t a huge fan of the new car seat but you have gotten used it now. You get excited when we say “do you want to go for a ride?”
  • You came to mommy’s work for her birthday
  • Still giving kisses to mommy, but giving daddy more snuggles
  • You ALWAYS cross your feet when you are sitting, cutest thing ever!

Here are a few of Vivienne’s favorite things:

  • You love shaking things and making noises, shakey shakey shakey
  • You love getting to the cords and laugh when you crawl really fast over to them while mommy is say hey hey hey
  • You love your BOOKS! Especially Good Night Moon, which daddy reads to you every night.
  • Your new favorite book is Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
  • You love to eat!

I know I keep saying it but time is absolutely flying by.  You are a young little girl now, but I will always call you baby!  I love you!

Xoxo Jen Araya

Forgot to post St. Patty’s day outfit last month.

Easter fun!

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Are you looking for custom invitations?  Did you just get engaged?  Or are you planning a birthday party?  Well, you are reading the right blog post today!  I got to experience ordering custom invitations from Basic Invite.  I’m not going to lie, there were SO MANY choices (in a good way) to choose from.  So many colors options.  I spent an hour viewing everything.  I was a tiny bit overwhelmed but in a good way because I had so many ideas flowing.  As a creative, I had to control myself.  Today, I’m highlighting what Basic Invite has to offer: 

Almost Unlimited Colors – Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 different color options. So, you can make sure the card is exactly how you want it – down to the littlest detail. Having this as an option sets them apart from almost any other online stationery company!

Custom Samples – Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual invitation so you can see exactly how it will print, as well as the paper quality before you ever have to place your final order.

Over 40 Different Colors of Envelopes – Basic Invite is just as colorful with their envelopes as they are with their invitations. Customers can choose from over 40 different colors when it comes to their envelopes so that you can make their invitation stand out even before it is opened. All of their envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be quickly and securely closed.  Makes life a lot easier!

Over 800 Wedding Invitation Sets – Each of their wedding invitations is part of a set. You can find everything from save the dates to wedding invitations and enclosure cards, wedding menus, wedding programs and even matching thank you cards!

Free Address Collection Service – Use their free address collection service to request your addresses with just three simple steps. Share a link, collect addresses, and get free envelope printing. What a TIME SAVER!

Keepsake Guest Books – Perfectly personalized wedding guest books are the perfect addition to your wedding day stationery. These customizable guest books have a ring hidden inside which allows them to lay perfectly flat for a classy and convenient look. With sophisticated designed pages it’s the perfect opportunity for your wedding guests to leave sweet words and well wishes.

Free Wedding Websites – New wedding websites are completely customizable just like their wedding invitations! These wedding websites are mobile friendly and super easy to use. You can instantly upload all of your wedding details along with images and a map with directions which is super convenient for your guests. Choose from 180 custom colors and even choose a design to match your wedding invitation suite!

Basic Invite just rolled out their new clear collection seal & send invitations, added rose gold to their foil line, and introduced foil place cards!  So pretty!

If you are looking for elegant wedding invitations or wedding invites, you have come to the right place.  I will tell you this… I will be ordering my daughters first birthday invitations from here.  I haven’t started it planning yet, but will be soon!  I can’t wait to see what the final product will look like!  Stay tuned and I will share more!  Try it out for yourself!  Don’t forget to follow them on social media.  You will thank me later!

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Twitter

Xoxo Jen Araya

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From April 22-28, 2018 it is National Infertility Awareness Week.  It’s about raising awareness about the disease that affects 1 in 8 couples.  This week in particular we are trying to shed the stigmas and help increase knowledge to those who suffer, we want YOU to feel supported and know that you are not alone!  I was there not too long ago!  The more we talk about this subject, the more awareness it will bring.  I spoke up and talked to the person in charge of benefits at my full time job and asked why we weren’t offering infertility coverage over two years ago.  This past fall, they started offering coverage.  Just by asking and talking about it made those decision makers AWARE that our team needed some more support to accomplish their dreams of becoming parents. 

A few thoughts:

  • This July, IVF is approaching its 40th anniversary of the first baby born through IVF. Here is a look back at the milestone.
  • Cleveland Clinic lost their frozen embryos – my hearts goes out to you and hope you -overcome this huge obstacle and – keep trying.  I know in some cases that is not possible and I hope you find some peace with this awful loss.  I have frozen embryos in storage tanks and it’s scary to think that it could be gone in a second.
  • I’m a parent because of IVF!  I now view all of this so differently after giving birth.  It’s a PREVILAGE to be pregnant.   I have no idea what will happen down the road as far as if I can get pregnant again or not.  It’s something I will always cherish and continue to share my story

To anyone who is thinking about taking the journey down IVF, just DO IT!  Yes there will be pain and heartache and so many unknowns.  When you hold your baby, it all goes away!  We need to bring more awareness to this disease because there are SO MANY PEOPLE who struggle getting pregnant.  I LOVE talking about this and sharing my story in the hopes it will help just one person!  Together, we can change how others view infertility.  Join me as I take the pledge to #flipthescript

Check out last year’s National Infertility Awareness post here.

If you are in the Boston area please check out IVF New England and Boston IVF.

Xoxo Jen Araya

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Well, the day has finally come and I’ve turned 34 years old today!  I’ve officially hit the mid-30’s.  SAY WHAT!!!  As I reflect on my 33rd year, it’s been the highlight of my life.  LOTS of change over the past year.  All good stuff!  The best part is Vivienne is here to celebrate too!

Below are the top five biggest reflections from this past year:

  1. I’m a mom – cross that off the bucket list.  Best decision of my life! 
  2. I’m a working mom – I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a hard job!  They say it gets easier but I have to disagree.  You get used to it and it’s a new routine, and I take finding that balance day by day which leads to
  3. My ability to find a balance – between my business, life, working a full time job and a baby – fitting in swim lessons, meal prepping, running errands, cleaning, and organizing.  The list goes on and on.  Still trying to simplify tasks and streamline everything.
  4. I’m currently rebranding my website – I CANNOT wait to finalize this and actually have a working, functional website that will reflect me!
  5. Finding time to take care of myself – SO HARD!!!  You put everything and everyone else first but when you’re not feeling good, it’s ten times harder to take care of someone else.  I’ve learned the hard way that I need to put myself first.  It’s so easy to put Vivienne first, which is why this one can be such a struggle.  I recently realized I was home a lot and needed a Target run by myself.  We didn’t need anything but it was something I wanted to do for me.  Who doesn’t love shopping at Target except for our wallets? 

Today, I will be celebrating life!  It’s a gift.  You only live once.  So I’m going to say, “hi #34, it’s nice to meet you” and I’m going to rock it this year!  I’m going to own being 34 and just enjoy life.  This past year was an exciting one and I cannot wait to see what is in store this coming year.  Raise your glass and cheers to entering the mid 30’s!

xoxo Jen Araya

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