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HOLIDAY PHOTOSHOOT – OUTFITS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

I think we all sort of cringe a little when we think about dressing up our resistant kids (and husband!) in fancier clothes and convince them to smile like they love taking photos. Just me? But honestly, it’s totally worth it in the end. I don’t always appreciate this stage in my life. The messy, whiney, poopy, busy days that just fly by without noticing any of the details. I’m too tired or stressed or frustrated to really take it all in. Seeing these photos (captured by the BRILLIANT and talented Kate Davis) will always be a fierce reminder of the beauty of our little family in this moment. 
With each photo we saw, we ooooh-ed and aaaahhh-ed and laughed, and omg-ed! Kate knocked it out. of. the. park. She made us feel right at ease, especially the boys! Max nicknamed her Katesadilla. I’m obsessed with her fashion blogger photos and love that casual feel more than the stiff posed look. I also loved taking pics around town instead of in nature like we normally do. Gotta love a good white background! This was shot all behind and to the side of Draper James and at Las Paletas. Ending the photoshoot with popsicles was basically the only way we got the kids through it!
Aside from finding the best photographer in Nashville (duh: Kate Davis) the next step is figuring out what to wear! Coordinating NOT matching is my personal preference. My best tip is to go into one store and use their color palette for the season. I guarantee they have similar colors in different patterns and textures that will be perfect for the whole fam. Start with yourself first. Find what YOU look best and feel comfortable in, then you can plan around everyone else. Selfish? Maybe. But kids and dudes look good in pretty much anything right? 
I’ve linked everyone’s outfits at the bottom of the post in case you want to go with our red, tan, and blue color palette!

 OUTFIT LINKS
Leah: poncho / dress (H&M in-store only) / boots or similar
Jeffrey: shirt (H&M in-store only) / jeans / shoes
Ari: shirt and sweater (H&M in-store only)  / jeans / shoes
Max: shirt and sweater (H&M in-store only) / jeans and suspenders / shoes
Goooood luck, Mamas!
-L

FEATURED: ROWEN’S SHARK PARTY

We’ve been bugging our crazy-talented friend, Shara, for pictures of Rowen’s Shark Party since we walked through the door of the party… and had our mind’s blown. Modern, clean, fun, creative touches EVERYWHERE. Crafty in the coolest way, clever menu, fun games for kiddos…so good.
Shara used two slightly different colors of crepe paper and twisted them to create “water”. She hung all the sharks from string so they would appear to float on top of the waves. Genius.
 One of our favorite things of the party was this shark wreath! Shara spray painted a foam wreath core gray then hot glued plastic sharks (here) all around to simulate a shark attack feeding frenzy!
The fins on the mantel were pin-on fins for the kids to wear. Shara made them using stiffened felt and a template found here.
 I mean… really
Cake topper here

 Menu:
Shark Bait sandwiches (tuna salad)
Shark Fin sandwiches (cheese triangles)
Slow Swimmer Salsa and Sea Algae Guacamole with Fins (blue tortilla chips)
Shark Teeth (Bugles)
Whale and Goldfish crackers
Vegetarian Shark Food (crudites)
Watermelon Shark fruit salad (carved by Shara’s husband after she showed him pictures on Pinterest and convinced him it would be easy! Ha!)
Sea Dogs (hot dogs)
Great White Sugar Cookies
Fish Kabobs (gummy fish and shark candies on a stick)
Life Preservers (mini sugar donuts with red gel icing)
Jaws cupcakes (vanilla cake with vanilla whipped frosting and gummy sharks
Shark Attack cupcakes (blue velvet cake with coconut cream cheese icing and fondant fins)
Chum Punch
Shark Infested Lemonade
 Shara’s favorite things about the sharks hung from the ceiling were the shadows they created when the light was turned on. The slight movement of the sharks and the big shadows made it look like there were actually sharks swimming around the room.
Party Activities: 
Shark Dress Up Bucket- shark, sailor, and captain costumes, beach ball, surfboard, sunglasses, flower leis, blow up shark, beach paraphemalia
Air swimmer remote-controlled helium shark (Amazon)
Pink the Fin on the Shark (Amazon)
Make Your Own Shark Game craft station
Let’s Go Fishing Game
Finding Nemo Movie
 
Ari LOVED this activity… we still have his shark on the fridge!
 Favor buckets: “shark tank” bubbles, “under the sea” coloring book, shark stickers and tattoos, bag of shark and fish gummy candies, shark squirter toy, fish stamps, sunglasses, and glow bracelet
Invitation, favor tags, and thank you notes here
Gummy fish kabob!
Big Birthday Boy Rowen!
Thank you for sharing your party with us, Shara! We loved every minute of it (oh and so did our kids!!).