Oh, my heart! I am so in love with these photos we recently shot with Katie Hill Photography. This is our second year to shoot fall/holiday family photos with her and the snaps she takes are just SO special! Not only is Katie just amazing at capturing our personalities and Annie’s little quirks but her photos create keepsakes for us and to share with family and friends this time of year. I love how they also kind of create like a little mile marker to see where we’ve come since the year before. I can’t get over how much Annie has grown since we shot with Katie last fall!
Katie is still offering sessions to grab last-minute holiday pictures. She shoots year-round and is the perfect person to go to for that special occasion photography. Whether it be a birthday party, a newborn shoot or to capture your family at a special time she’s your girl!
I’m sharing our 2018 holiday family photos and a bit about what’s been going on behind the blog lately below!
Holiday Family Photos:
2018 has been a wild year for us. I plan on reflecting more on that closer to the new year. But for now, I just want to share how grateful I am for these two not only this holiday season but every day. They lift me up in so many ways and being with them (even just sitting on the couch in our living room) fulfills me immeasurably. Looking through these holiday family photos just warms my heart and reminds me how truly thankful I am for the privilege do life with these two!
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I haven’t really shared a post in a while with updates on what has been going on behind the blog lately. Through Instagram + stories, I feel that you all have seen most of what we’ve been up to! That platform certainly makes it easy to share simple little tidbits. But I’m rounding up a bit of this & that below not only for you guys to catch up with us but for me to look back on later and see what we’ve been up to!
Life Lately
Annie just started a new school! She is now in “Mother’s Day Out” 4-days a week. The past few months I’ve only had her in school on Mondays & Fridays. Now we are throwing Tuesday & Thursday into the mix too. I struggled with the decision on whether or not to add a few more days for a while. I love love my time at home with her but I was getting pretty busy with work and dividing my time was getting harder & harder. It got to the point where I was having a sitter come over every week in-between Annie’s school days for extra help.
Now that I’m able to allocate more time to work, my time one-on-one time with Annie comes with no distractions. Life is feeling so much simpler! We’re only two weeks into this new schedule and I can feel such a difference in my stress levels. Annie seems to be having so much more fun too! (She came home from her first day talking up a STORM!) Her new school is amazing and we feel so fortunate to be a part of this community.
Online house hunting is now one of my new favorite hobbies. 2019 looks to be like it will be an exciting year of change for our family. We’ve been renting a cute little 1960s rancher for almost three years now. We know after this year we’re ready to plant some roots somewhere. We have a whole year pretty much to find our first official home and are in no rush whatsoever. But oh my goodness browsing around on the Zillow App sure is fun!!! I can’t even fathom the level of excitement I’m going to feel once we start touring homes in person when the internet is just giving me all the feels.
On that note. I turn 30 next month! Say whattttttt?! I still feel like I’m 25. I’ve heard from so many people that they had the most fun in the entire life during their thirties. So cheers to that! I don’t feel any sadness/negativity or what have you on leaving my 20s behind and entering a new decade. My 20s were amazing and I wouldn’t change a single solitary thing about them. But I will say, I’m excited that 30 means it’s more than socially acceptable to trade those wild nights out for home cooked meals and evenings on the couch. That’s totally my jam now! Looking forward to what the big 3-0 brings!
And to celebrate 30, I somehow convinced my mom to join Annie and me on a California road trip next month. Annie turns 2 just a few days after I turn 30. Turning 2 means flying is no longer free for this little tot of mine. So we’re going out with one big last hurrah and taking advantage of Annie’s free airfare with a trip to Cali. And using my 30th bday as an excuse to do it! 😉
Patrick is in oil & gas and during the winter months, his hours are pretty insane. I remember last January some nights he wouldn’t get home until 8 pm or so! My dad also travels a lot for work and my mom and I thought that this would be a good way for both of us to get together while they were away during this time of year.
My work can go with me anywhere and my mom works in tourism + antiques so she has a pretty flexible schedule as well. Plus, with her living in TN and me in Houston, why not meet someplace new for our visits instead of flying back and forth to cities we’ve both been to countless times? We’re bringing the guys along on our next adventure though, that’s for sure!
My mom, Annie and I will be spending a few days in LA, Santa Ynez Valley & Carmel. If you have any recommendations of things to do, places to see & eat in those areas please send them my way pretty please!
Other than what’s mentioned above we’re up to what pretty much everyone else is up to this time of year. Last minute Christmas shopping, decorating the house, prepping for visitors & keeping on keeping on! This time of year feels more special than ever now that Annie is really understanding what’s going on around her. I’m trying to soak in each & every special holiday moment with her while starting new traditions too that we’ll repeat for years to come.
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Wishing your family a happy holiday season and as always, thank you for following along with Lone Star Looking Glass. I’m so thrilled to have this special place on the web to connect with you all and I’m truly thankful for all of you all who stop by and follow along with this crazy journey of mine!
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xo, alice
Loving this holiday family photos feature? Take a look here for more of my fashion favorites!
