Sometimes I just can't help myself...

During our doll photoshoot, Ashley snapped some photos of the kids while they played and waited for us to be ready for them. I just thought I would share how sweet these simple snapshots turned out.  What's even better is how amazing (and beautiful) these two little kids are inside & out.

Grace is almost 4. She is my little social butterfly. She has the sweetest heart, my little helper. She is thoughtful and sensitive. She is curious and loves to learn. She is my little best friend and partner in crime.

Hudson is 15 months. He is literally one of the sweetest kids alive. He is always happy and smiley. He is calm and patient. He is an entertainer and snuggler. He brings a smile to everyone's face and gives out hugs freely. 

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Newborn photo shoot

I have almost survived a month with 2 kids with only a few minor freakout moments. Everything has been running smoothly at home, it's kind of eerie how smooth the transition has been.

I know a lot of people say this, but honestly I had a hard time imagining adding another baby to our family, or that I could even love a child as much as I loved Grace.

Then Hudson came.

And he felt like he was a part of our family from the beginning.

His little spirit in our home is so sweet, he has such a calm gentle way about him. So much like his dad. 

Being a mom for the second time made me appreciate the miracle of it all so much more. Child birth is such a fragile and difficult thing, but then you get these perfect little people at the end of it who just love you no matter what.

Okay, so really I will stop with the mush & get to the good stuff. 

My sweet friend Ashley, from Ashley Hall Photography took our newborns and I am in love with how they turned out. If you live in the East Valley you definitely need to look her up. 

You can check out her facebook page {here} and her blog {here}.

The sweet crocheted hats are by my other extremely talented friend Allison, from Lovely Tangles. 

Check out her Facebook {here} and her shop {here}.

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Baby Hudson is here.

Hudson David was born on July 1. 

He's been such a little dream child, we have no idea how we got so lucky a second time around. 

His sister is over the moon excited about her baby brother. 

Becoming a mother for a second time has been such a different experience. I don't stress and worry. Instead I have been just enjoying the down time with our little family, all the sweet cuddly moments with a newborn, and watching Grace love on him.

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Maternity Photo shoot & a giveaway.

Last week I had the chance to go out and take some maternity photographs with my friend Ashley Hall.

Let me tell you, I didn't even want to take them. I'm awkward when I'm not pregnant, I never get the faces or the poses right.

Ashley is such a great photographer, she made me feel totally comfortable &didn't laugh at my contemplative-look-into-the-distance which really just makes me look angry or confused. 

The pictures turned out beautiful, I am SO glad I will have them to cherish forever. 

NOW here's the best part. 

Ashley is a family photographer who specializes in maternity and newborns in the East Valley. 

She is giving away a FREE mini session valued at $75 with the rights to 6-8 images to one of you lucky locals! 

All you need to do is enter is head over & "like" her Facebook page here!

For an extra entry, follow her blog here. 

Be sure to let her know I sent you!
** you must be a follower of Paddington Way to enter **

If you are interested in pricing & booking a session with her, you can email her at ashleyhallphotography {at} yahoo {dot} com

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The happenings lately...

I thought I would drop in to catch you up on a few life tidbits, if you follow me on instagram you've probably already seen all these. If you don't... then you should! My username is paddingtonway :). Come follow me {here}! 

I'm done buying furniture for the nursery, and only spent $195 so far! I am really really really proud of myself! It all is second hand, and needs to be refinished but I like to do that kind of stuff anyways. I can't wait to show you! I haven't found too many accessories yet, but I have ideas for all those! This is the chair I am redoing. Isn't it so awesome?! 

I'm also working on Grace's big girl room at the same time [I like to do EVERYTHING at once because that makes me SUPER productive haha] Here is most of her bedding. I am going bright & colorful but still very classic. I just finished painting her vintage french  bed & can't wait to show you! 

I stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up some supplies for spring projects. There will be at least 2 tutorials that come out of this cart of goods. Is there anything better than Spring? I say no.

Oh, and in case you forgot... I am still pregnant over here. 25 weeks. I am getting REALLY excited and nervous for this little boy. I just know he is going to be quite the character haha.

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We ran away to Vegas...

Except it's not as cool as it sounds because that's where we're from... so really we just went home [that title is much less cool.] We hadn't been back in almost a year! That's insane! But Arizona is SO our home that I kind of forget we've only lived here for 18 months.

Anyways, my little brother is preparing to serve his mission for the LDS church in Birmingham, Alabama! I'm a little jealous... I've always wanted to go to the South. 

So proud of him for choosing to go on a mission! 

It's pretty clear which one is NOT a Whittaker boy. [That would be my very tall husband on the left]

On another note, I'm working on my $500 family room makeover. I haven't found the right curtains yet... I'll probably just end up sewing something. Can't wait to show you! 

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Baby Allen is a... {our gender reveal photo shoot}

BOY! 

My sweet friend Ashley is breaking into the photography world of maternity, babies, etc. All the fun stuff! She offered to take some fun gender reveal photos for us & I was so excited! 

I saw this crazy idea on Pinterest, mentioned it to my husband who LOVED the idea [what husband wouldn't really! ha!]

I absolutely LOVE how they turned out. This is SO us & I am mildly obsessed with that last belly shot. It's definitely making it's way into the babies room.

Before it got crazy, we took some nice ones as a family.

It was really hard to not post every.single.picture we took. I may sprinkle more in for your viewing pleasure later on. It was a lot of fun!

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Family Photos.

Sorry, I haven't blogged in so long. Blogger wouldn't let me upload any pictures, and blogs are boring without pictures am I right? So I had to figure a way around that, which I finally did. So here I am.

I thought I would share some more shots of our family pictures. I just LOVE how they turned out. Jessica Downey has such an amazing style, I absolutely them all! 

I can't wait to decorate with these around our home. Family pictures is probably one of my favorite thing about this time of year. They are my favorite form of art :).

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Thanksgiving this year.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I made it through cooking and entertaining for 7 people with my mom's help. I still have super low energy, growing a human is hard work! 

Today my husband and I are doing a little holiday detox session. Lots of vegging, netflix, and leftovers. It's 1:30 and I just showered. Hey, at least I got that much done! My hair is even done too, I would call that accomplishment enough... but we're about to turn up the Christmas jams, and get our tree up! I know, over achievers of the century.

I thought I would share a little of our holiday. I didn't get the camera out for our meal, or the fun that ensued at the bowling alley on Thanksgiving day... but yesterday instead of fighting the crowds at the retail stores we took a family trip to the zoo.

The Phoenix Wildlife World Zoo was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe how up close & personal they let you get with the animals.

I have to admit- it was refreshing to not shop this weekend.

& yes,  I'm pretty sure the baby bump has already arrived. It wasn't just the mass amounts of carbs I ate this weekend. I swear I just popped out this time. I didn't show until around 6 months with our first, and then this time is like KABAM already. Lucky me.

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BIG announcement.

We are BEYOND thrilled to announce! Baby Allen #2 is on their way and we can NOT wait for their arrival in June! 

This is the reason I've been a little MIA. I've been a little preoccupied trying to keep my mouth shut, and trying to keep my lunch in my stomach. Not to mention entertain an almost 2 year old at the same time. It's been a little rough, but I'll get the hang of it. 

I was waiting until we had our photo session with Jessica Downey to get some SUPER cute shots to make the announcement all that more dramatic. Thank you Jessica for starting off us right with this exciting new chapter of our life!

Yep, I took 4! Because I'm crazy. I swore it was the protein shakes. 

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