Zakiyah's Baby Dedication

This past weekend, we got to have our daughter dedicated. Dedication is a lot like baptism. We just don't sprinkle them with water. We allow people to get "baptized" when they are old enough to make that personal decision. Having Zakiyah dedicated was our declaration to dedicate Z to God, our church family and to vow to raise her with Christian values. Having our girls dedicated is very meaningful to us. With my husband being a Pastor at our church, he got to dedicate both Zion and Zakiyah! It was so great. Our prayer is that our girls grow up in the church having a personal relationship with God. Growing daily in his promises and truth. Having friends in our church home. We are excited for their future. God is good.

We had both of our families come for the day on Sunday. We were surprised with my SIL, Katie co-leading worship with our team. Katie was our worship leader for 3 plus years before. It was so fun to have her up there again! A funny thing that happened, right before we went up for the dedication, my 3 year old Zion said, " I have to go potty." We, being awesome parents, said, "Hold it." ha. She felt pretty special holding the rose. The rose represents how our lives bud so fast. growing up through the years.....

 Both of our families....

After church, everyone headed over to our house for Tacos! YUM! We celebrated Andy and Zion's birthday and Kiyah's dedication. We had the whole set up with authentic taco meat, gauc, fresh salsa, corn torillas, soft shredded mex. cheese, cilantro, lime, black beans etc. It was so good! We also had apple soda and coke! the essentials....

sister love.

baby girl eating sweet potatoes. 

grandpa time- Wayne and Jim

The girls got really thoughtful gifts! My family did great getting them the perfect presents. My sister, Chelsea made this 10 commandments frame! I adore it.

Andy requested that I made his favorite:  a Triffle. I layer Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownies, homemade whip cream, chocolate pudding, raspberries and strawberries! YUM!!!!

My mom got these vintage Strawberry Shortcake dollys and outfits. Look at that cradle. I adore it. She made Zion sheets and some dolly bedding of course! They can't miss out. Why don't they make dolls like this anymore?! Precious!

After all the festivities, My hus and my (almost) Brother in law hit up our backyard to go ride. It was a beautiful out...for MN. My SIL and BIL took pix of them! It was our entertainment watching them. You can see us in the windows! 

Bird man ridin'

Thanks to our amazing family for celebrating with us. Thanks to our church fam for sharing life with us and loving our daughters! Thanks to everyone who lifts our family up in your prayers daily. We appreciate you!

Have a great day! 

Zakiyah is 6 months!

As I mentioned in my H54F yesterday, we had a photo shoot this past week at our friends amazing studio here in Rochester! I have always loved having fun shoots with Andy! It has been such a blast doing it with our girls! I just love how special pictures are as keepsakes. We have decided to do newborn/ 6 month/ and 1 year shoots for our kids. It is perfect for showing the changes! Shawn and Michelle have captured all of our important events so far: engagement, wedding, couple sessions, maternity and now our children. Our house is filled with FS pix! 

Zakiyah Nova at 6 months! I had Zion wore this tutu, headband and pearls for her 6 months. I made the tutu and headband! She looks so beautiful. 

(Zion at 6 months. FS shoot. )

Don't my girls look alike? So presh!

A family shot! I just realized that we are all wearing Gap head to toe. I guess it is my favorite store for my family :) I wanted a lot of color in our clothes to show our personalities. It was fun to pair the clothing together.

Who doesn't love a good feet shot? Especially, chubby baby legs. :) 

my shoes-from TJ Maxx. Andy- Cole Haan, Zion- Uggs, and Kiyah- BabiesRUs

I am excited to frame these bad boys in our Home! Thanks Shawn and Shel for taking such beautiful pictures of our family. 

So with it being Zakiyah Nova's 6 month, I thought it would be fun showing a few of my favorite snap shots of her over the past half year! 

Zakiyah- You truly are a blessing to your mommy and daddy. We love you so much. You are such a joyful little girl! It has been so awesome watching your sister, Zion be a big sister with you. It is amazing how when you have children there are parts in your heart that open up that you didn't even know existed. When I was pregnant with you, it was different than with Zion. I knew what being a mom meant. I anticipated this season differently. Newborn-hood is exhausting, rewarding, sacred, and goes too fast. You have been so laid back since day one. You love cuddles. You light up when your sister comes in the room. We call you Ki-Ki, Kiyah, Sister, Sister Pie, Baby girl, Za-Za, and Nova. You just started waving yesterday when we were watching your daddy and sister sled! You have two bottom teeth. You sleep 11 hours through the night. We still swaddle you every naptime/bedtime! "Your nose drains like a sieve", as daddy says. You love the water! You have a terrible gag reflex. Which means you are not eating any soft foods yet! You love baby oatmeal and green baby food. You love sucking on wet wash cloths and chew toys. You are really close to rolling over. You have a tight grip! You pinch your fingers on mommy all the time. You have just started liking Baby Einstein. Your favorite things are your lovie, balls, and your exersaucer! We love you so much. It is such a blessing having you as my baby! Happy 6 months Sister Pie! 

H54F

Happy Friday everyone! It is a blizzard in Rochester!!!! I am excited to have a snow day in with my family. Every Friday, I link up with Lauren for High Five For Friday! I show you my favorite pix from my week! Here they are:

We had a busy week in our family with birthdays! My daughter-Zion, husband-Andy and my sister-Chelsea all had birthdays! Chelsea and I celebrated by taking my 3 year old for her first pedicure! It was so much fun. She was hilarious at the nail salon. We both got purple nail polish with sparkles, of course! 

I had my 2nd week of Lock Love Wednesday! I started posting weekly pictures off my phone of my daily hair to show you creative new looks. Even being a hairstylist, you can get in a hair rut. I have pictures here and here! Link up with me every Wednesday to show what new things you are doing with your hair! 

My fam got all festive for a photo shoot at our friends amazing studio in Rochester. It is in a building from the turn of the century. Brick walls/ wood floors/ character everywhere. Zakiyah turned 6 months old this week, so we had adorable pictures taken of her! I will post on that later! This picture is from my iPhone- I love feet pictures! Nothing better than chunky baby legs...

 

We have the blessing of having an amazing nanny from our youth group! She spoiled Zion with this hat and mustache cup for her 3rd birthday. The hat has been worn daily ever since! 

I have been busy crafting/painting for fun! I will post next week some of my projects that I have going on. Happy Friday! Have a great weekend! 

LOCK LOVE WEDNESDAY

I started Lock Lock Wednesday to get myself motivated to style my hair everyday. It is so easy, for even hair stylists to get in a rut with their hair. I am hoping to inspire you along the way with simple and fun techniques to help you look fabulous! Join me along the way. It will be fun! All you have to do is take snapshots of your hair during the week and link up with me below! 

I used a 1/2" curling iron in this picture. I curled my hair in two sections. The key is to curl your hair away from your face. I always hold the curling iron vertical and I don't curl my ends. Leave them out of the curl wand. I twisted my fringe and put a bobby pin in! I wear a lot of flowers to dress it up. This is a purple flower with from H&M. 

This is one of the easiest way to fancy up your updos. I love this alternative to a pony. I back combed my crown area with a Teasing U brush that Tala carries. I then took 3 sections at the nape of my neck and simply twisted my hair in knots and used bobby pins to hold in place. EASY. I don't have much length to work with yet, so if you have longer hair it is easier. 

Here is another angle of my updo! 

I liked this side better. I went with it. Even if it doesn't work out perfect--Go with it. The best part is that my hair is off my face for the day. Great for work and being a mom.

 In this look, I back combed again and just did a quick twist. I stuck a big clip in and a couple bobby pins. It took literally 3 minutes. The key is having day old hair. I only wash my hair every 3 days. I am a big fan of dry shampoo and baby powder. My hair was 3 days old here-so It worked amazing. If you have never skipped a day of washing your hair, try going a day and a half to start. 

I love this shot for many reasons.

1. attitude from toddler

2. pearls.

3. matching curly hair.

We had a photo shoot this past week for Zakiyah's 6 month. So I curled my hair in 3 sections and roughed it up with texture spray by Awapuhi that I sell at Tala. I always prep my hair with hair spray before curling. (Spray-Comb-Curl) is the trick! I left my hair down! I just back combed the crown after! 

Here I had curls in from the day before! I just pinned up my hair with a couple of bobby pins to give it volume and control. I used my dry shampoo from Eufora and hair spray from Awapuhi. 

I wore my hair down here. My hair was freshly washed. I air dryed it. After it was dry, I curled some random pieces with a curling iron. I had Moroccan Oil in and leave in spray. I used hair spray. I got my hair colored this day, FINALLY! I love the texture my hair has after I color it. Did you know that it actually swells the cuticle making it feel more thick? fun fact! 

How have you been wearing your hair this week? Tweet or join me on Instagram with #lovelovewed
Or link up below!!! Happy Wednesday.

Happy Birthday Andy and Zion

Just a shout out to my best friend/partner/husband/ Andy-- Happy Birthday babe. And Happy Birthday to our precious Zion. You two are two peas in a pod! Life wouldn't be complete without you. loves. xoxoxo