Josephine's Donut Smash Photos

For Josephine's first birthday, we wanted to do something a little different. We had a traditional cake smash for Annabelle when she turned one, but Josephine really likes donuts. How did we know this? Because on Annabelle's third birthday in September, I took her out for donuts. Of course, Josephine was with us because Dan was TDY at SERE at the time. I got up to throw a napkin away, and I watched Annabelle break off a piece of her donut, pass it to Josephine, and whisper, "shhh" at her.

So hilarious. And adorable.

These two girls are the best of friends, and I hope it continues to be that way forever.

Anyway, back to the donut smash. One of my friends, Amber, a fellow Raptor spouse, is a photographer, so naturally, I hired her to take pictures of Josephine since she's known her since she was about six weeks old.

We set up in the backyard, and it was great. Josephine was a little overwhelmed by all the donuts and didn't really know what to think... but she eventually ate a couple of them and smiled for some photos (and cried for some too, ha!)

Anyone else have a hankering for donuts right now?! I know I do!

First Year Comparison: Annabelle & Josephine

So many people these days make fun of parents who choose to document their baby's first year with monthly photos. To that I say... why does anyone care? I am so glad I decided to capture these moments with both of my daughters. It's amazing to see how they compared to each other at each stage and also how incredibly different they are!

Annabelle was born weighing in at 6 pounds 3 ounces, while Josephine weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces at birth... though hospital staff said she probably weighed at least a full pound more than she should have because I was on fluids for so long during labor.

Annabelle weighed 18-ish pounds on her first birthday, while Josephine was 22-ish pounds on hers. They were both breastfed (though Annabelle only took bottles), and it is just so fascinating to me. Annabelle wore 6 month clothes at a year, while Josephine is in 12 month clothing. Clothes fit Josephine better too - her body fills them out, whereas Annabelle was so skinny (still is, really) that pants especially fit her really oddly.

Both of my babies have been tall - 85%+ each in height! I'm 5'8", and Dan is 6'0", so I guess they're just destined to be tall humans.

I can't wait to see how they continue to be alike and different over the years!

If you have more than one kid, are they more similar or different?

Josephine's First Year: Monthly Updates

I still can't believe it's been a year. How insane. Our final baby, the caboose to our little family, is one year old. She grew so quickly over her first year after starting out so slowly. We can't believe she blossomed into this 22 pound toddler from such a dainty little baby.

From her birth announcement photo taken at about 12 hours old to each of her monthly updates, watch Josephine grow!

Random fun fact: Josephine's birth announcement photo was taken in Wichita Falls, Texas, where we lived at the time of her birth. We moved when she was 2.5 weeks old, however, so months one through 10 photos were taken at our home in Panama City, Florida. We then moved to Hampton, Virginia, where months 11 and 12 were taken (11 in the TLF on base and 12 in our new home).