Gulf Coast life

February Festivities

I made it to February! That means this is the last personal post without Jonas—I really am caught up! :)

nature and lifestyle photographer in Ocean Springs

Pregnancy was getting a little rough at this point, so I only managed to photograph a few special occasions. First, seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales! I obviously didn’t manage a decent picture of the horses, but Afton and her sweet friends were more entertaining, anyway. ;)

seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales in Ocean Springs, MS

Afton had been talking about her “celebration” at school pretty much all year. Since she has a summer birthday, she was celebrated on her half-birthday, and we made chocolate chips cookies to share with her classmates and teachers.

little girl making cookies in kitchen

I was already in love with Afton’s precious Montessori school, but getting to experience this special celebration really brought my love to a whole new level. One of her teachers read a little blurb (written by me) about each year of Afton’s life. Afton carried the globe around the candle (representing the sun) and walked around the room showing her friends a picture of herself during that year. She showed special toys and an outfit from when she was a baby and brought a favorite book to donate to the school library. She even led the prayer and served up the cookies with a friend’s help. My favorite part, though, was when her teacher asked her who her special guests were, and she said, “Daddy, Mommy, and Jonas"!” and ran over to hug the baby bump—so sweet!!

Montessori birthday celebration

Alex and Afton had tons of fun at the Neptune night parade in Biloxi, but I only made it to the day parade in Ocean Springs, which was plenty fun, too. Afton got tons of beads and other goodies!

Ocean Springs Elks Mardi Gras Parade

She was so excited to give this teddy bear to her baby brother… who I PROMISE will be showing up on the blog now that I’m caught up! ;)