Top Five Photos

Linking up at the last minute after arriving home from vacation. I always like going back through my pictures and finding my top five. Here they are in chronological order.


For some reason I really wanted Brennan to wear a bow tie to Kyle's SOAC graduation at the end of June. Once I got the idea in my head, I wouldn't let it go and we ended up finding this one at Macy's. I thought he looked so cute in his khaki shorts, button up shirt, and gingham bow tie. I liked the outfit so much that I snapped some big brother pictures since we were ready to make our announcement public at that time.

I have multiple shots from Brennan playing in the hose this day and decided to go with this one because I love the pop of green from the grass. This boy loves water and doesn't care if it's all over his face.

This was taken shortly after Kyle left for deployment. He cut Brennan's hair right before he left, so it's super short in this picture. Brennan and I went outside on a beautiful day so I could hopefully get some good pictures of him. Several of them weren't in focus, but this one was my favorite from that day.

I wanted to include this one from Brennan's first day of preschool. I think he looks so grown up and I'm sorry his Dada wasn't here to see him walk into school like such a big boy.

I didn't get any "top five" shots of Brennan while we were vacationing in Myrtle Beach other than this one. I just love it. I am so happy my friend Amanda and her two girls were able to visit us while we were there. And I think it's safe to say Brennan was happy to see Adah!

Tuesday is the last day, but it's not too late to link up your Top Five photos too! Check out these great blogs and add your photos today!

• Click.Pray.Love
• Sarah Halstead Photography
• Ramblings and Photos

Quarterly Top Five!

It's that time again to join with some awesome photographers and share my five favorite pictures of Brennan over the last three months. I have to admit that I am using my iPhone way too much and the good camera way too little, but I was still able to pick out some super adorable shots of B from April, May, and June. They aren't technically sound, but thankfully Brennan is cute enough to make any picture look good!

So here are my top five in chronological order:

This was taken right before Easter. We were practicing hunting for eggs inside. I still
find his dark eyes simply stunning! 

Easter Sunday - I LOVED his outfit and was so happy he wore his hat!

He thinks Momma is pretty funny! And Momma is thankful that bath time is a happy
time around here!

This was taken at our local zoo - it's his "show it" face, as in "If you're happy and you know it,
then your face will surely show it."

And another version of the "show it" face!

Now it's your turn to share your favorite photos! It's so easy and you can even win some really great prizes. Just head over to one of these super cool blogs to link up!

• Click, Pray, Love
• Ramblings and Photos
• The Naptime Momtog

Quarterly Top 5 Photos

I am linking up again with some amazingly talented photographers (sorry I can't get the banner to work correctly) to bring you my Top 5 photos of Brennan so far this year. It's so hard to believe three months of 2012 have already flown by. That's why I love these quarterly link ups. I love going back through the pictures I've taken of B and seeing the memories we created. The five photos I picked this time are special to me because they represent five things Brennan loves doing right now. None of them are technically great, but they are still special to me because as time keeps flying by, I want to remember these moments!

Make sure you check out lots of amazing Top 5 photos by visiting these blogs:

• Ramblings and Photos
• Naptime Momtog
• Click, Pray, Love

Here are my top 5 in chronological order.

We had a unseasonably warm winter this year in CT and I was able to capture this image on the first day of February. He looks so grown up to me in this picture. He loves playing outside, so I can't wait for the weather to get even warmer.

Painting is another love of Brennan's. Somedays he will ask to paint and once I get all the materials out, he decides Momma should do the painting instead. On this particular day, however, he was all about painting. 

That smile gets me every time! I took this picture while B and Dada were having tickle time after dinner. I absolutely HATE being tickled, but Brennan LOVES it! He just cackles and keeps asking for "more". I also like this picture because he still has some of his dinner on his face.

I know this shot is not spectacular at all, but it's definitely something I want to remember. Brennan is now potty trained! I am so proud of him for doing such a great job with this. We did a three day method and it worked so easily. This shot is just so cute to me because he loves reading while sitting on the "pot". 

I chose this shot for my top five because I love bath pictures and I love his genuine smile. So often now he wants to make silly "cheese" faces for the camera, but every once in a while I can get a true smile.

 Go ahead and link up your top five photos too!

Top 11 of '11

It's so hard to believe another year has come and gone. I can't believe in just a little over a month, my baby boy will be 2! As the year comes to a close, I am linking up with Click, Pray, Love, NapTime Momtog, and Click it Up a Notch to share my top eleven photos of Brennan from the past year.

Just for fun, you can click here to see my Top 10 of '10 from last year!

I have shared pretty much all of these on the blog before. None of them are technically sound (a few I actually captured on my iPhone), but they are still pretty special to me. It's so wild how much Brennan has changed over the past year. Here are my top 11 in chronological order:

1. This first picture was taken last January. It's so hard to believe it's almost been a full year since then. Brennan's snowsuit and boots were way too big for him, but they worked for the few minutes we had him outside this day. I think this will remain one of my favorite pictures for a very long time. Brennan and Ringo already love each other and I know the bond they share will only grow stronger with time.

2. We had so much fun celebrating Brennan's first birthday in February. I love this shot of him after he ate his smash cake. He was so proud!

3. Faux-hawks in the bathtub never get old. This was before Brennan has his first haircut, so there was plenty of hair to play around with.

4. This was taken in May and I remember being excited for this picture because it was finally starting to get warm in Connecticut. It made me realize how much I like capturing pictures of Brennan outside where no flash is needed.

5. Definitely nothing fancy about this one, but I still absolutely love it. I love that you can see his toothy grin. I love the little curl over his left ear.

6. Fast-forward several months and here we are in October. Wow, what a difference from the above picture to this one. Even though the photo is a little dark, I just love how happy he is in it.

7. I was so excited when I captured his image of Brennan. He's sitting against our neighbor's storage shed. I had set out that day to get a good picture of him for our Christmas card and knew this would be it. Once I uploaded it on the computer, it ended up being slightly out of focus, but I still love it none-the-less!

8. This might be my favorite picture ever. This was taken in the morning before we had even left his room that day. He was being super silly and cute, so I ran and grabbed the camera hoping I could get a good picture of him. I asked him to do "squishy face" and captured this picture. Isn't he just the sweetest?!?! And that cowlick, boy oh boy!

9. I warned you a few of my favorites were take on my iPhone. That thing is so handy to just snap a quick picture! You probably wouldn't know it from looking at his face, but little guy was sick this day. He asked to take a bath in the middle of the day and I happily obliged. I just love his eye contact with the camera. My finger unfortunately smudged the top corner of the photo, but after I edited in Instagram, I was in LOVE with this picture!

10. One more iPhone pic. This one isn't as clear as the other, but I still think it's adorable. This was taken on Christmas Eve before heading out to our church service. I love dressing B in button up shirts and sweaters. He looks so happy here and I like the Christmas tree in the background.

11. I had my camera out and ready Christmas morning. B was moving so fast from one thing to another though that it was hard to capture his excitement on camera. Even though he's looking down at a gift in this picture I like how you can still see his pure joy on Christmas morning.

So there you have it. He has changed so much in 2011 and I know the changes will keep happening even more rapidly in 2012. I'm so thankful for photos to be able to document all these stages of his life.

Head on over to Click, Pray Love, NapTime Momtog, or Click it Up a Notch to link up your top 11 of '11!

Quarterly Top 5 Photos

Once again I am linking up my very amateur photos with some amazing photos from some amazing ladies. That's right, it's time for me to reveal my Quarterly Top Five Photos! Most moms of 19 month olds can't get their kiddos to stay still long enough to take a picture, but since B STILL isn't walking, I don't have this issue.  I always have fun looking back through the last three months of photos and selecting my five favorites! So, here ya go! My top five in no particular order.

Please excuse the extremely poor lighting, but I just crack up whenever I look at this picture. He only gets a binky when he's napping or sleeping (or occasionally when Momma gives in during the day). As you can see, all he wants to do with them now is chew on them. I also love this picture because you can see how dominate his cowlick is.

This summer Brennan really liked playing by our neighbor's wood pile. I like this picture because he's doing "So big!", but only with one arm. And I have to agree with his shirt; he is a great catch!

Our dog Ringo jumps all over people when they come over. He's an 80 pound lap dog and can be quite a menace. However, when it comes to Brennan, he is so gentle and cuddly!

I take these pictures every single month on the 11th (B's monthly bday). This was his 19 month shot and I absolutely love it. I like how you can see his teeth so well and see that he hadn't cut his canine teeth yet.

I was so happy when I captured this one. Brennan loves all things water, so bath time is one of his favorite times of the day. My favorite part here is the action of the water. 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the pics of Brennan. I just love my little guy so much! He is so much fun and so super smart! 

Now it's your turn. Head over to either Amber's Articles, Click it Up a Notch, or Nap Time Montag and link up with your five favorite photos from July-September! You could even win some awesome prizes!

June Quarterly Top 5

It's time to share my top five photos of Brennan from the past three months! I love looking back through my pictures and trying to decide which are my favorite! I sure do have one photogenic little guy! Most of these I have already shared on the blog at some point, but I hope you like seeing them again. As I always like to mention, I am not a professional photographer. I only shoot on auto and simply try to capture some of the fun memories of B's childhood. With that being said, enjoy!

{one}

Brennan loves his Daddy and I am happy I was able to capture a picture of him smiling at his Dada.

{two}

This one is still my favorite from the past three months! Since snapping this beauty, I have been obsessed with taking outdoor pictures because the lighting is so nice.

{three}

I think it's funny that I'm including this one in my top five, but I LOVE it. It's the simple things in life that make kids so happy. This was the first time I let him play with spice containers and he got so excited!

{four}

I like this one because you can see his teeth! And because he has a little curl on the left side of his hair!

{five}

I wanted to include a "post-buzzed haircut" picture in my top five because I think he looks so grown up!

Make sure you head over to one the following blogs to see everyone's top five photos!

• Amber's Articles
• Click It Up a Notch
• Naptime Momtog

Head on over and link up your five favs too! There are some awesome prizes, so be sure to check it out!

My May Favorite!

I have mentioned here before that since getting my iPhone, I feel like I've been taking fewer pictures with our good camera. The iPhone camera is just so darn handy. I'm so glad I did use our Nikon to get some good shots of B this month though.

I shared several photos I took of Brennan outside on a sunny day earlier this month. Today, I am using my favorite from that photo session to link up with Courtney!

Quarterly Top 5 Photos

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd be linking up at the end of the month with my Top 5 Photos of Brennan for Jan-March. I have also mentioned before that I am far from a professional photographer. I only shoot on auto and just like to capture pictures of my son. I don't edit the photos at all either. You just get what you get. :)

You've seen these photos on the blog before, but I did go ahead and pic my top five.

I feel like since B turned one, I have been taking more candid shots of him playing, so I don't have as many shots of him with a super cute smile. Without further adieu, here are my top 5 (in no particular order)!

B's classic smile. I can't get enough of it!

I titled this pic "Eskimo Kiss" when I posted it before. 

Another one with the dog. B loves Ringo!

By far my favorite shot from his bday party!

Check out that hair. So happy B still loves bath time!

Now it's your turn. Head over to Amber's blog to link up and have a chance at winning some great prizes!