Happy 1st Blog Anniversary to jRoxDesigns!

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Amber Foster Smith

Can you believe it? My little blog is a year old already! Well technically it was last week but life has been a little bit crazy over here. Thanks to all of your love and support I have been swamped with orders from my Etsy shop and branching out with my photography! I just finished editing a photo session with two sweet kids who have a very special surprise to share with their Daddy and a couple more sessions that I am just dying to share with you guys soon! By all the time I’ve been spending in the workshop too lately it looks like you guys are loving the new selection of chalkboard speech bubbles and wooden letters in the Etsy shop too! Not to mention the half a dozen special infinity tattoo designs I am working on right now. How cool is that? You guys are absolutely the best! So, I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much lately but I promise I have so many new fun things that I hope to get up here to share with you soon! To celebrate today I thought I would let you take a stroll on back to all of my favorite posts over the last year.

One of my most popular posts is Emma Grace’s Photo Project which is one project I am so proud of. For all the hours and time that I’ve spent editing photos and preparing each shoot it is by far my most rewarding project!

Emma Grace’s Nursery has been one of my favorite projects I have done in years. I poured my heart and soul into creating that room from scratch and I can’t help but smile so big every time I walk in there. You guys seemed to love the reveal too because I heard back from so many of you that you too were in love with her French Provencal Dresser makeover! Guess what..if you sit tight I hopefully will have a couple new photos to share of some new custom-made furniture we created for her as well as some toddler friendly updates!

I still can’t believe how many views my post where I shared with you my journey to get my first tattoo has gotten! You know what is crazy is when you are scrolling through your feed on Pintrest and there is your tattoo staring back at you that was pinned from people you have never met! Or even crazier when your big sister calls to tell you your tattoo also showed up on her feed today pinned by one of her friends who had no idea it was mine! Crazy!!! Then when I actually decided to offer custom designs in my Etsy shop I never could image how big of a response I would get! You guys are amazing!!

Who doesn’t love baking? Because I sure do! That’s why I loved being able to share with you some of my favorite pumpkin pie and irish cream cupcake recipes along with an amazing recipe to make your very own vanilla extract! Don’t worry we will have plenty more where those came from!

Do you know where big wooden letters and bubbles come from? I let you guys take a quick behind the scenes tour with me to see what goes into making some of my favorite products!

Speaking of sneak peeks…remember when I gave you a little glimpse into what I’m hiding in my camera bag, diaper bag, studio and workshop? That was so much fun!

I love holiday crafts and this Valentine’s Day garland was so much fun! I’m thinking of making garland that I can personalize to use for photo shoots! Pregnancy announcements, save the date cards anyone?

After being sick of my old worn out kitchen rug I gave it a fun facelift with a bit of creativity with the help of some paint!

I celebrated Hyperemesis Gravidarum Awareness Day by sharing my own personal journey with HG. It was by far my most difficult post to write but since I wrote about my story I have had several women who are suffering or have survived HG reach out to me. Their stories of strength and encouragement made it worth finally telling my story.

I’ve been able to take my photography journey to a new level by booking several sessions this past month! I absolutely love being behind the camera and being able to capture that one special moment in life that you can hold on to for forever. I loved being able to share with you some amazing pictures that I took at a friend’s wedding. That post along with the photos I shared from the very first wedding have also got a lot of love from you guys. I can’t wait to show you some new photos soon!

Do you know what happens though when you end up with maybe a couple hundred…or more photos that you have taken over the last year? Yepp, you get an awesome family yearbook printed! I always share our book with friends and family who come over to the house and everyone is just amazed by how great it looks. I’m still just amazed at how easy it was! I can’t wait to make more!

If you don’t know already I absolutely LOVE graphic design. So creating free printables to share with you all like the Holiday and Fall Bucket Lists was so much fun. Looks like it’s time to create a new one for Summer soon!

What were your favorite posts? What would you like to see more of? I would love to hear from you guys! Thank you for all the love and support over the past year you guys are amazing!!!

Emma Grace Is 15 Months Old!

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Amber Foster Smith

Emma Grace is 15 Months Old!

Follow Emma Grace’s Photo Project Here!

Just like last month I kind of had a hard time choosing my favorite photo so I thought I would share some outtakes with you! Enjoy!

Before we got started she had to make sure that she was thoroughly hydrated!

Once she finished her milk she was ready to smile pretty!

But since she is FINALLY WALKING she decided she needed to be standing this time.

But soon she became bored and decided to sing a little song.

Then big brother comes along and he has something for you to play with…a LEAF!!! (P.S. I don’t just have leaves hanging out in the house we have been taking monthly pictures outside…more on that another day)

I’m not sure why but leaves are HILARIOUS!

Letters To Emma Grace :: 15 Months Old

Miss Emma Grace this month has been full of fun and great accomplishments!! You are growing like a little weed! Football season has finally come to an end which is a little bittersweet. Both your big brother and your cousin have finished up their seasons which gives us more time to spend together at home but you LOVED going to practice! You love being outside and playing in the grass and seeing all of your friends. Although as soon as you would remember that Jakie was on the field playing you would take off after the boys screaming “BrahBrah!” After spending four days a week for the past three months you too have developed a love for football! I promise you this…when you get old enough Mommy will let you play flag football (p.s. Don’t let anyone tell you that football is a boy’s sport there is the sweetest little girl on your cousin’s team this year and when Mommy was in high school our kicker was a girl!!!)

One of your favorite things to do this month is play in the studio with Mommy. You seem to be bored of all the toys I have up here for you. You would much rather go through all of my drawers of ribbon, take out my spools of thread and wear the plain foam covered headbands that are in a bucket right at your level. A soon as you hear the sewing machine go you insist on sitting in my lap and helping me by pressing all the buttons while I sew. I kind of regret having a machine where the backstitch button is so easily accessible for little hands.

Your naps are all over the place this month! Sometimes you want your morning nap and other mornings you REFUSE to lay down. Afternoon naps are still a fun time…again when you feel like taking them. Sometimes you sleep for two hours and sometimes its three. Let’s just say you are much happier when you choose a three-hour nap! Some mornings you just like to hang out and talk to yourself instead of take a nap which is fine by me. Although when you are jumping up and down in your bed and you loose your blankie you become very sad.

I love walking in and seeing those little feet hanging out between the slats. You crack me up!

Snack time is a very serious time for you! You still love your bananas and cereal every morning for breakfast but you do like to mix it up with some banana oatmeal on occasions. Mommy made some zucchini bread the other week and you LOVE to snack on a piece or two in the morning. Hey it’s vegetables right? You have found a love for Ahma’s lasagna and of course Ahma’s noonoles (it’s really called pesto but your cousin loves calling it Ahma’s noonoles so now we all do). Who could forget that you try to raid the cabinet EVERY time you go to Ahma’s house. As soon as I put you down on the floor you take off to find your Spider Man cereal. Although you become very upset when Mommy says your done and I take them away from you.

I try to make sure you eat healthy and you really are a pretty good eater. The only problem is when Daddy decides to spoil you a bit. It’s okay to have a tasty snack every once in a while…those Munchos are pretty good huh?

You had your 15 month check up this past week and I am so proud to report that you are now officially “advanced” for your age! Even though you are stubborn and choose to do things on your own time you have now officially passed where you are supposed to be developmentally at your age. The appointment went well and your doctor was very proud of your growth and achievements this month! While we waited you realized there was a window behind those pesky curtains and of course like always you insisted that I pull up the blinds so you could see outside!

Your biggest accomplishment of this past month….YOU ARE FINALLY WALKING!!! On the 25th (right before your 15 month check up deadline!) you finally decided you wanted to walk…to the dishwasher. And then you tried it again…to the refrigerator…and then again…to the coffee table. So we tried to get you to walk to Mommy…nooope! How about Daddy? That was a big negative! Your walking skills have gotten pretty good over the last week. This morning I put you down and you took about eight steps towards me to give me a hug….ohhh my heart melts! We have waited so long for you to walk and I’m so proud of you! The only thing is that you look so grown up when you are standing. That is going to take some getting used to.

Oh and you now have an obsession with this hoodie that you snatched off the shelf at Target and wouldn’t give it back to me, but at 70% off I couldn’t say no. You do have very good taste. I don’t know why but every time you wear it you have to have the hood on and you spend the whole day playing with the zipper. Zippers require deep concentration!

This has been a great month and you have learned so much! From walking to learning how to open the refrigerator door all by yourself to get your zippy cup out. You’ve learned how to climb down the stairs all by yourself (Even though I am always one step below you it still makes Mommy VERY nervous but Ahma says you should learn how to do it the right way!)

Your looks are changing every day. Can I kind of say that I’m excited that you are looking more and more like me? After having your brother who looks nothing like me I’m kind of happy to finally have a child who at least sort of resembles me! Your hair is getting so long and I love how sweet you look with your hair hanging over those big blue eyes. Sweet girl you are going to be a heartbreaker! Just remember Daddy says no dating until you are 25 and Mommy says don’t even think about getting away with anything because chances are….I already tried it!

I LOVE YOU!
Momma

Emma Grace Is 14 Months Old!

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Amber Foster Smith

Follow Emma Grace’s Photo Project Here!

This month it was a little difficult to pick my favorite.

This girl has so much personality lately!

Her uncontrollable giggles are just too much!

Or when she tenses up when she gets so excited and gets this sour face!

She always insists on telling everyone hello with a friendly wave.

My personal favorite is when she just gets so excited she can hardly stand it!

Letters To Emma Grace

14 Months Old

My baby girl this past month has been one of the best months of my life. Over the last couple weeks you have gone from being my independent and sometimes stubborn little girl to the happiest toddler I have ever seen. It is almost as if your personality changed overnight. You are so full of joy and its like you are finally able to be the little girl that we have seen from time to time over the past year. You seem to smile brighter and laugh harder and it is amazing to see you grow.

Your bond with your Daddy is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I’ve watched your Daddy teach Jakie all sorts of things over the years. Everything from how to hold the doors for people and why it is so important to always say “Thank You” and “Have a good day” to everyone, even complete strangers. They spend their time bonding over silly boy things like burps and toots and how sometimes toots sound like ducks (I don’t get it. It’s a boy thing don’t worry about it!) But the thing is it is always ruff and tuff boy time with the two of them and when Daddy is with you…you are his precious little girl. He will walk through the door after a long day at work and at the sound of his voice you crawl over to him as fast as your little legs will carry you. The second he picks you up your face lights up almost as much as his. I fear your beautiful blue eyes are going to get you whatever you want from your Daddy when you get bigger!

The weather is starting to cool off finally and evenings are getting colder. You love the feel of the cool air on your face when we walk Jakie to the bus in the morning but you do NOT like all the extra layers of clothes. One afternoon I put you down for your nap and at some point you figured out how to unzip your sweatshirt and take it off. You kindly threw it across the room towards the door in an attempt to let me know you were done with it. Then a couple of mornings later I come in to see you in a battle against your jammies. You see I believe you got yourself in over your head thinking that you could take your shirt off. I don’t know whether you gave up or I just came in before you could finish your attempt to get nakie. Oh and last night I made sure to put socks and an extra shirt on you last night before you went to bed. Then this morning you woke me up to let me know that you didn’t want socks or your other shirt anymore (as you threw them out of your bed again) but you were cold and would rather snuggle in my bed where you were sure it was warmer! By snuggle I mean go crazy and play underneath my blankets…just to be clear there was no snuggling involved!

You still love bath time and quiet time to play toys by yourself. Sometimes I catch you what seems to be deep thought. I wish I knew what you were thinking in that silly head of yours. You have acquired quite the stash of toys downstairs and will play for hours by yourself only to check in a couple of times for a sippy cup of milk when you have become parched or for a couple pretzels or maybe some peppers with humus if you have worked up an appetite. They are all your favorites right now! Your appetite kills me and I only wish your brother would eat half of the things you eat! Mommy and Daddy put up a baby gate to keep you downstairs but low and behold you still have figured out how to open it and go crawling upstairs. You are so quiet and sneaky about it, except for when you make it about half way up you start laughing uncontrollably because you know you are up to no good!

You still are crawling and have no interest in walking. When Nana was here she bought you a baby doll and Mommy bought you a baby stroller to go with her. You will push your baby around the house ALL DAY. You will push stools around and instead of ridding your giraffe scooter you have decided you need to push it as well. You stand up all on your own without so much as a quiver in your stance but I just think you are unsure of yourself when it comes to taking that first step. It’s okay baby I know you can do it but just to let you know there is all sorts of things you can do once you can walk that you can’t do now!!!! 🙂 Your vocabulary is expanding. During Nana’s visit you also learned how to say “NANNNA” very proudly! In the car you would play your favorite game with the two of us. You would first scream “MAMMMA” and I would say “EMMMMA GRACCCE” and you would giggle and they say “NNNANNNAAA” and as soon as Nana would say your name you would be full of giggles again. I love how the simplest things make you laugh. Jake and I both swear we heard you say “Jake Jake.” We haven’t heard it since but I’m pretty sure that will be one of your next words. I can’t wait to see how much more you grow this month!!

I LOVE YOU!
Momma

Emma Grace Is 13 Months Old! (jroxdesigns.wordpress.com)
Crazy Toddler Mornings (jroxdesigns.wordpress.com)

Emma Grace Is 13 Months Old!

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Amber Foster Smith

Emma Grace is 13 Months Old!

Follow Emma Grace’s Photo Project Here!

Last month it was Cheerios this month she is making her Momma proud reading her new book we bought her for her birthday

Yes I am an absolute dork and I am aware that I have a slight obsession with Pantone! Remember back to the post about the Pantone Hotel? When I found this book a couple of months back I couldn’t resist and ran out and got it for her. I mean I think every child should be able to not only learn basic colors but then all the shades in between too!

Letters To Emma Grace

13 Months Old

The last month has been so much fun with you. You are growing up so much every day and your personality is really starting to come out. You still have issues with being away from me. If I leave your side you scream like crazy until I come back. If I leave you with someone else you are usually fine after you get over the fact of me being gone. Sometimes baby girl other people want to spend time with you too! Your Ahma and your Auntie would love to play with you but you just don’t like being away from me. Personally I love our time together but you need to learn to let the rest of your family love you too! You and Daddy have become so close this last month. You learned how to clearly say “Dada” and the sound of your voice makes Daddy’s heart melt and he beams with pride! I know it is hard for him to try to bond with you because you will not leave my side but now you love hanging out with him. You get so excited when he comes home and I’ve lost count of how many times this month that you wanted him to hold you rather than me. We are getting there!

August means football season in our house and you have been a really good sport so far. Jakie practices three nights a week and our Saturdays are spent going to games. You have a lot of fun at practice every night as long as you have had your afternoon nap. Game days are fun for all of us and Mommy even made you a new onesie to cheer on your big brother.

I made you one last year too and you when you were so little! It is crazy to think about how much our lives have changed in the past year since I took this picture.

Meal time is always exciting around here. You now have six teeth and will eat anything you can get your hands on. You still love bananas and I still have to hide them from you when we go to the grocery store or else you will go crazy and want one! You love going to see Daddy at work because that means you can eat guacamole by the fist full and down a ton of black beans! After your first birthday I finally gave you a cup of cows milk and WOW do you love it! I was worried that maybe you would give up on nursing once you had regular milk but I was kind of relieved that you still want to snuggle up and nurse in the morning and before bed with me. By the time your brother was your age he didn’t nurse any more but I am so happy to be able to still share our time together. Nursing is the only time you want to cuddle me and I think that is one of the major reasons why I am hanging on so tight.

You still aren’t talking very much…well no let me take that back. You talk ALL THE TIME but you just don’t like to use words. You will finally tell me when you are “all done” which is a big deal! It has made meal time SO MUCH easier!

Talking is slowly coming along for you. You say Mama, Dada, moooeee (for more) and brabrabra (for brother because Jake is still a little hard to say!) We are working on your walking but you just aren’t very motivated. I try to walk up and down the field with you every day at practice and you will RUN with only holding on to one of my hands, but if I’m not there to hold your hand…nope it’s not happening! It is okay you can take your time baby girl I just don’t want you to grow up to fast!

I LOVE YOU!
Momma

Emma Grace’s Weekly Photo Project Goes Monthly!

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Amber Foster Smith

Yes I know I am a month late in sharing this! I just now realized this week that I never shared her 52 week photo or her birthday party details! I know…I’m horrible! So here we go!

Emma Grace is 52 Weeks Old!

I mean lets look back for just a moment at how much my baby girl has grown over the last year!

It is amazing how fast babies grow up and that is exactly why I decided to do this project! It was the most rewarding long-term project I do believe I have ever done. Let me be honest though, I’m not always the best at keeping on top of things and I was sure I was going to forget a week along the way. I also had this horrible fear that on her birthday some how I was going to realize that I was one week short or something crazy like that. Now that she is a year old I’ve decided to change things up. Just like Miss Clara over at Young House Love (who inspired this whole project!) Emma Grace has graduated to being allowed to sit up! 🙂 For the last couple months she has wanted to do nothing but roll over and sit up while I take her pictures so it’s time to let her have a little more fun. She also is getting a bit of a break as well because we are now graduating to monthly pictures instead of weekly pictures. Also I’ve upgraded her wardrobe so that she now gets to sport a cute skirt or pants if she would like. At this point to get her to sit still I am giving her something to play with. I actually like the changes. The props are a fun way to see what she is into at the moment and it keeps her happy and smiling. At her 12 month shoot the only thing to keep her happy was her Cheerios which we all know is her favorite snack from here. The most exciting part of this last shoot was the fabric! Check that out! I had a custom fabric printed from Spoonflower as the backdrop. I’ll make sure to give you guys all the details in another post. So here we go…lets see if I can keep it going now that I have a TODDLER on my hands!