Somebody call 911!!!!!!!

St. Louis. Is. HOT. I know it's hot everywhere and I get it that everyone is miserable this summer. But I firmly BELIEVE that St. Louis, Missouri exceeds all other levels of hotness in this great country!

THAT being said, we had our first real family pictures taken last Tuesday in 105 degree weather. Our sweet photographer Lissy { http://missprissiness.com/blog/?p=12580 } still made it super fun and bearable!!!! I am so lucky that Lissy's sweet mom, Mary, purchased several prints from me a few months ago. During the communication portion (imagine that!) we got to know each other and I became quite fond of Mary and inquired about her extra large family! Through our email "chat" I learned that ONE of her daughters was a photographer in STL AND, coincidentally, had just taken a good friend of mines pics! It just worked out perfectly. Small world indeed!

Wanted to share a few of her sneak peaks. Not too fond of my hair but what's a girl to do! Circumstantial :) Ryan was a gem though and we had lots of fun!!!!! THANK YOU, LISSY!!!!

The last few months of my life have been (to say the LEAST) a WHIRLWIND. Some days I didn't know how I was going to make it work... but with the help of my wonderful husband, my family & 2 new FAB babysitters, it has all fallen into place :)

With over 1100 sales in my Etsy shop since MAY (almost 1400 total!) & being a full time mommy... I feel like I have been lacking in other important departments in my life. But as of 3 weeks ago my sister Shannon has joined me and is helping me immensely!!! SO excited to have more time with our Teddy Bear, family & FUN EVENTS coming up!!! (Weddings, the lake, a bachelorette, our anniversary & celebrating Colleen's wedding!)

Meanwhile, Ryan has been growing up SO fast. He is a wonderfully happy, smiley & energetic baby- all 9 months of him!!!!!! Doug and I feel so blessed to have him in our life. (WE COULDN'T LOVE YOU MORE, SHIVY!)

Just wanted to do a quick post and thank everyone for their love and support. I cannot believe how lucky and blessed we are!
xoxo
Colleen

Peyton Manning: My Sports Hero

My dad was a Baltimore Colts fan before they ever came to Indianapolis in 1984, cheering for the great Johnny Unitas. His passion for Unitas was inspiring to me and one can understand why for Indianapolis natives, today is a very sad day. My sister said it best when she texted me this morning, "it feels like I've been dumped!" Shan, for once, the glass is half empty but... I know we can fill it up! Since 1998, Peyton has done wonders for the city and for the people of Indiana. He brought Indy to LIFE! He brought us a Superbowl! He brought us good deeds and the Peyton Manning Childrens Hospital. He brought us Hope. And I know I will be forever grateful to him for these things and so many more. Thank you Peyton. So much... for all that you did to make us proud of you, of the Colts and of the city of Indianapolis. Wherever you go... I will cheer hard for you! (Let it be known however that I am still and always will be a COLTS fan. And one more thing. I know that Jim Irsay is a GOOD man who had a TOUGH decision to make, but I know he loves Indy too and for that, I am also grateful.
NOW... we could use some LUCK!!!!!! :)

5 months... what?!!!?!?

How can my little bitty angel already be FIVE MONTHS OLD?!?!?!?! I got out a new toy from mom mom o today and he seemed pretty interested (hence the expression on his face! :) I just love him more and more every single day!

Team Project

My sister Janet called me this weekend and asked if I would be willing to help with her son's (my oldest nephew) team basketball project. Each player wrote something special about one another and she asked me to design the poster. I was so excited! Here is what I came up with. What a neat idea for a sports/team gift! They are being printed as I type- 11x14 - and the boys will recieve them at their banquet on Saturday :) So proud of my nephew, Nicholas!

Graduation Inspiration!

So... I am having SO much fun with my etsy shop. I have shipped to 18 different states and have already had 2 repeat customers. I just LOVE it! Ok... reason for THIS post... my 10 year high school reunion is this coming May and I have been reminiscing. Then I was thinking about what I could do for a fun unique graduation present and then it hit me. I hope you enjoy and pass it along to anyone you think would like! I can personalize for ANY school as long as I have the information! High School Graduation Present!

MY SUNSHINE :)

Who knew that such a little person could inspire such pretty art!!!

You Are My Sunshine Print

Counting my blessings

I am feeling so incredibly blessed today. I woke up this morning from a fun weekend with college friends and my family to a smiley, happy baby and a husband who remembered to bring the stroller inside (it really is the little things). As I was driving to grab my daily DC from McD's... I heard one of my favorite songs and it dawned on me as I was driving with my left hand and holding Ryan's hand in the back seat with my right, just how incredibly blessed I am. I AM going to miss these moments. Nomatter how hard it might get. Nomatter how much I miss my family. Nomatter what. These are the best days of my life. I thought the exact same thing right after college, and again when I met Doug, and again when we got married. But I will always look back on this time and smile. Everyone told me that having a baby would change everything and it has. But only for the better. Only for the BEST :)

Ryan is taking a little nap right now and I just can't help but look around and count my blessings. I am so thankful to God and to all of those in my life who have gotten me where I am today. xoxo
See my print on etsy:CoCo Stine Designs - You're Gonna Miss This

Getting ready for St. Patrick's Day with a little Irish Prayer ;) CoCoStineDesigns

Feeling inspired...

I am feeling so happy and inspired today. I have receieved a few texts and an email today of encouragement that really put a smile on my face! It feels so good to be doing something that I love and have always wanted to do!! I was inspired by Pinterest to create this for my sister and her husband (as a gift for being Ryan's God Parents) and listed it in my etsy shop, too. These are dates that are important to them: Shannon's birthday, David's birthday, they date they got engaged, married and the birth dates of Connor & Danny! A special thanks to Meg Saak for the tagline! I'll keep you posted whether or not they like it and may suggest it as a gift you give in the near future! I know I would LOVE it!

My New Adventure!!!!

I am so excited about my new adventure inspired by my love for arts, crafts and the little things in life. Timing is everything and I now have the time to do what I love! I have so much work to do to get everything listed on etsy, but I started out with a few basics :) Please keep me in mind for special occasions! They make GREAT gifts and are so very special. I am working on prices for canvas and metallic prints, too!
Visit my etsy shop: CoCo Stine Designs

0-3 month re-cap! Oh how he has grown!

Best 3 months EVER!

Well... everyone kept telling us that a baby would change everything, and everyone was right! But... our lives have only changed for the better and I would never want to go back to the day before our little Teddy. Ryan is such a good, happy, sweet little boy. This is a picture our good friend Andy Yee took on Thanksgiving. One for the books- definately our most thankful Thanksgiving day so far!

 Since Ryan was born... another very special event has taken place; that being the engagement of Colleen & Scott!!!! CONGRATULATIONS you guys! We couldn't be happier for you! Let the celebrations BEGIN! xoxo

 This is the picture that went out as our Christmas card this year. We did a few "photo" shoots & Ryan really started to warm up to the camera!! 

 Christmas was the merriest day of all! We spent it in INDY and Ryan got to see all the comotion that takes place in mom mom and pop pop's basement with his big cousins. He is SO good in the car and we had a blast! That was Ryan's 3rd trip to mommy's hometown (so far!)

 GO TIGERS!!!!

 Ryan is my BEST ERRAND buddy!!!!! 

 Uh oh... someone is going to be on the move very soon!

 Almost rolling over! This picture was taken today. What an amazing 3 months it has been. We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy baby and I am the luckiest mom in the world!