Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

A little bit about Lisette.....

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.

When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.

This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.

All tagged Baby

Jul 1
Jul 1 First haircut

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Parenting, Seattle

I recently took Jasper to Kid's Club at University Village for his first professional haircut. Upon arrival, I was instantly impressed with the salon's adorable ambience. I could have taken him anywhere to get his haircut, but this little space was geared specifically for children and had the most adorable little cars for them to sit in while they got their haircut. In the end, I was most appreciative of the ease in making an appointment (I was able to walk in and get an appointment in twenty minutes), their service and patience once Jasper started to freak out. Clearly they have dealt with upset children before and have lots of practice with both easy and hard little clients As part of their "First Haircut" package you will receive a souvenir photo along with some hair clippings. Although he was not happy for his "after" photo at the end, I will always remember how adorable and grown up he looked with his cape sitting in his very own taxi cab. There are so many emotions being a mother, but seeing your child learn and grow and become their own little person is endlessly rewarding!

Marking the passage of time

Feb 11

Feb 11 Marking the passage of time

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

There is no better physical record of the passage of time then watching a baby grow. It seems everyday is full of new achievements, interesting discoveries, firsts and clothes to be outgrown. Since welcoming Jasper into our family I have tried my best to document the everyday moments from lying on a blanket, to snuggling post bath, our family outings and being playful in the morning. Here is a look back at the first three months of our time together. Although we have waited awhile to share our home with a little one and it feels as though we have reserved a piece of our heart for him and have always been waiting to love him.

Jan 29

Jan 29 Honest diapers

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

During the first few weeks of Jasper's life we tried just about every brand of diaper and wipe out there. After lots of leaking diapers, soiled clothing and frustration we finally found a diaper that worked- Honest diapers. Not only do Honest diapersfit well, but you can sign up for a diaper subscription where a box of diapers and wipes comes to your house every four, five or six weeks. Honest diapers have adorable patterns you can choose from and are a company who strives to help families in need.

Bella Baby Photography

Nov 19

Nov 19 Bella Baby Photography

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

When you are exhausted after delivering your baby, but love the idea of having professional photos taken of your new little bundle Bella Baby Photography is the perfect alternative. The best thing about Bella Baby is they are a photography service offered through the hospital so there is no need to plan ahead. A photographer will simply stop by your room and offer their services which means the ultimate in flexibility for both you and your baby. For our session the photographer came by just as our baby was hungry, so she happily popped back in once he was done feeding. The other selling point for me is how they are able to capture a handful of great shots in roughly fifteen minutes. No fuss and a few priceless shots of the newest addition to our family makes for one happy mama.

Jasper's first photo shoot

Nov 4

Nov 4 Jasper's first photo shoot

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

When Jasper was just a mere three days old, we had a little time on our hands at the hospital so we set up a mini photo shoot. I have longed for such a sweet subject and had the best time photographing him until my little heart was content. He was a dream to work with and a real natural in front of the camera. I foresee a lot more photo shoots in his future.

Welcome home Jasper!

Oct 31

Oct 31 Welcome home Jasper!

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

On a dark, stormy and wild night, as the electricity intermittently flickered at the hospital Jasper Crew McKinley was born Saturday, October 25th at 10:57pm weighing 9 lbs 3.3 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long. From the moment we found out we were expecting, we knew his arrival would not only be the highlight of our year, but our life. Even before he was born he was the center of our universe and we continuously felt the outpouring of love our friends and family felt for him.

Once he was born and took one look at us with those dark, steely gray blue eyes it felt like we have known and loved him forever. The continuous worry of the past nine months immediately melted away. He is our everything and we are honored to be his parents.

A Children's Library

Oct 30

Oct 30 A Children's Library

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

With a new little one in our midst we are eager to build a wonderful and inspiring children's library. Some of my fondest memories from childhood were being read to before bed time, circling every book I wanted from our monthly book order and then eagerly anticipating their arrival and spending many a long Summer day reading the afternoon away on our deck. In an effort to teach our child to love reading at an early age and to create an environment where books are more interesting than video games and television with the help of family and friends we have been busily building our children's library.

What are some of your favorite children's books?

Paternity leave survival kit

Oct 28

Oct 28 Paternity leave survival kit

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Aside from counting down the days until our baby arrives, I am also eagerly counting down the days until Cameron is home on paternity leave. It will be such a joyous occasion to spend my days with two of my favorite boys by my side. In celebration of this special time in our lives, I thought it would be fun to put together a simple, but thoughtful little paternity survival kit for Cameron.

Learning to slow down

Oct 24

Oct 24 Learning to slow down

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Pregnancy and motherhood have taught me a lot about myself. They have forced me to look inside myself, tested my faith, my patience and taught me how much I yearned to be a mother. Like most women I assumed children would naturally come. Once I decided I was ready to have them then nine months later they would be safely placed in my arms. Looking back, I realize how naive this notion was. After unexpectedly loosing our first child I constantly feared I would not be able to have another child. I feared this not for any medical or logical reason, but more out of not understanding how my life was going to look.

Honest diaper cake

Oct 17

Oct 17 Honest diaper cake

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Over the past couple of months we have been showered with many lovely and thoughtful gifts from friends and family for our baby. Today I wanted to share one of the most practical gifts we received- an Honest diaper cake. What is a diaper cake some of you might ask? A diaper cake is a clever way to present an essential, expensive, but not necessarily the most exciting baby need out there- diapers. Along with almost one hundred diapers inside the cake there is non toxic nursery essentials like laundry detergent, baby wipes, face and body lotion, bubble bath, and healing balm.

Oct 6

Oct 6 Honoring Asher

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Asher, Parenting

Each year on my son's birthday I simultaneously feel sad and look forward to the date. My thoughts often turn toward how old he would have been, what kind of party I might have thrown for him and what our life would have looked like if he were around. Inevitably, on the day of his birth I have moments of tears and sadness, but my general feelings have been of gratitude and happiness. I know without a shadow of a doubt my son would want me to be happy.

Friend baby shower

Oct 2

Oct 2 Friend baby shower

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Last weekend some of my nearest and dearest friends hosted the loveliest baby shower for me and baby #2. Initially, I was a bit of nervous about being the guest of honor at the party. My typical role is hostess and I wasn't certain how I would feel being on the other end. However, I can honestly say once I was there I felt comfortable, loved and supremely spoiled. It might be all these pregnancy hormones running through my body, but upon reflection I felt overwhelmed by my friend's kindness and outpouring of love for me and our new baby.

Our little man's nursery

Sep 16

Sep 16 Our little man's nursery

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

One of the most heartbreaking acts I performed after our son passed away was to dismantle his nursery. Several friends and family members suggested they take over this task for me, but it only seemed appropriate I would be the one to take it down. Ten days after he passed, I decided it was time to pack up all of our son's belongings. Unfortunately, this decision coincided with my birthday. Looking back I believe I tried to inflict the most amount of pain I could upon myself in hopes my heart would stop feeling. After the initial surge of love and support from loved ones, I struggled with feeling guilty for having moments of happiness. The act of packing up his belongings was punctuated with heavy sobs and feelings of anger. The life I was looking forward to was over and instead was replaced with large clear plastic containers of memories. Life felt unfair. Life felt hard, but the very act of keeping all those baby items was a testament to my faith in the future.

Maternity photo shoot

Sep 10

Sep 10 Maternity photo shoot

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

The weekend we spent up in the North Cascades we were walking around Sun Mountain Lodge when Cameron snapped a couple pictures of me. Before I knew it, I had turned it into a mini maternity photo shoot. Over the course of this pregnancy, I have gone back and forth between wanting professional photos taken and not. I will be the first to admit I would rather be behind the camera instead of in front of. When I am getting my picture taken solo I tend to feel awkward and don't know exactly what to do with my body.

Moving through, not moving on

Jul 31

Jul 31 Moving through, not moving on

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

After we lost our son, Asher, the conversation quickly changed from "how are you doing?" to "when are you going to have another child?" This change in topics was quick, sudden and happened far sooner than I expected. However innocent the questions were, the one of when we would have more children infuriated me to no end. I would always leave the conversation feeling like if Asher were around they would not have the audacity to ask me such questions. I left the conversation feeling sad, hurt and with the realization that one of the most important people in my life meant very little to anyone else around me. With time I discovered, other people were eager for me to be pregnant again so they could feel more comfortable about our situation. No one likes to think about infant death, let alone talk about it. If people allowed themselves to talk about it, it was almost as if they were admitting it could happen to them too.

The whale project

Jun 5

Jun 5 The whale project

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Awhile ago, I mentioned my super talented friend was helping me out with a little sewing project. A week ago I received the finished product in the mail and I could not be more pleased with the results. I saw these charming whales in my local fabric store window and from the moment I saw them I knew I wanted to make one of my very own.

Unisex gift giving

Jun 2

Jun 2 Unisex gift giving

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

A popular trend right now seems to be not finding out the gender of your baby. As fun as this might be for parents, it can make gift giving a little tricky. I have pulled together some of my favorite gifts whether the expectant parents have a girl or a boy.

My favorite baby shower gift ideas

May 22

May 22 My favorite baby shower gift ideas

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

I can't tell you how many baby showers I have attended where all the mother received was clothing. As nice as I imagine it is to have drawers full of clothing, there is an endless list of other fun and useful items an expectant mother may want or need for their baby. With this in mind, I put together a little assortment of some of my favorite gifts to give expectant mothers for their new babies.

Life update: Baby mode

May 8

May 8 Life update: Baby mode

Lisette Wolter-McKinley

Ever since I saw a positive on my pregnancy test we have been in baby mode over here. I know for many "nesting" does not occur until much later in the pregnancy, but for me it is quite instantaneous. Last time, I had clothing hung on hangers, the sheets washed, the crib set up and made, and the baby quilt finished. By week 27 I was pretty much just waiting on our baby to arrive. I was prepared or as prepared as I thought I could be.