Kim Schmidt Photography LLC | Northern Virgina Family Photographer

m e e t   l u c y  + t a n n e r | miniature schnauzer puppies

My nephews received Lucy + Tanner for Christmas. Randon has been begging for years for a dog. My parents have been hesitant because they are already raising two extra children, they didn’t want to raise a puppy too. So when my dad put the kibosh on a boxer puppy, my mom decided on two miniature schnauzers. Growing up we had Sandy Mae, a salt + pepper schnauzer. It’s crazy to see these two puppies + be taken back to my childhood.

Santa gave my mom a call on Christmas Eve morning, telling the boys that he had made a mistake on their presents, that they needed to get in the car + head to Norman. The boys were very surprised to get not only one puppy but TWO! I had the flu so I got to spend much of the day with Tanner on my chest. It was the sweetest, to be able to cuddle him all day! To this day, when I come over, he’ll lay on my chest + fall asleep.

Lucy – she has a smaller face + is black/white.

Tanner – larger + salt/pepper.

Rylan picked the boy as “his” puppy, which was fine by Randon. He loves Lucy! Lucy was the name my mom wanted for her, so when Randon couldn’t come up with a name, she threw that out there + it stuck. Rylan on the other hand had all sorts of names picked out. At first he started calling him Patience, which I don’t think any of us were a fan of. At some point, I told him that he should probably pick another name. I wish I had it on video because it was the funniest thing.

R: I’m going to call him Patience.

K: How about another name?

R: Okay, he’s Tanner.

K: Stunned disbelief on my face.

Ever since, he’s Tanner. Or chunkie-monkey.

Just another day on the pool tarp!

They sleep cuddled up like this in their crate. It’s the sweetest thing!!

Going into our third year of marriage, we had made the decision to stop driving back to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. It was too quick, a whole lot of money, + we would be back in a few weeks for Christmas anyways. At that point, we were able to start our own traditions. It has been a true treasure for both of us, for us to spend that time in the kitchen cooking together. While in Princeton, we started having friends over which made it even more special!

This year I knew I’d be sad to not be in the kitchen, to not go pick up our turkey from the local farm + prepare it, to not be able to make stock from the carcass, or have all.the.leftovers. Cause let’s be honest, I use up the turkey in so many ways! Anything that you would use chicken in, the leftover turkey goes in. I normally make turkey pot pies, poppyseed turkey, turkey noodle soup, etc. The trade off was getting to spend the day with family.

Anthony’s granddad passed away around Thanksgiving many years ago, so his mom’s side of the family always gathers to surround Grandmother on that day. One of those first Thanksgivings we spent together as a married couple, we were helping Gram with the dressing. We still joke any time we need sage for a recipe that it could always use more sage. Because Gram probably put two jars of sage into that dressing that year. She kept saying that it will need more sage, even without tasting it. It was overly sage-y but it’s a fond memory Anthony + I both have!

Carving the 2nd turkey of the day!

This is the first place we’ve lived in that has a mantle. It’s been fun decorating it for the holidays so far! It’s becoming one of the “must have’s” for the home that we are about to purchase.

Our Thanksgiving mantle.

When we were in debate mode about moving back, one thing that was a huge pull for us is being near our families. We wanted to have Sunday dinners, we wanted to surprise the nephews, or to see them play a sport, or to have the family over for dinner at our place! In the two months, we’ve done all of those. It’s been such a blessing to see both of Anthony’s grandmothers multiple times. We know that realistically our time with them is more limited, so we try to visit them as much as we can. We are already looking forward to Thanksgiving + Christmas. We will no longer be rushed to get everything in during a short amount of time. It’s been 11 years since we’ve been home for Thanksgiving. We cannot wait to partake in bringing a side dish to a holiday gathering!

I’ve been awful about taking photos with the Schmidt side of the family but that will change next time.

Rylan is obsessed with card games right now – lots of go fish and war

Back when the weather was warmer, we enjoyed the pool quite a bit!

Randon has struggled with spelling. We watched the boys our first week in Oklahoma and he aced that spelling test!!

Afternoon spent at the Oklahoma Science Museum

Afternoon spent at the Oklahoma Science Museum

I surprised Rylan at his first soccer match, then Uncle Anthony + I came again the following week. While he didn’t score either time, he finally accomplished it at the last game of the season!

Child labor – or what Randon thought was chores for money (we didn’t pay them!!)

Pumpkin book report for Rylan – I had no part in this but I thought it was super creative.