12 months

Finally...Jackson's 12 month post. I still can't believe my baby is a year old! How did that go by so fast??

Here are his "stats" for 12 months:
- still drinking out of a bottle; he refuses to use the sippy cup
- went from formula to milk with no problem Yay!!
- took his first steps 2 days after his birthday
- says "Da Da" when he's happy
- says "Ma Ma" when he's not and he needs something
- is starting to venture around the house discovering all sorts of new things to play with (i.e. the cat, Dylan's toys, the carbon monoxide detector, tables, mini albums, window blinds, etc.)
- loves food! has eaten all the table food we've given him except for avacados and mashed potatoes
- Gerber Graduates Lil Crunchers are his favorite snack (he gobbles them up!), cut up banana is a close 2nd with applesauce coming in 3rd
- loves to play with cars, trains, balls (anything that rolls - sound familiar?)
- loves to turn lightswitches off and on
- hates having his face wiped off after meals, putting bibs on, and having buttons fastened on his shirt
- riding in his big boy carseat now and loves it
- "Baby Einstein Baby Galileo" is his favorite show to watch but the opening of any show (including Spongebob) will have him stopping what he's doing to watch and listen
- learned how to throw the ball this month
- pulls up on anything and everything (tables, toys, people, etc.)
- sleeping less during the day (no more free time for mommy!)

And here are the pictures. I took pictures of him all day last week - I think I did 3 separate photoshoots. Oy! I narrowed it down as best I could. Any tips on which pictures to get printed would be greatly appreciated. =)
Random info:
The "birthday boy" onesie is made by Carter's. I got it at one of their outlet stores last summer and I'm not sure if it's still available ornot. The "1" oneisie was made by Shelley at "The Shabby Belle. Isn't it stinkin' adorable!!! She has a bunch of cute onesies, dresses, pillows, and other cute stuff in her shop. Go check it out! She'll even customize your onesie with your choice of number or letter and any fabric you want. Fun!!

two small steps

Yes, I know it's corny but I couldn't think of any other suitable title...

MY BABY JUST TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!!!

Watch out world, here he comes!! First birthday party, first birthday, first steps...it's been a big week here!

Here's a picture I took today during his one year photoshoot.

party boy

Yesterday was day I'd been dreading and looking forward to for a long time. My last baby's 1st birthday party. It's breaking my heart that my baby is turning a year old but I'm also excited for him - he's on the cusp of learning to walk, he's eating new things, learning how to operate toys, making attachments to people and things. He's growing up!

His birthday isn't actually until Monday but we celebrated yesterday with family and friends. Jackson wasn't sure what to make of it all. He kept looking around as if he couldn't believe all these people were in his house. LOL Before you see the pictures, please understand we had a VERY sleepy little boy on our hands. Naptime has been a little erratic lately (we'll switch to one nap a day soon) and he hadn't taken a nap before his party. =)

Getting a picture of my mom is nearly impossible. Apparently putting a grandbaby in her arms will get her to cooperate. =)
I love this picture of Jack with his Gray and Great-Nanny. He looks so little and I love how he's looking at them. So sweet!
And, here's Jackson with his buddy, Gray.

Jack LOVED the balloonswe had everywhere. He just laughed and laughed at them!

Me and my hubby with our birthday boy. (Yes, I know the middle picture is funky but I like it LOL)

Here's our little man opening his presents. He got right into and I was amazed that big brother stood back and let the Birthday Boy open all his presents. One of the first presents he opened was a little red car (he LOVES cars) and once he saw that car that's all he wanted to play with. We had to hide it just so he'd be interested in opening the rest of his presents. Crazy boy!For me, the best thing about a 1st birthday party is the cake! I love to see how they react to eating cake and all the sugar. =) At first, Jack wasn't too sure about it but once he figured out how yummy it was, he chowed down. He picked up big chunks and shoved it into his mouth. And then he disovered that it was even more fun to "paint" with the icing. He painted his chest and his belly. Needless to say bathtime quickly followed cake time! =) Just to save you from about 20 pictures of him eating cake, I made this little storyboard of his encounter with it yesterday. I love how he get progressively messier! =)And finally these two pictures are my favorites from party. I love his sweet eyes in the first and I love how messy and squishy the icing is in the 2nd pic.Thanks for putting up with all my pictures!! One last note: These were all taken by my best friend, Lelia. She took all the pictures for me so I could sit back and enjoy the day with my little man. Thank so much, girl!!!

9 months

It's hard to believe I'll be planning the little dude's first birthday party soon...sniff sniff. He's just growing up too fast!! Here are his stats at 9 months:
- unofficially 19 lbs. - his dr. visit is next week
- using the army crawl to get wherever he needs to go
- his absolute favorite toy is a soft plush basketball that has a small rattle inside
- had his first Christmas (loved all the toys and actually got into opening his presents)
- gets up at 7am, eats breakfast (7oz bottle), plays for an hour and a half, takes a nap, eats lunch at 11:30 (7oz bottle + baby food), plays for 30 minutes, naps, plays, eats dinner at 4:30 (7oz bottle + baby food), plays, bath at 6:00 and then bedtime at 6:30 - I realize this is more info than you wanted to know but this is my record keeping
- finally likes 3rd foods and has tried rice husks (loved it the first time but now not so much)
- demands his food when he's hungry (the kid has some lungs!)
- isn't content to play in his exersaucer for longer than about 10 minutes; he's discovered he has the ability to move around on the floor and he fully expects to be able to use that ability at his leisure
- loves to watch Baby Einstein videos
- is finally sitting up for more than a few minutes at a time but he still doesn't last long
- started on Zantac today so hopefully he'll have some relief from the reflux soon
- hates getting dressed; would much rather go around naked all day
- rubs his ears when he's getting sleepy and is still so happy to be in his bed at the end of the day
- loves bathtime especially if big brother is in there with him

And, of course the pictures:
My mom got him this giraffe for Christmas. I'm hoping it'll be his Lion.
He looks so grown up here! (at least he does to me)
Love those little rolls. =)
"Munching" on his favorite toy. He loves this thing!!
Santa baby.
Now I know what my photography clients mean when they say they have a hard time choosing which pics to print. I have to pic one pic for his "9 month picture." Any suggestions? I also have one that I'm definitely getting printed but I can't post it here. It's of a certain (very adorable) bare back. =)

christmas day 2009

Here's a small sample of the photos we took yesterday. We had the best day! Very relaxed and so much fun to watch the boys open their presents and enjoy being with family.(digital elements are from Little Dreamer Designs)

merry christmas

santa

This was a fun year to see Santa. Dylan was super excited (even had his list ready) and Jackson was too young to be scared. =) And to top it off, Dylan's BFF was there which made it even better!
Sadly, this is the best picture I got. The lighting was horrible and there wasn't much space to frame my shot. The disadvantages to being a photographer - you overthink these things. LOL

See what I get to work with? A year old who covers his face and a 8 month old who looks away. Thank goodness for an awesome Santa!
A picture of Dylan and Emma together - WOW!!!
And finally, the letter to Santa!! So cute! He wrote the whole thing and I helped him spell the words. =)