14 Months

Between raising a busy 1-year-old, keeping up with the holiday hub-bub, and running a photography business, I have had hardly a moment to breathe let alone blog.

I just realized the other day, I've been so busy taking other people's pictures, that I have neglected to keep up with my own family's!

I miss blogging, and will catch up on it more after the new year...

Here is a quick update on our little social-lite though.

The J-Man is now 14 months and busy, busy, busy. He is leaving more of his "chillin' days" behind and is full of of curiousity and spunk.

He has become the little life of the party wherever he goes. From waving to everyone who walks by to proudly declaring, "Ho, ho, ho!" to whoever will listen, & blowing kisses to people when he leaves, this little guy seems to crave the spotlight.

Still a fabulous eater, he has added many new foods to his reproitoire, including carrots and hummus, kidney beans, fish, blueberries, and his favorite...mac n' cheese! He is down to only a night-time bottle but is a champ at using his cup. He has recently been enjoying trying out his fork and spoon with much success (for about 4 bites that is, until he realizes using his fingers is much easier).

Jaxon now has 12 teeth...just cut all four molars this month!

Jaxon has become very independent as of late, (something that mommy welcomes), but sweetly enough, he checks back in for hugs for Mamma. Some of his favorite activities are chasing his cats, playing with his toys (especially his ball popper), opening and shutting doors, arranging and rearranging pots and pans, & reading books.

More likes: Doggies, birdies, light switches, stairs (he could go up and down them all day if he could), music & dancing.

Dislikes? To my dismay, Jaxon HATES wearing hats or gloves. He also hates having his hair washed, saying "bye, bye" to Daddy when he leaves for work, sitting in his carseat, and napping.

Jaxon is still not walking on his own, but he is certainly gaining confidence. He took 7 steps the other day and can stand confidently for quite some time. He seems to think his crazy army crawl is way faster.

Where he isn't as motivated in the walking department, he certainly makes up for it in the talking department. He has about 20 words already, 14 of which he uses regularly...10 he uses spontaneously. Favorite phrases as of late, "Wuz at?" (translated "what's that". He says this whenver he points at something or hears a noise.), "cereal", and the other is "Ho, ho, ho!" (he got this from a book from the library he is obsessed with.)

And that is Jaxon in a nut-shell! Well, a really large nut-shell that is!

Happy Late Thanksgiving...

Happy Late Thanksgiving! (I meant to create a very wonderful Thanksgiving post ON Thanksgiving about all that I am thankful for, but things got a little derailed. Read on.)

We were supposed to go to Pendleton for Thanksgiving, but Mr. Cold/Flu had other plans. Yes that's right, Jaxon woke up the night before our trip with croup. Neither Rob or I thought driving 9 hours in 2 days with a sick baby would work too great. Also, despite our best efforts to teach Jaxon to "share", this is not how we wanted to teach it.

Believe me, he has already shared with the rest of us in the house. =)

So, we were home-bound (except for a brief trip to see Nanna & Grandpa) on Thanksgiving, and been trying to rest at home since.

My head has been in a fog since being sick...I just this evening realized I can prepare for the holidays and turn on my Christmas music, get a tree, etc. Normally I would've been on top of that...I LOVE this time of year!

Speaking of LOVE...don't you just LOVE this little J-Man sportin' his Mamma's hat???

It sure looks like someone else is in the Christmas spirit as well! Happy late Thanksgiving, and may you have a wonderful Christmas Season as well!

Jaxon, Abby, & Our Trip to Oregon!

Absent minded me! You'd think I would've come home with tons of pictures from our recent trip to Oregon! Oh wait, I DID come home with tons of pics...just mostly pictures of clients rather than our time with friends. That has been the story around here as of late...lots of pictures of clients, not too many pictures of my little monkey. I vow to change that very soon!

I am extremely thankful how much fun our time was with friends!

In between giving my camera a workout, we fit in chillin' with dear friends, calavanting in the park in the rain, trips to the mall, many Starbucks chats, eating at the ever scrumptious Cheescake factory, and much more! Not only that, but I do believe this trip was the easiest with Jaxon yet!

Here are a few of the photos I did manage to get....

I just love the interaction between Jax and his little buddy Abby now. They play together so well! They are for sure little buddies.

And one more shot of Jax's other love. (Well besides the binky that we've been working on detaching from. *Sigh*) It's Bekah! Oh how he loved her. In fact, I caught him holding hands with her several times from his stroller as she walked beside him. A-Dorable!

Such a great time and we look forward to visiting again soon!

J & O: Making the Band

They're stylin'...

...they're sassy...

...and they're taking this whole band thing to a new level.

Watch out world...J & O are making the band!!

It Will Have to Wait...

I'm learning all about balance.

I had every intention of sitting down and writing two posts with fun pictures this evening, but it's 10:42pm and I just got done: cleaning the house, packing for our trip to Oregon, washing all the dishes by hand (since the dishwasher is broken), helping Rob with a project of his, folding all the laundry, and editing pictures for clients. The "old" Kristin would stay up another hour and write the blogs anyway, but the "new" Kristin is going to go to bed early for once and "be ok" with leaving something undone on her "to-do" list. =)

(Ok, ok...I cheated a tiny bit by posting this little snipet...but it's all about the baby steps right?)

So as I was saying, the fun posts with pictures will have to wait until I get back from my trip.

Speaking of trip, would you all mind praying that the weather cooperates this weekend? I have several photoshoots in Oregon that can't really be rescheduled. I'm only a tad bit stressing about this!

Goodnight!

The Adventures of J & O - Halloween Style

J : "Ummm...you may not have noticed, but there is something seriously wrong with your hand, O"

O: "Look who's talking, J! You have a giant unicorn horn-like thing popping out your head!"

J: "Yeah I know...what's the deal with putting us in these funky looking outfits anyway? Our parents are cookoo. I mean you can't even grab your toys with those funny green hands, and I can't go underneath the table without bashing my head-stock into it and seriously damaging my fret board!"

O: "No kidding! I mean we are the cutest things here...you'd think we'd get something out of being so adorable."

J: "Yeah, where's all this candy I keep hearing about? I think we're being jipped!"

O: "That's it...come on Cuz, we're out of this joint!"

Little Guitar Hero

Our little guitar hero:

(Click the image to see in larger format)