I swore I would always make time to keep up with this blog.  But obviously, it's been pretty hard lately!  I have been swamped with photography work (yay me!), so most of my "kid-free" time is spent working.  And did I mention last week we were in Hawaii?  I still have to go through all of those pictures and edit and post them.  Some days I wonder if I should even keep going with this blog, but then I remember the reason I started it in the first place.  We've got all kinds of friends and family that we hardly get to see, so it's nice to keep them all updated on our lives.  But most importantly, I want a place that can serve as an online journal of sorts, a place to write down funny stories and milestones and the events of our lives.  Sure I have pretty awesome/extensive baby books for my kids, but they don't have all the crazy stories and funny things in them, so I am going to try my hardest to be better about keeping up with the blog, because my babies are getting bigger too fast, and I want them to be able to look back and see all the fun and funny things they did when they were little!

So... I'll be better!  Hawaii pictures might take me a while though... this weekend I am running a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society using my photography!  I'm holding mini sessions in Moraga, holiday themed, which will give people images like these:

Not actually doing this next set-up, but it's still cute!

So, if you are local, and want some holiday portraits, while also giving 100% to charity, contact me!!!

Busy busy busy.  Three words to describe life lately.  Mark is ALMOST done with his thesis, and has been working insane hours trying to get that thing finished!  My photography business is keeping me super busy, so time for other things (like blogging) is pretty hard to find.  And now?  We are in Hawaii on a much needed family vacation.  We had a bit of a rough travel day today, but I am looking forward to a week of relaxing, sun, swimming, and lots and lots of pictures of my little ones!  So for now... I leave you with a little picture placeholder.

This little guy is 9 months old!  Which is crazy to me because I still think of him as my little tiny baby!  There's something about the second kid that makes everything so different! With Riley I thought she was soo big and advanced at 9 months, and with him, there are still some days where I'm like, wait, didn't you just start solids like, yesterday? 

We've seen a big increase in his mobility this month.  Still not crawling, but he scoots and rolls and pushes up on his knees and moves all around, it's really just a matter of time!   He's generally a very happy baby, but he gets really frustrated when he's on his tummy and can't get to the things he wants, so I think once he starts crawling, and realizes he can really get to whatever he wants, he will just be so thrilled with himself!

His sleep is still just okay... he's actually a great daytime sleeper, he takes 2 naps, usually 1.5-2 hours each, although sometimes only an hour.  For his naps, we just sing him a song, put him in his bed, and he puts himself to sleep with no crying at all.  He still sleeps with a pacifier, 2 blankets, and a little pillow in his bed, although the pillow is mostly just something else for him to grab onto.  He LOVES having a blanket on his head/face for sleeping.  In fact, if he falls asleep in the car seat, we can transfer him from car, walk outside in the daylight, all the way up the stairs and into his bed, and he will stay asleep as long as his blankie is on his face.

At night he still wakes at least 4 times usually, and normally the only way he goes back to sleep is by nursing, although sometimes replacing his paci will do the trick too.  Which, speaking of nursing... the boy probably gets most of his milk during the night these days.  During the day he's just too darn busy to be bothered with milk.  The only way I can get him to take a full feed is if he's really tired, and I take him up in his room and lay on the bed with him, and even then it's not guaranteed.  And it's not like I can always go in a dark quiet room during the day when I have a toddler tagging along!

As for solids, he's getting so much better at eating!  He had his first taste of spaghetti and loved it, but I think it may have backfired because his eczema flared up, so I don't know what to think exactly.  He loves little organic gluten free puffs, and gets so excited when he sees the container, he knows exactly what's inside!  He loves avocado, sweet potatoes, carrots, banana, and pumpkin.  He likes most fruits, and he loves the little tastes of cheese we've given him!

He definitely knows his own name, as he turns to you when you call him by name.  He holds his arms up to be picked up when I come over to him, and he hasn't quite figured out clapping, but he's pretty darn close!  We still use baby signs with him but I admit we haven't been very consistent with it.  We're trying to teach him how to give high 5s, and he's sort of getting the hang of it.  Maybe?

He makes some of the BEST faces ever! He gets really really excited about things and clenches his fists and makes the funniest faces!

The boy knows exactly what he wants, and is NOT happy if he can't have it.  He loves things with zips and buckles, he loves anything with buttons, and pretty much anything he's not supposed to have (like paper and plastic).  He loves when he is bounced around and when his daddy plays "froggy" with him, which basically just involves bouncing him all over the house.

He still adores Riley.  He likes to grab onto her and watches every little thing she does.  And she can make him laugh and I absolutely adore watching their interactions.  He likes to listen to her talk and sing, and is constantly trying to grab her toys and pull her hair and pretty much get anything she has.

He seems to be losing some baby fat, which is making him look a lot older to me!  He's in 12 month clothes, and I'm not sure how much he weighs!  His eczema is still pretty bad, and I'm still hoping he will just grow out of it!

He gets so excited to see familiar flaces and he flaps around and flails and kicks and bounces in excitement.  He had his first few incidences of stranger anxiety this month, but overall he's pretty happy around all people.  He loves dogs, and this month he had his first trip to the swimming pool!  I've been avoiding the pool with him since he has so many skin issues, but it didn't really seem to affect him in a negative way, which I am SO excited about!  He absolutely loved it, and I can't wait to get him in the pool some more!

He adores being outside, and really enjoys being walked around in the stroller.  He likes going on the swings at the playground, but is not quite as impressed with the slide. :)  Mostly, he would just prefer to try and eat leaves and grass and things.

And I leave you with this little gem from Mark's iphone (sadly it cut off after about 20 seconds, but at least part of it was saved!)

Okay so.. costumes.  I was totally indecisive, I couldn't pick costumes for the little ones to save my life.  So finally, last minute, I decided Jack was going to be a monkey (because he's my little monkey) and I let Riley browse online and pick her own costume.  And she picked a PINK POODLE, all by herself.

And just look at this little monkey boy...

While Jackson was asleep, we took Riley trick-or-treating around the local shops with tons of other kids.  She was stopped multiple times by random people who wanted to take her picture, she was that cute. 

Once we got back, we had some time to kill, which we spent playing on the trampoline.  Look at his hair!!!

And that hair too...

And then finally, we were ready to go trick-or-treating... or at least, dressed and ready, we needed to take about a million pictures first.

Now, we only made it to ONE house trick-or-treating.  And I didn't take any pictures.  But we had fun, Riley was pretty excited about being given lots of candy, even if it mysteriously disappeared after she went to bed that night... :)  Happy Halloween babies!!

It's no secret, I absolutely love holidays.  Halloween is no exception.  And every year, the street that I grew up on throws a little pumpkin carving party up at the top of the court.  We were able to go last year, and this time we introduced Jackson to the neighbors of the court!

Riley was obsessed with these steps.  She wanted to jump up and down them, and just hang out up there rather than join the party.  We thought we'd get a cute picture of Riley and Jackson together up there... well, let's just say it wasn't our finest parenting moment, and Jackson had his first "face meets pavement" moment.  The crazy thing is, Mark was RIGHT there, like practically holding him, but got distracted for half a second and Jack lunged forward.  Mark caught him juuuuust as his nose hit the ground, so he didn't get hit hard, but he definitely got scared and was bleeding.  He only cried for a few minutes, and yep, we both felt awful.

Baby in recovery mode.  Owie.

Riley was decked out in her Halloween attire, complete with skull necklaces.  Oh yes, we love to be festive during the holidays.

Annnnnnd back to the steps.  Over.  And over.  And over again.

Her Grandpa told her to jump down the step and yell "TA DA!!!!"... and so she did.

We finally convinced her to come and help with the pumpkin carving, which she sort of enjoyed.  And yes, that is my 2 year old with a knife.  :/  Mark is a trusting man, having his fingers so close to that little carving knife...

She wasn't totally thrilled about having her hands actually touching the pumpkin.  But she liked helping to push out the pieces that Mark cut out for her, she's holding the nose below...

Then of course we had to get a picture of the final product.  This time on a softer surface for poor Jacky Boy.  TA DA!

By the way, in case you were wondering, it took like 20 minutes to corral Riley and get her to JUST. SIT. STILL. for a photo with her pumpkin and her brother.  And then she was off.  And Jack was shoving grass in his mouth.  Fairly typical.

I was able to get her back by bribing her with candy corn I think...but of course, Jackson discovered her necklaces, and an hope of getting two munchkins looking at the camera was lost.

Next up... Halloween costume pictures!! Coming... eventually?