Almost a year!

Yesterday, Will had his 1 year old pictures made!! I can't believe that he'll be 1 in less than a month. It seems like yesterday that I was hot, swollen & wishing time would hurry up so we could meet our little man. Now I relish every hug, coo & snuggle knowing that before long he won't want to cuddle in my arms & instead be trying to figure out what to get into next. To take a look at some of the pictures, check out www.doubletakephotography.blogspot.com. These girls are fabulous. So fun & easy to work with. They took our family pics/Will's 6 month/AK 3 year old pictures a while back. Katie took the pictures yesterday & I'm so pleased with how the one's I have seen turned out. Can't wait to see all of them!

Will turned 11 months old this week & here are some of his milestones:

*Crawling & cruising everywhere!
*Can stand for a few seconds by himself
*Has 7 teeth w/ one more inching out any day
*Says da da, ma ma, duck, bye bye, dog, eat on a consistent basis. He has a few more words that are one timers (Nemo, thank you, etc.)
*Likes to be held ALL THE TIME now. He does not like to be put down at all!
*Can climb up stairs (Gives me a heart attack when he sneaks away to try this!)
*His hair has really lightened up lately & gets super curly when it's wet
*LOVES the water & anything to do with it. He loves to splash, drink & kick the water.
*Eats really well. I weaned him about a month ago and he's done really well on formula with minimal stomach issues. He eats any food that he can't choke on (besides seafood, honey & peanut butter). The messier the better in his opinion. Needless to say I am constantly picking up cheerios, shredded cheese & pureed green beans from random locations!
*Loves to cuddle & has started reaching to be held when you walk in the room
*Smiles all the time & belly laughs when tickled

Our big boy!!

Yesterday I walked out of the room & walked back in to find Will like this! He's getting so big!! He's starting to cruise a little bit after he pulls himself up, especially along the coffee table. It won't be too long before he's taking off on his own!

9 months old!

Our little man turned 9 months old on May 28th. The week before he went for his check up & weighed 19 lbs. 14 oz. & 27 1/2 inches. He has since gained those extra ounces & passed up the 20 lb. mark! Other significant milestones:

*He has 4 teeth (2 on the top, 2 on the bottom)

* Can crawl- he started really crawling on May 11th- Anna Kate's b-day)

*Eats all kinds of foods (baby food & table food). His favorites are baked sweet potatoes, bananas, & pasta. He's down to nursing 2 times a day & taking a couple bottles during the day.

* Can pull himself to a standing position & stand holding onto something. He's not quite "cruising" yet, but that won't be too long

* Loves to babble. His favorite sounds are Dada & EEEEEat! He has said & waved bye bye a couple times, but he won't perform on command

* LOVES to swim. We went to waterpark last weekend & in the pool several times lately & he loves to splash & giggle.

* Really interacts with his big sister. I can leave them alone for short periods of time with a pile of toys and they play very well together. She likes to read him books. However, I need to buy some boy toys for him, because lately he has been favoring her princesses and baby dolls!

* Overall a sweet, laid back gentle little man. Everyone who meets him comments how docile of a child he is. We pray that he continues to grow up with a gentle nature. We are so blessed by our little man!!

Birthday Weekend in Chicago!!

For our birthdays, my friend from law school Lyndsey & I went to visit our other friend from law school, Kate. Lyndsey & I have the same birthday so it was a double celebration. We had SO much fun!! Kate had a b-day cake waiting on us when we arrived & the consumption of sweets never stopped the entire weekend- pound cake for breakfast, ice cream from the Good Humor truck. We even had dinner at a place called Hot Chocolate that was known for their desserts & more ice cream at Sweets in Lake Forest, IL. Undoubetedly Lake Forest is where Jennifer Aniston has a second home & was the home of the original Marshall Fields. We visited that suburb on our way to Wisonsin.

I'm sure you are wondering why we went to Wisconsin. Well if you aren't aware, I have a personal goal to visit all 50 states before I turn 30. Wisconsin was one of the states I haven't yet visited so we made a little road trip. Last year when I visited Kate in Chicago I was able to knock out Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. So know with a little under 4 years left to complete my goal, I am down to 12 states left. Unfortunately, they are the most boring states (hence why I have not yet visited them). So if anyone is up for a road trip from Oregan to West Virginia let me know. I need an excuse to visit those states!

So besides the road trip & sugar induced coma, we had a fantastic trip. It was so relaxing to have 2 full days of no diapers to change, mouths to clean, toys to pick up, etc and lots of adult conversation! I missed my husband & kiddos so much, but I definitely enjoyed a little "me" time. Thank you JD for being so sweet. When I told him I was thinking about going to Chicago, his immediate response was I needed to go. He didn't complain the first time about having to watch the kids. I'm so thankful that I have a husband that loves taking care of his kids & doesn't mind me having girl time!

End of the Year Program

Anna Kate also participated in her schools end of the year program. Her class has been practicing for months on the Pledge of Allegiance, The B-I-B-L-E & Baby Bumblee Bee. Anna Kate has been practicing at home & the whole way to school that morning. But for some reason as soon as we got to her school she started WAILING and refused to perform. After much coaxing I finally sat at the front of the auditorium with her, but she still wouldn't perform. Of course, as soon as it was over she started singing her songs again! We have really enjoyed Anna Kate's year at Trinity Baptist Mother's Day Out. Her teachers, Mrs. Sarah & Mrs. Gladys were so sweet and really taught Anna Kate a lot. We appreciate all of the love and knowledge that they gave our daugther this year. We were sad for the school year to end but look forward to her starting Pre-K three in the fall at Episcopal Day School.

Contraband Classic

Anna Kate has been taking gymnastics for over a year & a half now. She started at Guzzy's Gymnastics in a Mom & me class when she was 17 months old. When she turned 2, I decided I was too pregnant to take gymnastics (I was 7 months pregnant at the time) so I switched her to Gymnastics Etc. Gym Etc. is where I took gym for 6 years when I was younger. She attends class for 1 hour once a week and she LOVES it. Her bff Karsyn is also in her class so that makes it even more fun. A few weeks ago we had her end of the year meet. She competed in Bars, Balance Beam, Floor & Vault. We were so proud of her Blue ribbon (1st place) on the balance beam. She received 1 blue, 2 reds & 1 white and a bronze medal overall.

More Birthday Fun!

Here are a few more pictures of Anna Kate's Storybook 3rd birthday party as well as her makeover at Club Tabby with her bff Karsyn. They were such divas!