Colin's one year old photo shoot

Bubba turned 1 on May 29th, but since this season is terribly hot, his birthday photoshoot was postponed for better weather.  luckily the clouds rolled in and we quickly took our places.  

 i used my favorite prop and favorite of Colin's outfits to set the tone for our shoot.  Colin was not that into it:

 but we still managed to get off a few good shots. 

happy birthday Mr. handsome!  you are the light of our lives.  your sisters adore you and we are thrilled to have such a wonderful son!  you are so much fun. it seems your energy has no bounds.  you love to wave to everyone you see.   you love dogs,  both real and stuffed.  you are equal parts tough and cuddly.  thank you for bringing so much love and joy into our lives.  this has been a fabulous year, and we look forward to the many more to come!  

love, Mom

corn season!

we are a corn family!  and here in Arizona there is some of the yummiest sweet corn around!  one of our families very good friends grows the best of the best of that sweet corn.  in June i make near daily stops to the corn stand by our house.  here is our baby boy enjoying his first ear of AZ sweet corn!

welcome to the deliciousness son!

my baby boy is 1!

i can't believe it really happened, but i had a baby boy and now that boy is one year old!  are you kidding me?  seems like just yesterday our entirely pink world was invaded by the most perfect boy who was ever born!  and now a full year has passed?  unbelievable!  

 and yes ladies, he really is just this handsome!

 the boy was showered with all things boy, namely every type of ball ever made. 

 and of course the cupcake smash!

 it was a happy birthday for a happy boy!

Dear Colin,  

you have literally change our lives!  it has been an amazing blessing to have you in our lives.  your sisters adore you, and the feeling is mutual.  each day it seems you learn something new, and that thing is usually the newest way to wrap up even more around your finger.  i love the fun you bring to our home.  you are so darling, so fun, so loving, and happy as a clam!  thank you for being the best boy in the world! 

happy birthday! 

love, mommy

let's go Dbacks!

we took Colin to his first baseball game!  the girls were so excited, they dressed in all their D-backs glory and made signs to wave at the cameras. it was so fun to see his reaction to all the action. 

 he loved all the yummy treats and all the sights and sounds. 

 he kept his eye on the ball more than any of the girls ever have.

 our seats are right above the opposing team's bull pen, so we got to see a lot of pitches.

 the girls took turns snapping pics.

little cutie likes to eat!

this little cutie loves a good meal!  and the muffins we're busy making are great for self-feeding!

early risers

some of my favorite moments are those we have just lounging around here. 

these baby blues kill me!  this boy is taking over the house for sure, on nothing but pure charisma!

these two babies are best buds.  it is so fun to see Colin light up when his big sister says, "good morning Bubba!" 

Bubba, 8 months

i can't believe my little baby is a 8 months already!  why oh why does the first 8 months fly by, while the previous 8 months (in utero) were so, so very slow! 

Colin is just a joy of a child.  the girls are in love with him, and he is just growing a learning every day.  though i've always thought girls clothing to be more fun, i must confess i'm loving all the fun boy accessories too!  Colin always gets a lot of attention in his bow tie!

 but really, it's easy to see why!

crawling! never underestimate a boy's love for his dog

so Colin is the baby who has spent the longest learning to crawl.  not that he was a late crawler or anything, just that he spent a long time learning.  the girls would get up on all fours and rock, and then a few days later, a week or so, get their wheels under them.  Colin on the other hand, has been rocking on his hands and knees for weeks on end.  i knew crawling was just around the corner.  but when. 

that's where Nalu comes in.

 Nalu has been so sweet and patient with each of our children, but Colin has a special love for this dog.  he spends countless hours mauling her each day.

 it's not just a one way street though.  Nalu loves her boy right back. but, when she's done, she's done and she gets up and walks away. 

 i think Colin was motivated to keep the love alive.  he finally started to make his move!

i got some video too, he's a crawler!

meeting sweet Violet!

Colin and i took a little trip to Washington to meet the newest member of our family.  it was a funny experience flying with Colin.  i got lots of stares in the terminal with a baby strapped in a front carrier, a back pack, and a trolley with my bags on it.  lots of people asked if i was okay, and i was like, "this is my fourth baby, i'm on vacation!"  we originally planned on spending time in Seattle once we arrived, but i opted to rent a car and get to Olympia stat. 

we had these people to see, can you blame me?

Colin is a big fan of his cousins.  and Laine is a great cousin to climb all over.

 and as all grandchildren, Colin is a big fan of his Grandpa!

 baby Violet did not dissappoint!  she was a doll, and a total angel!

 we did get to spend a fun day in Seattle with Henry and Laine.  Grandma and Granpa took us to the Space Needle!  it was so fun seeing such a landmark.  Grandpa was all about getting this shot of the kids with the needle above them.

 here's the same shot with Colin and me this time!

 we were lucky to get a semi clear day for our trip to the city.  everything was so beautiful.  after some fun shopping and sight seeing, i headed to the Hanley's house (or should i say houses) to visit with my dear old pals.  i can't believe that after all this time we can still hang out 'til the wee hours of the morning and never run out of things to talk about.  another trip to Seattle is definitely in order!

 Colin served as my dutiful assistant during my newborn session with baby Violet.  still not quite able to crawl, but giving it the good ol' college try.

 such a helpful prop manager:

 the 4 days i was in Washington, the skies ranged from clear and blue, to the traditional overcast, to a complete white out. 

 after we finished up our portraits, it started to snow.

 it snowed all day and all night, we built a snow man, and played all day.

 though beautiful, it was a little touch and go for a while on whether or not we were going to be able to get out of there.  the flight was delayed almost 8 hours.  my parents were kind enough to follow us to the airport just to make sure everything went smoothly.  all in all, it was a wonderful trip!