Joseph is 9 Months Old!

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe that our little guy is 9 months old already!  I always knew I would love my kids, but this little guy honestly makes my heart so happy I feel like it might burst sometimes.  Instead of letting me rock him to sleep, he prefers to be put in bed where he goes to sleep himself, but, throughout the day, he will randomly crawl over to me and give me a hug or kiss which just melts my heart.  He now knows how to clap, wave, and give high fives, although he doesn't always feel like "performing" when asked.  Joseph is definitely all boy!  Instead of going aroung obstacles, he crawls right over them.  Even if it takes him multiple attempts, once he sets his mind to it, he will do it.  He loves playing with balls and anything with wheels as well as reading books. 

Joseph - 9 Months



Joseph currently thinks drinking out of Joe's cups is one of the coolest things ever!

Joseph and Daddy at the Super Bowl party we attended.

My friend, Amber, is currently in the photography class after the one we took together.  One of her recent assignments was to recreate a photo she found in a publication.  She asked if I would be willing to let Joseph be her subject for the picture and, of course, I agreed.  This first picture is the recreation.  The rest are just us having fun since he was all dressed up.

He wasn't really giving out smiles that day, but he wasn't unhappy either.  He was just good ol neutral, go with the flow Joseph

Can you guess where I was standing during this next one?

I think I'll give this one to his future wife someday. :)

Valentine's Photo Shoot

As Joseph has become mobile, he has also become harder and harder to photograph by myself.  I knew that I wanted to set up a Valentine's day shoot for him so we could send cards out to our family, I just didn't realize how hard it would be. 

The original "plan" was to take his pictures outside.  After many failed attempts during which he was constantly trying to crawl away, I finally grabbed my heart buntings off the mantle, decorated his crib, and threw him in there.  Luckily, his crib is next to a window and it was a beautiful day so I had decent lighting to work with. 

He is quite the ham and prefers to give me his closed lip, stretched neck smile over a genuine one. 

He also likes to talk a lot, even during photo shoots.  I'm not sure if he gets that from me or Sam, but it allows him to fit right into the Parks family.

  

 The finaly product was this sweet little Valentine's Day card that I think really captures his personality.