How is it 2012?

Well, it is a new year and I have not been very good about updating this blog. I'm contemplating changing the name since life will not just include Cotton, but another baby boy in March. We're really excited to welcome the new addition to our family and we still have lots to do to get ready for him. Luckily we have lots of baby boy supplies to use already, we just need a few extras like diapers, a crib, maybe a double stroller...
We'll be decorating the new nursery in the next few weeks but I'm sure the little guy will be sleeping in the master bedroom for at least a month so we have a little extra time.
One thing I've been working on lately is learning the ins and outs of the new camera I got from Chris for Christmas. It is a Canon Rebel EOS T2i - a DSLR - which is a great piece of equipment and I'm so lucky to have it to capture great shots of both of our boys. I hope to start posting some of the great pictures I'll be taking with it soon.

Double Standards

The dogs aren't exactly happy that they can't play with Christopher's toys, but he can certainly play with theirs.
Here's a pic of Christopher running through the house with one of Stella's new favorite toys.

The Pumpkin Patch

Earlier in October we took a family outing to a local pumpkin patch. It was about 45 minutes away and was truly in the middle of farm country. There are pumpkin patches that are much closer to us, but they tend to be on vacant plots of land right next to the 101 - not exactly the country farm experience we were looking for.

The name of the place we went is called Faulkner Farms and it is in Santa Paula, CA. It is an older farm that has since been purchased by the University of California Hansen Agricultural Center. The proceeds from the annual pumpkin patch are donated to local schools and community groups in the area so that also made us feel good about supporting this particular farm.

There were bales of hay, a corn maze, a hay maze for the younger kids, hay rides, lots and lots of pumpkins, a petting zoo, a working farm, and even a little antique shop right on the property. They did have a live band when we were there but in my opinion they were just a little too loud (I know, I'm getting old). We started the afternoon with some lunch - tri tip sandwiches (a So. Cal favorite) and corn on the cob and then started touring the property. Christopher loved watching the older kids run around and he just likes to check out new things. We found some pumpkins that were bigger than he is and let him play around them for a while. During this time we were constantly trying to take advantage of any photo opp we could. I think we got some good pics and we'll definitely plan to head back there with both kids next fall.

Family photo with the sunflowers

The antique shop!

Chasing an almost toddler

Something very important that I've realized is that blogging with a 10/11 month old is not easy. During nap times I usually take the time to shower, clean up the kitchen, and do whatever other chores I can fit in within an hour. Christopher is an extremely mobile, extremely curious baby. I am not in any way complaining because he is so much fun and I love watching him explore - it just means there isn't much time to sit down during the day. Luckily I'm over the worst of the 1st trimester exhaustion and don't need daytime naps anymore. It also helps that Christopher consistently sleeps for 11 hours at night now. And when evening bed time rolls around Chris and I sit down and have a late dinner together and I don't usually have the energy to write something creative...or write something at all.

Some of the things Christopher is into right now is climbing the stairs in our house over and over and over again. He also likes to "rearrange" all of the shoes in my closet. I let him play in there while I brush my teeth after breakfast and he really enjoys it. Although lately he has decided he should try to close the door while he is inside and I'm not. Not a big deal because there is no lock on the door, but I always open it up pretty quickly.

There is always a new adventure around the corner for him and it is a lot of fun to see what he discovers next. One project we'd like to get done before Baby Straub #2 arrives in March is to convert our upstairs workout room to a playroom for the kids. It will be great to have a place to contain most of the toys and books and where it will be easy to block off the entrance and let Christopher be free to play. Hopefully we'll have the time to make that happen!

I've been away from blogging for a while - but I have to say it was for a good reason. We had visits from two grandmothers during the month of August. It was such a big help to have Nana and then Grammy here, especially since Chris had to make an unexpected work trip to London for a week. I really appreciated the adult company and the help with Christopher so I could get a few things done, including some napping!
Christopher is almost 10 months old - and his personality gets bigger every day. He is such a pleasant, fun boy and he is always moving and trying to get into something he shouldn't. But babies will be babies I guess. We're pretty sure he has figured out that he needs to pose for us when we take out the camera, and to show that off, here are a few recent photos of our little ham.

Out for lunch with Mommy and Grammy

Looking tough at dinner time

Enjoying football Sunday

Celebrity Sightings

Since moving to Southern California I've had a few minor run-ins with so-called celebrities. I wish I could say that I had met some exciting movie stars, but these encounters have mostly been at a distance and without actually speaking to these people. I'm not one to bother someone for an autograph or a picture because I just don't care enough, but it is still interesting to see TV personalities in person.

Probably the most popular actor I've seen was John Krasinski, known for his role as Jim Halpert on NBC's show "The Office." I do admit that I love that show and was pretty excited to see him. We actually saw him checking in for his flight from BOS to LAX on American Airlines while we waited in line for our first class seat upgrades. Luckily for us, we got our upgrade for our flight back home from Boston. It was much needed after a long trip with a tired, wiggly baby. So, we were actually in the same row on the flight as Mr. Krasinski. I was impressed that no one bothered him, and that he seemed like a nice, regular guy just making his way home to LA.
The other TV personalities - I won't call them celebrities as that is a stretch - were Maria Menounos who is a reporter for an entertainment show on TV, also on an American Airlines flight, and William Hung(!!!) of American Idol fame a few years back. I saw him at LAX when I was waiting to pick up my mom and actually wouldn't have known it was him until someone stopped him and asked to have their picture taken with him.
During one of my few trips to Malibu I saw Ricki Lake - who had a bad daytime talk show years and years ago - but I don't consider that very exciting.
We'll see who will be next on the list. I'm hoping for Tom Selleck, Ellen Degeneres, or Will Smith since all of the above are rumored to live not too far way from us. I'll report back here if I do have any good sightings.

They saw me coming...

Last week I took Christopher to a photography studio to get his first (at 8 months old) professional photos taken. I had never done this before because Chris thinks we can do just as good a job taking pictures at home as a professional can do. I know this isn't really true, especially because of the background setting at home and the slow shutter speed on my point and shoot camera, and I wanted some more "official" shots of the baby.

I got what I considered to be a great deal - a whole package of prints for a really low price and no sitting fee. I guess I should have known that is how these studios get you in the door and rope you in to buying more than you thought you would. Mothers who bring their cute babies to the studio and are shown 24 adorable pictures to choose just one print from are also known as "suckers". They saw me coming from a mile away! I could not choose just one print - there were so many very cute poses. So I walked out of the studio spending almost 10 times as much as the so called "deal" I purchased ahead of time!

When Chris got home that evening and I showed him all of the great pictures he knew I fell for the studio trap and that I spent way more money than I should have. All I could do was apologize and keep showing him lots and lots of cute photos of his son. Here are some of the poses (because I of course also ordered a high resolution disk of all the images) for your enjoyment.