Up he goes

Jack has been going up the stairs for a while now. I just haven't had the guts to stand back and take a picture while he does it.



I think he got confused when I wasn't right behind him.



***I'll have you know, I was at f/2.8. So, that counts for one part of my homework. I was too afraid to back it up :)

Assignment 1: turn it down and back it up.

If you've seen that extra prance in my step, it's because I'm excited. A local photographer, specializing in children's/ family photography, has taken me on as a mentee. Seriously, so cool. There are three of us and today we met at my house. We talked, the kid played, we took pictures; life was good.
Lyndsay gave me two (major) pointers to get started. Dial down my f/stop (I'm going to work w. 2.8 this week) and back up to get more of the surroundings in the photo...basically, enough of the face shots, MC!!! So, be on the look out. I'm gonna turn it down and back it up!

If you have a chance, check her out:

www.lifeinmotionphotography.com

Operation: Get out of the house

I've been having issues taking picture of Jack recently. Either he's trying to grab the camera or crawl away as fast as he can. A photographer friend of mine showed me how, if you get down on the floor in front of the door, he'll come racing towards you. You should have seen Jack and I. He'd race to the door, me clicking away. I'd pick him up (he's confused at this point as to why he's not already outside), take him to the end of the hall and repeat. Oh, and we did go outside when we were done. And it was hot. H.O.T.

Speaking of toes...

I love his, too.

Toes

Jack loves 'em. He loves his own, he loves his momma's, he loves his daddy's. Show him some toes and he'll try to play with them. Fortuately, he's give up biting them for the most part; although, I do catch him chewing on his own while he's in his car seat.

So, here's Jack, looking cute.



But, here's what he's really doing (please note the toes):

Outside.

In a diaper.
On a chair.
Eating grass.

Life doesn't get any better than this.






Checking out the grassy goodness below.

A cap and a leaf

That's all it takes to keep this little guy happy. Oh, his new favorite game is called "don't look at the camera."

Jack, the superhero

Our son is amazing. Would you believe that this little boy can go from this:




...to this:




...to this:



in less than 2.5 seconds with absolutely nothing in his surroundings changing?!?

It's true. The kid is amazing.

Let's get back to the Jack we know and love.

Rooaaaaar!

Just a quick snapshot I got of Jack the other day while he was taking his lion for a walk.

Poor Jack

His world now ends at the bottom stair.

My days are numbered

Jack can really get around now. While he's definitely not to a full walk, he is crusing like it's going out of style. So, what does that mean to the Urbans?
1. The baby gate is up.
2. nothing is on the tables.
3. Every picture I take looks like this:

The whole fam...

Of course I didn't take this one. I can't type the photographer's name, because my n key is broken and I can't do a capital n. You can visit her site (www.ameliaclairephoto.carbonmade.com). And as soon as my n key is working again, I'll post her name!

In the grass

Believe it or not, Jack only ate one blade!

You can make it, Jack!

All those late night and early mornings are starting to catch up with him!


(no coffee was consumed by Jack...don't worry).

Who looks more tough?

Here's Jack with the Sheriff from the Bluebonnet Festival.

More Bluebonnets

Now, with a tree!

Getting Caught

It's clear now that Jack understands, "No." He also tends to be sneaky these days. He'll turn around to see if anyone sees him when he crawls out of the room. Or, if he's playing with something new (in this case, a different window), he'll check to make sure he's not going to get caught. Little did he know I was behind him the whole time!

Burnet Bluebonnet Festival

So, every year, Burnet (the Bluebonnet Capital of the world...or something like that) has a festival compete with a parade, rides, music and crafts. The highlight is riding the train out there. It takes 2 hours, but it's a lot of fun to see the sights on the way. I'll keep posting pictures in here as I edit them. For now, here's Papa and Jack riding the rails.



After about an hour and a half, Jack needed to stretch his legs. Here he is crawling down the aisle.

Video Time!

So, Jack clucks now. Like a chicken. If he's not doing anything and you cluck at him, he'll cluck back at you- over and over and over again. Have a look:

Show off...

Every where we go, Jack's showin' off his new teeth. He has a constant smile on his face. Be on the lookout for a top tooth, looks like it's going to come through sometime soon!



Here's Jack with his friend, Abby. They were playing, "This Little Piggy."