So after countless hours online (Pinterest! =)... I found the cutest pictures of some little boy with his daddy's shoes and hat on... and then another one together with a teddy bear. As cute as they were, I honestly thought they could be a lot cuter with Allen Jess in them instead of that other boy! (Okay, so I'm a little biased!) And after procrastinating way too long, I finally decided to give the same photo shoot a try. So after Alec went to work one morning and found Allen to be in a really good mood... I set everything up, got the props ready and gave it a shot, quite literally. Maybe not magazine worthy, but I thought they came out pretty darn good... and Allen certainly earned his big gold star that morning, for he was outstanding and just loved being the center of attention! (Hmmm... wonder where he gets that from?)
Of course the only hat I could find of Alec's that matched his shoes was his Atlanta Falcons hat. Not exactly what I would've picked... but it served its purpose.
"Okay... listen up fellas! Tigger, you distract the cats while Teddy, you somehow get Mommy's attention while I try and make a break for the snack bag!"
"Mr. Bear... I think you're the only one who gets me!"
"Umm, can I help you?
I'm sort of in the middle of something here!"
Not sure if it was me, the blanket, or the fact that the camera was on him... but whatever it was it sure did make him one happy little boy! Needless to say, Allen & I had a really good time and couldn't wait for Daddy to come home so that we could show him our photo shoot!
In honor of Allen Jess turning 9-months-old today (Yes, I know... we feel the same way: 9 months have gone by so incredibly fast!), I present to you... for your viewing pleasure, a few pictures of 100 percent random cuteness.
Who needs a jungle gym when you have your very own mommy to play on?!
Oops! How'd that get in here? Hee-hee.
Bing enjoying an afternoon siesta!
Such a happy little boy!
While I spend my afternoons away hard at work...
this is how Allen & Jei spend theirs!
A picnic in the park... without wearing any pants.
Being a kid sure does have its privileges!
Such a silly boy!
Speaking of which... I wonder where he gets it from? Hmmm...
Peek-A-Boo!!!
"Would someone just please let me out of here!?
Somebody thinks he needs all the bed-space he can get...
while others have to settle for only just a sliver!
"You gonna finish that?"
Once every blue moon we actually don't have to beg, bribe or try sneaky tricks to get our son to go to sleep at night! On rare occasion... just being a happy & active eight-month-old sometimes does the trick!
Ever since Allen has been crawling he's been completely infatuated with his big sister, Ming. And perhaps because of Allen's new found mobility, Ming certainly has taken quite the liking to him too. She is super sweet... even when he comes barreling down the hallway only to grab a fist full of hair. Surprisingly, Ming is very patient with him and has been way more tolerable than I ever thought she would be!
Jei & I are trying to teach Allen how to be gentle and simply pet... instead of hitting and clinching a bunch of fur, but progress has been excruciatingly slow! With that being said, I think Ming might like it a bit rough though... as she seems to like it and certainly doesn't get angry, hiss and/or runaway when he hits, grabs and pulls.
But regardless of what Ming likes and how Allen treats her, their relationship has definitely started to blossom over the past few weeks... and needless to say, it is super cute to watch them interact with each other!
Man... they sure do preach the truth when they tell you your baby grows, develops and changes more in his first year of life than in any other year! It seems like only just a few weeks ago Allen Jess was barely getting his bottom two teeth in, just learned how to sit up on his own, and bath time seemed more of a chore than play time! But boy how things have changed. Jei & I are just flabbergasted at how fast time flies by... and how much our sweet little boy grows, develops and learns right in front of our eyes!
Allen's bottom two teeth are just about all the way out and might be ready for a tooth brush already... but his top two teeth are a little behind the eight ball.
They're slowing making their way out... but from the looks of it, he's probably going to have his parents two gigantic ugly front teeth, with a nice big gap no less.... so needless to say, an orthodontics fund has already been started!
Two teeth, four teeth, or no teeth... it doesn't much matter to Allen,
that is of course until it's time for some food!
And speaking of food...
the dreaded messy meal stage has begun!
I just thank God I'm usually at work when they go down, and don't have to deal with the mess! What happens during Mommy Time... stays on Mommy Time!
So I have to admit... the whole leaning to crawl progression was a little bit confusing to me! First came learning how to sit up on his own...
Which, because of his size and the fact that he could now sit up without our help, meant he no longer needed his reclining bather... and bath time was now play time! And it wouldn't be play time without some really fun water toys to play with!
He sure is a lanky little dude! Don't think we have to worry about him taking after his Momma and being short!
So then sitting up somehow led to Allen sitting on his ankles.
Just love his little toes!
And then finally, Allen got the courage and the strength
to stand up all on his own!
But then I realized he was just doing it for some kisses!
So for some odd reason, standing up was the next stage in the progression...
And not only did Allen pick it up rather quickly and was actually quite good at it, but he absolutely loved being on his two feet!
"Hey Dad... Mom's not looking! I'll grab the diaper bag and you go start the car. Let's get outta here man!"
Naturally, once he learned how to stand himself up...
his crib bed undoubtedly had to be lowered!
And while his parents were terrified about him going over the railing head first... Allen of course thought standing up in his bed was the greatest thing ever!
And finally, the sitting up... kneeling... and standing up...
all led to Allen becoming a little more mobile now!
And as we expected, with Allen being able to crawl around the house now... the level of mischievousness jumped through the roof!
Who knows how long Allen had been eying that kitty water... but when he finally got to it... well, let's just say, mission accomplished!
And when we suddenly realized Allen was nowhere to be found... we panicked, only to panic even more when we found him climbing the staircase by himself! After yelling at and blaming each other... we both agreed that this crawling thing is a whole 'nother ball game!!!
It obviously didn't take him long to get the hang of it... and once he figured out how to stop, sit back up, and then continue crawling again, we knew things were about to be very different here at the house!
