11 Months Old

Size: I guess we will find out next month!  I THINK he has grown, but still petite.

Sleep: We decided to spend 8 nights sleeping in our living room to let Bode cry it out...that got rid of some of the waking, but he still gets up between 5 and 6 and I just feed him and he goes back to sleep for a few more hours.  The last 4 nights he has gotten up around 3 and then 6, so I fear that I am letting him fall back into a bad habit again...why oh why don't we have an extra bedroom in this house?!?!?!
 
Development: He is getting faster at crawling, standing up next to everything, cruising a little, and standing holding on with just one hand.  He also uses a walker (very slowly) and sits up on his knees.  I really think he will take his first steps in the next month or two.  He is eating whatever I can cut into small pieces and definitely prefers to feed himself.  Still 3 teeth, but I am convinced the other top one is working its way through, explaining the poorer sleeping habits lately.  I do, however, blame everything on teething!

Personality: He continues to be so sweet and smiley.  He is laughing more now, especially at Eben.  I do see some toddler-ness coming in though as he protests diaper and clothing changes and has been much more verbal when he wants something. (This is what I wrote last month, but there isn't much more to add!)

Sibling Relationship: There are still plenty of annoying times of Eben yelling at Bode to get away from his toys...Bode still doesn't seem to care that he gets yelled at while we are at home, but it's because of this that I need to leave the house every morning or I will go crazy.  Eben is incredibly helpful though and NOBODY can make Bode laugh like Eben can. 


Here are some Valentines Day pics I did as his 11 month birthday was actually on Valentines Day.  I had to include the chair because it was the only way I could think of keeping Bode on the backdrop.  I am sure you will think the shoot looks fun and relaxed - let me tell you - it was the complete opposite.  Eben was awake and present and made for an incredibly frustrating time.  Let's just say the shoot lasted no longer than 8 minutes and part of the time I had "someone" standing in front of the camera, arms on hips, saying "I NEED A SNACK!" (even though he totally didn't) - and because he wouldn't listen to me when I nicely asked him to move about 6 times, he got a timeout about 5 feet away from the backdrop.  So, while Bode is enjoying his shoot, his brother is crying in the background, Bode keeps almost tipping over the chair, and cries periodically because he wanted help down.  Let's just say I was sweating bullets by the end of this...worth it in the end though of course.

Recent Happenings

Alright, I am not so good at keeping this blog updated, but whatever.  I have just been super busy working on my photography stuff.  As you all probably already know, I changed the name from Kari Breker Photography to Karianna Photography (because Facebook made me make the decision quickly with fanpage name change requirements).  So, I have been working like crazy to get things cleaned up and figured out, but most excitingly I am working on a webpage, which I am so beyond excited about!  So yeah, every chance I get I have been on the computer and sitting on my butt.  Anyway, here are a bunch of unedited random pictures from recent times:




The city Eben built on our kitchen table.



Apparently when food is done being eaten, it goes in the sink...

Eben and Bode with some of their best buddies.  The boy, Braden, on the left next to Eben is Eben's best boy bud...he's got a best girl bud named Sofia :) 

Just eating some pretzels and watching some Baby Einstein...which he still LOVES.  I am happy about it though because it's the only thing Bode will watch when I need to get some stuff done.

Crawling around in the kitchen.







Bode is standing up next to everything these days.



Eben and I built this tower together and he was so proud...he actually did the top part and I just did the bottom.





This fun track was a Valentine's Day gift from grandma and grandpa...it's a hit!

I realized I hadn't talked about these police cars yet.  Before Christmas, my friend said she bought me something at the store, our local Meijer (which is like Walmart for those who don't know).  She brings out THIS police car!  Out of the thousands of cities in the country Meijer had FARGO police cars!  We went back to the store and got all we could find (around 6)...crazy thing is that there was only one other city to choose from, which was a Michigan city.  We could not believe these were there...one of the many connections we have had to Ann Arbor since moving here.



Our messy window...most of those were letters at one point.

This is what impetigo looks like :( After 24 hours of antibiotic cream it is already looking better - thank goodness!  I was starting to get worried that it was going to be something more serious!

Is it just me or does he look incredibly old standing up next to the lion?!  We brought this out a few days ago and he is doing surprisingly well...slow, but not falling much.  He will be walking soon I think!

And now just some silly Bode faces...

Not crying, just a little stressed out.



Stressed out again...I love this face, haha.

Haha, again, stressed out, not crying - I think he wants help down!

Bode's 10 Month Photos (Finally)

Yes, Bode is ALMOST 11 months - in 5 days actually.  I finally got his 10 month pics edited and in the collage and I am pretty happy with it.  As I mentioned before, we tried these pics the weekend after he turned 10 months, but he was SO cranky and I only got 2 semi-smiling pics then.  So, I decided to try it again the following weekend (I needed Dane's help to hold him on his lap) and it went better.  As you will see, he still got cranky, but that is what we want - a good variety in facial expressions.  We didn't get his frustrated face or his disgusted face, but we got plenty of others.

I need to give Cheries Photography in Fargo (Now Studio 9 Photography) all of the credit with this idea.  When Eben was born I decided to have his pictures done at Cheries because of this collage option which my friend had of her son in her home.  I just LOVED it.  So, being that we are so far away and not planning a visit to Fargo while Bode is this age, Brian of Studio 9 was so kind to give me (he will be tipped!) the template for the collage so we can make a (sort of) matching one of Bode for our wall.







The one above is fuzzy, but the face is SO Bode so I HAD to include it anyway.










































Below is Bode's Collage!  I am happy with how it turned out...although it looks quite different than Eben's.  The background is darker and the lighting and editing is simply different.  That is to be expected because I use natural light and he uses studio lights.  Oh well...good enough, right?!

Below is Eben's for comparison...see...quite a bit different, but it will do!