"Bah Humbug!" - Ten Months

That was his expression for like 5 minutes. Wasn't happy, wasn't sad...just stared at his Daddy the whole time. Fastest monthly photo ever. Lol!

Fun Facts About Owen:

• New sounds he makes: loud shrieks and the "g" sound ("guh guh")
• Has FOUR teeth that he loves to grind and we hate to hear/witness *shudder*
• Started walking (unassisted) on 12/17/15
• Learned to crawl backwards

It's pretty unbelievable that Christmas 2015 has come and gone already. Last Christmas, I was waddling around and looking 9 months pregnant (even though I was only 7 months along). Now, fast forward a year later, I'm chasing around a 10-month old!

I'm not going to get into too much detail of the events from the last few days (I'm so exhausted)...but as per usual, we spent Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas lunch with Ralph's father's side, then Christmas dinner with his mother's side. Such a perfect arrangement!

However, we started Christmas a little early this year. We weren't going to be home all day on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we gave Owen his gift on the 23rd - a teepee! He had a play tent before, but it was too lightweight for him, and all he'd do was knock it down constantly...so we figured a teepee was more sturdy (and a LOT cuter), and he can't get enough of it.

Teepee from The Land of Nod.

Attempting to open presents...he still needed a lot of help from Mama and Daddy.

A tent full of presents! Owen thanks all of you for the awesome presents!

His typical post-monthly-session face. #overit

Owen also likes to toss his toys aside (see the purple gear at the bottom left of the photo?) - it's his new thing.

Thank you to everyone who made Owen's first Christmas a great one! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and have a Happy New Year!

Fall Family Session

I literally JUST got our photos from Christina Cho Photography, but I cannot contain my excitement. I always tell her that whatever session she just did was "my favorite", but I'm serious this time...THIS is my favorite.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't even think about doing a family session until earlier this month. Reasons being are: 1) I'm not in the greatest shape; and 2) Having a baby in a photo shoot is very unpredictable. Will he be cranky? Will he not want to be carried and just play on the dirt? What if he's camera-shy? What if he poops his pants in the middle of the park? All these scenarios kept popping in my head, but then I remembered the day of our newborn session. Owen was reeeaaallly grumpy that day, but it wasn't apparent in the final photos...well, except for maybe one or two of them. But you know what? I loved every single one of those photos, so I quickly contacted Christina.

We had our photos taken at Riley Wilderness Park at Coto de Caza (que fancy). Ralph and I decided to arrive a little early, just in case Owen fell asleep (to wake him up), was hungry (to feed him), peed/pooped (to change his diaper), etc. (See what I mean about "unpredictable"?) It also gave us the opportunity to look around and have Owen get used to the place.

The place was gorgeous. We had already done our sessions at a "green" park, the beach, and at home, so I really wanted a place that had an Autumn look to it.

Thank you, Pooh Bear, for making Owen smile that day!

Yes, that's the same book we used at our maternity session. Where did the time go?! *Crying*

Thank you, Christina!!! This is DEFINITELY my favorite session, by far! And also a huge thank you to Christina's husband Katzy for entertaining Owen, carrying our stuff, assisting Christina, etc. You guys are awesome!

"Adventure is out there!" - Nine Months

Fun Facts About Owen:

• Eats with his left hand.
• New sounds he makes - squeals, raspberries, snorts.
• First tooth came out!
• Has an ugly face he makes when he's upset.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had Thanksgiving lunch at my family's, then we went to Riverside to have Thanksgiving dinner with Ralph's family. Then afterwards, we took a quick trip to Target to see what the deals were...and since all apparel was 40% off, Owen went home with some new clothes. Perfect timing too, since it's now starting to get REALLY cold (about time!).

This month's photo was inspired by the movie "UP" (though I made a hot air balloon instead of a dirigible). The photo above was the very first photo we took because Owen immediately started crying after a few seconds. At first, we thought it was because he didn't like how the basket felt (it's a bit prickly); but even when I cushioned it with a blanket, he still cried. Then we thought it was the hat/goggles, so we removed them, but he was still not having it. It was probably the worst photo shoot we did. We took a lot of breaks, but Owen just was not in the mood.

We even put his favorite toy inside and let him play with the props to get him used to it. 

But this was what happened as soon as we put him down.

We even changed the basket. Nope. Not okay.

And that was the end of that.

I only have to do this 3 more times, and it'll be all over.

I forgot to share these photos a few posts back when we took Owen to a pumpkin patch. He was disinterested and was really put-off by the wood chips. He hated sitting on the ground, and he hated sitting on the stacks of hay. He wanted to be carried the whole time, but as soon as he saw a pumpkin, he wanted to go down and touch it.

At 9 months, Owen is still our active, vocal, and mischievous little guy. He still follows his daily routine, and his eating/sleeping/playing habits haven't changed very much...probably just eating/playing a little more and sleeping a little less (help). Here is a recap of what has happened within the past month.

Rather difficult to get a clear picture of it, but there's his little tooth!

My grandmother is visiting from the Philippines (since my wedding two years ago), so she finally got to meet her first great-grandson! It took some time for Owen to warm up to her, but they're buddies now.

Owen's hair grows at an alarming rate. And once we saw how long his hair was (photo above was taken after a nap), we said it was time to go back to the barber...

...too bad he wasn't as happy as he was during his first haircut. He cried. The. Whole. Time.

And it was a good thing he got that haircut because we had our Fall session with our amazing photographer/friend Mrs. Christina SERRANO! Can't wait to see the photos!

And, of course, our usual trips to Disneyland! I can't wait till Owen starts walking around...because at Disneyland, he hates being carried, and he hates being in his stroller. All he wants to do is crawl around on the ground.

Future Star Wars nerd.

He got his Pooh Bear, and now he has Tigger too!

*Sigh* So much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for the job that I have. I'm thankful for the people I work with. I'm thankful for my health and the health of my friends and loved ones. I'm thankful for my family, especially my mom, who takes care of Owen so I could work. I'm thankful for my husband, who goes above and beyond for our family. And finally, I'm thankful for my baby boy Owen - he is my pride, my joy, the light of my life. Thank you, God. Life is good.