Crista Acosta Photography »

If this face doesn’t say “my mom is a photographer”, I don’t know what does! 

Another less than stellar shot technically (that’s what happens when you use a tissue box tripod perched on top of your toilet)… nonetheless, it’s a memory I want to have. I love bath time, it’s one of my favorite parts of the night when it’s just the two of us. 

We have baby rabies.

C and I have always known that when we had children that we wanted many, and that we wanted them close together in age.  I’ll be the first to admit that those early months of L.A.’s life had me questioning our timeline.  He was a great baby, but newborns in general are a heck of a lot of work, and L.A. just started sleeping through the night about two months ago (though his teething of late has interrupted that bliss).  That’s a long time to go with nearly no sleep. 

So how in the world is it that recently our conversations have turned back to baby names, L.A.’s “big boy” room and the journey of pregnancy?  Perhaps it has to do with the realization that L.A. will never again be that teeny tiny curled up baby.  He’s changing every day, and with his new teeth coming in, his incessant chatter and the anticipation of mobility, we realize that he’s really growing up.  Fast.

So while a contamination at home would normally result in an immediate call to an exterminator, we’re going to let this one fester for a bit.  We’re okay with this one.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s no rush, we just both really look forward to meeting our next little one if we are so blessed.

Every night after his bath, I comb L.A.’s hair down like you see it in the blog banner above.  Every morning, he wakes up and it’s like this:

We’ve taken to calling him Kramer around our house, so I’ve been thinking… perhaps I should change his alias to L.K.?  

For the record, this was another Saturday morning foiled.  The boy clearly does not understand the meaning of sleeping in. 

L.A. is officially 8 months old as of yesterday.  How is it that eight months of pregnancy seemed to take forever, and yet these past eight months have gone by in the blink of an eye?  I cannot believe how much our baby has changed.  I look forward to discovering more and more about him every day. 

In honor of his eight month birthday, here are eight things I want to remember about L.A. this month.

8.  He has just started eating puffs, but he doesn’t quite understand the whole hand to mouth concept just yet.  He gets so excited that there is actually real food in front of him, that he’ll grab onto a puff and squeeze it in his hand until it dissolves.  If you feed them to him though, he’ll eat them forever.

7. He is very close to saying “DaDa”  After 8 months of sleepless nights spent rocking him back to sleep and wondering what his first words would be, I’m so super jealous excited about this.

6.  While he shows no signs of crawling, he has become an excellent roller.  Last night when I went to check in on him, he had managed to turn himself around completely upside down with his head at the foot of his crib – exactly the opposite of how I had laid him down. 

5. He LOVES to swim.  Be it in the bathtub or our neighbor’s pool, as soon as his little feet touch the water he squeals in delight and starts kicking away. 

4.  He is an observer, exactly like his father.  When introduced to a new situation, he needs some time to sit back and take it all in before warming up and quickly becoming the life of the party.

3.  He finally understands and anticipates “Peek-a-boo” and thinks it’s one of the funniest things in the world.

2.  He hugs us back.  One of my favorite things is when I pick him up from daycare and his whole face lights up to see me – as soon as I pick him up, he squeezes in and pats my back.

1. L.A. really is just a sweet boy.  Despite the fact that he’s teething and rather miserable, he always smiles for us, and still has a hilarious sense of humor.

Oh, and he’s doing this adorable thing with his feet.  Every time he sits in his highchair, he has to cross his little piggy toes like this.

If I could add a big puffy heart emoticon to this entry I would.  Not because the picture is technically perfect, or the best one I’ve ever taken, but because family portraits when you’re a photographer are so rare.  Last night as I was setting up our 52 weeks shot, C walked in and I convinced him to jump in the frame.  The look on his face as he gazes down at L.A. squeezes my heart and I realize how blessed I am… once again.

Week 19

That’s right folks, C and I are now officially living in Teething Hell, CT. 

L.A. has one little tooth that is right there and refuses to pop through his gums.  This has caused the last several nights to be interrupted by screaming fits and an inconsolable baby who doesn’t seem to quite understand what is going on in his mouth.  The only thing he knows for sure is that he doesn’t like it.  Quite frankly, neither do I.  If this one little tooth is any indication of how the rest of our teething journey will be, then C and I better buckle up tight because it’s going to be a very bumpy ride.

This morning I got to spend some time with adorable Ava.  She was a ton of fun and is one of the cutest little girls I have ever seen in my life.  Thanks for having me over!