13 days until TWO!

"A dad is a son's first hero!"

BUS!

Jaxson yelled BUS! as we passed one at the neighborhood middle school this afternoon.

Of course, the teacher in me pulled right over so we could get a closer look!

HE LOVED IT!!  Could not stop talking about it!

Yellow. Bus. Swish Swish. Blinker. Yellow. Bus. Big. Bus. School.

(Look how tiny he is compared to the HUGE bus!)

Then we tried to take a selfie without completely freaking out the bus driver that could not figure out what in the world we were doing!  LOL

22 days left of being ONE!

We spent the afternoon at the doctor's office.

The doctor winced when she looked at his right ear.  It is bright red! 

I can NEVER tell that he is feeling bad. He is just always in a happy mood! 

Even after the doctor, he wanted to go see the "nay!" 

23 days left until TWO! I love you!

As soon as Jaxson could open his hands and think about his "wants" in life, we started teaching him sign language.  He could sign for "milk," "more," and "please."

He communicated with us this way for much longer than we thought. He could say milk and please with his voice, but he still signed it!  I loved it! 

Sceptical folks would say, "No, Jaxson, say please!"

I had to correct them in their thinking that he was not saying please.  HE WAS!!

Josh and I have told Jaxson we love him each night before bed since he was still in the womb.  We have started asking him if he can say it to his Honey (maternal grandmother) or to his paternal grandparents.  He has selected certain things he will use his voice for....a small number to date. 

Recently, though, he has started signing "I love you!" 

No, it is not the official sign language for the phrase. 

I am not sure how this came about, but he has created his own sign for "I love you!" 

It melts my heart!

It is typically paired with a sweet smile, 

but in the picture below, he was wanting "down" because he was "done!"

But here is Jaxson's version of "I love you!"

Sometimes it is just his right hand to the cheek, but at times it is both hands!  He always leans his face down to his right shoulder to show a sweet gesture!  

We love you too, Jaxson Boyd!

Last month of J being one...

Eeekkk...I have missed a few days of posting.  

I felt compelled to share this little quirk of Jaxson today!  

He CANNOT stand when the sharpened tip of a crayon breaks off. He insists on throwing it away!  I am ok with this...they were pennies to the dollar and they are an off-brand crayon anyway! 

He exclaims, "No! NO! NO!" while shaking his head, looking at a broken tip!  

I motion to him to throw it away and I thought that was what he had been doing!  

Until today! 

He knows that dirty dishes he is done with go in the sink!  I guess he thinks the sink will fix a broken crayon too! 

Sweet boy! 

After School Activities ~ Day 26

He almost flat out refuses to come into the house when we get home from school!

He wants to honk the horn and turn on the blinkers and the wipers!

He had a 20 minute melt down when I insisted we come in. I should have taken a picture of that! 

Some days, I think he gets so "hangry" that he is too angry to even stop and eat! 

After he finally decides to eat, and has forgotten about the car, it is time for bed! 

Night Night, Jaxson.

28 and 27 left - Days of J

It was inevitable that I miss a day here and there in the next month!  

Bath and colors! Two of his favorite! 

We got this HUGE crayon for him at the TriState Fair this year!  He LOVES it! 
He is mimicking Mom here.
So cute!
Thanks to his cousins Liam and Emery for the cute little coloring table.
He is very serious when he sits down to pull the table over his lap.

29 days left...

Technology is big with us, so of course we let J use most of our devices. 

He loves to scroll through YouTube, always checking out the suggested videos just below his Elmo episode or another episode of Ryan's Toy Review!  

(Check it out...it is videos of a child that is totally spoiled! We let J live through his gifts vicariously!)

30 days until TWO!

Where has the time gone?  Our baby boy will turn TWO in just 30 days.  

I decided to capture these last 30 days of him being a one-year-old with a photo a day!  

I LOVE photographing J...I do not do it as often as I should. 

The next 30 days will be about my baby, turning toddler, capturing his free spirit...

My attempt to freeze time. (It is not working!)

Jaxson is a great sleeper!  He has blessed us with this his whole, short life.  I am blessed beyond words in the sleep department, one of the stresses of being a new mom! 

I LOVE GETTING TO SEE HIM FIRST THING AFTER HE WAKES!!!  

This is the smile that he greets me with each morning.  I walk slowly, crouch and weave to make eye contact with the love of my life each morning! 

(ISO3200   85mm   f/1.8   1/100sec)

(ISO3200   85mm   f/2.0   1/125sec)

 Almost time to move into a big boy bed! 

You didn't think I could just share ONE picture a day, did you??

Momma loves you, Jaxson Boyd!

7 Days of Jaxson {Day Seven...a day late}

Jaxson loves everything and anything that has to do with a ball.  He has his own golf balls, racket balls, baseball, soccer ball, volleyball, and basketball! He owns a soft football that his cousin gave him...I am sure we will get a real one soon! He has a vacuum with little balls that pop, a ride-on tracker thingy that picks up rocks that he calls balls, a shape sorter in the shape of a ball, and a ball shooter that he can shoot balls out of. "Ba" has become on of his favorite words!  Yesterday, he HAD to take the soccer ball and the basketball to a friend's house and he HAD to carry both of them while in his car seat in the car! The basketball is his favorite one this week.

On another note...I title this one "Crazy hair, don't care!"  It MAY be time for a haircut!

7 Days of Jaxson {Day Six}

Jaxson loves to dance! He also enjoys music videos. YouTube was one of the ways we were able to calm him during his breathing treatments. He will take your finger and lead you to the nebulizer (aka Medicine Bear...it is in the shape of a panda) just so he can watch his favorite videos!

He has his own playlist on Momma and Dada's YouTube accounts!  The songs on the list include, but are not limited to, Big Block Sing Songs like Monkey, Fruit, and Moose. He really also enjoys Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, and All About That Bass!  He loves a catchy tune like Hot Diggity Dog from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the theme song to Small Potatoes! 

Look out if he spots your phone! He will expect you to know all of his favorites!

7 Days of Jaxson {Day Five}

"He looks soooo different." ~Jaxson's Dada

This is why you must document your children with a camera!  It does not matter if it is a cell phone or a fancy, expensive camera...freeze time with "film" as often as you can! 

(This makes me think of all those little videos I need to compile! Maybe this summer!)

The first picture here was taken exactly one year ago today. The second one was taken today...after a bribe with a squeeze pouch of fruits and veggies (notice the orange lid he still has), wrestling him to stay seated instead of standing to look out the window, etc. You have to love all that energy! I wish I could have some!

And then this one is him sliding down to get out of the situation quickly! Silly boy!
The outtakes are always my favorite!

7 Days of Jaxson {Day Four}

One of Jaxson's favorite outings is to our local grocery store.  They recently started to allow one free snack-sized fruit to be eaten by children during their shopping visit. Check out the Kids Club promotion here: http://www.unitedsupermarkets.com/kidsclub

BUT this is not a new treat for Jaxson!  We have always done this. I would just tell the cashier when we got there to pay out and they would weigh what was left of an apple or the banana peel.  Ooopsss...sorry! They were always so understanding and kind to our baby boy.  Who cares anyway...a banana costs like 17 cents!

Our stroll today consisted of him showing his apple to everyone that would listen how "gud, gud, gud" it was!  He wanted to play with the "ball" that I found in the cantaloup bin! All the older men just LOVE Jaxson for some reason! They always call him a "strapping young lad!" He was also very interested in the avocados today!

For my photog followers: these are cell phone pictures! lol

7 Days of Jaxson {Day Three}

Irish. Happy St. Patrick's Day! More later...remember the pictures of this handsome boy and his furbrother from last year? We attempted to recreate those! Stay tuned! 

7 Days of Jaxson {Day Two}

In the wee hours of late night and early morning, we are still battling the effects of RSV. Today is day 14 of this horrible virus. This weekend brought on a few new effects...we will not go into specifics for the weak at heart (or stomach) but just know...we have done a ton of laundry!

He tries to love life during the day and play his little heart out, but the dark hours really get him. I think it may be the horizontal life in a crib.  Poor little tummy...

The first two images here are J and Dada during sheet and clothing changes for J and Momma...

 

 Info for my photog followers: iso2500, 85mm, 1/100, at f/1.8

7 Days of Jaxson {Day One}

I decided I needed a little photography project during Spring Break.  I will post a picture (or two) every day for the next seven days!  Of course, I chose my favorite subject!  Jaxson LOVES to take baths. This is where he has learned the sound a monkey and a tiger make...he enjoys Mom's finger puppet shows and loves to splash Winston if he comes in to lick water of the side of the tub.

I title this one, "Mom...what are you doing standing on the potty?" hehehehe

2014 - at a glance [Amarillo Photographer]

We owe many thanks for this past year!  We have new things on the menu for 2015! Keep checking with us here and at www.hillarydphotography.com and on our facebook page!

Here are many of our favorite shots from this year, including shoots with families, babies, seniors, furry friends, a haunted house, the last hours of a wonderful pups life, expecting mothers, and our first, but not last, mini sessions offered!