Zoo shots of Atti...........

I haven't been to the Woodland Park Zoo since I was in highschool. The last time I went was when I was a senior in highschool, with the Belgian exchange student, Didier. Didier was a strange character. I remember him making fun of my car, a blue Datsun Kingcab, and in my mind I was thinking...."you don't even have a car buddy, or a bike for that matter".......Then he wound up becoming really great friends with one of the only obviously gay guys we went to highschool with. Great story, huh? You want me to tell it again?

The photo below has to be one of my favorites from the zoo. It was taken while we stopped at a concession stand for a break and some food. And when I say food, I mean drippy nacho cheese that is surely clogging my arteries as I write this. Atticus was done eating and was exploring the picnic table area. You can't really tell in the picture but he is playing air piano on a plastic lawn chair. Maybe he'll be a musical genius. Maybe he already is.
Check out the chompers on this kid! He has eight teeth now, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom.

He appears to be in a food coma at this point. Too many cheese cubes, and apparently he's saving some crumbs for later.

Awesome shirt, huh? It was a gift from his even more awesome Aunt Jess. He's a badass and needs a t-shirt that reflects that quality. I don't know about you, but when I see a cartoon lightening bolt, I think "this is one kid I'm not going to mess with." I said oooh boy, shock me like an electric eel.

Here we are at the penguin tank. This joint was jumpin'. With people and penguins. I think Atticus was more interested in the water being pumped in to the tank than the actual penguins. It's the little things in life that make him happy. And that makes me happy.

I've said it before......and I'll say it again.......

I freakin' love this kid! He makes the most awesome faces. Gina, Atticus, MB, and I met up at the Ballard Market on Sunday for some farmer's market lovin', and people watchin'. The face below is a product of Gina's spinach salad at the organic food joint we went to for lunch. Don't worry kid, I didn't like spinach until much later in life. You'll enjoy it someday, when your taste buds become more refined. I actually have a series of photos of his spinach reaction, but I had a hard time loading them as a blog post. A Series of Unfortunate Facial Events was going to be the blog post title. You get the idea.
Who shrunk Kramer? Wild-eyed and crazy-haired. He's out Jerry, and lovin' every minute of it! And he's rockin' one of the muscle T's I got him for his birthday, which makes this Aunt Jess one happy girl. Who has two thumbs and likes to spoil Atticus rotten? This girl.

Again, with the faces. Adorable. It's like he's saying...."Shhhhhhhh, don't speak, I liked you much better before you opened your mouth. And while you're at it, get that camera out of my face!"

One of the greatest portions of the afternoon occured while we were eating lunch. Apparently MB has been trying to get Atti to say "Mmmmmmbbbbb" for quite some time, no such luck. I got Atti to say a modified version of Jess, basically "Ssssssssssss" in one take. Now I guess it's war. Not sure what that means exactly, but I think I need to step up my game with this tyke. He needs to see my mug more often. Seriously.

What's the next Atti outting on deck? The Zoo. This weekend. With Gina and MB. It's on and poppin' MB, better bring your game face!

Happy 1st Birthday, Atticus!!!

One year ago, today, this awesome little man entered the world. His name is Atticus, and he is pretty much amazing. And as you can tell, he makes some kick ass facial expressions.
A few weeks ago, Gina and I spent the weekend in Entiat. These photos were taken outside Gina's house before we embarked on our journey to the east side. His shirt says "Top Dog" and there is no doubt about that.

Is it just me or does his facial expression in this one translate to him dropping a deuce? I love it.

Can't wait to see how he grows and changes in the coming year! Happy 1st Birthday, Atticus! I love you.

I love this kid!

Atticus turned 11 months old yesterday. I can't believe it was almost a year ago that this little guy entered the world!! When he was born, I was living in California, and I shed numerous tears while I was there, thinking about missing out on being a part of his life on a regular basis. I am so thankful to be back in Seattle, I get to see him virtually whenever I feel like it.
These pictures were taken a little over a week ago. Every time I see him he gets so much bigger, and way more mobile. Pretty soon he'll be walking and tearing shit up. Check out his bad ass face:

He's going to be a bruiser. A sweet bruiser. As well as a basketball player. He is obsessed with his tiny little basketball. Look at those huge adorable eyes. I just want to pinch his cheeks and love him.

He's getting some teeth. I was witness to some serious grubbin' on some black beans, carrots, and peaches. I'll have to post some pictures later of his food face. Chompers.

Can't wait til his hair grows out and he's a long haired child.......I say "hey babe, you're gonna know no barber shop".......(Devendra Banhart song). Sooper dooper adorable.

Sunday Night Scrap..........

Gina and I got together to do some scrappin' this evening....super fun! Back in November I had taken some pictures of Atticus, Gina, Paula, and I that came out really well. I've been itching to do some layouts using the photos from that particular day. I ended up finishing one layout that I titled "Lucky Me".
I used paper and some chipboard embellishments from DCWV's Green Stack. The paper and chipboard embellishments have a fun, cartoony, woodland creature type theme. The JoAnn Fabrics in my 'hood is a little on the lame side, so I had to journey up to the JoAnn Fabrics in Lynnwood to get this sweet stack! Luckily I don't live too close to the JoAnn Fabrics Superstore because it would be trouble if I did. So much stuff there.

I also used a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Journaling Ticket for my journaling area, as well as some Tim Holtz Idea-ology spinners and fasteners. Pewter photo anchors (see top photograph) are by Making Memories. "Lucky Me" was a really fun layout to make, and I'm excited about using more of from DCWV's Green Stack in future layouts.

I put together a really quick Frank layout using a "I Love My Cat" double-page kit from Scrapbook Pad in Shoreline. I'm not in love with the layout, but it was fun to put together. Single-page or double-page kits are great when you aren't feeling the creative flow, but I can't help but feel like I'm taking the easy way out. I modified the embellishments a bit, left some out that came with the kit, and added some of my own in to the mix. I think at this point I have exhausted all possible photos of Frank from his photo shoot with Kim. I'll have to start using some of my own less awesome photos for future Frizz layouts:)

Sweet Boy.....

One of my New Year's resolutions is to create more scrapbook layouts. Ideally, I would like to create a page per week. So far I haven't stuck to that resolution, as it is the third week of January, and this is my first layout of 2009! Ah well, I will try my best.

I am really excited about this layout, it is the first Atticus page I have finished! Can you resist such an adorable face? I used a bunch of different products on this layout:
-Patterned paper, fabric cherries, and epoxy chipboard shapes are all from "The Sweet Life" kit by Colorbok
-"Sweet" stamped using "Scribbles alphabet" by Autumn Leaves
-"Sweet" ink color is crimson by Memories Direct
-"Boy" rub-on transfers by Me & My Big Ideas (Mon-10)
-Photos enlarged and developed by Snapfish
-Photos taken with Canon Digital Rebel xTi

Cookie Night 2008

Like I said in a post below, for the past 5 or so years, Gina, Paula, and I have gotten together around the holidays at Gina's parent's house in the 'Ville to make and exchange Christmas cookies with eachother and Carol. This year we met up in the late afternoon, which was perfect timing. There was snow falling outside, Michael McDonald on the cd player, and a fire crackling in the background. Cookie Night 2008 was fixing to be the best year yet.

"What the heck is that thing?"....you are probably wondering to yourself. No, it is not a fancy waffle maker. Well, maybe it is. It is called a Krumkake maker, and Gina makes these Norwegian rolled up waffle cookies most years.
It always seems like it is going to be a pain in the ass to make them. The first few always seem to get ruined, but after a couple stinkers it seems to be smooth sailing.

And there you have it.....krumkake. You can fill the cookie with whipped cream or other filling of your choice, but we eat them plain. Good stuff.

You know what else is good stuff? This kid!!! He turned seven months old a few days ago, he is quite the handsome man.

Chillin' with the AVL.....

This little guy is becoming quite animated. He is one of the most chilled out kids I have ever met. Easy to fall in love with, that is a certainty.

I love this kid

Atticus turned 5 months old yesterday. The little guy is growing up fast!! Last night, Paula and I met up with Gina, Demian, and Atticus at her parent's house in Marysville. I made sure to bring my camera to get some shots of Atti. Here are some of my favorites......

Afternoon with Atticus

Atticus turned 4 months old today! Gina, Atticus, and I spent the afternoon down at Golden Gardens. It was absolutely beautiful, perfect late summer day at the beach.
Ah, look at him in all his pudgy glory! I am going to be sad when that adorable chub starts to melt away as he grows up. His cankles are money.
One of the many smiles from the afternoon. He is starting to become really expressive, and he likes to giggle and squeal.
Atticus and Aunt Jess. We had a hard time getting him to look at the camera. I love how his bottom lip kinda puckers up under his top lip, a la Peter Griffin from Family Guy.
This was Atticus's facial expression after toe dunkage into Shilshole Bay. Not super excited about it. He'll be loving the water at this time next year, I'm sure of it.

Stuff for the little guy

Atticus, Gina, and I have a play date tomorrow. When I was at Target today, I couldn't help but pick up these two Halloween related items for the little tyke. Halloween has always been Gina's favorite holiday, so I will be excited to see the costumes Atticus has over the next couple years.
I love baby hats, and this one is no exception. It is an owl hat. I'll try and get some pictures of Atticus wearing it tomorrow.
I figured Gina would get a kick out of this bib...."I Love Mummy".....how cute is that? Soon Atticus will start to eat baby food and cereal, so bibs will be a must. Now I just need to find a bib that says "I Love Aunt Jess".

That's Mr. Heartbreaker to you!

I have seen Atticus a few times since I have been back in Seattle, and he looks SOOOOO much different now than he did during the first few months of his life. He is such a little, chubby, adorable baby now! Not that he wasn't super cute before, but now he has the facial expressions to go along with the awesomeness. He is way past the newborn baby stage. I need to take some new shots of him because he almost looks like a different baby now. Gina, Atticus, and I are going to do some hanging out this weekend, so my goal is to take lots of photos of this tyke. If you are interested in checking out more recent pictures of Atticus, check out Gina's blog here.

Atticus.....visit #2

Before the holiday weekend, I made a quick trip to Seattle to visit Atticus, Gina, Demian, and Paula. It is hard to believe that Atticus is almost two months old now! He has grown quite a bit since the last time I saw him, packed on the ounces, and now officially looks like a chubby baby. Paula was able to hold him while he took a nap, and I got some pics of them together.

Look at the dimps on his elbow!! Adorable!! You can see a better view of his face in this picture. He looks sooooo much like his father. Gina showed me pictures of Demian when he was a few months old, and they look almost identical.
He is totally crashed out on Paula. I love those pudgy cheeks!
Such an amazing child! It will be so much fun to see him grow and change. Until next time Atticus, I will miss you......

Introducing......Atticus Vaughn......

One of the main reasons for my trip up to Seattle was to meet this little guy, Atticus. Gina and Demian's adorable baby boy. He was born on May 14th. He is such an adorable tyke, and I'm in love with him!! I think I fell in love with him before I even met him! He's such a good baby, only cries when he is hungry (which is often), when he needs changing, or when he wants to be bounced around by his dad. He looks pretty much exactly like Demian did when he was an infant. I spent all day with him Thursday, he fell asleep on my chest twice; the first time for about an hour, the second time for about three hours. Gina was able to get in a shower and a much needed nap. Kim and I went over and took a bunch of photos of him on Saturday, I'm looking forward to seeing Kim's photos!!
This photo was taken at our first meeting. A smile in between feeding frenzies!! He is quite small in person.
Taking a snooze on mom's shoulder. Could his face be any more adorable? Quite possibly....see below....
Nap time during the photo shoot. He has some milk crusties around his mouth. And the award for most adorable child in the world goes to.......
Atticus!!! His eyes would sometimes cross a little bit, Gina explained that it is because he can only see like 6 inches in front of his face. As he develops he'll be able to see farther and farther away.
Aunt Jess and Atticus. Can't wait to get more pictures with him!! I'm hoping to see him again in July or August. He'll be so big by then! And hopefully Gina and Demian will be getting a little bit more rest:) Thank you guys for letting me be a part of Atticus's life, I am one lucky girl!!