We're Baaack!

The title was supposed to be creepy (because it's Halloween) and apologetic

(because it's been so long since I've posted anything).

We have had a month full of sickness in our house and are hopefully all on the right track to good health (stay away, flu season!).  I know that I didn't finish my photo challenge of the month, but I promise that this post will more than make up for it. 

Here's an update of what has been going on in the Bishop household over the month of October:

Jackson continues to get bigger and so much more fun and interactive every single day.  He is obsessed with opening drawers on his dresser and his cubby door on the side. After that, he empties out whatever is in said area (his shirts, pants, onesies, etc.) and then as soon as mommy folds everything back up, he does it again - silly boy.  Baths are his favorite time of day but he wants to stand in his duck tub, so we may have to transition to his bath seat soon.

He is quite the jabberbox and talks quite a bit, but has only said "mama" a couple of times. Whenever I ask "Can you say mama?"  He looks at me and says "dada" and usually laughs.  Sigh.

He loves pulling on our curtains, playing catch or rolling balls around on the floor, is obsessed with twine / string and is now walking a bit while holding on to things and standing on his own  with no support.  Where has the time gone? 

 

I have been working on creating a photo business for the last few months and have had nearly a dozen shoots so far.   I will launch my official website at the beginning of 2014, which is both exciting and intimidating.  A few clients have tagged me in their photos on facebook and I'm getting a lot of positive feedback, so that is encouraging.  Since I'm not "going public" until January, my first business challenge has been focusing on creating my website.  Since Matt does web design, he is my go to man, and I'll toot his horn for a minute in saying that he is the best mentor and husband that a girl could ask for.  He has been nothing but supportive of my business venture and isn't afraid to constructively critique my shots.  (Thank you, husband!) 

Here is a sneak peek of some shots I took of Matt and Jax at a local park at the end of September.

And a couple of Jax that we got last weekend while at a park...

 

Another exciting piece of news is that the Bishop family is growing!  We went to visit Brad and Kristen a few weeks ago and found out that they are expecting a baby in April. We couldn't be more happy and excited for them.  Jackson can't wait to have a new playmate!  Also, congrats to cousins Sarah and Craig, who are expecting their second baby in April.  This family is going baby bananas! 

*Please note that Jackson is sleeping on daddy, sitting on a couch.  He is such a tough sleeper, that usually he will ONLY sleep in his crib.  With his white noise going.  In the complete dark.

He was so worn out from the excitement of seeing everyone that he conked out. 

 My sweet sleeping boy.

 

Jackson had his first official playdate last week with Sawyer, one of our friend's sons.  Sawyer is a year older than Jackson, almost to the day, so he is walking and a little bigger, but they played well together.  It was pretty precious to see them interacting.

 

 

Abby has been enjoying her first year of preschool, and is also taking dance and gymnastics classes on Wednesday nights.  She was not a fan of carving pumpkins (it feels so gross!) but couldn't wait to dress up.  She was a crocodile last night for Halloween and tonight, both her and Jackson will be dressed up as puppies.  I'll leave the costumes for another post that I promise to get to by the end of the week.  Jackson had seven costumes (we may have gone a bit overboard) this year and luckily, didn't mind any part of it, except for the pirate hat.  He hated the pirate hat.

 

 

We celebrated my birthday with a trip to Des Moines.  We got to see some of our friends that live there, along with eat at some yummy restaurants and do a little shopping.  Jackson's favorite part was going to Incredible Pizza.  He loved all of the sights and sounds, rides and games.  He particularly loved standing at the skeeball attempting to win tickets.  It was adorable to watch him take it all in.

 

Some birthday pics:

Matt and I were taking a silly picture and when we loaded them onto the computer, we saw that we were photobombed by Jackson.  Hilarious!

 

We went to a pumpkin patch and it was FREEZING cold and so windy that it would take your breath away. Literally.  We didn't stay long, but did get a couple cute pictures.

That's about it for us as of now.

Happy Halloween, everyone!