Mondays with Crosby

At 11: 24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 43 weeks old!!! Does he look like a mess or what in that picture? Have a mentioned he is hard to photograph these days. He does not like to see the camera in front of his face any more. He protests. I have tried telling him he should be flattered; for it is his extreme cuteness that makes me want to take his picture in the first place! He doesn't care. He would rather do anything BUT pose. So you take what you can get.

What was he doing in that picture, you ask? Oh, he was at an open house of sorts for a certain animal hospital. One that will be opening sooner rather than later...

There was food and drink 'o plenty being served under this beautiful outdoor chandelier...

The clinic, named after this book...

is like nothing these eyes have ever seen! Crosby and I are super excited for Blake as he and the staff of Animalia prepare to open their doors business. More pictures to come...

One could say we are gluttons for punishment...

Yep. We went back this weekend. We went at the end of the day on Sunday. Clouds were rolling and and a storm was brewing to our west. But we managed to squeeze in loads of fun in one hour at Gentry's farm.

We attempted pictures before we got going...

I would say that is an improvement! After a brief photo session, we headed straight for the hayride, oddly enough, with no hay. Crosby didn't care. He was all about it once again. So intense...

And some pretty big smiles too!

Nothing compared to actually "driving" the tractor himself. I am not so sure he was supposed to be doing this...

He took a few trips down the slide...

And stood still long enough to see how tall he is this fall...

Then he found one of his favs...

The little tractors...

We managed to avoid any major meltdowns on our second trip to Gentry's Farm. I wonder what would happen if we went a third time?

These pictures are from tonight. We headed down to Taco Mamacita to support our friends and the Best Buddies organization. Crosby enjoyed the food for sure. But he had the most fun doing this...

Yep. That's our Cros. Stripped down to bottoms only because he soaked his shirt...

And his pants and shoes for that matter but I wasn't willing to take those off too...

Stayed tuned for Animalia info this week... ;-)

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 42 weeks old!!! This week was all about fall. We tried to squeeze in as many fall activities as possible. Well...there were really only 2 fall activities but it seemed like that was all we did!

We went to the Wootten's on Friday morning for a little pumpkin...decorating??? We weren't brave enough to attempt carving pumpkins without fathers present. A 1:1 ratio is just not safe enough when you have 3 toddlers in one place. I am not even sure a 2:1 ratio would have been safe enough for that matter! So, we thought about painting the pumpkins but thought that might lead to a huge mess. We opted for put stickers on our pumpkins this year! Sounds good in theory. It is just that sweet Crosby...yeah...he's not much for crafts. Most of the kiddos in his class have art work in their boxes at the end of the day to be picked up by the parents. Crosby's box is always empty. And when he has chosen to participate in the given craft of the day, it is apparent he prefers the "less is more" approach. I will have to take a few pictures of his "crafts" to prove my point...

Any way, just as I expected, Crosby put about 4 stickers on 1 of his 2 pumpkins and I finished the rest. He was more interested in the trains and trucks! Don't let him fool you, just because he is sitting by a pumpkin doesn't mean he actually decorated that one...

His was the pumpkin to his left...

And unlike Margaret and John Christopher, he did not want the stickers on his skin...

Maybe he wasn't feeling it because I dressed him in nursery rhyme apparel as opposed to fall apparel...

I dressed him in seasonally appropriate clothing for our first trip of the season to Gentry's Farm. We practically got there when the gates opened. The sun was up and there were no clouds in sight! It was a beautiful day except for being a little too warm for a fall activity. We'll take the sunshine for sure!

We have recently learned that we should take pictures at the beginning of events rather than waiting until the end. The end is usually the result of meltdown and not suitable for photography! We took a few pictures while waiting on friends to arrive...

So they weren't looking, but they WERE sitting! That was a huge accomplishment...

Sitting on an old piece of farm equipment. Loved the farm equipment...

He was getting antsy as we continued to wait so we let him run free in the maze. It was the prefect height to see his little cotton top bobbing around all over the place...

This was the absolute highlight of his day. And it is what I used to bribe him into good behavior. Initially, that is. "If you are sweet they will let us ride the tractor..."
He was so excited to be on board that he wanted to take a self portrait. I was pretty impressed with his blind focusing skills!!!!

He was mesmerized by all he was seeing...

Taking it all in...

A slight break from the sun...

Loved this sign...

And how well our crew obeyed...

Or not so much!!! The tractor was a big hit for all. Crosby kept it together until we got off. Of course he wanted to go back and ride again. The line had doubled at that point and we had a lot left to do. Needless to say, this led to meltdown #1. Fortunately we were able to distract him will lots of animals. Goats, chickens, sheep. He thought they were pretty interesting...

He also loved the mini tractors...

But any time we changed the direction in which he was moving in, meltdown after meltdown occurred! Nice! He did not care that the Gentry's had ropes up to keep visitors from entering certain areas. I suppose he felt the rules did not apply to him! At least he composed himself for one decent family shot...

The group wandered into a barn that was full of activities for toddlers. He was not interested in visiting the barn initially. Then he found toy tractors in the back!!! Let me tell you he was ALL about the tractors. He found them so fun that he did not want to leave when the time came. As much as he denied fatigue, I have proof that he was tired...

I am fairly confident that we experienced our worst meltdown yet at Gentry's Farm! I have no pictures of that part. But believe me, it was pretty rough. Luckily, we were parked close to the entrance...

Despite the meltdowns, I say it was a good day. Blake, on the other hand, thought the trip to the farm was a complete bust. I am thinking that has something to do with the SUPER high expectations he has of our near 2 year old. I am thinking he is going to have to lower those a tad if he is going to make it through the next...ohhhh...1 and a half???? Yikes... Good thing I can just smile about it 95% of the time!! ;-)

Earlier tonight, I thought I would give it another try. I love the way the front door looks with all the fall decor. The only thing that could make it look better was my sweet toddler in the middle of it...

All I did was ask him once to sit for a picture and he DID!!! But of course I thought he looked a little awkward, trying to avoid putting his hands on the ground. And the focus wasn't great and the composition was off. So I pushed for just onnnnnnnnne more...

I think it was the outfit, right? Not "fall" enough? Maybe I can try again tomorrow...

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 41 weeks old!!! I haven't said this in a while, so I'm gonna say it today. This is going WAY too fast. My tee tiny baby is getting way too big and I don't like it one bit! Can he not just slow down for a second and let me enjoy each stage a little longer? Is that too much to ask??? I am pretty am pretty sure it is. There is no slowing down in site with this boy!

For example, we took him to a cousin's wedding reception over the weekend. We tried to get a picture of the moms and babes. Maybe Lucy got a good one, who knows. This is the only one we have of the night...Never mind my face or the fact that Anne Claire and Charlotte didn't even make the cut because Blake unknowingly used the 50mm lens. Would you look at him??? One would think he was being tortured. It's very clear our sweet boy was not excited about the group picture. Or any picture for that matter. How can you take pictures while chasing him all over the reception hall the entire time? He loved the stairs and elevator and was more than happy to throw all out tantrums when he was not allowed to go up and down them constantly! Oh how I miss the days of immobility...

That being said, I was a bit concerned about our adventure of the day. Crosby went for his first official hair cut. I know, some folks think he needed one months ago. But, I choose to believe he is still a baby and you just don't cut a baby's hair! So, I put it off. And put it off. And put it off. Until today. I decided on a gimmicky (probably not a word but let's just go with it for now....) place called Snip Its. And, yes, I am thinking it was a Groupon I failed to purchase a few weeks ago! Go figure. Anyway, I was looking for a place with LOTS of distractions for our busy boy and it seemed to have distractions-o-plenty.

Blake met us for the occasion. As soon as they walked in the door, Crosby was trying to climb out of Blake's arms. He wanted down so he could explore this new place we had taken him to! Next thing I know, he is being strapped into a red chair and a cape is being fastened around his neck. Whoa! This was all happening so quickly! I had to slow things down and tell her how little hair I actually wanted removed from his head. "I want to keep the same shape he has now. But I want it a little shorter over his ears. But not too short. I still want it longer. And I don't really want a bunch of layers. Just the longer layered look he is sporting now. Just a little shorter overall. But not too short..." You get the idea seeing how it was as clear as mud. Poor Tamara! She didn't seem to think I was too nuts. Although she was probably rolling her eyes deep down inside somewhere!

She put a turtle in his right hand and a truck in his left hand and started to spray. He wasn't so sure about it...

"Look at your turtle!" Snip, snip, snip...

"You're doing so good!" Snip, snip, snip...

"Just a little bit more." Snip, snip, snip...

"Almost finished!!!" Snip, snip, snip!

Approximately 5 minutes and 18 dollars later, we were done. Tamara was amazing! Not only was she lightning fast, she cut it EXACTLY like I explained above. I mean PERFECT!!!! There were no tears shed by the neurotic mother nor the busy boy! Hooray for Snip Its!

We did use our Living Social coupon to J. Christopher's to celebrate the big day. I tried to take a few shots of the new do...

Awwwww weeeeee...

I'd say that is about as good as it gets!! I just love the little feathers over his ears. Makes my heart melt. That and those eyes of his. And that button nose. And...

Well, everything about him melts my heart! :)