Dunlap Photo Shoot

Back in late November we asked our very talented friend Jon to take some family photos for Christmas gifts. Jon took photos of our family two years previously, and perfectly captured our family of three. We were super excited to have him document our now family of four. If you are anywhere close to the Riverside area, I would HIGHLY recommend Jon for all of your photo needs. Jon and his wife Kathy make taking family photos fun, easy, and natural.

Here are some of my favorites from that day. Enjoy!

11 Months

Jude is getting dangerously close to the 12 month mark! As a mother, I have such mixed emotions about my baby turning one year old. But that's another post for another month...

Weight: 22 lbs


Jude is pretty great. He's not walking yet, but getting closer every day. I'm sure I'll miss his signature crawl when it's gone. Jude has been consistently sleeping through the night for about a month now (hallelujah!), which makes life infinitely rosier. He's a good eater, a bruiser, and an all around sweet kid. We are neck deep in planning his cowboy birthday party, so if this blog becomes quiet for a few weeks, that's why.

We love you, Baby Monster (Delaney's new nickname for the guy).

Christmas in Oregon, Part 2

Christmas Day 2011 was a pretty special day. We started it off by opening stockings and presents at my parents' house and then ended the day in Beaverton with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents. All in all, it was a pretty perfect day.

The first thing we did was line up on the staircase and wait for Grammie to take a picture of us like she does every year. Someone was a little bit excited:


Then we surveyed the loot:

Opening presents with Uncle Jimmy.

"Helping" Grandpa put together their new trampoline.

Yep, she was excited.

He was excited, too.

I was pretty excited myself!

This was my attempt to take a picture of them with their stockings under the tree. This was the best I could get.

And guess what? Santa did come and enjoy his snacks. I hope he knows his limits.

The aftermath

Like I said, after breakfast we loaded up and headed north to Beaverton, which is a suburb of Portland if you're curious. There we feasted ourselves on prime rib, pie, and gave and received even more presents.

Jude with Grammie

Jude with Grandpa

Jude checking in on Uncle Dave and Aunt Linda

Jude "walking" Rowan, the Wonder Dog. Rowan found the special caramels that my Grams had added to my present and ate ALL SIX OF THEM. Not that I'm counting.

Grams, Steve, Gunnar, & Aunt Linda

Jude, Solveig, & Jimmy

Gramps and his pooch, King

Solveig, Delaney, and Gunnar

I really love those "kids." They were our flower girl and ringer bearer in our wedding, and now Solveig is in high school and Gunnar is a freshman in college. I remember them vividly as babies, and have loved watching them grow. The terrifying thing is that if these kids can grow up, mine will eventually do the same. Yikes.

It's funny how, at the end of the day, the toy of choice is still a dollar bin Slinky.

Thanks, family, for all of your love and generosity. You spoiled us way too much...not that I'm complaining!

Christmas in Oregon, Part 1

The week before Christmas, we loaded the rugrats into the car and headed north for Christmas. Because we're crazy like that. We weren't even over the Grapevine when Delaney asked if we were there yet. I'm afraid not, dear one.

But really, Delaney was in heaven. She watched movies, played on the Ipad, and ate copious amounts of fruit snacks all day long. It was almost as good as Disneyland. Except for the fact that SHE NEVER TOOK A NAP. Nope. We drove over 2,000 miles on our trip, and she never once napped.

And then there was this guy. He did nap somewhat, which helped with my sanity. I had a bit of time on my hands, so I finished making his sock monkey and gave it to him to chew on. I was going to wrap it up again for Christmas, but then I remembered that he was a baby and probably wouldn't care either way.

Things did get dicey a few times. Or maybe more than a few times. But then we got out the Slinky, and yay! Smiles!

We spent the night in Redding, thanks to the hospitality of the Lances. Not a whole lot of sleep happened, but I'm trying to focus on the positives here. Anyway, we finally made it to Jefferson and we met this little guy:

Jude and I really wanted to bring him back to California. You might recall that I'm a bit of sucker for barn kitties. But Steve, Mr. Party Pooper, said no.

The next day we got together with some of my very favorite people, the Kikers and the Cunninghams. Delaney was so happy to be playing with her "cousins" Jack, Sam, and Ayeresam. It was a little chaotic to say the least, but it was great fun.

Jude, Ayeresam, Sam, Jack, Delaney, and my dad's beer

We eventually put a movie on to curb the noise level. Also, we shot off fireworks. These things happen when you're in Oregon.

Delaney was all about the fireworks once she got on her ear muff thingy-s. Mary introduced her to the joy of sparklers.

Jude hung out with Grammie until they started shooting off the big, noisy fireworks. He was not a happy camper.

The next day, I was able to spend time with more favorite friends. Christina, Brody, and our family had some good ol' fashion fun at Pietro's Pizza in Salem. I used to play arcade games here as a young gal, and it was fun to share that with Delaney (and Jude, I guess).

Christina, Delaney, Pirate Brody, Karen, & Jude

Delaney also got to help out in the kitchen quite a bit on this trip. Grammie and Delaney made a very special cookie together that was my Grandma GG's specialty. The apricot horns were pretty time intensive, but the payoff was delicious.

Rolling out the dough...such a big kid!

Grammie & Laney

Jude and I did a pretty good job taste testing.

On Christmas Eve, my parents hosted the Lee side of our family for dinner. I didn't get too many pictures, but it was a full house and so fun to see how our family is growing.

2nd cousins Bailey and Delaney and Delaney's first Barbie, courtesy of Bailey.

Jude and his Great Grandma Lee

That night, we got ready to set out a snack for Santa and his reindeer. Delaney decided to ditch the milk and cookies and go for something a bit less traditional:

Delaney selected goldfish, fruit snacks, a sugar cookie, and some of Daddy's "Go Go Juice" to leave for Santa. I just don't know where this kid come up with this stuff.