Of course, as soon as you make a decision like that, things will conspire against you to thwart your plans. Tammy ran to the store to get matching shirts and pants for the boys and made it back in time to get everyone dressed. Once we got all the boys dressed up the messes started magically appearing. Owen soaked his shirt while trying to do his hair. Gavin slobbered all down the front of himself. Owen got a bloody nose on the way to the store.

Once we were in place it was time to position the boys. Not an easy task. Owen needed to be in the back so you couldn’t see his bloody shirt. Braeden had to hold Jackson in such a way that he didn’t look like he was dying. Gavin needed to keep his arms down and shirt on. Jackson is a baby, enough said.

All in all the boys did great. We got some great shots that really captured the boys personalities that we are going to love having in the years to come. We also got some great shots of Jackson that will be great to pull out for all Prom Dates. It may take another baby to get us back to the studio, but you can’t argue with the results.

As mentioned earlier, this boy LOVES anything to do with WALL-E and so we made him a cake from the movie. At first Tammy was going to make a cake like the main character WALL-E, but in searching on flickr for inspiration she found this cake:

Yeah. That’s a cake.

So the bar was set sufficiently high to let us move on to an EVE cake. Even though she’s a less complex character, it still was a relatively tricky cake to pull off, but Tammy did a super job, with M&M’s for highlights. Braeden helped in the tasting department, while Owen made sure the frosting was spread just right.

Most importantly, Gavin thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’m not sure where he picked up the necklace, but there you go.

Then of course the flurry of wrapping paper signaling present time!

8 seconds on the worm. Living in the future like I do now, I wish to add that this beloved gift was quickly eclipsed by the Christmas big-wheel he would be getting in a few short days. Glad it could be enjoyed for a little while.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Taken on the iPhone, so forgive the quality. But just a quick shot to show how much Gavin LOVES WALL-E! His aunt and uncle, who haven’t seen the movie, have fallen asleep, his brother is leaning back, fighting the drowsies, there is a cute dog waiting to be played with on the couch, and Gavin LEANS IN to watch a movie he’s seen One hundred, thousand, million times! Now how do I get that kind of brand loyalty when it comes time to do the dishes?

Tammy came up with some great Christmas Cards this year. They all share the same style, but each is handmade and unique (like a snowflake, minus the handmade part). I think they turned out really cool so I’m going to show them off here. If you don’t get one in the mail it’s not personal, I’m just a little scrooge-esque when it comes to Christmas Cards and the faster I can be done with my part (the letter/address/stuffing) the better. So I’m a little overzealous when it comes to cutting the list. “Sure she’s your mom, but didn’t we just see her?”

Gavin is Tammy’s little shadow in anything that he thinks may lead to candy or the chance to destroy things. So cutting paper with fancy tools is right up his alley. Fortunately he was content to hold the hold punch up to his face instead of trying it out around the house.

It’s hard to see in the photo, but we managed to catch Lola in a rare moment of stillness on the couch. Moments after this shot was taken she proceeded to run up the stairs and devour half an ottoman. Gavin and Lola have a very complicated relationship. She loves him to death, and he only likes her when she isn’t bothering him. Of course, she shows love by bothering him, so interactions generally boil down to him throwing himself onto her and trying to bite her neck while she wags her tail with joy.

This was just the first set of cards Tammy put together this year. She also made incredibly cute Christmas cards for all of the Primary kids to give to their parents. She really has a good eye and natural talent for this kind of thing. I better be careful though, that scrap-booking stuff can get a little expensive.

Sledding at Grandma’s

Rocking New Years

Gavin and Mommy strutting their stuff

Getting silly with the popsicles

We even got 2 smash cakes for Gavin. He didn’t really dig in too much, but he was definitely messier with the second. Something about the frosting just didn’t jive with him.

Owen "helping" Gavin play with his toy.

Not too sure what to think of the candle. But he did try to blow it out.

Silly Uncle Steven

We had a great time, and Gavin got some cool toys. His favorite is a dinosaur ball ramp thingy  .

You can see all the photos here

Hunting for Babies from djcramer on Vimeo.

Gavin gets a bath from djcramer and Vimeo.