The Orr Family!

One of my greatest memories of my childhood is my first house.  We lived in the house from the time I was born until I was 8 years old.  It still holds such a special place in my heart.  One of my memories of living there was our neighbors, the Bartletts.  Their kids were older than me, but the youngest, Evan, played with my older brother.  And their daughter, Karen, babysat us.  Evan even painted my Barbie jeep black one year and that was the big thing for the boys… I definitely regretted giving it up.  

Well, God bless the world of Facebook, because some odd years later, we were able to chat it up again!  It was so fun to see how much they’ve changed…married, with families…. grown up!  And, as I’ve had it with others younger than myself, I’m sure it was funny for them to see me, too!  

So, a few weeks ago we got together to do some family photos. It was actually Karen and her husband Scott’s entire family.  I love it when people take time to do stuff like this!  It’s so great to have everyone together!  However, the only challenge is where to find a spot for umpteen people in the middle of winter.  We got creative and actually went to a skywalk downtown.  It turned out to be a great spot, and even had enough room for the kids to run around. 

Thank you, Scott & Karen, for inviting me to spend some time with your family! It’s a great one!

First with the whole group!

We did lots of portrait-type shots, which are so wonderful, but mainly just for those who actually know everyone. So, I won’t share all of them. Elizabeth, Karen’s middle daughter, was by far one of the most animated little girls.  She was always striking a pose, so you just have to keep your eye on her!

My former neighbs and their fams.  

Henry is 6 months old!

Well… 6 months and a couple weeks.  At least this time I took the photos close to the mark, just a little late on blogging.  But that’s progress, right?!

Either way, he is big and cuter than ever!  

This past month was a big one for Henry.  First of all… his first Christmas!  We had so much fun with him, and only makes us more excited for next year!  

He also made lots of progress in the baby world… He consistently is rolling over both ways, and with great ease.  He sits up for a few minutes at a time (but then flops over as soon as he sees anything that he could put in his mouth).  He finally got to ride in the front of a cart at the grocery store without being in the carseat.  He started really jabbering some syllables (lots of da-das!).  And he started getting his first tooth!  It’s taking a good ol’ long time, but it’s definitely poked through and I think in the next week or so, others will be able to notice.  It’s so cute!

We’re still doing cloth diapers, but definitely did quite a few disposables during the holidays.  With all the parties, and unfortunately, sickness for Patrick and I, we just didn’t always keep up with the laundry.  But, it was a good reminder of how expensive diapers are and how grateful I am that we don’t have to buy them on a regular basis!  Henry’s still exclusively nursing, too, but I think we’ll probably start some vegetables by 7 months.  He’s really getting the spoon thing down (we let him play with one whenever the kids are eating).

And now onto the photos!  Watch out… there’s a lot!  This month I did some with some of his daycare friends (who he loves SO much), and some with Patrick and I.  It’s hard to remember to get us in there all the time!  Anyway, here they are!

Look at my blonde, blue-eyed little guy! He’s so handsome!

Henry and Lucy. He really does love her… I just couldn’t get him to show it.  

Just today Dexter was making Henry crack up.  I love their relationship… it’s so sweet!

Chase could have cared less about me… he’s ALWAYS excited to see Henry.  

And I think Henry will probably out-weigh Ashton within a few months. ;)  

This is the swim…. Henry puts his arms back and kicks.  I don’t know how he thinks he’s going to move by doing this.  Silly boy.

Oh. My. GAWSH.  Watching my husband be a father is the most amazing thing in the world.  Henry can only hope he gets his daddy’s charm. ;) 

Hands down he thinks his dad is the funniest.  I mean, he knows I’m really funny, too, but for whatever reason he thinks his dad is a little more…

My heart…

Me and my baby.  I just couldn’t imagine life without him!

Nikki’s having a baby!

I am so excited to share Nikki’s photos from her maternity session.  I went to her house a couple weeks ago and got to spend some time with her and her husband, Chris, and their “four-legged kiddos”, as they call them. :) I had such a great time!  I’ve known Nikki for awhile now, but I had never met her husband.  I love getting to see how couples interact.  I had so much fun seeing how much they made each other smile and laugh.  I have no doubt that this baby will be born into a very loving, happy home!  I can only imagine how much fun they will have!

So, we started with just some shots of Nikki…I mean, come on, is she not just gorgeous?!  

And then of course we had some with Chris, too!  They seriously were so funny together!

These next few are my faves!

And of course, a family portrait. :)

Thank you so much, Chris & Nikki, for letting me come hang out!  I am so excited to meet your little one…and hopefully soon!

Christmas post (just a tad late).

So, I’m finally back to reality, and I wanted to share a little bit of our holiday photos.  I actually remembered to bring my camera along with me to my mom’s house on Christmas, so I was able to get some of Henry’s first Christmas on camera!  (So proud!)  And I’ll be sure and post a New Year’s post, too, but that is definitely all iPhone photos. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!  I’m so excited for what’s in store for the coming year!

Okay, I have to start with some of our presents.  I was in love with the wrapping paper I found!

The tags were downloaded, but all the names were written by yours truly.

We bought Henry a couple things, but didn’t wrap them.  It was still fun giving him a new toy, though!

Henry’s cousin, Brendyn, loves him so much.  He spent lots of time playing with him.  It was so sweet. 

And I of course love any photos of my mom with Henry. (Also, you must note his adorable shirt he got from some really great people. ;)

The lighting was bad, there was no set up, and we were in a rush, but this is our family photo of our first Christmas with Henry. And I love it. 

Ah!  My two favorites! 

Best of 2011

2011 was definitely a unique one for Katy O Photo.  We made great strides, met some wonderful people, and made it out with some great photos!  I’m so excited to get back into the swing of things next weeks, with lots of updates for you all!  But in the meantime, here’s a year in review from Katy O Photo.

Wishing you and yours a very joyous and blessed New Year filled with the greatest of health, wild success, and most of all, a whole bunch of love!  

katy o

Cheers to the New Year!

Henry is 5 months!

Oh man, I can’t believe my baby is 5 months old!  He is seriously sweeter than ever!  How did we ever get so lucky?!

Henry now can roll over both ways!  He was only rolling over from his back to his stomach, which is kind of backwards, but now he rolls from his stomach to his back (only in his crib, though).  He loves his exersaucer best.  And he is constantly interested in whatever we have.  No more eating when he’s on my lap, he goes right for what I’m having. 

Still doing great with cloth diapers (I just have to not slack on laundry).  And he’s still exclusively nursing.  So many people ask me why I haven’t started cereal, and really, it’s just easier this way.  He’s getting all he needs already, so it’s not a necessity.  And once he starts food, it will just be one more thing to pack up for him, to add to our schedule, to have babysitters do.  So, I will gladly put it off.  We’ll never be able to go back once we start! 

This month Henry had his first trip to Chicago!  We’ve only traveled with him one other time, so it was fun to do.  He was so good and easy going.  We are so fortunate that he makes everything so easy on us.  He loved looking at all the buildings when we were walking around.  Chicago has always been such a big part of our lives, so it was so fun to bring Henry there!  

And so far we are having such a great time celebrating Henry’s first Christmas.  I know he won’t remember it, but I love all of the traditions we are starting with him.  And I’m already looking forward to all the years to come!

And now onto the cutest little babe of mine!

He melts my heart.

Wouldn’t smile for anything.

But falling over…that’s funny stuff. 

And what is this face?!  Such a funny little kid.