1 Year Photo Shoot

We just got our photos back from Pierce's 1-year photo shoot. We had a blast working with photographer Elaine (www.elainedonohue.blogspot.com) on a beautiful morning out in Manchester! She did an amazing job of making us feel relaxed, and she caught some priceless pictures of little Pierce. Here's a glimpse of the shoot:

Fall Fun

It has quickly changed from summer to fall around here which means it was time for our annual pilgrimage to Honey Pot Hill Farm to do some apple picking with the Bourques. What a difference a year makes. Last year, Erin and Pierce were barely visible tucked inside their Ergos being worn by Zach and Halsey. This year, they had prime views, sticking out above their backpacks, sampling apples while trekking through the orchards. We had a picnic on the grounds, and even visited the petting zoo, where Pierce loved watching the goat climb up a wooden structure to get some food.

This weekend, we connected with some of Halsey's rower friends from Dartmouth over a BBQ in our backyard. John and Mandy Raser and Adam and Jen Tanney joined us with their sons Jonah and Xavier (respectively). The boys had a blast playing on our indoor mat and in the backyard ball pit. Here's a great shot of all of the boys!

Pierce is testing the walking waters daily. About 2 weeks ago he took 3 independent steps, and this week upped it to a string of 7-10 steps. He is so proud of his accomplishment and laughs every time he takes off. He stands for prolonged periods of time without holding on to anything, so I know that our days of crawling are numbered! It's exciting and terrifying to watch all at the same time.

Pierce's babbling is also on the rise, and he does not seem to have an "indoor" voice. He wakes up and goes to bed singing/talking. New words include cow, moo, duck, and that.

Videos Galore

Here are 4 quick videos from the last two weeks. It's been a joy watching our (almost) always happy Pierce develop a distinct personality. He is Mr. Mellow and Even-Keeled 99% of the time. However, since turning 1, Pierce has also thrown in some dramatic performances (aka tantrums) to his routine. Most seem to stem from frustration, and they pass as quickly as they appear. It is hard not to laugh when he has one. See for yourself in videos 1 and 2.




Pierce has recently taken to crawling with toys in his mouth (thanks for the teaching, Sadie!), and last week, it turned into a great game between a boy and his dog.




Summer is officially over, and I am back at work, and Pierce is back at school. He is the big man on campus in the infant room--most of the other babies are around 5 mos. old. So they are starting a slow transition into the toddler room. He won't make an official move until November/December, but will spend much of the fall in the other room getting to know and watch the other kiddos. Fun!