We Have a Tooth!!

It's official, Xavier has his first tooth!  We can feel it popping up on the lower right side of his gums but we can't quite see it yet.  He's drooling all over the place, as he has been for a while, but he's still a happy baby:

Jump Around!!

Xavier enjoying some pears and blueberries



And playing peek-a-boo with the laundry basket


You can see more photos of Xavier eating and jumping around here.

Xavier at Six Months, Cedar Rapids, and More

First things first, Xavier had his six-month checkup today and here are the necessary stats:
Height: 27.25 inches (75%)
Weight: 18 pounds (50%) - we swear he feels much heavier!

Here is a very sweet photo of Xavier looking up at Grandma Wally


A couple weeks ago my brother-in-law, Eric, commissioned me to take photos around Cedar Rapids.  He is building a new office for his company Geonetric and wanted some photos of Cedar Rapids to display when it's finished.  Despite the rainy and cloudy conditions I think we got some good shots.  You can check them out here on my Fine Art America page.  Here is my favorite shot

I also spent some time out in Boise, ID for work.  It was just a day trip but it was really fun going back to where my professional baseball career started.  I was able to take a few shots while I was there.

Flickr Update Goes Wrong

So Flickr updated their website recently, which is usually a good thing, but it's meant pretty much all of my links to photos over the past three years are now broken.  I've gone back and updated some but not all.  When I have time I'll try and go back and update all of the blog posts.  :(

On a better note, I have two new photos sets posted (that should work):
Park at Adams & Sangamon



Agora Sculpture in Grant Park.

Super X-Man!!

Holiday Weekend

Thought I would post a few photos from our Memorial Day weekend.  As usual you can check out more of the photos on my Flickr page.

Xavier looking like a ninja:

A stop light in black and white:

Candles in the funky Lincoln Square shop, Homesoul:

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ... and Rolling Over

Xavier is just a couple days away from turning five months old!  He is growing up so fast.  Last week, on May 16th, he rolled over from back to belly for the first time.  He now rolls over all the time and even prefers to sleep on his tummy!    

This past weekend we took Xavier on a trip to North Carolina for Chris and Stephanie Hall's wedding.  He did SOOOOO well with all the travel - cars, trains, and planes!  On the flight down to Raleigh, he ate and then slept during the whole flight.  Other than Sara's arm falling asleep and some discomfort sitting in the airline seat, it was easy!  :)  On the flight back, he was a little more fussy but really that was only for a minute and then he ate and slept.  Again, really pretty easy.  He was super smiley (as usual) and happy and flirting with all the girls around us.  Here is a shot of him on the flight down: 

Chris and Stephanie Hall's wedding was on Saturday.  We were lucky enough to stay with Allie and Mike Hartnett (and their adorable baby boy, Harrison) and so we shared a babysitter for the wedding.  We had a fantastic time.  The wedding was beautiful and we of coursed danced the night away.  I'm pretty sure we didn't leave the dance floor for longer than a minute or two (to eat cake probably).  I hear we were referred to as the "Tall Footloose Couple."

The rest of the weekend was filled with catching up with friends and good food.  Our friend, Shannon got Xavier a new book...as you can see it's a big hit:

We had a great time and it was sad to say goodbye to Raleigh and all of our friends:

But we were glad to get back home to Chicago and we all went to bed early (Xavier sleeping on his tummy of course)

Photos of the Rookery Building and more

I have wanted to tour the Rookery Building for quite some time but just hadn't had the chance until last Friday.  It is an amazing building and often overlooked with so many other fun tourist sites, buildings, tours around the Chicago downtown.  If you get the chance you really should check it out during your next Chicago trip.  The quick 30 minute tour costs just $5, but is offered only on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon.  The main lobby atrium is open to the public free of charge Monday - Saturday.

I have many Rookery photos for sale on my website.

Here is one of my favorites of the Oriel Staircase:

While downtown, I took some time to walk around and get more shots of the Red Flamingo sculpture and the Daley Plaza Picasso sculpture:

Finally, I made a quick stop at the Chicago Cultural Center.  Wow, that is a beautiful place too, and all free! These photos are on my Flickr account