taj's personal paparazzi

Passionate about design and photography, and with our investment of the Nikon D3000 SLR camera, I have been having a grand time snapping away pics of our handsome little guy! As all of you know, Brad and I LOVE design and we have worked with some of the most amazing photographers (Victor Sizemore from our wedding, and most recently, Carrie & Brittany of BabyAsArt who shot Taji's newborn portraits.) Their photos have cost us a pretty penny but nevertheless, have filled our home with so much happiness & beauty. My goal is to take what I have observed from these photographers, along with my talented photographer friend Kristen's tips and training, and shoot my own beautiful portraits of Taji and our little family :) Here is a peek into the most recent pics (and don't forget to scroll down the blog to the photo I took of newly engaged Jane with her sparkly diamond ring, another photo I'm proud of)
smiling.....

sucking his thumb.....

close-up of his ever-changing sea blue eyes.....

looking at his mirror during tummy time....

mommy & daddy celebrate birthdays

July is a very fun and busy month for Brad and I because we both get to celebrate our birthdays, that are only 6 days apart!

Last week, on my birthday, Brad surprised me with a delicious breakfast and my mom cooked us a special Czech dish for dinner (Svickova). I received the cutest cards from every member of our family (brad, mom, taji, and kuki (our cat!), and blew out candles on my very own cake shaped like a present. Then, sunday, my sister and family came over for a picnic at the beach.


Yesterday, on Brad's birthday, my mom cooked us Brad's favorite Czech dish (Sekana). He received funny cards from every member of our family, along with chocolates and the new Eminem CD! We also suprised him with his favorite ice cream cake! And by his request, this weekend we are going to take Taj out for his first duffy boat ride (Brad has been begging me to take him out on the boat for the last month now, but I wanted to wait until he was big enough to wear the life vest!)

In the past, Brad and I have gone "all out" spoiling each other the last wknds of the month by either going away for the wknd or doing something fabulous with our friends. But after my big and expensive 30th birthday last year, we decided to simplify each July by doing a joint birthday celebration with friends... excluding the big milestones (e.g. Brad's 40th). So this year, Brad and I took our duffy boat out on a sunset cruise with our friends and had dinner at the Cannery, while Taji stayed home with his babi.

david beckham jr.

Meet the newest and youngest member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South African team! Thanks Uncle G and Auntie J for the cool soccer uniform you brought back from the World Cup! Taji was very excited to wear it and was kicking around in it like a true soccer player!

Taji turns 2 months old!

Another month older, and another month cuter! Today, Taji had his 2 month checkup and first series of vaccines. He is in the 35th percentile for weight (11 lbs, 1 ounce) and 72nd percentile (WOW!) for height (23 1/2 inches), tall and slender...... like his daddy. Our Taji has had a busy 2nd month full of visitors, social outings, and playdates with his fellow baby buddies Ryan, Regan and soon.... Cade!, AND future girlfriends Dorothy and Molly. He loves to verbalize all about his experiences by cooing, babbling, and smiling! He "dances" by kicking around his legs and waving his arms. He loves his animal mobile, music, the beach, and the outside breeze, as well as mirrors and anything sparkly/ bright colored. He imitates our lip smacking, sticking out his tongue, and clicking his tongue. He continues to be quite the eater and pooper, with his colic decreasing. Although he still likes to suck on his pacifiers from time to time, Taji prefers his fist and thumb. Taji has always been a great night sleeper, but now is also beginning to sleep longer through the night, the longest consecutive sleep 5 hours, but we are still working on his nighttime sleeping :)

On his 2nd month birthday, Daddy took Taji to Bristol Farms and surprised him with a froggy cupcake with 2 candles on top!


our 2nd month family portrait:


Here are some of my fave photos from his 2nd month:






some of our family/ social outings:

Congrats future Mr. & Mrs. King

A big congratulations to our dear friends Jane and Griffin, who just got engaged on their exotic trip to S. Africa, (on the mountain top in Namibia to be exact)! We coulnd't be happier, and so excited about their wedding next year! Check out the gorgeous sparkler Jane received!

Big Talker

Our little Taji is a big social butterfly these days, "ooohing" like an owl, saying "ah", "ne", "ma" along with the other sweet sounds he makes! Our new game is we tell him "I love Youuuu" and he responds with "ooooh". He loves to interact with everyone, imitates sounds and mouth movements, and smiles so much. My favorite is when he recognizes I'm his mommy, and when he laughs and sticks out his tongue. Here is a little conversation we had this morning after waking up and starting the day:

Say Cheese!

some of Taji's smiles :) He is our little sunshine..... lighting up our world every day!