Professional Photos - 9 months

Our 9 month shoot was fantastic in every way . . . perhaps we learned from our mistakes in the 3-month and 6-month shoots or perhaps we just hit it all on the right day . . . regardless of the reasoning, we really had a day where everything went well. We chose Turtle Creek as our location and had a beautiful fall day for the shoot . . . the boys were good sports and we knocked out 4 or 5 spots and managed to get out within an hour. Great day and some great shots . . . thanks to Chad and Marci for continuing to capture such interesting and fun images of the Brigade!

First off, happy to finally get a fantastic family shot with all four of us looking into the camera and smiling(ish for Ethan)!

Ethan and Noel showing off their newfound core strength and balancing skills . . .

Great individual shots of each boy showing off his tremendous grin . . .

Some great shots . . . Dad with Ethan, Pai with Noel, and an outtake where Adam and I are trying to get their giggles ready for the next shot

Lastly, the second installment of our "pauper babies in a bucket" series (see 3 month pics for the first installment). These pics are incredibly adorable and show some serious personality.

Weekends are for napping . . .

The best thing about sticking to a scheduled daily routine is that our boys are fantastic eaters and great sleepers . . . its been a decision that's paid big, positive dividends for us. Unfortunately, napping with the boys has been the collateral damage of our successful scheduled daily routine . . . when the boys are ready for sleep, they immediately start squirming and angling to be left alone in their crib . . . makes us miss those first few months where they would sleep whenever and wherever we wanted (well, maybe not whenever, but you get the point).

Adam took the picture below of what was achieved after fierce determination on my part . . . it may look like we're peacefully sleeping, but if he'd been able to record the lead-in, you'd be able to see 47 kicks to my head and Noel squirming relentlessly while he was trying to resist going to sleep (translation: holding out with the hopes that I would give up and transport him to the crib). We napped for about 75 minutes and it was a nice little love boost for me . . . plus I now have a cute commemorative pic . . . how adorable is he with his limbs splayed and his favorite gauzy blanket over his face? Worth all of the effort I put into it!













As a bonus to this entry, Fritoe and Sunday don't get much publicity now that Ethan and Noel have joined the family . . . the picture below was definitely cute enough to post and is 100% organic - no Adam/Bruce posing involved . . . seems like they are bonding together to get the love and attention that they are perhaps not getting from us these days. Fritoe and Sunday have been great with the boys and deserve a little PR of their own . . .

Professional Photos - 6 months

In prepping for our 9 month photos this weekend, I realized that we'd failed to upload some of the great pics of Brigade from our 6 month photo session. Chad's continued to come up with some interesting shots and we selected some attire from the Baby Gap "Baby Biker" collection. The boys were incredibly cooperative, though not particularly "smiley," on this day back in early July.

The downside of this shoot for Pai and Dad was that we were faced with the toll that months 4, 5 & 6 had taken on us . . . we're lookin' pretty rough in most of the shots! Thankfully we've slept much more regularly in months 7, 8, & 9, so we're hoping to see a reduced level of eye puffiness and dark circles in the upcoming round!

Outtake from Noel's Photoshoot

And here's a little peek into Noel's new "thing." I was getting the wind machine ready for the shoot and while he was patiently waiting, he grabbed his security blanket and popped in his thumb. It's his new go to thing right now and, while he's a charmer for sure, there's a sweet side of Noel that melts your heart as well.

Ethan 9 Months

As previously mentioned, Ethan totally is pulling up on everything. From cribs to ottomans to toilets, if it's within reach, he's pulling up on it to stand up.

Month 9





















Month 8





















Month 7





















Month 6




















Month 5





















Month 4





















Month 3





















Month 2





















Month 1

Noel 9 Months

Fall is here and Noel is becoming super mobile. He's not quite as agile as Ethan yet, but as he sees his brother start standing up, he definitely wants in on that action.

Month 9






















Month 8




















Month 7




















Month 6




















Month 5




















Month 4




















Month 3




















Month 2




















Month 1

TX/OU Weekend at Hyatt Lost Pines with the Godparents!

For the past ten years or so, the TX/OU weekend has provided a great opportunity to connect with my (Bruce's) college roommates, Travis and Spencer, and their respective families as they've expanded. We normally pick a city and plant ourselves there for 24-36 hours, as this is sometimes the only interaction we're all able to have on an annual basis. This year was a nice rite of passage, as it was the first time that the Milams were part of the expanding brood.

The trip started with our first solo car ride for the boys, who did spectacular well for the first 2.5 hours . . . Adam managed a feeding and two bottles before the frustration of being cramped in their carseats let to a choir of crying for the last 45 minutes or so . . . all in all, not a bad showing.

While the Creeds unfortuantely had to miss this year's get-together, we made our way to the Hyatt Lost Pines resort outside of Austin and had some great times with the Waids: Travis and Denise, who are the boys Godparents, and Teal (my Goddaughter) and Collette, who have become the best Godsisters that the boys could ever want. As you can see from the pics, the girls are fantastic with the boys, who soak up all of their attention like little sponges. The weather was great and the boys enjoyed a lot of giggles with the girls (see pics below).

A nice aside was getting to spend some time with Anna and Andy and our own Goddaugher, Zoe, who is precious. Sadly, we failed to get pics of that visit, but we'll be better next time.

Here are the pics:

Milam clan . . . all four in orange despite the loss:

The boys with their favorite playmates . . . Teal giving Ethan a squeeze while Collette adorned Noel with blocks (confusion and laughter ensued):















Noel getting swarmed by the Waid girls . . . that's a lotta love he's getting













Lastly, I couldn't resist including this one . . . how much fun can you have with a roll of toilet paper? Ethan just showed you!