Jina told me the other day that it’s been waaaay too long since I’ve written a “This and That” blog post to update the family and our friends on what is going on with us.

She’s right (of course)…I’ve been preoccupied lately with this new hobby of photography and I haven’t been finding the time to just write.

So here I am.

What has been going on with us? Soooo much.

Lyla is turning a year old in just  19 days. It’s seriously incredible all the changes happening to her every week. She’s walking now and it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. She picks up stuff, carries it with her and just talks to herself as she walks around the house.

One of the funnier moments (for me) was us sitting on the couch, and Lyla goes walking down the hallway to her bedroom. You hear her talking all the way…then she comes back and looks at us around the corner, smiling.

Heart melting.

She’s gotten very good at feeding herself finger foods. From barely being able to grab a piece of bread to very coordinated efforts, the growth has been great to witness.

There have been so many changes that it’s hard to remember them all. New sounds…new “words”…she also reaches for each of us like she never did before. Jina holds her and she leans over reaching for me and vice versa. She’s waving at people and clapping.

She’s also been a bit bratty lately…she likes to explore and touch things, so when we take stuff away…man the tears flow.

OHHHH, congrats to my brother and his wife Jennifer on the birth of their baby girl, Ava Carly. You can see her pictured to the right yawning a bit, newborn baby yawn. She’s so cute and perfect, it was great to hold her for the first time on Monday.

Ava is my first niece (Jina’s too) and we’re so thrilled to have her in our lives.

Jina has been busy with baby showers and going-away parties the last month or so. She’s also (and she’ll hate me for saying this) gotten WAY into the Twilight book series and has been doing a TON of reading. I’m so glad she’s been doing that, because she used to read a lot and Lyla arriving kind of threw a kink in all that.

She had to put up with me being gone all last week for work, not to mention a 10-day trip coming up in Nov-Dec for me.

For myself…I’ve been busy working and shooting photos. I’m actually going to try and take a break this week from doingany photography, because it’s taken hold of me and become a bit of an obsession, albeit it a good one in my opinion. I feel like my eyes have been opened and I’m starting to get better and better at this hobby.

But I need the break I think. I have been working on a DVD for Lyla’s first birthday for quite awhile now, and with November 22nd only a few weeks away, I REALLY need to finish it. The DVD is a compilation of pictures and videos from the first year of her life. I can’t wait to see it all done.

This Saturday is my official graduation ceremony at the University of Phoenix Stadium @ 10am. Most of my family will be there and it’s going to be a great time. My diploma came in the mail last week, so it feels official now, but I’m looking forward to doing the “walk” and truly making it real.

November/December is going to be busy. I have a project that needs to reach a certain point by November 19th. Lots to do. Then on the 20th, we fly to Texas for Thanksgiving to see Jina’s family and stay at The Hale House Inn for almost a week. We return on the 26th, which leaves me only about 3 days at home before I head off to Toronto for the afore mentioned work trip.

I’m definitely going to be looking forward to a long break around Christmas. I usually line up vacation days so that I end up with a week and a half off during that time, and this year should be the same thing. Can’t wait!

Well, that’s about it for now. I have a little Lyla video for you below, which really shows off her new walking skills. Enjoy!

(By the way, sorry about the lower quality video…Facebook is really compressing photos and videos lately, so I may have to find a different place to host them)