Monday, August 29, 2011

I Don't Want To Forget!

Austin is now 18 months. I don't know about the rest of you with kids, but I'm pretty sure this stage has got to be one of the most fun parts of being a parent. Pretty much since he started walking, it has been non-stop entertainment. And I really don't want to forget all the fun things he's said & done in the last 6 months, so here are some of our favorite recent Austin-isms.

- He calls Alan "Dee-dah." Especially when Alan does something particularly entertaining to Austin. "Oh, Dee-dah" he'll say. It's so precious.

- He loves throwing things in the trash. If he sees anything that looks even remotely like garbage, he'll pick it up and with a big smile on his face say "Trash!" and go throw it away. Sometimes very helpful, others not so much. Oh, and he has to throw his diaper away after we change him. No exceptions. So I've become an expert at wrapping that thing up so tight that only sanitary parts are exposed.

- He runs with the quickest, shortest, most inefficient steps I've ever seen. But he loves to run!

- He loves when friends come over to our house and he loves playing with other kids. He also HATES it when anyone leaves. (Parents & friends included.) He watches them from the window as they leave and just cries and says "bye" through his sobs. Luckily, he's easily consoled and gets back to playing really quickly. It's really sweet.

- He loves all books, but right now he especially loves his Farmyard Tales and Ted & Friends books that have a little yellow duck on each page. Every time we read books, he says "Duck!" and brings me one of those books. And he couldn't care less about the words or stories in the book. He just wants to turn pages and find that duck. And yes, he has been known to find that dang duck before I do. He's gotten pretty good.

- Some other favorite games right now are coloring, playing with blocks, and rolling cars & trains down our ramp, which we make by unscrewing 2 legs off our cheap coffee table.

- Every night after we brush our teeth, he knows it's time for prayers. He folds his arms & calls for which ever parent isn't holding him, to make sure we're all there. And, most of the time, he sits still on one of our laps and quietly watches the other one pray. And as soon as we say "Amen" he's off our lap and runs to get his bedtime story.

- And the best part of every day is checking in on our sleeping boy right before Alan and I go to bed. He's in a different position almost every night, but he ALWAYS has his doggy nearby. Usually tucked under his arm or hidden underneath him. No matter how long or stressful the day has been, that moment brings everything back into perspective & brings me so much peace.

- Finally, here are some of Austin's favorite words to say. There are too many to list, but these are some of the most common & entertaining: Hi! Bye, back, Dee-dah, hot, hat, cheese!, choo-choo, ABC, appletree, blue, yellow, blocks, water, window, all done, shoes, socks, bee-ball (Which covers baseball, football, basketball, yellow ball, blue pokey ball, and just plain old ball.) He has also just started putting 2 words together, like he'll say "Daddy back?" or "Mommy shoes." Such a smart boy.

And no post about our boy would be complete without some pictures. Enjoy!







Thursday, August 25, 2011

Oh Right...It's 2011

It's been a big summer for our family. Here are a few things that have kept us busy the past couple of months.

Alan graduated from PA school! Congratulations, smartie-pants!We said goodbye to our wonderful Iowa friends who we miss SO much.

We moved to California!

And to celebrate Alan's month off before his new job began, and our new status as Californians, we hit the road on vacation!

We took 2 trips to San Francisco to see cousins.We went camping at Sequoia National Park.
We visited friends in Santa Barbara, where Austin went to his first beach.
Alan went backpacking in Yosemite with his brothers.
And eventually, real life started again. Alan is working as a Family Practice PA, and I get to stay a full-time Mommy. We are hot and happy here in Bakersfield, where we miss our Iowa friends terribly, but it's sunny every day. Not a bad gig.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween

This year for Halloween, we decided to dress up as Ron Burgundy, Veronica Corningstone, and their little gentleman, Baxter. So I made a 4-hour exception to my "Mustache=Divorce" policy and let Alan shave the beard he's been growing for weeks. And Austin was a pretty cute little Baxter. I think the results speak for themselves.

News Team...Assemble!!!

Who wouldn't want to take him to foggy London-town??

Can you believe I let this man hold my precious baby?

You stay classy, San Diego...

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Good News, Bad News

Well, the good news is that Alan and I won't be missing or craving Cafe Rio pork salads for a while. The bad news is that the reason we won't be missing them is because we both got sooooo sick Tuesday night after I made them. I don't know what part of the salad it was, but it had both of us puking our guts out all night long and pretty much all day Wednesday. It was miserable. Thankfully, Austin was just fine and happy as ever. And one of our good friends was able to come and take Austin for a few hours in the afternoon so that Alan and I could rest. And we're feeling much better today. But I'll tell you what, being THAT sick with an 8 month old and no spouse (or mommy) to take care of you...sucks. It's amazing how grateful I am today for little things like the fact that I can stand up without throwing up. Wow.

So, if you don't feel like passing out or vomiting every time you stand up today, be thankful!

And don't mention pork salads to me or Alan for a few months...

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Trying to be Domestic

I try. I really do.

A part of me wants to be that super mom who cooks magnificent meals for her family without so much as glancing at a recipe. Oh, and loves every minute of it. So I try. I LOVE food, so it should be reasonable for me to like to cook food...right?

Wrong. I just don't enjoy cooking. There, I said it.

Alan and I have really been missing Cafe Rio pork salads lately. So I found a recipe online that claimed to be EASY and taste just like the restaurant version. Well, the pork and dressing did indeed taste incredible - just like the real thing. But WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE who think that was easy? They must have 3 blenders, 8 hands and 0 children. It took me ALL freakin' day to make all 20 parts to these salads. And they did taste incredible, don't get me wrong. But I think next time we'll go down to Chipotle for an average substitute. Or wait till Christmas when we can pay 8 bucks for a salad they throw together in 20 seconds.

Ah, Cafe Rio, how we miss you.

And, since it feels weird publishing a post with no pictures, here's a peek into our cafe-rio-less, but really awesome lives in Iowa.
Picking apples at Wilson's Orchard = Perfect Fall activity.

We are best buds. We hang out pretty much all day. Every day.

This is Herky, Iowa's mascot. He is EVERYWHERE in Iowa City. And yes, he is always standing in that exact pose.

I've been waiting for months to dress Austin in this vest. I wish it came in my size. Well, Alan's size.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

New Sounds

So we haven't been the best bloggers in the world lately. But since not everyone is on facebook, where our son is growing up, we thought we'd post our most recent video on here. This is Austin at 5 months doing his best wookie impersonation.