My Humble Attempt

I really wish I had the time, knowledge and creative ability to become a great photographer.  Maybe once the boys are in school I'll try to take some classes and buy a nice, new, professional camera and learn how to edit using Lightroom.

For now, however, I'm alright with the fact that I almost always use Auto mode and only edit in Picasa.  At least at our new house I have some pretty wonderful green backdrops to work with which makes even my humble photography attempts look much better.

Another Comparison

Obviously that's Owen on the right....but can you guess who that is on the left??

That would be me (circa 1983) showing off my super cool bubble beard...

I think it's safe to say that Owen got his looks from my side of the family!

A vs. O

The picture below is a comparison of the boys.  Austin is on the left and Owen is on the right.  This comparison is a bit shocking to me because the picture of Austin was taken when he was 9 months old.  The picture of Owen was taken last weekend....at almost 14 months old....wearing, and just now fitting into, an outfit that was a tad snug on Austin when he was 5 months younger.  Seriously, these two boys are like night and day!!

Mini Golf

Austin never ceases to amaze me with his skills.  Maybe he gets it from his daddy or maybe it comes from the fact that he's been attending sporting events since he was barely a month old...but seriously, this boy has some skills with a ball!

We decided to play some mini golf yesterday afternoon...which is now one of Austin's most favorite activities.  He even likes to watch golf on TV, and seriously, the only thing more boring than watching golf on TV is watching bowling....or tennis....or soccer.

But anyway, hole #1 and Austin gets it in in 2 shots...with no help.  Hole #2 and he gets it in 4, and then 3 and then a few holes later he gets a hole in one!!  Ryan and I were both shocked and cheering for him louder than two people should cheer on a small miniature golf course, but it was pretty awesome to watch.  Of course there were those holes where it took about 20 shots and then he finally gave up and just kicked it in with his foot...but when there we no distractions and he was paying attention...he totally rocked at golf!

Apparently you can start golf lessons at age 4 and you better believe Austin will be attending.  I sure wouldn't mind having a future Rory McIlroy in the family!!  I just hope he remains interested for that long and it doesn't turn out like that episode of Family Guy where Cleveland Jr. plays golf with Peter and is really good but then his ADD kicks in and he runs off and gets interested in something else.  (Weird reference, I know, but I was really into Family Guy in college...I blame this guy!  FYI-approach that last link with caution.  I feel it my necessary duty as a blogger to link up the blogs of friends...but Dave's blog might be a little too much for most.) :-)

Owen thoroughly enjoyed mini golf as well.  He's going through that stage now where a ball is one of the greatest things invented and loved dropping it in the hole and then fishing it out.  We let him "walk the course" with us and he couldn't have been happier.

 Look at that shot!

Owen loved putting the balls in the hole...and then taking them out again.

Getting a little help with his stance.

Owen added an extra degree of difficulty to a few of the holes.

He also liked to run off with our golf balls...

Golf sure is exhausting!!

Something New Coming Soon!!

I know the blog is looking a bit rough right now.  I started playing around one night and just couldn't get it looking how I wanted it to so I just gave up!  I had to get a new computer a few months ago and I don't have Photoshop on this one yet so I'm having a hard time without it.

Good news though....I've finally decided to get some professional help.  :)  So, I'm currently working with Jen over at Munchkin Land Designs and should have a cute, new layout coming soon!!  I saw the first draft today and it's looking awesome.  I can't wait to see the final result!

Cars 2

Stop me if you've heard this one.

So, a toddler and a preschooler walk into a movie theatre....

Oh wait, you think you know how it ends already??

Well, unless you've been living under a rock (or you don't have kids) you probably know that the sequel to Austin's all-time favorite movie, Cars, came out on Friday.  We could hardly wait to watch him experience his first movie in a theatre!  I just knew it was going to be a huge hit!  We decided on the Saturday matinee and we also decided to bring Owen instead of spending the money to hire a sitter.  Probably not our wisest decision....

So, we got there ridiculously early because we heard the previous showings had been selling out.  We sat through 15 minutes of pre-previews and another 15 minutes of actual previews.  (I mean, seriously?  Why do there have to be so many previews in a kids movie?  Don't they realize that children are incredibly impatient??)  Finally, the movie started and I was convinced that both boys would immediately calm down and be entertained once they saw their good friends Mater and Lightning on the screen.

Austin actually did great at first, besides the fact that he has no volume control and thought he had to yell everything to make sure we could hear him, he was at least sitting and paying attention to what was on the screen.  Owen, however, was quite intrigued with the new surroundings and wanted to get down and explore.  It took daddy's lap, a firm grip, half a bag of popcorn and 2 dum-dums, but he lasted a surprisingly long 45 minutes before it got to be too much (or he got too full) and I had to take him out of the movie.  Luckily, we opted for the Concord Mills movie theatre so Owen and I got to stroll around and do some shopping and playing while the other two boys enjoyed stayed for the rest of the movie.

About the time Owen started getting antsy and right before I decided to leave, Austin started getting bored and began playing movie theatre musical chairs.  We were lucky to have half an empty row beside us because Austin decided he wanted to sit in each and every chair in our row.  He'd get all the way down, look back at me, I'd shoot him my "evil eye" and then he'd slowly make his way back down to where we were sitting.  It was looking like our first movie experience was going to be an all around failure.  I honestly figured that Ryan and Austin would make their way out of the theatre right behind us, but I should have known better!  My dear husband isn't one for "wasting" money and he was pretty into the movie himself,  so he tempted Austin with popcorn and fruit snacks and managed to keep him relatively still and quiet for the remaining 75 minutes.  I'm pretty sure I would have just given up and waited for the DVD release, but I have to hand it to Ryan for sticking it out!!

There was no crying and no meltdowns, so in a way I consider that a success, but I can pretty much promise that we won't attempt anymore movies anytime soon...well, unless they come out with a Super Why or Bubble Guppies movie that is...

We ended the night with dinner in the food court and a carousel ride. At least we finally found something for both boys to do that they actually enjoyed!

Catching Fireflies

Or as we call them around here....lightning bugs!  Austin has recently become infatuated with these bright little insects and one evening last week we caught a few in daddy's old "critter catcher" so we could take a closer look.  It was definitely the highlight of a certain 2 year old's night!!

Father's Day '11

Just wanted to say a belated Happy Father's Day to one truly awesome daddy and husband!!  We had a low-key celebration last weekend, but with all the craziness going on lately, it was exactly what we all needed.

Artsy!

One of the many reasons me and Austin are really loving preschool...

I think I'm going to need more magnets...and another refrigerator!!

Baby Fishy

Owen may not get to take swim lessons, but he's getting plenty of pool time this summer!!

Too bad we are having such a hard time finding a swimsuit to fit his "tiny heiny!"

Little Fishy

Austin started swim lessons last week.  Naturally, my little water baby was a huge fan!  He worked on floating on his back, kicking his legs, doggy paddling, jumping in the pool and going under the water, touching the bottom, holding his breath and putting his face in the water.  His teacher was impressed with his willingness to do what she asked and his fearlessness.  Owen was sad he couldn't join big brother in the pool, but lucky for him there was a great little playroom to hang out in during brother's lesson.

By the way, can you tell Owen's is teething??  

Look at that insane amount of drool!!  

115

I took 115 pictures of the boys playing outside yesterday.

Yes, I know, I have a problem.

But since I took so many, I feel that I should at least share a small sampling on the blog.  I think it was the matching swimsuits that had me all "snap happy!"

Wordless Wednesday

Choo choo!

On Saturday we decided that we really wanted to do a fun family activity...and luckily Charlotte has a lot of those going on!  We actually got in the car heading one place and changed our minds last minute and went somewhere completely different.  I think we made a great decision and we had a wonderful day....just wish it hadn't been 100 degrees out!!

So here's a look at the day we spent at the NC Transportation Museum: