October 17, 2010

Boo in the Zoo

Boo in the Zoo members night just happened to fall on Austin's birthday this year.  Ryan got home from work just in time, so we grabbed our little pirate and baby tiger and went to the zoo for some trick or treating.

Austin was going to be a rubber duck, but after some comments questioning the manliness of a 2 year old boy in a rubber duck costume, and a last minute sale rack find, we went with a pirate costume instead.  The pirate costume came with some cool accessories, like a sword and a big floppy hat, which amazingly stayed put through the entire evening.

Austin carried his sword around all night, swashbuckling the ground and fellow trick or treaters.  He put it down only once, when we passed the Pepsi truck handing out free cans of Pepsi.  He immediately went digging through his treat bag, passing up crayons and chocolate and suckers, and pulled out that tiny can of caffeinated goodness.  Way to go Pepsi, that's just what a bunch of kids hopped up on candy need....a jolt of caffeine!!  I distracted Austin with a goat and hid his treat bag.  It worked.



Austin had so much fun that we considered paying $4 more and going around again, but we were just a little too late and the event was ending.  We went to McAlisters (home of the free kids meal) for Austin's birthday dinner after leaving the zoo, and because everyone needs cake on their birthday, we bought him a piece of marble pound cake.  He throughly enjoyed it...

Owen was there too, being his cute little tiger cub self.  At the end of the night, however, he traded his "Roar" for an "Arrrrg."



Elmo and Big Bird and Ernie, Oh My!

Thursday night was opening night for Sesame Street Live and you better believe we were there!  The show kicked off Austin's big birthday bash and he loved every minute of it.  The Johnson family met us there and Tyler and Austin truly enjoyed the show as well as each others company, they danced together in the aisles and even left the show hand in hand.

Austin was so happy to see all of his favorite Sesame Street characters dancing and singing on stage right in front of him.  Owen sat back and took it all in, too.  Of course, the confetti and streamers were the highlight of the evening and Austin gave the cleaning team a hand in their trash collecting.  If only he would pick up trash in his own home...

The show was really good and Ryan and I really liked it, too.  I can't say that 2 years ago I would have enjoyed sitting through 90 minutes of singing and dancing puppets.  It's amazing what parenthood will do to a person!!  :-)









October 14, 2010

It's Almost Time...

Two years ago today, at about this same time, I was checking in to the hospital after several hours of having contractions at home.  We thought Austin was going to be born on October 14th, but he waited until 1am on the dot, the (early) morning of October 15th to make his debut.  We fell in love immediately, and even though I never thought I could love him more than the day he was born, I find that I fall in love with him all over again every single day that were together.

Much, much more to come very soon on Austin's big birthday weekend, including...
Sesame Street Live tonight
Big family birthday celebration tomorrow
Boo in the Zoo tomorrow night
Cheering on the Tigers Saturday and
Austin's 2nd birthday party on Sunday!!!

(Sneak Peek)


October 13, 2010

For Daddy

I know Ryan misses seeing his boys every night.  I know for a fact they miss him too!  I try and tell him all the cute things they do during the day, and while I know he loves to hear all about it, I think it also makes him miss his little guys even more.

We just got off the phone a minute ago as Ryan was checking into his hotel room for the night.  I told him how sweet Austin and Owen were being this evening, not that they aren't sweet all most of the time, but tonight they were even more adorable than usual.  Austin kept wanting to hold Owen and then he wanted to swing him in the baby swing.  When Owen had enough swinging, I sat him on the floor to play with a toy and Austin started playing right along with him and giggling every time Owen made the toy make music.  Every now and then Owen would topple over (still perfecting the whole sitting up thing) and Austin thought it was hilarious!  He would fall over too and then get up and push me over as well.  All three of us were laying on the floor and laughing and then we'd sit up and do it all over again.

I'm so happy my boys love each other so much and I just love them to PIECES!!  We also love our daddy to pieces, and these pictures are for him!




Big Shoes

Since daddy has been spending a lot of time away recently, Austin has taken it upon himself to try and be the man of the house in Ryan's absence.



He's sure got some pretty big shoes to fill!

October 12, 2010

First Tooth!

At 5 months, Owen is getting his first tooth and another one is on its way!  
You'd never even know by looking at him that this little guy is doing some serious teething....


...not with a face like that!
(See that little white nub poking through on the bottom?)

Jersey

Our house has been nothing but football and baseball these past few weeks.  Austin spends his days chanting C-L-E-M-S-O-N and doing the tomahawk chop.  He plays with his football and tee ball set constantly, has perfected his batting stance and has even gone in for a few tackles.

Unfortunately, our Tigers have had some less than stellar performances recently and today was a sad day for the Atlanta Braves nation as well.  Not only were they knocked out of the playoffs after another disappointing 1 run loss, but it also marked manager, Bobby Cox's last game

Ryan and friend, Neal, took their dads down to Atlanta for the game yesterday afternoon and Ryan brought Austin back a really great souvenir which he wore for tonights game....a souvenir that he can also wear next year to a few games, and the year after that, and probably the year after that as well...


What's even better is that Austin and his buddy, Neal, can match next season when they both sport their Heyward jerseys to the season opener.

October 7, 2010

I'm too sexy...



I'm too sexy for my tub, too sexy for my tub...scrub a dub dub dub!

October 5, 2010

1/4 Century

My sister turned 25 this past Sunday (10/3) so we went down to Columbia for a big family dinner to celebrate.  This was not only the big 2-5, but also her last birthday as a single woman.  I can't believe my little sister will be married in 6 more months!

Hope you had a very happy birthday, Catherine, we had a great time celebrating!

 Aunt Catherine & Uncle Nick with their nephew
 Hey mom!
 The whole family enjoying dinner at Miyo's
From the Harris's, glasses and a cutting board with her new last initial!
 Where's Austin?
 There he is!
 Very happy about her new Vera from Mom and Dad
 Austin opening his first birthday card...
...and present from Aunt Dianne & Uncle John!  If he's equally enthusiastic about all the rest of his gifts, this is going to be one super fun birthday!!

5 Month Comparison

Ryan's 1st Day

Well, Ryan's first day at his new firm was yesterday. We missed him as soon as he left but we had a good day nonetheless! Ryan thinks he's really going to like his new job but hated he didn't get to see his boys for very long. He also wasn't fond of the 1.5 hour drive, waking up when it was dark out an the Charlotte traffic, so I think we may start looking for a place up that way a little sooner than we may have anticipated (assuming we don't have any major issues with the house). Of course, he is going to have to sit for the NC bar in February and his quiet evenings away from his family do give him a good chance to start studying. We'll just have to wait and see for now I guess...

While I'm no stranger to the single mom routine, it was a little hard to get back into the swing of things, but I don't think it's going to be all that bad. We've already got two play dates lined up and I make it my own personal goal to get outside for at least 20 minutes a day. Whether it be sitting out on the porch while Austin draws with chalk in the driveway, taking a quick walk around the neighborhood or just driving down the street to the drugstore or to get a milkshake...that 20 minutes really breaks up the monotony of the day and gives us all some renewed energy. The most difficult part is getting the boys fed, bathed, jammied and ready for bed in the evenings since they both go to sleep about the same time. Evenings get stressful, even when Ryan is here, but I'm working on a schedule and hopefully things will get easier in the coming weeks.

Finally, Ryan took some quick pictures of his new office with his phone yesterday and sent them to me. What a view, huh?!



October 4, 2010

Fab Five


Owen is 5 months old today.  That's right, FIVE months...can you believe it??

He is changing and learning and growing so much every day.  He is still incredibly laid back, but loves attention and being held and cuddled.  He is super sweet and cuddly, and since I know from experience that those days don't last, I'm just soaking them in.  He smiles at everyone, especially other babies and children.  He loves to look around and watch what's going on and likes being outdoors almost as much as his big brother does.  He laughs at everything, especially silly noises and faces and it's one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard.  He really enjoys his jumper and tries to jump all the time now, even when he's just standing in my lap!  He's totally over those less interactive things like his swing and bouncy seat.  If he's not in my arms, he's in his jumper or rolling his way across the floor...

Owen is hardly ever still unless he's sleeping, then he's a peaceful little lamb, but as soon as he wakes up, he rolls all around in his crib until he gets stuck and starts whining for someone to get him.  If I place him on the floor and walk away for a second, he's most likely already rolled to the complete other side of the room and found something to put in his mouth.  There are still no teeth, but he is a drooling machine and mouthing everything he can grasp.  I've never seen so much drool come out of something so small and have to change bibs and outfits several times a day.  His constant motion has made nursing a bit of a challenge sometimes, especially when we're out in public and I'm trying to be discreet and keep him under the cover.  All he wants to do is wiggle around and grab at the nursing cover and whip his head in all directions to try and see what's going on.  His nursing sessions are also a lot shorter due to his constant need to be in on all the action, which has made cause for more feedings and a 3-4 am wake up call each morning.  I don't mind it though because he goes right back to sleep in my arms and it's just another sweet time to cuddle without the usual craziness going on around us.

Owen is wearing a size 3 diaper now.  It's too big, but I've learned that too big is much better than too small!  He can wear clothes anywhere from size 3-6 months to size 12 months.  I am buying him clothes that are size 9 months and just hoping they last through the winter.  Austin was in summer clothes at Owen's age so unfortunately we have had to buy several new things for Owen to wear this Winter.  At least onesies and PJs are year round!

Owen is sweet and happy 95% of the time.  The other 5% of the time that he's not so sweet and happy is usually when he's riding in the car for long periods of time or being forced to sit in his car seat.  But, I would never climb in the backseat of the car while moving and take my screaming mad red-faced baby whom I thought was going to make himself sick, out of his carseat and hold him for a few miles until he calmed down...nope not me!  He does sit on mine or Ryan's lap while we eat out at restaurants though, because like I said, NOT a fan of the carseat!

Regardless, I just adore my little blue-eyed baby boy, my snuggle bunny, my little pumpkin, my sweet, sweet Owie bear!

Trip to Tiger Town

This past weekend was homecoming in Clemson.  We decided to head that way after apple picking and enjoy the festivities.  We ate downtown, walked around, looked at the floats, played on Bowman field and ended up at Tigerama in Littlejohn.  We bought Austin a hat and football from Judge Kellers, they are now his most favorite items.  He's hardly taken his hat off since Friday!  I forgot how much I love spending time in my old college town, even though being there with two kids, pushing around a double stroller and carrying a giant diaper bag made me feel pretty old, especially as I watched all those teenage students walk by!

 Taking his little brother for a stroll...
Checking out the homecoming floats

 Austin loved watching all the kids play on Bowman!
 Playing a little catch with daddy!
 "Go long, dad!"
 Quarterback or pitcher?  He can't decide!
 Touchdown Tigers!!
 Owen loved the feel of the grass!
 My bright-eyed baby catching some rays on Bowman Field!
 Going for the field goal!
Me and my happy baby!

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