December 22, 2009

Bring on the new year!

What a wonderful and eventful year 2010 is going to be!!

I found out some very exciting news last week but had to wait a little while to share. She finally announced her news yesterday and I'm so glad I can finally talk about it....

My best friend, Keri, is PREGNANT and sweet Kylie is going to be a big sister!!

I never imagined we'd be pregnant at the same time and get to raise our little ones together. I'm so excited about her little blessing and that we will get to have babies so close to the same age! She is due July 31st which puts us only 3 months apart!

But that's not all....

My friend Tonya ALSO announced the news last week that she is expecting again and little Tyler is going to be a big brother!! She's due June 28th with baby J #2! Austin and Tyler are only 6 months apart and baby H and baby J will only be 2 months apart!

And let's not forget...

My friend, Aaron, is expecting baby girl Willey in March. Her sister, and my friend, Ashley, is getting married in March and my little sister will likely be married (or close to it) in 2010!!

What a wonderful year it's going to be!!!

Tonya and a 6 month old Tyler visiting us in the hospital when Austin was born.

Keri holding Austin when he was just a month old.

December 21, 2009

2nd Time Isn't Always a Charm!

We took Austin to see Santa a few weeks ago, but since the pictures we took were going to be a part of our Christmas card, I refrained from posting about it until they went out. Our cards went out Friday so now I can finally tell the Santa story and post these pictures I've been dying to post!

So, after Ryan got off work one Friday, we decided to go see Santa since we figured a Friday night would be less crowded than Saturday. Austin was dressed in his new Christmas sweater and looking awfully cute. We waited in line for about 30 minutes and he was happy as could be. He was flirting with all the people around us, watching all the little kids bouncing around and was totally amazed by the toy flying helicopters buzzing over his head. We approached Santa when it was finally our turn, set Austin down in his lap, and not one second later our happy, social baby took one look at Santa and started screaming his little head off like Santa had just bit him or something! We tried EVERYTHING to get him to stop until we just had to give up and let the next kid in line take his turn. As soon as we grabbed Austin and started walking away, the screaming and waterworks stopped like magic and we had our happy little baby back! We turned around to head back to Santa, hoping the drama was all over, but no such luck. Austin started screaming again and we quickly made our exit.

I can't tell you how disappointed we were. I hadn't even thought there was a possibility that Austin would act like that. He loves people and rarely meets a stranger so I thought our biggest problem would be that we wouldn't be able to get Austin to look at us because he'd be so fascinated with Santa. I guess I was seriously wrong...or maybe he just needed some warming up first and maybe a nap just beforehand...hmm.....

The next day we decided to go back and try again. Friday night was just a fluke, we convinced ourselves of that, we just didn't do it right the first time and needed to try again! We left right after Austin's afternoon nap, fed him a snack right beforehand and entertained our happy baby while waiting in line for about 15 minutes this time. We rounded the corner when it was our turn to go, Austin took one look at Santa from afar and began screaming and crying...again. Just the sight of Santa sitting in his big green chair sent our sweet, happy baby into hysterics!!

We were determined to get a picture this time and just had to hold Austin in our own laps and make Santa stand behind us so Austin couldn't see him. He still didn't smile, but the screaming stopped and we were able to at least get Austin and Santa in the same picture.

Here's hoping for better luck next year!!

Happy baby in line to see Santa on night #1...

Happy baby again after we were done visiting Santa on night #1

Night #2 = FAIL

The final product!

Popped!

On Saturday I entered my 21st week of pregnancy and things are going great so far! Baby boy H is quite the active one and I love feeling him move all the time now. His movements are certainly starting to become more forceful and even Ryan felt him move for the first time this weekend! It's really making things a lot more exciting as I'm definitely more aware of this new little blessing growing inside.

Another exciting thing is that I've finally "popped!" Instead of just looking seriously bloated or like I've had too many helpings at the dinner table...I'm actually looking pregnant now. Even Ryan made a comment about it this weekend. I think his exact words were, "Wow, you look huge!!" I can't tell you how excited I was to hear that....I mean really, doesn't my husband just have a way with words!! :)

And for those who have asked, here's a picture of me after the firm Christmas party Friday night. It's not the best, but it'll do for now. I just feel so silly taking "belly pictures" that they'll probably be few and far between...but I learned once Austin was born that I wish I would have taken more, so I'm trying to convince myself to pose for them this time around. I still feel really silly though....

December 17, 2009

How does he do it?!

I was on the phone with Ryan this morning, looked away for a few seconds and this is what I turn around to find...

Lord, help me that my child doesn't end up in a hospital ER before he's 2... I just can't take my eyes off him for a second!

December 16, 2009

14 Months!


Austin turned 14 months old Tuesday, can you believe it?! What an exciting month we've had and things are just getting even more exciting by the day! Here are 14 fabulous (and maybe not so fabulous) things about 14 months!

1. No matter what time he goes to bed, Austin is now sleeping at least 12-13 hours a night with one 2 hour nap during the middle of the day. Last night was a late night due to some last minute errands and he is STILL asleep at 9:45 am! I can only pray that our next child will be such as good of a sleeper as Austin is!

2. Austin is starting to mimic everything we do! When we point at things, he points. When I rub my hands together to put lotion on, he does the same. When I smack my lips or make a funny sound, he tries to imitate it. It's super cute!

3. He says "bye-bye" repeatedly and waves ANYTIME someone walks out of a room. He can't wait for daddy to grab his briefcase in the mornings so he can start waving and telling him bye. He also says bye to random people, cashiers and servers at restaurants.

4. Much to my surprise, Austin has become a VERY picky eater. He loves fruit, but in order to eat his veggies, they have to be pureed or mashed. He's not a big fan of cheese and refuses to eat any pasta. He even spits out chicken nuggets unless I dip them in ketchup first. It's really frustrating and I hope it's something he grows out of shortly.

5. Austin LOVES music and is a dancing fool! He likes to wave his arms, stomp his feet and shake his little tushy anytime music comes on...no matter where he is! The Franklin theme song came on while I was changing his diaper the other morning and he started wiggling around on his mat and just a smiling!

6. Austin wears a size 5 diaper, size 18 month pants and 24 month onesies and t-shirts fit him best. He's got a long torso but shorter arms and legs.

7. Austin's favorite toy is his Playskool Busy Poppin' Pals, which was a Christmas gift that I gave him a little early. He can make all the animals pop up except for the one where he has to turn the key. For that one he just grabs my hand and makes me do it for him.

8. Austin also likes to stack his blocks and his hand-eye coordination sometimes surprises me. He can build pretty tall stacks without knocking them over.

9. His favorite activity, however, is to empty out his block container and push it to the couch, chair or table and use it as a step to climb up on things. Yesterday I left the room for a minute to switch out the laundry and came back to find him standing on top of one of the living room chairs.

10. Austin really enjoys putting on his socks and shoes. He will stop whatever he's doing and come to me anytime I say "let's put on your socks." He even tries to help Ryan put on his shoes in the morning and loves to take off my flip flops and put them back on.

11. Austin loves to play with our dog, Lucy, and thinks she is just too funny. He likes to throw her ball and she enjoys chasing it and bringing it back for a round of tug of war. He also likes to throw his food on the floor for Lucy to gobble up. This is very frustrating for mommy...

12. Austin can point to eyes, nose, mouth and toes. Most of the time he will only point to mine and by point I mean poke, gauge and jam his fingers into each body part with extreme force.

13. He thinks the word "pewwww" is HILARIOUS! We always say it when he has a dirty diaper or when we just want him to smile and laugh real hard. He also thinks the word "owl" is really funny and the sound you make when you blow your nose.

14. And at 14 months, Austin has 5 teeth and has been working on tooth #6 for about 2 weeks now. He's not a terrible teether, but those last couple of days before the tooth breaks through can be rough. Freezer pops and Tylenol have been wonderful teething aids thus far.

December 15, 2009

The house in lights!

Isn't it festive?! And it's all courtesy of my wonderful husband! I helped place some lights on a bush or two, did some box opening, bow straightening, light unraveling and gave some directional assistance...but the rest was ALL him! With my poor bum ankle, I had to stay warm and dry inside playing with Austin all afternoon while he worked...sad isn't it?

By the way, who ever knew you needed to be an electrical engineer to hang Christmas lights?! Hanging them is one thing, but getting them all plugged in and coming on at the same time is something else completely! Cheers once again to my hubby for rigging up some amazing electrical contraptions out there...sometimes he truly amazes me!! :)



December 14, 2009

Austin and the Christmas Tree

Friday night after the little one was in bed, Ryan and I finally got around to decorating the house for Christmas and putting up our lights and tree. Our trip and my untimely injury caused us to get a bit of a late start this year, but no worries, we have no problem being the only house on the street with their lights up into January! After all the work we did, these things are staying up for at least a month!!

Saturday morning was so exciting because we couldn't wait for Austin to wake up and see the tree all lit up in our living room. I had my camera ready and we both stood there watching him as he took notice of the new addition.

It was love at first sight!


Austin walked around the tree gently touching the branches saying "oooooo" "oooooo" and then looking back at us grinning with big eyes. Most of the decorations were placed high enough to be out of the reach of those little baby hands...but I apparently underestimated his height a bit and a few were still in reach. However, after hearing a calm "no, no" a few times, he seemed to catch on and continued to admire and lightly touch just the branches.



Three days later the tree is still standing and all the ornaments are in tact. The Austin-sized Tigger didn't have a much luck as Austin continues to drag him to the ground and tackle him. The train and train track are also in disarray as a long Monday indoors proved too much for his curiosity. I also have a feeling that no presents will see the bottom of this tree for a few years...but at least that leaves more room for him to crawl underneath and admire the lights from a different angle...


Last 2 Days in the Bahamas

While we were there until Sunday, Catherine and Nick had to head back on Saturday so Catherine could have a day to get some work done and lesson plans arranged before class on Monday. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at The Point before heading back to the room to get them packed up. Austin was not happy about being back in the room as he had become accustomed to being outside all day, and kept trying to crawl in his stroller so we'd take him back out. We distracted him long enough to give a bye bye snuggle to Aunt Catherine and then they were gone.

We put Austin down for a morning nap since we had plans to spend our last afternoon in the Bahamas on the beach, but for the first time in a week, we just relaxed in the room until mid-afternoon. I think we were just about exhausted from all the going and going. We did, however, finally manage to get up and head out the door around 3pm to go see that beautiful water one last time. We got on the shuttle and headed to our favorite place, The Cove, but little did we know, we would never make it to the beach that day.

As I was preparing to get off the shuttle with Austin in my arms, I started to step down the steps when my knee gave out and I fell to the ground severely twisting my right ankle and landing on my left knee. Since I was holding Austin and trying to protect him, I was unable to catch myself, but I did succeed in keeping my baby from ever hitting the ground. I eventually had to let him go and he just started walking away...oblivious to what had just happened!

Next thing I know, I was unable to get up and had people surrounding me with a wheelchair headed in my direction. My ankle was as big as a softball and my left knee was pretty torn up. We neglected to go to the Bahamas public hospital and agreed to be seen in Greenville as soon as we arrived home the next day. They provided me with a pair of crutches and a courtesy taxi back to our room, but nothing could ease the pain of my throbbing ankle and the fact that my accident had caused us to miss spending our final day of vacation on the beach.

Needless to say, the rest of the evening was a bit rough (especially after watching Clemson lose in the ACC Championship to GT) and the next day was a complete whirlwind! I was still in pain the next day from my ankle and from having to sit there helpless as Ryan packed up the entire villa himself and carried every bag all while pushing Austin in his stroller. We were very fortunate to have lots of help once we reached the airport and were whizzed through security and customs due to my unfortunate accident.

We managed another 2.5 hour plane ride and were shocked to walk off the plane in Atlanta to some very chilly weather! Ryan loaded up the car and blasted the heat and my tired little guy fought sleep the entire way back to Greenville. Grandma Jo Ann arrived shortly after we did to watch Austin as we headed to Urgent Care and waited 2 hours for them to tell me I had a bad sprain and possibly some torn tendons.

What a crazy ending to a wonderful week and a pretty bad start to the following one...

Catherine and Nick at The Point for breakfast on their last day in the Bahamas.
Austin enjoying some pancakes!
"Hey guys, it's sunny out, what are we doing inside?!"
Saying goodbye to Aunt Catherine!
The flight home...

Bahamas Day 4 & 5

So, days 4 & 5 were my favorite because we spent most of the day at our favorite pool and at the on-site water park. We didn't even have to go back to the room for nap time one afternoon because Austin snoozed for 2 HOURS in his stroller by the pool! Aunt Catherine and Nick babysat both days for a good while so Ryan and I could go check out the extreme lazy river and some of the water slides. It was so nice to spend some time in the water, just the two of us!

These days were also my favorite because, well, Thursday was my birthday and on the day before - NICK ASKED CATHERINE TO MARRY HIM...AND SHE SAID YES! A birthday and a proposal mixed in with some swimming, sunning, floating and sliding....what could be better!?

The new bling! Congrats Aunt Catherine!!!
Austin's Aunt Catherine and future Uncle Nick back in the room after celebrating their engagement!
Leaving for the pool...
...and at the pool! That's one sacked out little guy!
Just another beautiful backdrop!
That's Austin and Ryan out there in the Baths pool. Can you see why it was our favorite? We had the whole humongous thing to ourselves!!
Austin loved walking around these large sculptures and then stepping off the sides into our arms.
Mommy and Austin doing some swimming!
Catherine and Nick chasing around our little munchkin as he chases a bird...
Me and Ryan at Carmine's for my birthday dinner!

December 11, 2009

Bahamas Day 2 & 3

On our first full day in the Bahamas we decided to take the ferry boat to Nassau to check out the sights. It was pretty much like every other Caribbean tourist city with the countless souvenir shops, jewelry stores and street vendors. We took a stroll through the Straw Market only to be hassled and bombarded by sales pitches and offered illegal and counterfeit items. Ryan, being a patent attorney, was seriously disturbed by the seemingly lack of trademark law enforcement as we passed walls and walls of knock-off handbags just sitting out in the open. I was enamored with the black and white Chanel bag that I've always wanted being offered for only $35...but whats the fun in carrying around a designer bag if you know it's a fake?! We just looked and kept moving...

After wandering around for awhile longer, we decided to stop for lunch at Senor Frogs before getting back on the boat to the resort. Austin proceeded to meltdown in his high chair because it was well past nap time and fell asleep on the ferry boat almost as soon as we sat down. Poor little guy just wasn't used to missing his regularly scheduled nap time and was sure to let us know how displeased he was!

We topped off our Monday evening with a trip to The Poop Deck via the "party taxi" for an authentic Bahamian dinner...which was DELICIOUS!! I had the most delicious fried chicken I've ever tasted and Ryan's Grouper Fingers were a table favorite. Our taxi driver was waiting on us when we were finished and we piled back in for the ride home. The taxis in the Bahamas were hit or miss and the one that took us to dinner that night was a hit! It had mood lighting, tv screens and Michael Jackson music videos playing...it was quite the experience!

Tuesday was a laid back day. We strolled through Marina Village to check out the food, shopping and enormous yachts in harbor and then took off to a few of the many different pools and beaches for some fun in the sun! We especially loved the private Cove beach which had a strip of sand with ocean on both sides. It was the most beautiful and peaceful place on the island!


The cruise ships in harbor in Nassau
Ready to stroll around the city!
Some of the elaborate Christmas decorations
A school children's choir singing Christmas carols....too cute!
At Senor Frogs with his courtesy balloon hat!
Aunt Catherine trying to tame the beast!
Pooped out on the ferry boat before we even left the dock1
Balloon fighting in the room with Aunt Catherine
Dinner at the Poop Deck
Where's mine??
The Casino Royale yacht docked at Marina Village.
Riding the shuttle bus to the Cove...the bus rides were one of Austin's favorite activities on the trip!
The gorgeous private beach at the Cove
Austin wasn't too fond of walking on the sand...but he didn't mind riding!
A beautiful blue water backdrop!
Ocean on both sides...I just thought it was so beautiful and unique!

December 9, 2009

Bahamas Day 1

There's just so much to tell about our trip and so many pictures that I'm going to break it up into a few different posts.

Last Sunday we woke up at 5am in order to get ready, pack the car and drive to Atlanta for our 11am flight to Nassau. It was a hectic morning to say the least but alas we were waiting at our gate with about 20 minutes until boarding. We were very lucky that our flight wasn't packed and when we strolled up with Austin in tow, the flight attendant graciously moved our seats to a row of three with some extra room. However, the older couple sitting next to us saw us sit down across the aisle and they were very quick to ask for a change in their seats. I don't know why this bothered me...but it did. I'm pretty sure I gave them the evil eye...

So, thanks to the advice from Tonya, I gave Austin a bottle during take off and landing to prevent any ear troubles and it worked wonders. He didn't seem to mind any part of flying but he was certainly getting antsy and bored just sitting there in our laps for 2 hours playing with the same small toys and eating Cheerios. He fell asleep for about 30 minutes and woke up just before touch down. We were all VERY happy to get off that plane. Even though Austin didn't have a meltdown, the anticipation of one was making me frazzled. Our flight was successful but taking a toddler on a plane is something I prefer to do only once or twice a year!!

My sister and her boyfriend joined us on our trip but they left from Charlotte and their flight was about an hour behind ours so we waited at baggage claim for them to arrive. Once we spotted them we were quick to get out of that airport and in a taxi to Atlantis! The weather was beautiful and it was a nice, warm 80 degrees out. We got into our villa early afternoon and hurredly got settled so we could go explore!

Atlantis is HUGE and very confusing to first time visitors. We wandered around for a few hours, stopping to look at a few of the aquariums and pools and made a quick trip to the beach before it got too dark. We were back in our room by 7pm and decided to order a pizza since Austin was the only one who had eaten anything that day. We got settled back in the room, put a very tired baby to bed, enjoyed our pizza and company and then called it an early night and looked forward to the rest of our week.

Stay tuned for the rest of our week's adventures!!


Austin's luggage...he helped pack it himself!
Napping on the plane, a glorious sight!
Finally at baggage claim in the BAHAMAS!
View of where we stayed from across the harbor

Catherine and Nick arriving at our villa

A cute little seahorse in the Royal Towers aquarium

We found Nemo!
Austin enjoying watching the fish!
King of Atlantis!!
Our first steps on the Bahama sand!
First family shot on the island with the beautiful resort as our backdrop!
The $25,000/night bridge suite where Michael Jackson and Oprah have stayed!

Followers



 
Designed by Munchkin Land Designs. Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved.