Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Showing the House




So, we put our house on the market about a month ago, and it has been quite an adventure. You would think this is great timing with me being home, I can have the house "show-ready" all the time and whisk the baby off to some shopping center or eatery and let the potential buyers see the house and call it a day. Well, in theory that sounds great; however, having a 3 month baby sometimes hinders the "show-readiness" of the home as most days we have toys, burp rags, and dirty diapers spread from here to Egypt at any given moment. Also, you may have forgotten, but we have two out-of-control dogs that have to be out of the house for show time as well, so eateries and shopping centers are out.

So, last Thursday, we got another call to show the house. Unfortunately, we got the call right around noon, while having lunch in south Fort Worth (35 miles away) with Kristopher. We left lunch and flew like the wind (without speeding because we have a baby on board) to get home in time to clean up. Well, pulling in the driveway with my sweet angel sleeping in the back, I realize the front lawn is in need of cutting. So, being the go-getter I am, I think I can cut that...so in under 5 minutes I do the best and worst lawn job of my life, but I hit the major areas and made the lawn look "groomed". I then run inside, rinse myself off just in time for Austin to wake up to eat (t-1 hour until lookers arrive). I still have to clean inside.

I feed Austin, and then proceed to clean, dust, make the bed, open blinds, pick up dishes and burp rags, load the stroller in the car, load the dogs and their beds, then finally load the baby up. We pull out of the driveway at 1:55 and the lookers are set to arrive at 2. We venture off to our neighborhood Sonic to get myself a beverage (only wishing it had alcohol in it) then on to PetSmart. So, it's one million degrees outside and the hottest part of the day. I attempt to get Austin out of the car first (while the dogs are trying to get in the seat with him to get out at the same time). I manage to wrangle the dogs out on their leashes - we parked about a mile from the store so nobody would have to witness the madness that takes place nor hear the curse words flying out of my mouth. I finally get everything and everyone out of the car, and we walk into the store. These people have already got to be thinking I'm out of my mind. So, we walk casually around the store trying to kill time - me trying to keep both dogs and stroller under control while passing other dogs and food and treats in the aisles. Well, then Rocky decided he needed to poop - right there in the aisle. I had to go get a bag and collect it myself (you know, with my free hand).

I decided at about 2:40 we would head back to the house thinking they would be done soon. I load up dogs and baby into the car (keeping my keys in hand in case one of the dogs decided to step on the lock and lock themselves and the baby into the sweltering car) and I load the stroller and we're off again. We get on the road and there's some banging noise under the car..."Oh no, we're going to break down while it's a million degrees and I'm going to be stuck on side the road with the baby and the dogs" is my immediate thought. Then I calm myself to realize I have shut the leash in the door and the poop bag holder is flapping in the wind. Nice. Can we please just go home? Nope. Lookers still there so we had to park at the community center behind the house, so I could go calm Austin (it was nap time and he was not happy about all of the antics going on around him). So we sat and waited until after 3 and then headed home. BIG SIGH.

I am just hoping someone buys our home soon because I think I've already had my fill of adventure with these showings. Here are a couple of pictures of the dogs riding in the car and drinking their water after the trip to PetSmart. They were tired too I guess :) And my sweet buddy still cracking smiles after all the commotion!

3months old







Oh the days just get more and more fun! Austin is smiling, laughing out loud, and entertaining us every minute of the day. He is such a happy baby. He's growing and learning so much. He is very aware of everything, and he is talking more and more. We can't get enough of this sweet little boy! He turned three months old last Monday, and here are a couple of pictures that Mommy took (with Daddy's camera) so I think only about 1/10 of the pictures came out - haha. I guess it's time I finally let him teach me how to use it! You can still see his obsession with the fan in the first picture!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Happy Father's Day Visitors







Kristopher's family came up to spend the weekend with us for Fathers' Day. It was so awesome to celebrate Kristopher's first fathers' day! We had a great day and a great weekend. We also went and had tea at the American Girl store for Peyton's 3rd birthday! We had lots of fun, and as always, it was great for Austin to be spoiled for a few days. He really enjoyed seeing all the new faces around. We also got a short overnight visit from Nannie Michell. I think Austin thought she looked alot like his Ceci, so she got lots of smiles too! Enjoy the pictures!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The days are getting funner!


Well, our little man is turning three months in two weeks, and the changes to his precious face are abundant. It has already been an amazing journey to see how much he grows and learns, and at this point, it's clearly on a daily basis. The first picture is our morning at its finest: the moment that Austin re-discovers the fan in the living room. Still not sure what the fascination with the fan might be, but I think it has something to do with the evenly-spaced blades at 72 degrees. I think he's already figuring the system out from an engineering standpoint. He laughs because it's too easy of a problem.

Also, we bought a blow-up pool for the backyard for Austin to practice his backstroke. He has already perfected his breaststroke from his numerous daily feedings. Unfortunately, the pool had a hole in the top blow-up part, so we had to return the pool and try again. You can see the disappointment in Austin's face.

Please, enjoy the pictures and feel free to comment below.



Saturday, May 21, 2011

Fans in Heaven




Ok, so I've decided that there must be ceiling fans in Heaven, as every time Austin sees the fan, he smiles so big he laughs. He LOVES the fan - not even the moving fan - just the still fan. He stares at it and coos and laughs. We thought he was just noticing the contrast, but as much as he smiles and laughs, we think there must be some place he's seen them before. The first picture is Austin dressed up for a pass by the neigbor's birthday party. Isn't he precious?!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

6 weeks old...lots of smiles!








Austin is just over 6 weeks old now, and he smiles all the time now!!! He's such a happy baby, so here are some cute photos!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

5 weeks old...growth spurt


We've done some comparisons to baby pictures...below are some of the people we think Austin might look like (me not being one of them)...let us know what you think. The top first two are my older brother, Chris. The next is my younger brother, John, and the last is Kristopher. Obviously the last three pictures are Austin.





So, Austin had a growth spurt at 3 weeks. He wanted to eat only 1.5 hours after his last feeding. He would start crying, and we were unable to console him. Finally by the afternoon, we figured out that he was having a growth spurt and needed to eat to catch my milk supply up to his needs. So, 1.5 hours might not seem like alot unless you realize that that's from start to start - as in I start feeding him at 7, he eats for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, then at 8:30 he wants to eat again!

Well, you would think I would have learned my lesson and figured out what was happening yesterday when Austin (now exactly 5 weeks old) could not be consoled. Is it gas?? Nope, gas drops not working...maybe he's tired?? Nope, eyes wide open. He was STARVING! So, today he's been eating around the clock - ahead of the curve and seeming to have his 6 week growth spurt a little early. He ate 4 times between 5am and 11am! So, I am loving on my sweet little man as it seems our little baby boy will be 12 pounds before we know it!

Meanwhile, I'm off to try to get something to eat before baby boy wants to eat again! Love and miss everyone!