11 months old

Austin is growing so fast. The last month seems like the most drastic change in such a small time. He is walking so much now. He takes about 10-15 steps at a time to cross a room. He's still a little shaky at times, but he's very motivated and confident. He is about 19 1/2 pounds now. He has been to the doctor several times because somehow he caught RSV!! I've heard about it, but let me just say that IT SUCKS! That about sums it up. He was coughing, running fever, having diarrhea, snotty, ear infection, and the works. I'm sure the only thing worse is maybe the flu as far as viruses go. He had to do breathing treatments, which he was a trooper for. But he seems to be doing better. Anyway, we are so looking forward to his big birthday coming up in just a couple of weeks.

He is so much fun these days. He's talking more (his favorites are plane and please I think). The funniest thing is when we sit down to dinner, we always pray first and he is usually starving. Once we strap him in his chair, he immediately starts saying, "Amen" so we can go ahead and eat. He also had to move up to his big booster seat because he can (and does) climb out of his high chair. He's a climber, so anything he can get his leg up on is fair game. He keeps his mommy very busy every day. The pictures above are some that Kristopher took for his 11 month birthday.

Aloha Part II

Hula!

Aaahh, warm laundry

Ceci and Buzzy at the luau

Family at luau

Mmmmm, pina colada...virgin, of course

Watching the hula dancers!

Austin in the giant banyan tree

Austin and Buzzy playing

Sunrise from Mt. Haleakala

Whale right by our boat!! Showing off her belly here

Austin on the boat

Family pic

Austin loving the beach!

As promised here are some pictures from Maui. There are sooooo many to choose from so I had to just pick a few. We had such a great time there. Maui is so beautiful, and it is our favorite island so far. We had an amazing whale tour where a whale came right up to our boat and just kept bobbing her head up and playing peak-a-boo with our boat for about 30 minutes. She was rolling on her back and sticking her fins up. It was incredible. The tour guides all said that it was such a rare experience to get that close and that they ranked it in their top 10 tours of all time!

We went to the Old Lahaina Luau, which was great. We had the traditional mat seating, so we sat front and center and Austin was able to crawl around and play. He LOVED the hula dancers and all the drumming.

We also spent time relaxing on the beach, enjoying the view from our beautiful condo, and eating the local produce. I think Austin consumed at least 7 avocados in the short time we were there. We had such a great trip!

Aloha!...Part I

Hiking with Buzzy

Dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise

Playing putt-putt at the condo

Sacked out after a long day

Hanging out in the car - the only time he wore his hat all week!

Pearl Harbor - enough said

Catching a nap at Pearl Harbor

The anchor from the USS Arizona

Checking out the ocean for the first time...not too sure yet

Awesome waves on the Northshore

Hiking up Diamondhead Crater

We just got back from over a week in beautiful Hawaii! We were expecting paradise, and we got nothing short of it! Austin did amazing on the flight there (8.5 hours) and back (6.5 hours). He was an angel, and he enjoyed every minute of Hawaii.

We spent two days on Oahu near Waikiki beach. We hiked up to the top of Diamondhead Crater - unprepared. We didn't realize what a hike it was, so we were in flip flops with Austin in the stroller. As we got further along the path, Kristopher ended up barefooted, I was carrying Austin, Buzzy was hauling the stroller, and Ceci hung in there with her flip flops on. Oh, and the cherry on top (or bottom depending on how you look at it) was that Austin had a dirty diaper starting about 2/3 of the way UP. So with no bag in tow, he had to stick it out until we made it all the way back down.

We also got to see the Northshore where they have the giant waves and the big surf competitions. We saw some big waves, but it was the very end of the season, so they were not at their peak.

We visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial and the battleship Missouri. It's such a great tribute to those heroes who served on that infamous day.

I will post more pictures from the Maui leg of the trip later this week.

9 month pictures

The obligatory picture with the monkey...

It was very cold outside...and you can see it's starting to get to him here. He was literally shivering at this point.

As promised, here are Austin's 9 month pictures. We go to the doctor Friday for his checkup so I'll post his stats then! Can't wait!

9 months old

Lookout, world, I'm about to be on the run!

Merry Christmas!

My first taste of cake batter...YUM!

Riding home for Christmas...I like the view from up here!

Our sweet baby boy is 9 months old already! Can't believe the time is just flying by. This time last year I was getting into my third trimester and preparing for baby, and now we have a bouncing, happy, healthy, and growing boy!

The latest developments: crawling at turbo speed, standing for longer periods of time, clapping, giving kisses, dancing, and walking (trying to run) behind his new walker toys.

We had a great visit in New Orleans and in Jackson for Christmas, then spent a quiet, relaxed Christmas home together.

We will post his 9 month pictures once Kristopher is finished working on them (maybe in the next couple of days) so check back soon!

It's the Holiday Season Already

Ahh, how he loves the tree!

Looking at his Christmas book ornament

Smiling with his cousins, Preston and Peyton

Just hanging out, waiting to eat

I'm 8 months old!! A monkey and his favorite stuffed animal

So, I know it's been forever since I posted, but I'll try not to be too long-winded. I know there are few of you faithful followers out there, but you have let me know that you've been anxiously awaiting a new post. Things have been crazy busy here. Austin is changing so fast. I can't believe how fast this year is flying by.

What's new? Austin started getting teeth right after he turned 5 months old. He now has 8!!! Kristopher says he has more than Arkansas. So, since he has so many teeth, all he wants to do is eat! This little boy (who was in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th for height at his 6 month checkup) can EAT! He eats almost a whole waffle (homemade, large) for breakfast along with some Cheerios. He ate an entire turkey sandwich for lunch the other day, along with about 6 mandarin orange slices and some beans and rice. Anything we put in front of him, he eats! We are still avoiding all dairy, onions, and garlic at this point though. Buzzy even gave him a pickle, and he didn't even make a face, just sucked it down.

What else? He's on the move...and movin' fast!! He started crawling a couple of months ago and now there's no stopping him. He pulls up on everything, lets go and tries to stand, and he's taking some little steps with guidance. He pushes his little play table all around the den and practices his skills! Lookout world. He puts on the turbo boosters when he sees something he wants (and probably isn't supposed to have)...most often, the dog food or the dog beds, or even just the dogs. Cookie and Rocky just try to stay out of his way!

Anyway, he is tons of fun, and a bundle of laughs. He thinks he's funny (so do we). He is always laughing, and smiling. He puts on the flirt when we are out and about, and is always such a joy. We are so blessed with this happy, healthy little monkey. We can't wait to see everyone for Christmas.