A weekend of many firsts!

We had yet, another busy weekend. Summers just fly by. Every weekend there is something to do, somewhere to go, and people to see. I wouldn't have it any other way, but boy does it ever start to wear on you by the end of it all.

On Friday, Austin started to play with Allie's toy. It was adorable. You can see in the picture, he has a big smile on his face. Allie and Jackson have exceeded our expectations with Austin. Both Jared and I were a bit worried when it came to the dogs when he was first born, but they are so good with him. They give him kisses all the time, and as he starts to throw more and more food on the ground for them to pick up, I think they will become even closer friends. Both of our dogs share their toys with Austin. We don't let Austin put these toys in his mouth or anything, but he grabs on to them and sort of throws them around a bit. It's cute, because this normally gets the dogs attention. They won't growl at him or anything, they just kind of pull on the toys a bit and play with him. Austin thinks this is hilarious, and he just sits there and cracks up. He even goes to fetch the toys with the dogs, it's too cute! Saturday, Austin had his first visit to the lake to see Matt and Drew. We didn't end up taking any pictures :( Blame that one on Jared! He got to ride on a pontoon for the first time, eat some yummy watermelon, and he even got to show people his new walking pose. His shoes kept coming off, so Drew kept putting them on, with no such luck! Matt tried to hold him a few times, but Austin was a bit apprehensive. I hope this is something he'll get over sooner, rather than later. Austin ended up staying up until 10 pm that night! Granted, he went back to his pattern of not sleeping through the night again, but it was worth it to get out of the house, out of a routine, and hang out with some friends for the night!

On Sunday, Austin got to do two new things. He made a birthday card for his grandpa using finger paints, and he went swimming in his pool for the first time. Oh, what fun both of those were! While finger painting, he was more interested in playing with the paint and the rocks that were holding down the paper (we were smart, and did this project outside). He managed to get more paint on the rocks I think, and then of course, he had to taste the rocks to see if they tasted like chicken or not! Needless to say, that's why his mouth was blue. It was cute to watch him play with the paint. Maybe next year, the art will be a bit more identifiable. His card to grandpa had a footprint on it, but it looks like it got smeared a bit by him sitting on it later. Oh well, grandpa loved it anyway! We had my parents over for dinner on Sunday evening also, and we wanted to share the first time Austin played in his pool. They enjoyed watching him splash around in the water, which he's very good at doing now. He was soaked from head to toe, but enjoyed every minute of it. In one of the pictures above, he was even blowing raspberries!

A crazy new pose!

The other day, I was outside picking weeds and de-heading our day lilies. While doing so, I naturally had Austin outside with me, because, well, at this point, he rarely ever leaves my side! I had him sitting in the grass, and turned around to find him with his butt in the air, and sort of walking with his hands on the ground. Not only did I laugh, because he looked hilarious, but he gave me this look like "Look at me mom!" Thankfully, Jared pulled in the driveway shortly after, so he didn't miss one of Austin's firsts. What was also funny, was the shirt he was wearing while he was doing this. It says "trouble, noun, a cause or source of distress." Man, is that true! He's everywhere, into everything, has to do everything....he's just too busy!

Austin is also getting really grabby when we are feeding him. He keeps going after my spoon, the dish, just about anything he can get his hands on. I figure this is just his way of telling us that he wants to try to feed himself, so i've been letting him have at it. I've been giving him his own spoon to play with, and then when we are done with his food, he gets to play with the bowl. He started to pick up pieces of cheese, pasta, and melon this week (thankfully). Like I've said in the past, he's a disgrunteled eater. He cries, screams, you name it, he does it when he eats. One would think that this means that he's done, but he rarely ever is. He got to try grilled chicken breast and ground beef this week. He actually seems to like those quite a bit! It's definitely a messy task, but it's all part of him learning!

Since Austin started to do that walking motion the other day, we decided it was time for a new toy, a walker. He is loving this thing! He doesn't really walk with it so much, but he enjoys pushing the buttons, crawling along with it, pulling himself on it. So far, he's really enjoying it. His cousin Kate has the same one, but it didn't fit in our car on the way back from Cincinnati last time. Since our niece enjoyed it so much, we decided to buy him the same thing. So far, so good!

Last night, he also enjoyed playing with "Mr. Bump." This is the toy that Ken bought him that says "Oh, ouch, aw, It's the simple things in life I find most difficult." He actually started to throw and fling it around some and was making it talk to him. His reaction was priceless! Needless to say, I think Mr. Bump is a hit! Thanks a bunch Ken!

Austin has also recently started to dance a bit. When music comes on, he starts shakin' his booty like it's his job! He's normally sitting down when he does it, but it's hilarious. He really does change so much. Every time I look at him, he just makes me smile. Just since two weeks ago (when the picture above was taken), Austin has learned to climb the stairs and loves doing it (with someone behind him, of course, and the gates are probably going up soon), he's working on tooth number 8, he's starting to feed himself more food, he's starting to point at things, he's dancing, he's somewhat doing that weird crawling thing.....ahhh, he's just growing up too quickly!

Austin's 9 Month Check Up

This picture cracks me up. Last week, Austin was eating and trying to take his bib off at the same time. As you can tell by the look on his face....he was struggling. He kept pulling, grunting, and trying everything he could to get that stupid thing off. Well, he did, eventually. Just so that I could put it right back on :) He's just too funny!

Austin had his 9 month check up on Friday. Everything checked out just fine. We got the go ahead to start giving Austin just about anything on the table except for the small list of allergy foods. We took full advantage of this, and he tried pasta, waffle, slicked turkey, cooked chicken, cheese. Some of this, he's tried in the past, but he actually seemed to enjoy some of it this time around. He's having a bit of trouble dealing with the different textures, but he's enjoying eating the same things that we are. It's a bit of a struggle, but we will get there in time!

At this check-up, Austin weighed 22 lbs, 2 oz (75 percentile), he was 29 1/8 in. long (75 percentile), and his head was 18 1/2 in. (90 percentile). His height and weight dropped off from his last appointment, but the doctor said he's still a good size and proportion. He had to get pricked in the finger for an iron test to see if he is anemic, which we found out today, he's not. Developmentally, the doctor said he's doing great. Austin is slowly starting to pick up his own food, but is having difficulty with some of the slimier things like melon and pasta. He's been working on picking up Cheerios on his own for some time now, and is finally starting to master that when he isn't throwing them on the floor (Jackson and Allie are loving this). He's primarily crawling on all fours now, he's pulling himself up to stand, walking around the coffee table, starting to point at things, babbling a ton, and doing many other fun new things.

He's recently started to really enjoy books. The only one he hasn't enjoyed recently was one that his Aunt K read to him which involved a loud snorting sound which scared him a bit (it was talking about a Rhino and how it snorts and snuffs)...he actually started to cry for a split second, and then stopped. He's starting to point at things in the books though, and is starting to feel for things also (he's got a book called That's not my Puppy, it has shaggy ears, a fluffy tail), and he loves that sort of thing now.

One of the cutest things I think he did this weekend was on Sunday. Jared had to go upstairs to grab something, and he left Austin in the living room (I was in the kitchen). While Jared was upstairs, Austin went over to the stairs and sat there and waited for Jared to come back. It was too precious!

After his appointment, we went to the zoo for a quick stroll. This was probably about the first time so far that Austin has actually looked at some of the animals. He loved this fish shown above. I think the fish knew it too, because he kept coming back for more! He got scared at a sheep though, which said "BAA" really loud. Austin jumped, I jumped, and he cried. I had to laugh though, because it was too cute. He was clenching onto my arm like the sheep was going to hurt him. It made both of us smile.

Saturday was the first Photo Walk in Fort Wayne. Jared was dying to go, and so I tagged along. Basically, we just walked around downtown and took pictures of buildings, flowers, people....whatever we could find. It was more for networking than anything. These people were so into it, which was awesome to see. It was cool to see how many photography junkies there were out there...and that was only a small handful of them I'm sure! While we did that, Austin spent the day with his Grandma and Grandpa. He was really great for them, and they seemed to have a lot of fun playing with him.

On Sunday, it was the end of the Three Rivers Festival. In addition to that, there was another Fort Wayne Tincaps game that started at 6. We went to the game, hoping that we would be able to watch the game, and then the fireworks. Well.....low and behold, the gold old Indiana weather struck. When we got to the game, it was on a rain delay, followed about an hour later by them postponing the game completely. We knew Austin wasn't going to make it for that long with nothing to look at, so we left. When we left the house to go to the game, the storm didn't look that big...but apparently it was because it rained forever! Here's a picture of Jared trying to entertain Austin for a bit. He was interested for about 10 minutes, and then done! Needless to say, we had another crazy, busy, exhausting weekend.....again! And I would trade it for the world!

We're Officially 9 Months Old Now

It's so true when people tell you that children change your life. Austin has changed our life in ways that we never imagined but are so greatful for. In the past 9 months, I can say that we've gained confidence, compassion, patience, maturity, wisdom and an overall new prospective on the things that truly matter in life. Our marriage has changed and become stronger, we work and function together as a team more now, than ever before. Having a child is hard work, takes dedication, is frustrating at times, and exhausting, but it truly is the best, single most important thing that will happen in your life. I wouldn't change it for the world. The small things in life that used to be such a big deal, seem like such small things now. You wake up to that smiling face and big eyes each morning, and it truly does change your life. Even when we have bad days, I remember the good time that we had that day or the single smile that I received when I got him out of his crib first thing in the morning. Children are a blessing, and I am so blessed that we get to share the blessings that Austin brings us with so many people we are so close to. Not saying people should just rush out to have kids, but it really does change everything in the best way possible. It's hard to believe that he's 9 Month's old already (his 9 month photo is shown above). The time has just flown by. I remember when he was first born, slept all the time, and only drinking from a bottle. Now he's eating food, moving all over the place, smiling, laughing. Those things are truly the best moments in life.

In the past week, Austin has started to crawl a lot more. He's up on all fours constantly and is gaining speed quickly! I would almost go as far to say that he is crawling more now than he army crawls. Last week, Austin discovered the dog's water bowls. What a treat that was. He now bee lines for them, on all fours, and dumps the water all over the floor. Sadly enough, I've let him do it twice. I try to stop him as often as I can, but it's hard sometimes because he's getting so fast! The way I look at it, it's only water, and we have plenty of clothes. The last time he did it, he used himself as a mop. That was nice for me, because it was less water that I had to mop off the floor. On the flip side of that, for anyone who may know, changing a 9 month old's clothes is hard work! In fact, I like to only do it once in the morning and once in the evening if at all possible. He's too funny though. It just fascinates him. I've heard from many people that the best toys are the ones you wouldn't think of and that are free....and I swear that's the truth on many occasions! Dog bowls, blankets, boxes, cups....those are some of his favorites. I even bought him cars this past week, and the dog bowls are still more interesting! He is also no longer a vegetarian because he's now tried Turkey, Chicken, and Beef purees. He doesn't really seem to be too thrilled with the taste of any of them, and I can't say that I blame him. They stink! He has also started to pick up some of his own food now with his entire hand. It usually ends up with him having a fistful of Cheerios in his hand, and then he smears them all over his face. But soon enough, he'll start feeding himself. His favorite word now is "uh-oh" which he is saying pretty clearly now. It's adorable. Everyday it seems like he's either doing something new, or he's into something new. It's never ending!

This past week, Austin got to meet a few new people. He got to meet my dad's cousin, Jeff, and my dad's friend Ken. He also got to visit with his Uncle Chris and Aunt Kristin (Aunt K, as we call her). Austin got two new toys from Ken, one called Mr. Bump ( he says, "Ouch, Ew, Oh, It's the simple things in life I find most difficult), and a piano that he can bang on the keys. He really enjoys these new toys, as you can see in this picture. Granted, you can't see the piano, but he was playing some interesting music on it, that's for sure. Aunt K bought him some adorable new clothes. One of the outfits she bought him, you can see in his 9 month pictures, and the other is this cute polo shirt he's wearing above. The girl knows how to dress babies, that's for sure!

His Uncle Chris and Aunt K spent several days with him, and sadly enough, they had to go home to Atlanta on Wednesday. When they are in town, they take full advantage of their time with Austin. While they are here, they play with him on the floor non-stop, stimulating him to the max :) Aunt K changes his diapers and clothes, feeds him, plays with him, and just plain spoils him. Like I've said in the past, they truly do act like he is part of their family, and although they aren't related by blood, they will always be considered his Aunt and Uncle. This year, for obvious financial reasons, we weren't able to go to a cabin in GA this year which we've done for the past two years, so our group photo was taken in a beautiful nature preserve here in Fort Wayne. It's not mountains, but it is still a nice place to go! Someone said earlier this week, that "true friends are the ones that you don't talk to or see in months, and when you get back together, you pick up from where you left off." That statement is so true. That being said, true friends are also those who admit when they do things right and wrong, and you are able to forget the past and move on. They are the ones who realize that friendships have their ups and downs, just like relationships do. They are the ones who don't give up and stop trying when things get tough, but try to work things out. They are the ones who think the best of you, instead of expecting the worst out of you. That being said, Jared and I value every friendship that we have, even the ones that are struggling at this point in our lives. We are glad that people care enough to talk about things and work things out, but also wish that people would realize that people do things and say things that they don't mean, many times, it's not intentional; that what happened in the past can't fix or determine what happens in the future. All we can do is to work on ourselves and hope things improve. Just my two cent's :)

2 Busy Weekends in a row and 7 Teeth later!

I'll go ahead and warn you now, this is going to be another long post. It seems like lately, things have been so hectic around here, that I can't write shorter blogs more frequently...I guess that's just the way summer goes! It all started two weekends ago when we traveled to Muncie for my cousin's wedding. Jared took pictures for the wedding, which was a new experience for him! Above is my favorite shot that he took for the wedding. It looked like everyone had a great time, and it was a nice wedding. For those of you who attended the wedding, the pictures are on their way soon.....Jared's working on editing them still!

In the last few weeks, Austin has changed a ton. He's pulling himself up onto everything, surfing around the coffee table and on the couch, and he's starting to babble a bit more; he's starting to say words that sound like Allie which he says AHHHEE, Uh-Oh (he was working on that one today), but still no ma-ma....oh well, I guess my time will come! He seems like he's starting to try to mimic us a bit more each day. He is very quickly making my job more difficult :)

Shortly after the wedding, I had to go to the doctor. Andrea, my aunt, told me at the wedding that I needed to keep an eye on what appeared to be a bug bite on my arm. Tuesday, Jared finally convinced me to go to the doctor because it wasn't looking any better, so I finally went. It turned out that I had an infection on my arm. I have no idea how or where this may have come from, but I can tell you two things that I have learned about it 1) it hurt really bad, 2)it was incredibly nasty. Since going to the doctor, I have had to return to him once to have it cleaned out (I won't go into the details), been placed on two antibiotics, and have to put a warm wet compress on my arm as frequently as I can. The good news is that it's starting to look much better! I was in such pain at one point last week, that I gave Austin the remote control to play with. He managed to turn the TV on, change the channel, and found Seasme Street on his own. This was the first children's show that he watched, and it kept his interest for a short period of time, I had to take a picture of it, because it was too cute!

Austin has also started to crawl a bit more, on all fours, instead of his army crawl that he loves so much. He generally crawls on all fours when he sees something that he really wants. It seems like as days go by, he starts to do it more and more and just keeps going a little further each time. Someone so kindly pointed out to me this past weekend how "advanced" their child was because theirs was walking and mine is army crawling, I realized quickly how proud I am of Austin. I don't believe in comparing children and what they do, because they all do it at their own time, at their own pace. I have quickly realized that no matter how fast, or even how slow he does things, I still think he's perfect as every parent does!

This past weekend, we were in Cincinnati visiting Jared's family and for our niece's 3rd birthday party. Austin got to see his grandma again and meet his grandpa for the first time. Austin has had a hard time warming up to people, but his grandpa got to hold him a few times. Next time they all see him, hopefully he'll be over this stranger stage a bit more! On Sunday, we stopped by my parents house to pick up our dogs. While eating dinner, Austin did something he's never done before. He started shaking his head "no". Every time he does it, it makes me laugh. It's adorable, because he shakes it with a smile on his face. Like I've said before, I think I'm going to have my hands full here pretty soon!

Austin is into EVERYTHING! He's going to end up being handy around the house hopefully, just like his daddy. Jared was fixing the chairs in our dining room last night and Austin decided to check out the tools. The good thing about this picture, I got my chairs fixed, and Austin was occupied for about 15 minutes. Talk about two birds with one stone :)

This morning I woke up to Austin with his 7th tooth about to poke through. I could tell he was working on it a bit more this weekend, but sure enough, it's breaking through the skin today. So now, he's got 4 on the top, and 2 and a half on the bottom!