Boo! Or should I say, moo?

Happy Halloween!

 What am I wearing?

 I guess it's alright

My hands are the coolest

Houston - Meeting 100 new people in 4 days!

First I had to post a picture of Austin in the bath tub the night before we left Denver.  My mom and I strategically placed the rubber ducky.  Austin loves bathes as a way to calm down before bedtime.  He gets very serious and quiet in the tub; no splashing or playing yet but I am sure he will soon. 

My mom and I flew to Houston on Thursday 10/20.  Austin did great on the flight.  The hardest part was getting through security and the airport with all of our gear.  I carried Austin in the baby bjorn and my mom pushed the stroller with car seat and its base and the diaper bag.  We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before our flight, which was plenty of time.  I nursed Austin as we were taking off and then he was awake for about 45 minutes after that.  He fussed a bit when he was ready to nap and then fell asleep in my lap for the last 30 minutes or so.  Our flight was completely full so we did not get to bring his carseat on the plane, which they let you do on Southwest if the flight has open seats.  Ricki and Stephen picked us up at the airport and Ricki was kind enough to come inside to help my mom with Austin and our stuff while I went to the car to install the carseat.  My mom gave Austin his first cold bottle while sitting baggage claim.  He still drank it all, but we could tell he did not like it as much.  Warm milk is better.  We got back to my mom's house around 9pm.  Austin had his own room (Stephen's old room) and a pac 'n play crib that his cousins Ben and Summer used when they were babies.  On Friday, aunt Marilyn came by the house to visit. She brought Austin a "first Thanksgiving" outfit that we he will wear when we go to Georgia in a month.  That afternoon, we went to Ellen, Davy, Ben and Summer's house to play in the yard.  Ben and Summer were so excited to meet their cousin.  Summi even held him!  We had a great time just relaxing outside...until the mosquitos showed up.  Austin got his first bite, but he didn't seem to mind.  After meeting his cousins, Aunt Lauren arrived from Austin (the city!) and gave Austin his dinner-time bottle.

Austin's cousin, Summer, who will be babysitting before we know it (and Aunt Ellen, of course)

Lovin' being outside with his cousins and Mimi

Playing with Summi

I haven't seen you since I was 2 weeks old

On Saturday, my friends, Annie, Jenny, Sara (and baby Savanna), and Mallory came over to meet Austin and eat lunch.  Savanna is 9 months old and she was very interested in Austin except when her mommy held him.  She did not like that!  We had a great visit and look forward to seeing everyone at Christmas time when Austin can enjoy playing with Savanna more.  

Who is that pretty girl?

He sure is a cute little baby

I like Mallory!

On Saturday night, my Aunt Mary Carol and her family hosted a dinner for 30 family members to come and meet Austin.  He is one special little guy!  My grandmother and uncle and cousins from Austin drove to Houston to see him.  My dad and his wife came from Dallas.  My aunt, uncle, and cousins from Lufkin came too!  All of the Houston aunts, uncles and cousins were there too.  Austin tried to stay awake to meet everyone but did end up napping for some of the party. 

Hi Aunt Mary Carol! (pre-party outfit)

He was all smiles for his cousin Camille and aunt Jennifer

Party attire, check - with DiDi

And with Dad, who missed him after being gone a whole week

Enjoying a bottle with Michelle

Cousins Lisa and Mary loving on Austin

Christina, Lisa, Mary, mommy, and BB!

Thanks for coming to meet me, uncle Scott, Lisa, and Mary

Hanging out with Pop

On Sunday morning, we took Austin to aunt Ellen, uncle Tommy, and cousin Lizzie's house.  Austin has two aunt Ellens, one is David's sister and is his aunt, and the other is my dad's sister and is his great aunt.  We visited and said goodbye to BB, Scott, Lisa, Mary, my Dad and Michelle.  

Happy with aunt Ellen

and cousin Lizzie

and with Lisa and aunt Carrie

Austin always loves being held by great-grandmother BB

On Sunday evening we went to Mimi and Big Deal's (David's mom and dad) house for a BBQ dinner.  This was Austin's first time to meet Big Deal and he loved him!  We had fun hanging out with them and eating some Goode Company BBQ and homemade green beans, pinto beans, and brownies.  Austin had a blow out diaper the one time I didn't have an extra outfit so he was a naked baby for the rest of the night.  He loves being naked!  He was happy and playful most of the evening.  We can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas time!

Just before Austin had a blow out diaper on Mimi's white pants

Being goofy with big cousins Ben and Summer

Content, naked baby!

Chillin in Ben and Summer's baby swing

Napping with Mimi

Talking with Big Deal

On Sunday night Amanda and Cecile arrived from San Antonio just before bath time.  They drove to Houston just to see Austin - so sweet!  They stayed Sunday night and most of Monday.  Cecile helped my mom prepare for the Sip and See party that she was hosting on Monday evening.  We also had a special visit from Sara, my good friend from San Antonio.  David and I also took Austin to the church (MDUMC) to meet Steve, Sedonia, Mark, Carrie, Lynell and Kim.  

Meeting miss Sara

And hanging out with Amanda

The Sip and See party was at 5pm on Monday.  My mom invited her friends and Mimi invited a few friends too.  They came to meet Austin and Annabelle, his cousin (my step-sister's 7-month old daughter).  Of course, I tried to time it so that Austin would eat right before the guests arrived and then be happy and awake most of the party.  This plan did not quite work out because he only napped for about 45 minutes between feedings and woke up about 45 minutes before the party and was ready to eat.  So he only lasted about 30 minutes into the party, got fussy, and went to sleep on Mimi's shoulder.  We put him in his little lamb chair while my mom and Mimi's friends admired him as he slept.  The party was alot of fun and Austin was a big hit (even though he was asleep).  

All decked out for the party

Precious boy!

We flew back to Houston on Tuesday afternoon.  Austin again did great on the plane (he better get used to it because we will be flying alot!).  It was a marathon weekend full of meeting lots of new people and hanging out with family and friends.  We had a great time (despite me feeling sick most of the time).  We beat the snow storm, but as you read in my previous post, we only had one night at home before we had to go to a hotel for a night.  We look forward to seeing family for Austin's first Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

Past 24 hours

Well, we have been back from Houston since Tuesday night, but I have not had the chance to blog until now.  This is because our power was out for 24 hours.  We arrived back at our house around 6:30 Tuesday night in the rainy, 40 degree temperatures.  That turned to snow overnight and we woke up Wednesday to about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down.  David went to work, and I stayed home to start unpacking and doing laundry.  Around 11:30, the power went out.  The snow was the heavy, wet snow that sits on branches and power lines, which causes power outages more easily.  I thought surely it would come back on before dark, but no, it didn't.  So I packed our overnight bag, the pac 'n play, etc and David came home from work.  We left Savannah in the dark, cold house, and went to a nearby hotel.  Austin's first hotel stay was not under the best of circumstances.  He did alright, but he sure does make alot of noises in his sleep.  David and I did not sleep well with him in the room with us and he woke up around 4:15 to nurse (which he hasn't done in a while).  David came by the house this morning on his way to work to let Savannah out, and the power was still out.  So I stayed at the hotel, went to Target, and finally came back to the house around 1pm.  It is back now; thank goodness!  Poor Savannah - right when I got back to the house I had to take her straight to her grooming appointment, which she HATES!  We got 9 inches of snow and it will probably all be melted by tomorrow since the sun is out today and it is supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow.  I didn't even get any pictures.  There is plenty of winter left to get pictures...almost 5 months of it!  Entry about the Houston trip to come....

DiDi comes to town!

My mom (Dianne, or DiDi, pronounced die-die) and Stacy, my step-dad came to visit on Monday night. Stacy just stayed until Tuesday and my mom is here until tomorrow.  We have been busy playing with Austin, shopping, watching the leaves fall, and going out to lunch.  Today Austin weighed 11 lbs 11.7 oz at the baby weigh-in.  He gained about 3 oz in the past week.  Last night she babysat while I went to Bible study and she stayed with Austin this morning while I did a 6 mile run ALONE, sans-stroller and sans-dog.  What a treat!  David is has been out of town for work since Sunday morning and will meet us in Houston on Saturday.  My mom and I are flying to Houston tomorrow - Austin's first of many flights!  I am in the process of packing, and it is a process, especially with an infant.  There are so many more things to think about like diapers, the monitor, baby shampoo, etc, etc.  I will be sure to do a long post with lots of pictures about our trip to Houston to meet all of Austin's aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Here's a short video of Austin talking!

 

First road trip to mountains

Last weekend we hit the road to Steamboat Springs, which is 3 hours from Denver.  The plan was to leave Denver around 1pm on Friday.  I mentioned in my last post that Austin had his 2 month shots on Thursday.  I scheduled his appointment that day because I knew we would be eating in confined spaces with germs at restaurants in Steamboat since it is too cold to sit outside there.  Austin had other plans - he got sick.  He had some blood in his diaper on Friday morning, a small fever, and a stuffy nose.  I called the doctor as soon as I saw the blood and they wanted us to come in.  A fever is a fairly common side effect of the vaccinations but blood is not.  They could not see him until 3:15 which delayed our departure by 4 hours.  I am glad we took him to the doctor before leaving town - for my peace of mind.  His exam checked out fine and they took some blood samples, which turned out normal too.  He was healthy with the exception of a cold and small fever, which was gone by Saturday morning.  The doctor thinks the blood might have actually been a side effect of the rotavirus vaccine so he reported it to the agency that keeps track of that stuff.  We hit the road straight from the doctor's office.  It is amazing how much stuff there is haul along for such a little baby!

On Friday night we arrived in Steamboat around 8:30.  We quickly fed Austin and headed out to grab a bite to eat.  He slept the whole car ride and throughout dinner.  I was worried he wouldn't sleep that night in the pac 'n play since he had slept all day, but he proved me wrong.  He needed to sleep off his cold and fever.  The weather on Saturday was not so great - rain/snow all day and pretty cold.  Luckily we had a game to watch - a HORRIBLE game at that.  We watched most of the game (while Austin did nothing but sleep and eat) before heading out to get a late lunch in town.  That afternoon we just hung out at the "chalet" (they call it the "chipmunk chalet" on www.vrbo.com; not sure why).  It was a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house that we rented for a good price since it was definitely off-season up there.  Not summer, not ski season.  It was dead around the town and the ski village is completely closed down.  We definitely stood out in town as the tourists; we were surrounded by locals.  Later that night, we grabbed dinner at a local pizza restaurant.  Apparently it was the 4th annual mustache parade that night.  The parade stopped at the restaurant.  All of the locals had on fake mustaches and some crazy costumes.  I sadly did not get any pictures.

 Austin snoozed as the Horns got slaughtered

Where is Savannah?

On Sunday, we went to get breakfast at Freshies, a very yummy restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch.  Last time we were in Steamboat we went to Freshies for lunch.  David detected the teeny tiny onions (he has an onion radar and won't touch anything that has them) in the hamburger patty so he was hesitant to return.  This time he stuck with plain buttermilk pancakes and was pleased.   The sun came out around noon, and I went for a 5-mile run around the neighborhood.  Although I did not have to push the heavy stroller,  the hills were certainly a challenge.  Since we did not arrive until late on Friday night, we decided to stay an extra night until Monday morning.  That afternoon we went on a walk in the neighborhood and then headed to town to walk around and stop in a few of the shops.  We ate BBQ at the local smokehouse and headed back to the chalet to play with Austin since he was feeling much better that day.  If the weather had been better and Austin wasn't sick we probably would have gone on a hike.  Even though we didn't get to hike, it was just nice to get-away. 

 Sick boy trying to stay awake

 Just relaxing with my little man

 On our walk - the clouds returned

Feeling better!

View from porch

2 Months

On Sunday Austin turned two months old.  He welcomed that milestone with his first cold and first fever.  We think the fever was a side effect of his vaccinations on Thursday.  It was a small fever and it went away after about 24 hours.  He still has a stuffy nose today but is feeling much better.  Friday and most of Saturday he spent sleeping and eating.  It was obvious that he was not feeling 100% since he didn't want to play, make happy cooing noises, or really even interact with us at all.  He just wanted to rest and eat.  I guess that is what we want to do when we are feeling bad so I can't blame him.   At least he still had an appetite.  This past month has been full of changes.  Austin has been sleeping like a champ for the past 2 weeks.  We put him to sleep around 9:30 or 10 and he sleeps until around 7 every morning.  His pattern during the day after he wakes up is eat, play for about 45 min-1 hour, take a 1 hour nap in the stroller while I run, eat again, play for about 45 min, snooze again for about 1 hour, eat again, play, nap, eat, play, nap, etc.  He is currently eating 6 times a day with one bottle at the dinner time feeding.  He doesn't nap between the dinner time feeding and bed time so he is awake from about 7 til 10.  Yesterday his naps were shorter during the day.  I guess he wants to stay awake and hang out with me more!  He enjoys his activity mat with all the bright colors and toys to look at.  He hasn't gotten to the point where he reaches for the toys hanging yet, but his doctor said he will soon.  He likes his swing and we will start using it more now that his neck is much stronger (his head used to fall over in it).  He equates "quiet time" or nap time with the little lamb bouncy chair.  And he usually falls asleep when in the car seat in the stroller or in the car.  Although yesterday he was awake for most of our run in the carseat.  He likes the warm bath water.  He doesn't usually make noises in the bath, but if he is crying when we put him in the water, he quiets down immediately when he hits the water.  I tried to get a good picture of him next to the Savannah dog, but he wasn't really cooperating.  Here are a few below.  We did still go to Steamboat even though he was a little sick.  More on our trip in the next post.

 Check out that double chin and belly!

 Hands are fun!

 Enough already

 Really, stop taking pictures of me

Fine, I will squirm 

50/50/50

Austin is an average joe....except he's not.  He is a wonderful, cute baby; the cutest, in my opinion.  According to his stats yesterday at his 2 month appointment, he is 50th percentile for weight, at 11lbs 6 oz, 50th percentile for height at 23 inches, and 50th percentile for head circumference at 40 cm.  He is just right in the middle.  Dr. Schwartz was happy with all of his developments like eye movement and cooing.  We talked about how to keep his skin from drying out as that will be an ongoing issue here in Denver with dry, cold air.  He got his 2 month vaccinations.  That was NO FUN!  He screamed and I turned my head and cried.  I couldn't watch the needles go into his legs.  He quieted down quickly afterwards and then fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.  He slept from 6:15-9 when I woke him up for a bath and bedtime.  He then slept from 9:45-7am.  He even slept all through my Bible study that he attended with me last night.  Today we are headed to Steamboat where Austin will probably see his first snow!!  We will be sure to take lots of pictures in the mountains this weekend!

Tummy time