Peas

Peas aren't so bad...

Prince Charming

I forgot to post the pictures of Austin in his Valentines' Day shirt (from aunt Ricki & uncle Stephen).  These were taken on Valentines' Day. David left town that day for work but was there to snap a few photos of me and Austin before we left for work/school.  That night Austin and I hosted my Bible study group at our house. It was nice to have some friends to spend the evening with.

Hanging out with Mimi!

David's mom came to visit for 3 days last weekend.  It was a relaxing weekend and we are thankful that she made the trip to Denver to spend time with us.  She arrived Friday night after Austin was already asleep, but our happy boy was ready to see her on Saturday morning.  She played with Austin while I went on a run around Wash Park.  We went out to lunch and dinner that day.  We even made it to a running store and she treated me to some new running clothes!  Austin really showed off for Mimi with his rolling over skills and his sitting up without support.  He is sitting up really well without the boppy pillow, but I am not to the point where I would leave the room yet.  He is getting there though.  He ate broccoli/cauliflower mixture for the first time over the weekend.  I could tell that he didn't like it as much as butternut squash or carrots, but he still ate it when mixed with his multi-grain cereal.  

On Sunday, I went for a longer run (7 miles) since I am starting to work up my milage for the half marathon on April 15.  After that, David and his mom went to Blawkhawk to the casino for a few hours.  Austin and I went on an exciting trip to Costco.  The real treat was Sunday night when David and I went on a date to Del Friscos Steakhouse.  I had given David a gift card for his birthday in July and we still had not made it there.  The $100 gift card covered half of our bill since we splurged and got an $80 bottle of wine.  We were very thankful that Mimi was there to stay with Austin.  It was the first time that he went to bed with anyone but me.  He drank his bottle and went to sleep like a champ for Mimi.  David reminded his mom at least 15 times not to drop Austin.  I think she passed that test :)

We both had holidays from work on Monday for Presidents day.  David and I went to the gym at the country club together that morning while Mimi stayed with Austin.  We all went out to brunch at the Pancake house.  Austin snoozed during this meal.  That afternoon, Mary and I went to get our nails done.  I got a deluxe spa pedicure!  It was my first time to get a pedicure since Austin was born.  The last time I got a pedicure was at the same nail salon the day before I went into labor.  It seems like yesterday; it's hard to believe it has been 6 1/2 months.  We went out that night for pizza at the Garlic Knot near our house.  We took Austin's dinner (multi-grain cereal) to the restaurant and fed him at the table.  This was a first!  He is really noticing our food and reaching for it now so we thought it would be a good idea to let him eat while we eat.  He did great!  We didn't put him in a high chair because we tried it the day before and I think he is still a little too small for the restaurant high chairs.  We fed him in his car seat but next time we might bring the bumbo chair.  He is getting too big (tear)!

 Sportin' my overalls with Mimi!

Sleeping angel at the Pancake House

Mission for this weekend: lower the crib mattress and set-up the "johnny jumper".  We can't wait!

6 Months!

Austin's 6 month birthday was Thursday, February 9.  Wow, how has time gone by so fast?  He is getting too big!  We went to see Dr. Lisa on Thursday afternoon.  Austin weighs 16 lbs 13.5 oz and is 27.5 inches tall, which is 50th percentile in weight and 80th percentile in height.  These are the exact same percentiles as at 4 months.  He is rolling over as he should, almost sitting up without support, blabbing, eating cereal, being curious and reaching for things, enjoying looking in the mirror and smiling, and smiling all the time.  He is one happy baby!  He is teething but still no sign of the pearly whites.  He got another round of the shots that he had previously and also got the first flu shot.  He screamed and then fell asleep in the car immediately afterwards.  He did have a slight fever the next morning but tylenol helped keep that down.  Dr. Lisa said it was time to try some baby foods.  I was waiting until after this appointment to try out something besides cereal.  So on Saturday morning, I introduced Austin to carrots.  He ate them well for the first 7 bites and then he started to act as if they were yucky.  They were carrots that I had made a few weeks ago with my babyfood maker (pureed with breastmilk). He ate carrots again today and same thing, about 7 bites in, he had had enough.  At least he is trying them!  After another couple of days of carrots maybe he will try broccoli or butternut squash or sweet potatoes. 

At 6 months, you have almost outgrown all your 6 months clothes.  9-month clothes fit you perfectly.  You are sleeping from about 8 or 8:30 until about 6 or 6:30 (except today you slept until 7:20- what a treat for a Sunday).  You have a bath almost every night and enjoy kicking your legs in the water.  We have to put lotion and hydrocortozone cream on your skin where you have dry spots.  The Denver dry winters are not nice to anyone's skin.  You still suck your thumb when you are tired or need some quiet time.  You are still very well behaved at restaurants. Last night at dinner with Ryan and Kelly you had been awake since 3:45 and were still happy at dinner at 7:30. Keep this up, boy!  Ms. Mira and your other teachers tell us you are so happy and independent.  When I drop you off in the mornings, it is sad to leave you, but I know that you are thriving with the social interaction all day.  Austin, I can't believe you are 6 months old.  I can't wait to see how you change over the next 6 months.  

 Carrots- yummy!

 Look at that grin!

 Sitting up like a big boy

 I want to hold Savannah dog

 The real Savannah is a great babysitter

 Having fun at Brody's 1-year birthday party (riding the sled inside!)

Daddy loves to tickle me!

Visit with DiDi

The visit with my mom was fun!  Austin was spoiled!  She helped with house things, which was a nice break for me.  She did laundry, dishes, and TJMaxx/Ikea trips to look for new house things.  I think I mentioned earlier that we now have a new red rug so that Austin can have a softer place to play.  Of course, we put a white towel down underneath him because he spits up so often.  Over the weekend, we dug out from the big snow storm, went to the gym each day, went to Ikea and Cost Plus World Market, and played with Austin.  I went to work on Monday and Austin went to school for part of the day while my mom exercised and ran a few errands. She picked him up around 3pm to spend more time with him before we got home from work. On Tuesday, I was sick.  I had a horrible sinus infection.  I didn't know it was this because I have never had one before.  It had been coming for about a week but I just thought it was a cold that I caught from Austin.  On Tuesday, I got up and went to work and my mom stayed at home with Austin so that I could have the car in case I needed to go to the doctor.  I ended up making a 10am appointment and my boss told me not to come back; to go home and get some rest.  She is very understanding, which is helpful.  We are just so busy that getting sick and missing a day of work is hard. I came home after my appointment (where I got a heavy does of amoxicillin, which is safe while breastfeeding), and just rested/slept most of the day.  My mom took care of the little guy.  That was so helpful!  She left on Wednesday morning.  We were sad to see her go.  :(

We didn't take enough pictures.  But here are a few.  Austin also held his own bottle for the first time, with both hands!  He has a hard time getting the right angle so that he can drink well, but he will get there.  

 Matching outfits

 BIG BOY!

Don't leave, DiDi 

Let it snow!

DiDi got here on Thursday before the big snow storm.  David and my office's were both closed - a first since we have lived in Denver!  So we all stayed inside on Friday and watched the snow pile up.  I worked almost the whole day (with a few breaks to feed Austin) from home while David and my mom tended to Austin.  I think we ended up getting about 18 inches in about 36 hours (thursday night-saturday morning).  We went to a nearby restaurant for dinner on Friday night as our one outing of the day.  On Saturday, mom and I went to the gym while David kept Austin.  We also went to Ikea with Austin to look for rugs.  We are trying to make the living room more conducive for a baby to play.  We found a comfy red rug!  It softens up the room and is perfect for Austin to play on (with a towel for now -while he is in the spit-up stage).  We moved the coffee table away and are just using a leather ottoman as a coffee table - in an effort to "baby proof".  No sharp corners!  Today, my mom and I drove up north to Cost Plus World Market to get a new leather chair for the living room (the one near our house didn't have it in stock).  We even moved the tv above the mantle.  We attempted to watch the super bowl, but Austin didn't like that idea.  He was quite fussy tonight.  I think he is either going through a upset tummy stage or he is teething because he has been fussier than usual.  He is sitting up much better - almost unassisted.  Here are a few pictures.  We are lucky because DiDi is staying until Wednesday!

 Big boy - sitting up!

Walls of snow

 Bundled up with mommy

 Savannah LOVES snow

 Yummy multi-grain cereal

It's so good!

Austin grew hair!

This is what happens when DiDi comes to visit, we are snowed-in, and the tv satellite is covered in snow.

And it's red!