6 months old!

Austin turned 6 months old on Sunday! We can't believe how fast he is growing, and how quickly the last six months have gone by! We are so happy to have him in our family, and so grateful for the love and joy that he brings into our home!

He had his 6 month check up yesterday. The official stats are: 16.5 pounds (only 25-30th percentile) and 27 inches (75th percentile). He is our adorable tall, thin little guy.

So, in honor of his six month birthday, I thought that I would post a slide show of pictures of him over the last six months. Hope you enjoy!

We love company!!

I love having people come visit me! I was beyond excited to have my sister, Sarah, come stay with us for a few days last week.

She came out to visit the BYU campus. She wouldn't let me wear my Utah sweatshirt when I took her down there though! Probably a good thing, seeing as it was the week of the Utah-BYU football game. Sarah's 18th birthday was November 2nd, so we decided that we would celebrate with her when she was here. I made her a Funfetti cake (man, she has good taste!), got a bunch of balloons for here, and some Dr. Pepper....all waiting for her when she arrived Monday night! We also took her out for a good steak dinner while she was here. So, we spent some time visiting schools, and had a nice Thanksgiving together. Then, Friday, we went to see August Rush. It is a new movie that just came out last week. It was a pretty good show! And then she had to go home!

Sarah with some of her balloons, her cake and her Dr. Pepper! She is a funny girl!

Enjoying her birthday dessert at Ruby River!

I think the highlight of Sarah's trip was the snow we got while she was here. Now, for those of us that live where it snows, it really was not enough snow to get excited about. But, for a girl from Texas who never gets snow, it was thrilling! She even built herself a snowman!

I am so glad that Sarah got to come visit us. I just wish she could have stayed longer!!

Hats and shoes

I love to put hats on my baby. I think he looks so darn cute in them...especially his little baseball cap! I have about a zillion pictures of him in his hat, so I thought I would post a couple...you know, just so all you other moms can be jealous of how cute my kid is! :0) I have quite the collection of winter hats for him, so keep an eye out for more adorable hat pictures!

He obviously wasn't enjoying this as much as I was! I just couldn't resist though!

I also love it when he has his shoes on. We usually reserve these for church, but boy does he look cute in them!

Cereal

Okay...I am way behind with this blogging stuff. We tried feeding Austin cereal the beginning of October, but he wasn't really interested and then he and I both got sick. So, we gave it up for a while. He has now been eating it for a couple of weeks (since October 24th...I put the dates in here to help me have a better record of this kind of stuff!). I am just finally getting around to putting pictures up, but he is so cute, I thought it would be worth it anyway.

Both of these videos are from when we first tried giving him the cereal in early October. He has gotten a lot better with it since then. I guess I'll have to take more videos now!

My Lifesaver

My mom got us our stroller/car seat combo for a baby shower gift, and I can not say thank you enough. Of course, we have used the car seat since he was born. But, I never knew how grateful I would be for the stroller. Austin seems to be having a little bit of separation anxiety already. So, the only way I have been able to get things done around the house is to put him in his stroller, and "wheel" him around with me. He watches me make dinner, do dishes, etc. If he starts to get fussy, I push the stroller around for a second and we are good for a little while longer. Funny kid!

Hanging out in the kitchen

But wait...it gets better!!!

So , he hasn't been sleeping well for the last month or so. I started to realize that he sleeps fine if he is held with his head up slightly, or in his car seat. So, we decided to try letting him sleep in his car seat one night to see if it would hep. Guess what...it did. He slept through the night again (he would fuss a little when he needed his pacy back in his mouth, but I can handle that!!) Wahoo! And even better, we are back to 2 hour naps! So, we talked to the pediatrician, and they are thinking that he may have reflux....which would explain the spitting up, and the not sleeping well! We are going to get a crib wedge, and hopefully that will help him sleep in his crib (without the car seat). Of course the stores are sold out of them right now though! So, for now this is my sweet little guy snoozing away in the car seat!

Thank goodness for strollers, car seats, and Grandmas!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

A couple weeks ago, we went to a pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins. It was really fun, and Austin loved watching all the other little kids that were there. We got a pumpkin for each of us, and two just to put on the front porch this fall.

Austin enjoying the ride

Our Treasures

My cute boys

Pumpkin Carving

Yesterday we carved the pumpkins. I carved Austin's and half of mine. Justin showed off his sweet pumpkin carving skills...carving his pumpkin and then finishing mine for me after the carving knife broke.

Justin hard at work
Austin participating in the fun

Justin's pumpkin

Austin's pumpkin
Megan's pumpkin

All three pumpkins glowing on the porch

Tigger!!

Austin was tigger for Halloween this year. He looked SOOO cute. I took him to get professional pictures done in his costume yesterday, but they won't be ready for a couple weeks. I know...I kinda dropped the ball on that one. But, they turned out really well, so they will be worth the wait. Here are a few pictures we took. Can you ever have too many pictures of a kid this cute?

Yes, that is a matching tigger stuffed animal to go with his outfit!

Notice the cute little tail!

He likes candy already...at least the wrapper.

Mom and her little Tigger

Tigger and Dad

We had a fun Halloween season here. I loaded up on candy to hand out, thinking that since we have so many young kids in this neighborhood that we would need a lot. We only had 17 kids come to our door!! More for me I guess! Now if you have a sweet tooth, you know where to come!

The Nursery

So, Austin is finally sleeping in his nursery! I freaked out while I was pregnant, insisting that the room be finished (painted, chair rail up, bedding washed and in place) before the baby arrived. So, thanks to my wonderful husband, it was ready a couple of weeks before Austin arrived. I still have to hang things up on the walls. I will get it done someday!

I had no idea how hard it would be for me to let him sleep in his own room. I had to work up to it slowly...he started taking naps in his crib a while ago. But, since his sleeping habits have been getting worse at night, I decided that maybe it was time to be in his room (in hopes that it will help him sleep better). It has only been a few nights, and he is still waking up several times a night. Ugh. Hopefully that will change.

Date Night

Justin and I have been talking about needing to go out on a date for a while, but I still have a hard time even thinking about leaving my baby for any length of time. But, after a difficult week with a baby that decided that sleeping was completely over rated, I was begging for a night out.

So we went out Saturday night....without Austin! I think it was the first time we have gone out alone since my birthday. Justin's mom came over to our house and babysat for us! It was really nice to have some time alone together. We went to see the movie "Dan in Real Life." It was really funny. Then we drove over to the hospital so that I could get my flu shot....romantic, I know! After that we went and ate dinner at a restaurant called "Madeline's." We had never been there before, and thought we would give it a try...the parking lot is always full...usually a good sign. It was okay...not the best food I've ever had.

After dinner, I was feeling the need for a quick stop at Cold Stone. As we were pulling in the parking lot, I got distracted by a new store in Jordan Landing...."Carter's". Now I don't have to drive to Park City to go shopping! Yeah!!! Anyway, I made Justin drive over to the store so that I could look around. I ended up trading ice cream for a little window shopping. Oh well!

Austin with his Grandma

Way to go Girlies!!!

Just wanted to put a BIG congrats out there to my little sisters! They both had big, exciting days today.

Sarah had region choir auditions, and got 1st chair. Way to go Sis!!

Erin had a speech tournament, and took 3rd place in the "pros" competition. You go girl!

We love you both!!! Congratulations!

PS- I do have lots of stuff to update on here. I have been a real slacker with this lately!! But, more is coming soon!

New toys

Austin has really started to enjoy his toys. He plays with all the toys on the swing and bouncy seat. He loves the play mat, and is learning to love his exersaucer. He only lasts for about 15-20 minutes in the exersaucer, but enjoys it a little more each time.

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We also set up the "Johnny Jumper" for him. He thought it was pretty fun, even though his head barely comes up out of the seat. He looked pretty darn cute though.

Official weigh in

Austin had his four month check up on Friday. Before he went, Justin and I each guessed what his weight would be. Justin said 14 pounds 10 ounces and 26 inches long. I guessed 15 pounds 3 ounces. So, who do you think was right? Who is always right? Yes, Justin won.


Austin weighed in at 14 pounds 10.7 ounces and was 25 1/2 inches. (80th% height and 50% weight) The doctor said that now that he is 4 months, we can start trying some solid foods. So, we are going to try some rice cereal this week.

This boy loves the camera!

Notice the drool on his chin?

Have you ever seen a cuter kid in a hoodie??

And yes, it has been cold enough here for hoodies!

Cute little feet!

A few new tricks

What is my baby's favorite thing to do???? Let me show you...this is Austin's latest trick. It has definitely made things a little more "wet" around our house!

What exactly is a "happy spitter"?? This is what they call a baby who spits up A LOT...but doesn't seemed to be bothered by it too much! That would definitely be Austin. He seems to be spitting up all the time lately. The doctor says that it is nothing to worry about, as long as it doesn't seem to be hurting him...it just makes a mess for us! I was trying to get some cute pictures the other day, and got this one in the mix. Don't worry...he was fine!! I just thought it was a funny picture to show what our days are like!

Get well soon!!

My dad had brain surgery last week to repair a fistula. They were unable to repair all of it during this procedure, and will most likely have to go in again in a couple months to fix the rest. Dad, you are in our thoughts and prayers. Get well soon!!

Growth spurt???

Well, my sweet little guy who had been sleeping through the night, has had much different plans for me the last few weeks. He wakes up STARVING anywhere from 1 to 3 (yes 3) times a night!! He also decided that naps are a little over rated. Things are starting to get a little better again. I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping that it is just a growth spurt and things will get better here pretty soon!!! I guess it must be hard being SO cute...he just wants everyone to see how cute he is when he is awake. Here are a few pictures just to show you how cute he is even when he is asleep!

Learning to Move

Austin loves his little play mat. He has figured out how to scoot himself around on it, and does complete circles in both directions just by scooting himself around. He also rolled over for the first time a couple weeks ago (Sept 18th)! (I know....I have been really bad about keeping this thing updated! Sorry!!!) He did it once, then made us wait a couple days before he would do it again. He knows how to roll from back to front and front to back...but a lot of the time will just get frustrated when he is on his tummy and not roll himself back over. This video is one of his first rolls....he has definitely gotten a lot better at it! He is even starting to try to pull his knees up under himself now!!

Finally

He looks more like ME!!! Well, I did this just for fun...to see how much more Austin looks like Justin! I was surprisingly stunned by the results! I don't really agree with what it says, but it is fun anyway!!!

Ticklish Boy

Finally...more videos!! These are the latest videos of Austin giggling! It is the cutest thing ever! He is so ticklish...where on earth could he have gotten that? He even squirms if you rub his back when he is asleep. Hope you enjoy!!

A week of Firsts

First Giggles

Well, he finally did it! Austin giggled for the first time last Monday (Sept 3rd). What a sweet sound! We are now working on the rolling over thing...he is getting close!

First "Play Date"

Austin had his first play date this week. His sweet little cousin, Berklee, has been begging to get to spend time with him. So, we had her over last Thursday. She had so much fun with him that she didn't want to go home! Sorry Jenn!

First Trip to the Park

While Berklee was over, we walked to the neighborhood park. Austin is now big enough to sit up in his stroller...if it is reclined slightly. That does mean less hauling around of the infant seat though!

Austin also had his first trip down the slide at the park. It isn't the best picture, because it is off the cell phone! I don't know how much he enjoyed it, but it was fun to try!

First Trip to the Zoo

Saturday, we decided to go the zoo...our first little family adventure! It was beautiful outside, and we were obviously not the only people who chose to take advantage of it and go to the zoo. It was fun. Salt Lake doesn't have the most exciting zoo, but it was nice to just get out and do something. Austin seemed to be more interested in watching us than looking at any of the animals.

Aren't they cute?

The "Ghost of the Bayou" A white alligator on loan to the Salt Lake Zoo for a while.

Just a sweet picture of momma loving on her boy

There is a bear in the picture...do you see it?

First Canning Adventures

I had my first attempt at canning spaghetti sauce this week. I used tomatoes out of the garden and everything! We have to wait a couple months...then try it to see how successful it was!