Busy Boy

(My good friend Meredith took this picture, and I absolutely love it! You can see all more of her work at www.meredithgutshall.com.)

I remember when I was pregnant saying to my dad, "I'm glad I'm not chasing this kid around yet because he's constantly moving." Well, that day has come. In the last two days Austin has started scooting across the floor, can get himself from lying to sitting, and pulled himself to standing. He is in constant motion. Even if he's just sitting in my lap, he's always reaching, pulling, squirming, standing or grabbing for something. Take a good look at us now, because once this kid is truly mobile, we will be nothing but a blur as we chase him down the street, across the parking lot and thru the halls.

So proud of himself!

Timber!

I’m sure most of you have heard about the excitement around our house. But for those who haven’t, the huge oak tree in our front yard was snapped at the base and fell right outside our bedroom window in the storms Thursday morning. We’re happy to have our power back and are no worse for the wear.

Austin is 8 months old (tomorrow). We can’t believe how quickly it’s gone by.

He’s not crawling yet, but he rocks on his hands & knees. He scoots around on his belly, but only in reverse. This sometimes gets him into a predicament.

Other than that, we’ve just been enjoying our kids and the outdoors (when it’s not storming).

Arrrrgh!

Today was our first day to patch Addison's eye, and she did great! We were anticipating an hour-long struggle of trying to keep her from pulling it off. She did try a few times, but overall she didn't let it slow her down.

Whew!

We had a BIG weekend. We got to spend some good time with our families and recognize each of our kids in their own way. Addison was first. The Garden Party, a fundraiser for the Little Light House, was on Saturday. This was the second year of what I think will be a longstanding tradition of getting dressed up and flaunting our fanciest hats.

Austin got to hang with the guys while we Garden Partied. I think all the testosterone wore him out!

We also got to just enjoy being with family. Is there any way we could just move Tulsa (and the rest of our families) to Texas? That would make me one happy girl!

Our kitchen table hasn’t clocked near the hours my parents’ has, but we’re working on it.

We so appreciate our families, not only for coming to support our kids this weekend, but for loving and supporting us year-round! We would not be the parents we are without y’all.

Sunday was Austin’s day. He got his five minutes of fame at his dedication at church. He smiled on cue, and didn’t follow in his sister’s footsteps of spitting up on Deron. We were glad for that (as I'm sure he was, too)!

Two Cuties

Just thought I'd share a few more pics of our cute kiddos (I know I may be biased, but when it's true, does opinion really matter?). It seems like they get older and more fun every day.

"Hey dad! Look at me!"

Saturday morning jumping on the bed.

I know this is probably something we shouldn't be teaching our children (why is that, again?), but we were having fun. And no little monkeys bumped their heads.

"Ummmm... I didn't do it?"

Another Month Gone By

Our baby boy is 7 months old and such a little boy. The most notable thing about Austin right now is that he is enamored with Addison. They love to play together (if you can really call it that yet- it's mostly her taking his toys and sometimes using his head as a playmat). Even so, he LOVES his big sister...


...Just not always as much as she loves him.

(FYI- You may notice the brevity of this post. Updating the blog with the "help" of a 2-year-old takes at least twice as long as doing it alone! )

Easter

We went to Texas for Easter and had a great time. Addison and Austin loved snuggling with Grans & Grandaddy,

playing with their cousins,

dyeing Easter eggs,

and hunting them.

We attempted to take pictures in the bluebonnets, but this is as close as we got. (For all you non-Texans out there, bluebonnets are the Texas state flower. They blanket open fields, highway medians and embankments everywhere. It’s like peanut butter & jelly; ham & cheese; Easter pictures & bluebonnets.)

We also took pictures of all 5 cousins. A little side note here: Addison was a little scared of her Easter dress at first. We’ve had it hanging on her dresser for the last couple of weeks to desensitize her. She wasn’t thrilled about wearing it, but then we put her Keens on with it, and she loved it. (Can’t imagine where she got that?!) We decided she looked like a princess hiking.