Thanksgiving and the first half of December

Granny and PaPa came up for Thanksgiving since Sam wasn't able to get away.  Of course, they brought their five dogs up too.  Turnabout is fair play when family is involved.  Anyway, Austin loved his new play place.  He thought the dog crate was GREAT!  It was all we could do to keep him out of it.

Here is Austin the first night Granny and PaPa were here and we ate Whole Hog.  Austin loves the baked beans.  I have a feeling he paid for them dearly over the next couple of days.

Here is Uncle T.  He showed up late Thanksgiving Eve with a broken Razor.  Of course, he had to fix it first thing Thanksgiving morning.  Good thing he is a mechanic and it only took him about 20 minutes to do.  Putting the lift on Sam's truck was another story.

Here is Austin.  He was already 3/4 the way through his first plate.  He had two.  He loves his food.  Although you would never know it from looking at him.

The family on Thanksgiving in Arkansas!

I made Austin an advent calendar to help him countdown until Santa comes.  He likes it a little too much.

Austin love chocolate so much that I had to find a better way of giving it to him.  Pepperidge Farms makes Pirouettes which are the perfect delivery system for chocolate and little kids.

Austin was invited to a birthday party at the beginning of this month.  It was at a place called the Fun Factory in Cabot.  I wish I had come up with the idea for this place.  It was nothing but wall-to-wall blow up slides, bouncy houses, and jungle gyms.  It's a kids dream and relatively safe.  Austin LOVED it!

Austin had a doctor appointment this week.  He is weighing in a 23.5 pounds, which is still in the 18th percentile.  He's 32.5 inches tall, which is in the 65th percentile.  He keeps climbing in height at every appointment.  I'm going to have to learn to take in the waist of pants.  Austin is going to be a string bean.

I finished off this semester of my MBA and we are gearing up for another deployment.  I think this one is going to be hardest on Sam.  Austin is finally at a "fun" stage for him and he's going to miss out on alot.  But, Austin loves to talk to Daddy on the phone so we should be okay.  I'll be taking two classes again in the Spring with the hopes of completing my MBA Fall 2011.  We should also be finding out where we will be moving soon.  We won't move until the summer, but we should know in the Spring.  That's about it.  I probably won't post again until January, but I promise that Santa is going to be good to the boy this year.  Merry Christmas to you all and have a safe and Happy New Year!

Sorry

Sorry I've been so out of touch lately. We've been super busy with the holidays, a wedding and finishing up the semester. I'm hoping to get something posted tonight. There is no new shows on tv to distract me so I should be able to get it done. Hopefully things will calm down after Christmas.

Not too much going on, but here it is

Here is my latest project.  I saw this in the Land of Nod catalogue and thought, "I can make that."  Well so far I've got everything cut out and five pocket and letters sewn.  All I can say is it's going to be a long project. 

Austin loves music.  He loves to dance and play along with his musical instruments.  At least once a day he asks for, "Boosit"  aks Music.

Austin the Aritst.  Fingerpaint soap is ALOT of fun and it also turns the bath into a bubble bath.  However, red tends to stain things like washcloths and towels.

Let's see what we can do with this.

No potty training yet, but maybe sometime soon.

Pumpkin Patch

Our little family made a trip to Motley's Pumpkin Patch again this year.

Austin and Sam fed the animals.  Yes, there was hand sanitizer afterwards!

Sam pushed Austin and Cole on the swings for a little while.

Then there was the hay playground.  Austin loved to climb.

And climb

Then he found the tunnel

"Come on Daddy, keep up!"

"Now to pick the perfect Pumpkin."

Happy Harvest Time!

Working at the Dog Wash and the Pumpkin Patch

So it started out with the simple statement, "Fiona needs a bath."

Austin said, "Don't worry Daddy, I'll help you."

"Let me see how this thing works."

"Maybe I need a bath too."

"Oh yea, this is way too much fun to pass on!"

Fiona says, "Really?! I was just minding my own business."

"Daddy, you're missing the target.  ME!"

"Mommy looks nice and dry.  Let's FIX that!"

Austin then proceeded to play in the sprinkler.

Clothing slowly became optional.

Later that night, it was time to dance!

Airshow and Playing Outside Again

The weekend of October 8th - 10th, Little Rock had its airshow.  Sam's parents were able to come up and visit with us and Austin and take in some of the excitement.

Austin and Sam had fun exploring some of the display planes.

Austin loved to watch the airshow.  He would tell the planes "bye-bye" as the flew past.

He is his father's son. 

This was just one of our many mornings in the backyard.  Austin wants to try out the camera.

Can't get enough of this cutie pie!

Arsty-Fartsy photo of the boy.

He loves to watch the birds and the squirrels.

You can see a little of his black-eye.  One day he will learn that you can't walk and look over your shoulder when you're 3 feet tall.

More from the firehouse.

Last one.

Austin and Daddy hanging out.

Fall has Arrived!

Okay, so maybe I'm overreacting a little.  It was cool for just one day this week, but both Austin and I were happy to be able to get outdoors for some fun.  This little man LOVES to run.  So, Wednesday morning we were outside enjoying the 55 degree morning air.

 One of these days we'll bring out the cozy coupe so Austin can really use the gas station.  The only bad thing is we had to put the playhouse on the deck to keep the spiders out.  After going most of the summer and seeing no action, the house was FULL of webs and spiders who had made it home.  The garden hose, broom, and I fixed that problem one day only to find them all moved back in the next day, so I moved their home and it's been pretty much empty since.  We still check it before playing though.

Here's our little runner.  He finally gets to wear the hat I made him this summer.

Playing peek-a-boo through the gate.  He also loves to stick his hand in the gutter spout.  We are working on forgetting that it's there.

I couldn't get him to look at me, but this is our first fall outfit. 

No day outside is complete without playing ball with the dogs.  Gunner and Austin are a better suited pair for this than Fiona and him, but we make it work.

That's about it for now.  We are planning on hitting the air show this weekend and the pumpkin patch next weekend, so I'm sure I'll have more pictures to share soon.

September Picture Posting and Catching Up

We made a trip to the zoo with some friends and found some cut cutouts to pose in.  Austin is my little squirrel.

Now he's my little cowpoke.

Austin cruising the driveway at Granny and PaPa's beach house on Labor Day.

Somebody likes mini-fudge stripe cookies!

ALOT!

PJ time with friend Andrew.  They match.  Lisa and I do too much shopping from the same places.

Trying out our new pj's for Halloween!

Be afraid!  Be very afraid!

I'm pretty sure we have a runner on our hands.

Playing outside with daddy.

Here I am!

Boo!

I think I can!

And I did!

Helping with some chores.  This kid LOVES a broom.

Now this is how you water the yard.

Porch Jail

All dressed for our recheck at the doctor and then a lunch date with Kara.

I know you all really look at this for the pictures so I'll try to keep it short.  Sam wasn't able to go with us to the beach for Labor Day because he was at an air show in West Virginia.  My grandparents were able to come up and visit him for the day and they finally got their flag that Sam fly over Iraq last year.  Other than that, September has been pretty uneventful and time has flown by.

Austin is back in the swing of things at day care and bringing home all the germs to share.  I'm working my way through my MBA classes still and so is Sam.  Sam is hopefully going to finish his lead upgrade training sometime soon and then we will be gearing up for another deployment.  Surprise, surprise, right?!

That's about it.  We will be making another trip to Granny's this weekend so I can put on a bridal shower in Austin for my best friend Presley.  The following weekend is the air show at LRAFB and we are also planning a trip to the pumpkin patch with Lisa and Andrew.  Then it will be Halloween before you know it!

Hope September was as good to you as it was to us!  See you in October!