New Seat

Austin got a new seat for Christmas. These seats always makes me nervous, so we had a little practice run. Here we are at our first family picnic...in the garage!
Look ma! I'm just hanging here!

Whatever Works...

I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every time I've said "whatever works" since we had Austin. It just seems that sometimes as a parent you have to throw away the books, toss out advice, and just go with what works for YOU. A prime example follows...

Along with toys, books, clothes, and more toys....Austin received a cold for Christmas. His first ever so I was a little stressed about what to do. You can imagine my surprise since I've been told that breastfed children DON'T get sick. (This is where I start tossing out people's advice...) Anyway, he was having such a hard time getting settled at night. He'd wake up a mere seconds after he was put into his crib. After much thought and many nights of having a third person in bed (I never imagined such a tiny person could take up an entire king size bed!), we came up with this...
We thought we should probably elevate his head in someway. The thought of jacking up his bed like a broken down car in the front yard didn't sound appealing, so we decided to try something else. He's ALWAYS loved to lay on his changing table pad. (Always = since about 3-weeks-old, when he stopped screaming like a banshee when we'd change his diaper...) Since the pad wasn't elevated we had to add a blanket from the living room to give it a little lift. We also thought landing on something a little softer would help him stay sleeping longer, so we added a nice, soft quilt to the top. I know, I know...you should put NOTHING in the crib with a baby, but you know what?
THIS works for us!
We were able to take it all out a few days ago, but you better believe me when I say I'll remember this contraption the next time this breastfed baby gets sick!

P.S. Yes, that's Austin's Halloween outfit you can see in the first picture. I still don't have the heart to put it away. He was the cutest turkey on the block!

Wordless Wednesday - Big Boy Bath

New Year's Day 2009

Austin enjoyed his first day of 2009 at his Uncle C's house. Good food and fun was had by all!
Austin and Corey even prepared for Spring by shopping for new fishing supplies!
Do they have a snoopy pole in this book?

Happy New Year!

Last Post of 2008

Happy New Year's Eve! Seriously? 2009? Where on earth did this year go? This has been the fastest year of my life! We have so much to be thankful for. Austin was only here for the second part of 2008, but somehow I can't remember what life was like before him.

Austin's 2008 sure was a busy one! In July he made his grand entrance into this world. A moment in time his Dad and I will never forget. In August he was baptized into Christ with family and Godparents by his side. September brought his very first birthday party for his good friend Finn. October was the first time his Mommy embarrassed him -- dressing him up as a turkey for Halloween! In November we all gathered to be thankful for the blessings were given this year. This December he celebrated his first Christmas with all of his family and friends.

Austin, I look forward to spending many more New Year's Eves with you! (Until you're cool to hang out with us anyway!) Thank you for making us a family this year. It's definitely a year we will always hold close to our hearts.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Austin loves to lay under the Christmas tree. I thought I'd post a few pictures and a video so that next year, when he's pulling it down, I can remind him how much he loved it this year!