Multitaskin' Momma

Can I just say that my sling is the greatest thing EVER to hit baby stuff...not that it's a new idea, but still....

Ahhhhhh......

Pete and Austin were playing last night with a chrysanthemum. Here they are having a moment.

p.s. for those of you who didn't know, you can click on the pictures and see the bigger version of them.

A picture with me in it (gasp)

This certainly isn't the most awesome picture I've ever taken, but given the fact that he and I spend SO much time together (yay) and the complete lack of pictures with me in them with a face shot, Nana took this one yesterday. In case you were wondering, the green thing in his mouth is a delicious carnation stem...mmmm....

I stand alone....(to the tune)

So, a few days ago while Austin was enamored with a toothbrush travelling case (!?) he NEEDED to investigate it with BOTH hands and in doing so happened to stand alone...for about 30 seconds. At that point, he realized he was standing alone, panicked, and fell. hmmmm...makes you wonder if that's a metaphor for things in life sometimes....

Anyway, since then he's done it a couple of times every day...getting bigger and stronger!

this face

He was so excited while balancing on top of the trailer gate, we got some super cute happy faces from him. This is the look of sheer excitement.

hmm...or maybe the camera caught him as he was peeing...I'm going to stick with sheer excitement. :)

"No I will not pee sitting down"...an EC update

So, I have to post the EC update. Austin is 6 1/2 months now, and I haven't put him in EC undies/prefolds for several days now (except when we go out of course). There was a period of a couple weeks where we were cranking through every prefold we had in two days...and then he got a tooth. Common EC knowledge dictates that during major moments of physical or phsycological growth, you are going to have more misses than normal. So, we had lots of misses, but then Austin got his first little tooth. Ta-dah!

So, he's now been on a kick where he does NOT want to pee on his tiny potty anymore. Any weeing that involves "wee-position" (which is holding him so his back is against your tummy and hands supporting him behind each knee) is SO 'last month'. If I try, he arches his little back and makes his whole body straight as a board...which is sort of funny by itself too. Apparently, the new "in" way to pee is to walk yourself (supported by your tech crew, Mom, underneath your armpits) into the fabulous bathroom Papa Ross and Nana built, step onto the nice stone ledge overlooking the pool of flat river rocks on the bottom of the shower, have said tech crew (Mom) pull out the special effects of running water (I turn the shower nozzle on just a tiny bit) and quick whip your pants down and VOILA! As soon as the water hits the drain, Austin is standing there with his little naked butt, peeing in the shower.

Now, the funnier part is that he's SO proud of himself. After weeing, he looks up and finds my face and smiles and giggles with this incredulous look on his face as if to say, "Holy Cow! Did you just see that!?" And recently, he's realized that HE is the source of this fascinating stream, and follows the stream from the drain back to himself. In doing so, he bends forward at the waist to see where all this excitement is coming from...and pees on his britches. But hey, who's counting...he's 6 1/2 months old and can pee in the shower and poop in the tiny potty. And the tech crew (Mom) does the happy dance!

While I'm sure we aren't at the end of the road and there are plenty more developmental milestones and teeth, prefolds and EC undies to go through, this is encouraging and fun.

The Loot...and Rock's hairpiece

After trick-or-treating, we went back to the house to unload the loot from the pumpkin. Austin had so much fun emptying it out and discovering all the shiny wrappers, pushing them back and forth across the bed.

Rock, not being one to be left out of the festivities, was front and center the whole time. Here he is looking with Austin into the bottom of the pumpkin. The next shot was taken from Pete's
vantage point. Austin was lying on his back snuggled up next to Rock being enormously entertained by a mini Skittles and Crunch Bar and suddenly Pete burst out laughing. All he could see was Rock's back and randomly a tiny forearm clutching a Skittles package would pop up and disappear.

And finally, Austin going all "ninja" on a bag of BetterMade potato chips....woaaaaaa!

Our Tiny Tiger...a Halloween Story

Happy Halloween! Austin went Trick or Treating for the first time this year! He was our Tiny Tiger....since he's always attacking things (chewing) with his mouth. His little nose scrinches up and he bites down. So, we took him around the neighborhood to all the folks I regularly see on our walks and Pete was finally able to meet everyone! One of the ladies down the street even planned for Austin stopping by and instead of a bag of candy had a little stuffed rabbit for him! She also invited us in and we had some hot cider with them. Austin had some fresh cider from the mill down the street and thought it was DEElicious. So, now we get to trick-or-treat vicariously through Austin for the next couple of years before he realizes we're eating all his candy :)

Vocab lessons

When Papa Ross takes Austin places, it's a fantastic hands-on vocab lesson. Discovering all the tools in the garage, Austin touches each one as Papa Ross tells him what each is. Here, he's discovering "trailer" and "tire."

I've been doing sign language with him and he's starting to recognize "gentle" and "hot." Pete works on him with "gentle" while he's petting the dogs and playing with things on the wall, and he and I sat with a warm cup of tea and worked on "hot." I still need to find out the signs for "flower" and "flag," two of his favorite things. We have a fall chrysanthemum and he was a little leary of it at first. He'd touch it VERY fast and pull his hand back like it was hot for a couple of days. He's getting over that though. I imagine there will be plenty of dismembered flowers on the living room floor in short order. :)

Just a quick taste....

While exploring the backyard with Papa Ross, Austin continues to develop his refined palette...he will soon be a seasoned connoisseur of delicacies such as dirt, wood chips, dog hair, dead leaves, and the butt-end of Sharpies (magic marker pens).

And the saying that says the cheapest toys will be the favorite still holds. Currently in the running for "best toy to play with" is a bell attached to the fan he can dingle while on Dad's shoulder, a painting Marla brought back from a far-flung country, a piece of a scuba-diving setup with an old-school clothespin stuck in one end, and old drawstring from a pair of shorts (yes, only under close supervision), a kid's toothbrush Grandma Katie got for him....oh, and of course the ever-versatile dirt, wood chips, dog hair, dead leaves, and Sharpies :)

Ladykiller

It's fall and beautiful outside. Papa Ross was playing with Austin. He kept eyeballing Papa Ross's hat. Ahh...I'm made weak by the power of his cuteness....and I have to tell you all now because by the time he can understand English, I have to stop telling him he's the cutest thing to walk the planet...otherwise he'll know it and it won't be so cute. But for now, what a ladykiller.

No Way!

I was rearranging bookshelves and Austin was desperately trying to stand up on ANYTHING, so I put the shelf on it's side and he was rockin' out, completely pleased with himself, for about 5 minutes. He's trying so hard to balance and stand on his own, and anything 12-15" tall is fair game to try and pull himself up on to practice standing. It's funny because the friends I have who's kids are also this age are definitely not standing, but are great at other things Austin thinks is a waste of his time...like rolling over or military crawling. Just goes to show how different each kid is! Looking back through our baby books, we all learned to stand before we learned to crawl too.

This is the way we do the laundry.....

So, this is how I get the laundry done :) Austin comes down to the basement with me and "helps" me put the clothes in the washer. After his shirt is thoroughly soaked through, we put the soap and clothes in. When it's time to change the clothes to the dryer, he stands on the edge of the dryer holding onto the dryer lint trap and I toss clothes by him. THEN, the climax is when all the clothes are warm and snuggly, tossed into the basket and Austin gets a front row seat riding up the stairs. Actually, we all think it's the cutest thing ever and Austin tolerates it, observing calmly while he goes up and down, doors opening and closing, etc.

My Little Papoose

So here is Austin on his 6 month birthday. It has finally become cool enough to try out my new babywearing jacket, and it's soo fabulous! Austin rode on my back in the Mie Tye wrap that I made out of the extra material from his crib bedding stuff and he trucked around with me while I watered all the flowers on the side of the house by the new patio pavers.

Austin gets a bath...

Now, Austin actually gets a bath regularly however this bath was special. Pete gave Austin a bath, and it was so cool. Usually, he plays in the tub (aka...bottom of a storage bin) and he plays until he's done, then gets out and fusses until he's dressed, plays a little more then it's time for bed.

Pete knows what's up. He's going to give Austin his bath tonight so he gets the lights on, cranks up Eric Clapton on our little portable CD player and after 5 minutes or so, Pete calls me in to see something. There is Austin, standing in the tub naked as a jaybird with his tiny belly pooched out. Clapton fills the air, reverberating off the stone walls. His little head is completely resting in the palm of Pete's hand, perfectly balancing the rest of his body, his arms dangling limp at his side. He has this distant, glazed look in his eyes staring peacefully into thin air as Pete dips a washcloth in the warm water, holds it up and lets it warm his little body... down the little creases in his neck, across his tiny shoulders and back and legs...and it's as though he's so completely in that moment...he's not moving but you can see him feeling the water, hearing the trickle as it makes it back to the tub, the music, being with Dad, being warm...just being...

After his bath, he snuggled into his towel and laid his little head down on my shoulder. I slipped him back into Pete's arms, turned the lights down and he swayed in Pete's arms, listening to Clapton, until he fell into a deep sleep.

This picture was taken after his head had come up but he was still absorbing the moment. I have to write this knowing I don't think I'll ever forget...I can't take that chance though...these are so special...

In which my fish filters are finally vindicated...

So, when we left Alaska, the ONLY things I brought with me from our fish tank setups were the two fish filters (and a net and siphon...both of which can be replaced for a couple bucks...not sure how those made it through moving triage). I was given quite a bit of well-intentioned sass for keeping the filters, especially when our cargo room shrunk yet they continued to migrate with us across to MI. HOWEVER! I have finally been vindicated as we found a 29 gallon aquarium with everything but filters, plants and fish for $10 at a garage sale last week! Bwah ha haaa! Haaa...the filters live again!

We added 5 male Mollies (I don't want zillions of baby fish running around so it's a sausage-fest...no girls...it gets basic when it comes down to fish...) and will add a couple more over the next few weeks. Austin picked them out. At Petsmart they were the ones he saw and laughed and squirmed and kicked his little legs...yes, please...I'll take those :)

Pete decorated...it's a little cabin with a water wheel that spins with the bubbler and bubbles puff from the chimney...I would totally move in if I were a fish. So far, the fish think the roof is DE-licious. It rocks.

Here is Austin pre-fish splashing in the water. He thinks it rocks too. I can finally nurse while sitting down sometimes while he watches fish. Yay!

Swing, swing...

Swinging with Papa Ross in the back yard on the hammock swing Pete (finally) owns...this is a favorite...for both of them...lol...

Naked Time!

So we went to the front yard today for a photo shoot in the grass before it gets too cold (yay! fall is right around the corner!). Pete says the second one is his football stance...lol...the second he was just being a goofball making lots of faces.




Can I just say, "I'm smitten." In the third shot, you can dream up funny captions to go with it...

Mmmmm....dirt.....

So, Austin and I were playing in the dirt...that was some nice dirt.

Tell me he doesn't look completely pleased with the whole situation :)

Austin's calendar :)

Stand!

Austin is getting stronger by the day. it seems like there are little synapses and bridges connecting all the time. As you can see, his feet that started out fitting no socks we had have grown and are happily in the 2T-3T socks...at 5 months. Thank you Peterson, Fitzgerald, and Crow genes, and it's not like the Flynn genes are tiny :) And now those fantastic bases are helping him in his long sought-after (since he was 2 mo old) quest to stand on his own. When he remembers to hold on, he can hold himself up on drawers, ottomans, legs, picnic baskets, and the new Curiosity Cube Grandma Katie got for him (pics to come later). He stood rockin' out at this drawer here for a couple of minutes...good fun..lol.

My handsome boys...

There is something so special watching your husband and your son love each other. Maybe there is some basic human condition that there is a deep seeded feeling when the two people who mean so much to you and who your world revolves around are also so special to each other...it's like the circle completes itself in that moment.

Family comes to visit.

Uncle Nick and Nana Aegli and Grandma Katie came to visit recently and we had such a great time! Pete and Nick got to drive the RV to Indiana to have some work done on it then ride back up - Pete on the Bumble Bee, UN on his brand new BMW GS he picked up while here...

Aegli and Austin and I did a little shopping to prepare Austin for winter, and they played "Pop, goes the weasel" in the back seat with a toy Sandee got us for Xmas. For the last week since they left, every time I say "Pop, goes the weasel" Austin tilts his little head around looking confused, looks around like Nana Aegli is supposed to be there, realizes it's just me and smiles.

Grandma Katie came to see Austin and meet UN and Aegli. Everyone was there for a DELICIOUS birthday dinner for Jonny's 21st. We had farmer's market corn, some cut of beef that Pete ordered special and just disolved in your mouth. It was a completely wonderful time! How great that we have such a fantastic family! Roasted potatoes...food is such a great reason to gather. Oh, and we opened the final bottle of wine we'd saved from the Redwoods for the occasion.

Katie found lots of board books too! I was starting to get burned out on "Things that Go!" My girly one-sound-fits-all sound effects are put to shame by the boys :) Apparently "cha-cha-cha-cha-cha" as a helicopter sound effect is not convincing...lol...I used to have the same problem trying to imitate Tim the-tool-man Taylor from Home Improvement...somehow my sound effect never conjured up "tough and manly" as a visual.

So now we have board books with sparkles, dingly animals on top, holes to peek through, books that float in the bathtub, books with fur...lots of fun books! Yay! It was fun having everyone here too now that Austin is more interactive.

It's so neat to go from a place where your friends are your family to having a caring family that is close enough to see and comes to see you! Thank you for coming to visit UN, Aegli and Mom Katie! It means so much!

I'm going to try this blog thing...

Well, here is the maiden voyage of learning to blog...Here is Austin shortly before turning 5 months :) I was trying to capture the face shape similarity between Austin and Pete.