Beach trip

We spent last week at the beach. We had some rough spots with the condo we stayed in and a place we ate. The weather was overcast for most of the trip, but it was nice to be away and have some family time.

On Monday, when we got there we went out to the beach for a little bit to let the boys play in the sand. This was Andrew's first trip to the beach and I wasn't sure how he'd react to the sand. He loved the sand! And Austin couldn't stand it; he just had to get in the water even if he didn't have his swimsuit on!

We went out to the beach on Tuesday morning and that afternoon we went to Souvenir City, our first of three trips. We would go there as kids and have our picture taken in front of the big shark. We do the same thing with the kids. At first I thought we were nuts for doing that, but then I saw other people taking pictures too.

On Wednesday, we went to the beach and the pool in the morning. Then, the clouds rolled in so we went to the outlets. We had lunch at Lambert's. Austin thought it was so funny how they throw rolls at you and play little jokes on the customers.

That afternoon we went to play putt putt golf at Adventure Island. Austin loved playing! Of course, he thought the more points you scored the better. We played two rounds, through the volcano. Gene and Austin rode in the go-carts and then we all played in the arcade. We won all kinds of tickets and other people kept giving us theirs so Austin had quite a few to buy prizes. He picked out Tootsie Rolls, Air Heads, Smarties, and Sweet Tarts.

On Thursday and Friday, we went to the beach and the pool in the morning. On Friday, we played putt putt again. But this time we played at Pirate Island. We played twice. Austin got a hole in one this time!

On Saturday, it was overcast and a little rainy in the morning so we went out to Fort Morgan to kill some time. Austin thought the cannons were really neat and he liked being able to walk through the tunnel. We also saw the rigs in the bay which were pretty cool too.

When we got back to the condo, we started eating lunch and the fire alarm went off so we had to evacuate the building. Luckily, it was a false alarm. Of course, Austin liked it because he got to see the fire trucks up close.

Sunday, we spent most of the day at the beach and pool because it was our last day and actually decent weather. Andrew crawled through the sand down to the water's edge and let the waves come over his legs and feet. He splashed in the wet sand; he had sand all in his hair, on his face, and in his shorts. Austin, of course, built a volcano.

Andrew's official birthday party

We had Andrew's official birthday party today complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, and cake. It wasn't the ideal day for grilling. The temperature was in the 60s and it was rainy. Gene was a trooper grilling the ton of meat we bought!

Andrew got a lot of clothes for his birthday, some for our beach trip. He's in an 18-24 month and we didn't have a ton of stuff in that size for summer from when Austin was little. So the new clothes are great! He also got a rocking horse, some money for our trip to the beach, and a swing for outside. We had already given him the gifts from us: books, a sprinkler splash mat, and a ride around buggy.

He loved eating the cake, of course, and trying on his new shades!

Birthday party #1

Gene and I went down to the kids' school a little early, before graduation, to celebrate Andrew's birthday with his class. Andrew had to go to the doctor on his birthday and didn't get to enjoy snack with his friends. I brought cupcakes for the kids.
At first, Andrew wasn't sure about it.

But then he realized that it tasted good. It was all over for that cupcake.

Preschool graduation

Austin graduated from preschool today. The director of the center spoke for a few minutes and then the kids marched in with their little caps on. They sang the Peanut Butter and Jelly song and the graduate song. We watched a slide show with pictures of the kids from this year. The kids were so funny watching it because they were talking, more like yelling, at all the pictures in the slide show. I think they loved seeing all the pictures of each other. Then, Austin received his certificate. We went back to the classroom for cake and punch after all the kids got their diplomas.

I know Austin doesn't get the significance of the whole event. He doesn't know that soon he'll be leaving this place and these friends and moving onto bigger and better things. At least, we have the summer, right?

Andrew's one year stats

I took Andrew to the pediatrician this afternoon for his year checkup. He got 3 shots and his finger stuck. He weighed 24.1 pounds and is in the 75th percentile for weight. He was 31 3/4 inches tall and is between the 90-95th percentile for height. Dr. Hamm tried to get Andrew to take a few steps, but he was a little shy and didn't show off for him. Maybe next time!

Happy 1st Birthday Andrew!

I can't believe that you are one year old today. My, how you have grown! Although you have changed A LOT, there are many things that are the same as when we brought you home from the hospital. You are very ticklish. You are ticklish everywhere! You've always been a good night sleeper. And, for the most part, you've always been a very happy baby. You laugh and screech a lot.

You love throwing balls. You are still cruising along the furniture but you've taken quite a few steps on your own. You stand by yourself sometimes waving your arms in the air.

You are very talkative; you babble about all sorts of things. You say dada, mama (sometimes), uh oh, and thank you. You've learned two signs, the sign for more and the sign for all done.

You love to eat. You eat most anything, but there are two things that you're not too crazy about: mashed potatoes and green beans. You've eaten more than your brother sometimes!


We've had such a wonderful first year with you, getting to know you and your personality. We love you very much and can't wait to see what year 2 will bring!


Then -- May 13, 2008


Now -- May 13, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

I slept in until 6:30 a.m. this morning before Andrew made his presence known. Austin and Andrew gave me a chocolate heart, chocolate lips, and a card. Inside the SpongeBob card, Austin had written his name and Andrew scribbled something. AND Gene got me a gift card to a spa. I can't wait to make my appointment!

We went to WalMart to pick up some things for our beach trip and buy Andrew's birthday present. We got home, ate lunch, and I actually got to take a brief nap while the kids napped. All in all, it's been a good day!

Mother's Day gifts

Ever since Austin started "school" I've gotten various homemade gifts for Mother's Day. Most of them involve hand or foot prints which I truly love. I received my homemade gifts yesterday from the kids. From Andrew, I got a little photo album with pictures from school, a little poem, and a hand print. The pictures are pretty funny. There's a few of him and some friends and others of just him. From Austin, I got a hand print flower with a little poem, a card where Austin wrote "Happy Mother's Day Love, Austin," a bracelet he strung himself, and a questionnaire about me. For the last couple of years, Austin's teachers have asked him questions about me including my name, favorite food, favorite color, etc. Here are the questions and Austin's answers; they are both hilarious and sweet!

What's your mom's name? Anna
What does she do? Sends e-mails
How old is she? 90
What does Daddy call her? Honey
What is her favorite color? Green
What is her favorite food? Chicken fingers
I love my mom because...I love her
My mom looks beautiful because...her pretty dress

First fish

Nonna and Papa took Austin to the Alabama Outdoor Expo today. He saw all sorts of things there. He got to touch real sharks and a live stingray. He got to see a helicopter rescue people from the water. He shot a bee bee gun and a bow and arrow. He also caught his very first fish!

Sloppy Joe

Tonight, we had sloppy joe's for dinner. I originally fixed Andrew 1/2 a sandwich, cutting it up in small pieces of course. Well, a few minutes later Gene asked me where the other 1/2 was. Andrew was still hungry. He ate an ENTIRE sloppy joe, french fries, green beans, and a few slices of banana. Again, he ate more than Austin. I can't wait until his next doctor's appointment on the 13th, his first birthday. I'll be interested to see how big he is now.

6th tooth

Andrew got his 6th tooth, the upper left lateral incisor. He's gotten 3 on the top and 3 on the bottom so he's a little uneven. I'm just waiting for the other two to come in so he will even out.

Step one

Andrew took a single step this morning. Lately, he's been standing up a lot, preparing to make his move. We'll hold his hands to help him stand up and he'll stand up for a second and then fall into us laughing like he's done something so big. This morning, we were doing this in the kitchen. I was sitting in the chair having breakfast and Gene was in the floor helping Andrew stand up. He let go for a second and took one step towards me before I grabbed his hand.

I'm not wishing the crawling phase away too soon. I would be so proud to see him walk, but sad at the same time too. He's growing up so fast!

I'm not a fool

Austin spent the weekend at Nonna and Papa's house. He did all sorts of things from planting in the garden to riding on the four wheeler. On Friday night, they went to the seafood place for dinner. Austin started talking to the couple sitting behind them. The lady asked how old he was to which he replied, "I'm five. I just turned 5." The lady asked him when his birthday was and he said April 1st. She told him that he's an April Fools baby. He answered, with his eyebrows wrinkled, "I'm not a fool." He doesn't quite get the whole April Fool's Day thing yet.

Standing up

Andrew started standing up by himself today! He's been trying to stand without holding on for a few days and today he finally did it. He put his arms straight in the air and stood for a few seconds before falling to his knees. We cheered, of course!

5th tooth

Andrew cut his 5th tooth today, his right lateral incisor.

In other news, Andrew ate a bowl of peas and carrots, a bowl of pears, and an entire cheese quesadilla and rice at a local Mexican restaurant. It was the most I've seen him eat ever. He ate more than Austin did at dinner tonight.

Easter morning

Austin got up early this morning (as usual) to find that the Easter bunny made a mess in the kitchen. There were bunny tracks all over the kitchen table and scattered plastic eggs, jelly beans, and M & Ms on the table and the floor. Luckily, Austin offered to help clean up the bunny's mess.

He was so excited about his Easter basket. The bunny brought him some Spiderman things and a movie and some other little toys. The best part of all was the M & Ms. Austin's not much of a sweet eater; he doesn't like cookies or cake. But he's a sucker for M & Ms.

Andrew got up a little later and opened his basket. He liked the puffs the bunny left for him and the pinwheel. I think his most favorite thing was playing with the cellophane.

We ate breakfast and got ready for church. After church, we went to Nonna and Papa's house where we had another Easter egg hunt, this time with prizes inside.

Easter 2009

Yesterday, Austin saw a neighbor's daughter out in their yard hunting Easter eggs. This gave Austin the great idea of having me hide eggs. I warned him that there wouldn't be any prizes inside, but he didn't mind. I gathered up all the plastic eggs we had and "hid" them mostly in the back yard.

After we hunted eggs, we dyed our eggs. Andrew wanted to get involved too. I brough his high chair over to the island so he could watch. That didn't last very long though. He had to be up where the action was!

First bike wreck

Austin has had his first bike wreck. And, for his first, it was quite the wreck. I don't remember having a wreck like this when I was a kid. Maybe I just blocked it out.

We've told Austin that he can only go to the corner and into the cul de sac. Well, he caved to the pressure from two of the other boys on the street and took his bike close to the top of the hill coming down towards our house. Gene was outside but in the backyard; I was inside. One of the other parents came to Gene and let him know. Gene said, "He'll only fall once." And he did. He fell on the left side of his face. It's all skinned up and swollen. He was glazzy eyed and in a daze.

Today, he wasn't much better so I took him the pediatrician. He did a few basic tests and suggested, as a precaution, that we go to Children's and have a CT scan. So, off we went at 3:30 p.m. today. The radiologist said all looked fine on the scan. We're supposed to watch him for the next few days and if he doesn't get any better or gets worse, to call the pediatrician and we'd go from there.

Tonight, he was better and actually let the bandaids come off (thanks Nonna!). His war wounds look a ton better than they did when it first happened. What a way to start off his 5 year in the world!

Walking with Dinosaurs

Last night, we took Austin to see Walking with Dinosaurs for his birthday. For about a month, we've seen the commericals for it and Austin seriously thought that they were coming here for his birthday. Of course, we had to take him. Nea kept Andrew while we went to the BJCC for the event.

The first order of business was to get a $12 flashlight thing and a bag of cotton candy. Austin ate maybe 2-3 bites of the $4 bag of candy. Gene and I ate the rest. Austin was so afraid that they were going to start the show without us. We found our seats and the show started.

It was GREAT! And Austin loved it. Well, all but the big T-Rex at the end of the show. He said that it scared him. There were loud roars, simulated volcanoes, fires, floods, plants, flowers, trees. And it was narrated by a "palentologist" so it was educational too. He told about the different periods and gave stats about the dinosaurs.

Throughout the show, he was cheering for the dinosaurs and kept saying that everyone was there for his birthday which was so cute. Here are some pictures from the show and of Austin at the show.

Happy 5th Birthday Austin!

Austin turned 5 years old and boy was his birthday eventful. We decided about a month ago to take Austin to see Walking with Dinosaurs on his birthday. We'd seen the commercials and Austin said that the dinosaurs were coming for his birthday. We didn't tell him until today that we were going to see the dinosaurs tonight.

Austin picked out his favorite shirt to wear today, his Keep Austin Weird shirt. Very appropriate. Our day started with a trip to the Dr. Hamm's office. I had really been talking the visit up and making sure he knew that he'd be getting shots. I told him that he'd get to stand on a scale to see how much he weighed, see how tall he was, and pee in a cup to which he responded "Ya hoo!" Even at the tender age of 5, the little man in him gets excited about peeing in a cup.

For the past few days, he'd been saying that he was going to be brave and not cry when he got the shots. The finger prick went OK. The shots, however, were a different story. The moment the nurse walked in carrying 4 shots he started asking questions. What are you doing? What are you going to do with that? I hate having to hold either of the kids down to get shots. It just feels like I'm torturing them. I know it's necessary, but I still feel bad.

I felt so bad that afterwards we went to the Dollar Tree. He picked out a bag of cotton candy, some Silly Putty, some bouncy floam stuff, a police car, and two balls (one for him and one for Andrew). Then we went to Publix to pick up some cookies to take to school for the kids snack in the afternoon.

Then Austin told me that he wanted to eat lunch with me. So, he and I went to Chick Fil A. I let him play and trade in his prize for an ice cream cone. I took him to school and when he walked into his class all the kids yelled "Happy Birthday Austin!"

I'll give more details about the dinosaurs later. Here are two pictures, one from April 4, 2004 and one from today. Happy 5th Birthday Austin! We love you!