6 year check up

We took Austin for his 6 year check up today. He kept asking me if he was going to get any shots. He was mostly confirming because he remembered the doctor saying last year that he wouldn't get any more until he was 12 years old. I assured him that there would be no shots.

Well, the nurse brought in the stuff to stick his finger and he came unglued. I can't blame him. Sometimes that hurts worse than a shot does. He cried some, but overall he was a trooper. He got to pee in a cup which was the highlight of the visit.

Austin weighed 43 pounds and is in the 25-50 percentile for weight. He is 46.5 inches tall and is in the 75th percentile for height.

Easter 2010

I remember growing up a few years where everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Everyone got up and was just upset with each other, got on each others nerves, etc. At the end of the day, there were no pictures of us in our fancy Easter clothes. This was our year.

We got up and did the Easter basket thing which went fine until Andrew got up and everything was "mine, mine, mine." Then we were rushing around getting ready for church. 8:30 a.m. is early for Mass on Sundays in general but especially on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately, our church doesn't have nursery on holidays which makes a long hour for parents. Austin was standing on the pew, sitting on the kneeler, etc. and Andrew just wanted to run around. By the end of Mass, we were all ready for communion to be finished and us to get out of there. Totally NOT how you should be on a Sunday and definitely not on Easter. This is the one picture of someone in their Easter best.

We came home, got out of our clothes, and the kids had some quiet time in their room. Gene and I had quiet time as well, reading the paper like an old married couple. Around lunch time, we went to Mom and Dennis' house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. Andrew finally got the hang of hunting eggs and Austin found the "prize" egg.

Happy 6th Birthday Austin!

Six years ago Austin came into the world! We're so blessed to have a crazy boy in our lives. Austin's such a joy and challenge all in one tiny package. He's destined to be a storm chaser and I'll be right there with him in tornado alley driving him around.

Austin's birthday started off with him opening presents. Since his birthday was on a Thursday, he had to open in a hurry so he could get ready for school. We got him a tee-ball tee, a bat and balls, a glove, and a soccer goal. He loves soccer and I think every little boy should know how to hit and catch a ball. He was excited about it all.

I told Austin that I'd be eating lunch with him that day at school. I told the teacher earlier in the week that I'd be there. The teacher asked me to be the mystery reader right before lunch time. I picked out 3 books and we were able to read all three. It was nice to be in the classroom with all the kids and to be at school with Austin. Sometimes, I hate working and not being able to participate more in the school stuff. Anyway, Austin had a great time showing me everything and picking out my treat (it was treat day at school).

Andrew's Easter par-tay

We are always busy around this time of year. Austin's birthday always falls around Easter. We usually do Austin's birthday, then Easter, then Gene's birthday, then Ella's birthday, then Andrew's birthday. Today was Andrew's Easter party at school. He was not happy when I got there. He wanted to go home. He was not thrilled to be going outside to hunt Easter eggs (the picture below says it all). He did look awfully cute in his sweater vest!
They hid Easter eggs on the playground and the kids were supposed to get 10 eggs each. Andrew was more interested in taking other kids baskets and dumping out the eggs.

Par-tay weekend!

This year we decided to have a friend birthday party and a family get togehter. Last night, we got together with my parents and my uncles to celebrate his birthday. I gave Austin the choice of doing something at home or going out. Of course, he picked the Chinese buffet. We met everyone at Austin's favorite place and came home after for cupcakes and to open presents.

This year, Austin wanted his party at McWane Center. We invited a ton of people, but only 7 showed up which was fine. The kids made slime, talked about polymers, we ate cake and opened presents. Then the kids were able to go through all the exhibits. Everyone had a great time!

Stalking my E-vite

Austin has been planning his birthday party for months. And a few weeks ago we sat down with his class directory and he picked the people he wanted to come to his birthday party. If you don't invite everyone in the class, then you have to send invitations another way.

Being all high-tech and all, I decided to send E-vites to those classmates Austin picked. What started out as a good idea has turned into a disaster. Originally, Austin invited around 10 kids from his class. As of last Sunday, only 1 kid said they were coming. ONE. Since sending the E-vite, I've been stalking it. Every day, multiple times a day, I view it to see if someone else has said that they are coming. After only ONE kid said he was coming, I sent the E-vite to everyone and a few of his friends from Bright Horizons.

Gene went with Austin and his class to the McWane Center (again) for a field trip yesterday. One of the other parents said that she was trying to RSVP but it wouldn't let her. Gene said she was making a motion like she was viewing it from her smart phone. So, after getting all high-tech, trying to save on paper invitations and postage, the whole concept didn't work.

I still have no idea how many kids are coming. As of right now, 6 kids have said they are coming. Which brings me to another soapbox. If you're not going to come, tell me. This is why I asked for a RSVP so I would know how many favors to have and if we'll need to increase the number we've reserved. And it's supposed to rain tomorrow so some will probably show up because there will be nothing else for them to do. It will be interesting to see how many actually come.

But, the good news is, Austin's girlfriend is coming. And Austin really won't mind having just a few friends there. They'll have a blast anyway!

1st real haircut

Andrew's hair is pretty thin and hasn't really grown a lot in his almost 2 years of life. But it's grown enough to need a little trim around the edges. I've trimmed it a few times around his ears, but he wouldn't really let me trim it in the front or in the back.

Gene and Austin needed haircuts so, while we were there, I decided to get Andrew's trimmed too. He did so well! He didn't move a lot while she was cutting it. Probably because he was sucking on a lolipop. Since it was a last minute decision to have it cut, I didn't have my camera with me so no pictures of the cut. But I did take a picture of the final product. And the barber shop gives certificates for 1st haircuts.

The tooth fairy visits

Last night, the tooth fairy came! Before Austin went to bed, he took the tooth out of the box the dentist gave him and was trying to decide where to leave the tooth. He wanted to make sure that the tooth fairy saw it. He thought about putting it under the pillow. I told him that when I was a kid I'd put my tooth in an envelope and put that under my pillow. That way the tooth wouldn't get lost under the pillow or fall in the crack between the headboard and the mattress.

Austin decided to leave the tooth on the dresser so the tooth fairy would be sure to see it. And she did! She left him $2 under his pillow and took the tooth with her. Austin came into our room this morning to wake us up and show us his money. He found $1 on the floor. I went into his room with him and he found the other one under the pillow. Wonder how that $1 got on the floor?

Austin's excited about losing his tooth. He's said that chocolate milk goes through the hole and he can't wait to see if a straw will fit in the hole.

Austin loses a tooth!

I was working from home the past 2 days because Andrew's been sick. Both days, I've gone to pick up Austin early from extended day at school. Today, when I picked him up, he said "Mommy, you know why I'm doing my lip like this?" I said, "No, why?" And he said, "Because my tooth is broken." At first I didn't believe him, but then I looked. And, in usual fashion, freaked out. I called the dentist and told them I was on the way.

Austin was a trooper through the whole thing. Of course, he asked questions about what they were going to do and what everything was. He even said, while under the gas, "I'm really brave."

This is a huge milestone, one that I didn't think we'd get to this soon. Austin has a bike wreck about a year ago and we'd been watching this tooth since then. It was pretty much dead but we wanted to hang onto it as long as we could, hopefully, until the permanent tooth came in.

Austin is excited about the tooth fairy coming tonight and telling his friends after Spring Break about his lost tooth. They have a tooth chart in the class and he's excited that he'll get to fill his name in.

I, on the other hand, am not all that excited. He's growing up and this is more confirmation of that. He doesn't look like the same little boy. He's a big boy, with a BIG hole in his smile. Makes me sad.

When the husband's away, the house goes nuts

Gene left early Wednesday morning for Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. Usually, when Gene's gone whether it's working late or out of town, we are under a tornado warning and the tornado takes aim at our neighborhood. There were different things that happened this trip.

1. We've had rain. And when I say rain, I mean RAIN. For a solid 36 hours. Roads have flooded, roofs have leaked (I hope ours hasn't...Gene will be up in the attic in the morning to check it out).

2. Andrew got sick. He woke up yesterday morning with a 101 fever and then this morning it was 102. This child NEVER gets sick and he picked this week, while Gene was gone, to have his first real illness. I took him to the doctor and luckily it's nothing major. Just a respiratory virus. But, I did get him weighed while we were there. Andrew weighs 30 pounds. He's a big one.

3. And, finally, Austin lost his first tooth. I'm going to write another post dedicated to his first tooth being lost. Of course, there's always a story to go with it!

1st real phone call

Austin has talked to me on the phone before. Like if Gene's on the phone in the car of if I call home and Austin answers. But, today, he actually called me! He was at a neighbor's house and called to make sure it was OK that he was over there. He said "Is it fine for you? For me to be here?" I told him yes and thanked him for calling me to let me know.

Austin will be 6 years old 3 weeks from today. He's growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that 6 years ago I was VERY pregnant and so ready to have a beautiful baby boy. We had no idea what was in store for us having a baby, a toddler, a pre-schooler, and now an elementary schooler. It's amazing how Austin's grown into this very handsome, very smart, very curious, storm chasing wannabe little boy.

Weather day

Today, James Spann visited the elementary school. Austin was so excited. He even wore his I love tornadoes t-shirt which was completely accidental. I asked Austin if James Spann like his t-shirt and he said yes. He also told me that he wished he could come over to our house to watch his tornado movies.

2010 Kindergarten Picture

I had completely forgot that class pictures were on this particular day. Until we got the school picture in his take home folder a month or so later. So there Austin is, in the front row, with his "I love tornadoes" t-shirt, a pair of "comfy pants" and a turtleneck.

Dr. Suess week

This week was Dr. Suess week at school. All week, the kids did something different and read different Dr. Suess book. Today, Austin got the cutest post card from his teacher. She's always so creative and thoughtful. She found Dr. Suess post cards and wrote Austin a little note.

1st real sentence

Andrew's been saying two or three word sentences for a while now. Things like "Bye bye Mommy" or "No Mommy." But, today, Andrew said his first real sentence at school.

Andrew loves his Elmo book and insisted on taking it into school this morning. When a friend tried to take his book from him, Andrew said "No, my Elmo book." The teachers were so proud that he used his words to tell his friend no instead of using his hands or biting. We haven't had trouble with Andrew biting (so far) so this was great news!

Long time, no post

Sorry for not posting recently! Things have been crazy around the house. And, really, there's not a ton to report. Here are a few highlights from the last month or so.

- Andrew calls roll every day. And by calling roll I mean he says someone's name and waits until we say where that person is. For example, Andrew will say "Ella" and we'll say "She's at home." He adds new people every few days.

- Austin's doing much better in school. We got his progress report the other day and he's progressed a lot since the fall. We're so proud of him! Austin's also reading a lot more. A few weeks ago his teacher sent home a few books with full sentences in them. He and I both opened the books and said "Wow! There are a lot of words!"

- Andrew's saying a ton of things. So many things that I can't remember them all. He knows all the names of his friends at school. He also knows more signs! He knows the sign for shoe and they are working on the sign for fish.

- Last week, Gene and Austin were in the bathroom brushing Austin's teeth. Austin asked Gene, "Daddy, why does the mirror do what I do?" After laughing a little, Gene told Austin that was what mirrors do, show people what they are doing. How do you explain reflection to an almost 6 year old?

Snow Day 2010

We had a snow day in the 'ham today! For kids who live in Alabama, it's quite the scene. The schools closed 1/2 day so I sat in car pool for 30 minutes to pick Austin then double back to get Andrew from day care. Austin and Gene built a snowman! I didn't have a carrot so they tried a cucumber but it didn't work. The ended up just knocking it over. But the kids had a great time!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We had a great New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (except for Gene spending most of New Year's Eve hauling my car to and from two different shops but that's another story).


Our New Year's Eve tradition is doing fondue. This was Gene's New Year's Day tradition growing up and when we started dating we made it our New Year's Eve tradition. It's great because you spend time cooking and talking. It's work, but well worth it. Most of the time, we feed the kids first and then do the fondue after they go to bed. This year, Austin wanted to stay up later so we fed both of them, put Andrew to bed, and Austin hung out with us while we did fondue. He didn't try anything, but he helped cook the food.


Before we had dinner, we went outside and shot some fireworks. We don't do much, but the kids don't know any different. We always have sparklers and a "grand finale" firework. We took Andrew outside too and he enjoyed it. We didn't get anything that had really loud pops so he wasn't really scared. Andrew's favorite was the snap pops. We'd throw them on the ground and he would stomp on them to make them pop.

5 days of Christmas

Our Christmas was full of family, food, presents, and fun! We had 5 days of Christmas, literally. Every time Austin opened something he'd say "This is what I've always wanted!" Andrew was a little confused throughout the whole thing, but he'll get the hang of Christmas next year.



We started our Christmas celebration on the 23rd with Nea and Dede. The kids got many cool things and they had a great time playing with Ella.




Our 2nd Christmas was with Grandma and Grandpa on the 24th and with Santa on the 25th. Austin got a remote control dinosaur. Andrew has discovered dinosaurs and LOVES Austin's gift!



Christmas Eve was fun! Austin's at a great age because he was so excited about Santa coming. After much convincing, he finally fell asleep and Santa came. Christmas morning, Austin ran into our room and said "Mommy, Daddy. Santa came! And he left toys! Come, come, come!" We came down the steps and he saw everything he asked for under the main tree. Everything, but his bike and helmet. Santa left that next to the kids tree in the playroom. Austin went into the playroom and turned on the tree and said "WOW! It's not the one I wanted, but yea!" Santa was good to both kids. From Santa, Austin got some Bendaroos, Pixos, Legos, a new bike and helmet. Andrew got a shopping cart, a giraffe learning bike, an Elmo and Elmo steering wheel.

We got Austin some tornado/weather stuff (a book, a movie, and an "I love tornados" t-shirt). Austin opened the shirt and saw it was just a box and said "Mommy, next year just get me toys." I told him that he would like what was inside the box and, of course, he did.

On the 26th, we did Christmas with Nonna and Papa. Papa made Andrew a much needed bigger toybox. Austin got a storm chaser jr. t-shirt and an autographed picture of Reed Timmer. (For those of you who don't know, Reed is an extreme meteorologist on Storm Chasers). Austin loved it! He's put the picture in his room.


Our 5th and final Christmas was with Gene's brother. Austin got a new Sorry Sliders game which is pretty fun. We've already played it a few times and Austin loves it!

Our little shepherd

Our church has a children's Christmas Eve Mass where there is a children's choir and the kids perform the Christmas story. This year, Austin was a shepherd. His only job was to come into the church and point at the star and then when the Angel Gabriel came to kneel. Very simple.

I was a little afraid because the church was packed with people and Austin gets a little shy in front of a large crowd. But, he performed his part wonderfully!