Waller Harris Austin

Kitty finally gave birth Waller Harris Austin on August 18 - nearly 2 weeks late.  He was 20 in, 8 lbs 13 oz of sweet boy (I guessed he would be 8.14...so close!).  We were so excited to meet Jude's first cousin!

Jude met him a few days later after he got over a little cold.  He appropriately welcomed him to the family by head butting him, and yanking his arm.  What a sweet big cousin.

July/August Stuff

Of course I am a month and half behind on this blog!  It's going to be the death of me.  Have I mentioned how hard it is keeping this thing updated - it's hard!  Who finds time to work, take care of a kid and husband, do household chores, spend time with friends...eat?  A year and a half into this whole motherhood thing, and I still don't feel like I have any balance.  It's worth it of course, but lots of things fall by the wayside, and as long as it's not time spent with Jude or Lonnie, I think I'm doing ok.

So, to speed up catching up...here's what we did in July and beginning of August.  I thought I'd just get down and dirty with the title of this blog...keeping it real!

We thought Jude might be old enough to enjoy a visit to Gattiland - we were right!  He loved the cuisine - we call him a little guido because he loves everything Italian - pizza, spaghetti, lasagna. 

We knew he'd love this.  A little carousel.

I think I've mentioned his obsession with driving.

We also headed to Eastern Parkway & Bardstown Road, where they have live music in the Summer.  Here's Jude just relaxing and listening to music.

Just some cute pictures.  Look a tall those teeth.  He looks like such a boy!

Hanging out at the Zoo and spending his first time in the petting zoo.

Playing with new toys.

Trying corn on the cob.

And there you have it!

4th of July

I love the 4th of July.  It's such a throw-back holiday, that holds so much nostalgia...especially when you have a little one.  I remember 4th of July as a kid - it was usually at the lake, with close friends and family, with s'mores, sparklers, and lots of fireworks.  Since Lonnie and I are not big lake people, we knew we'd have to do something a little different for our 4th of July's.  We don't have a tradition just yet, but so far we're doing just fine changing it up every year.  This 4th of July, Lonnie had to work during the day.  So, Jude, my mom, sister and me, spent the day together. 

What could be more American than starting the day with a Happy Meal?

This...spending the day at an Old Fashioned 4th of July picnic.  We saw old cars.

Loving some watermelon.

Unfortunately, those are all the pictures I took at the picnic.  But, Jude played musical instruments, we looked at arts and crafts, watched a unique dog show, and ate lots of great food.  We went home and took a nap, then headed out for part 2 - at the baseball field!

Now the baseball field has a carousel, and this was the first time Lonnie and I had taken him on one (K Pa had taken him a couple times before at the zoo).  Now, I admit this child is completely spoiled.  But, this was a sight to see.  Jude didn't go on the carousel once or twice, but four times, because he loved it so much.  

Here he is with me.

With Daddy.

With K Pa.

And with Mimi.

On our way to our seats.  He gets wearing his sunglasses at nighttime from his Dad.

One of his favorite things -- when you ask Jude where his belly is, this is what he does.

And watching his first fireworks show.

It was a beautiful day and night.  I had such fun with Jude and our family.  It's so wonderful to celebrate holidays with your child.  To see how everything is so new and exciting to them, makes it a little more exciting for you too. 

Visit to Tennessee

At the end of June, we went to Tennessee to hang out with the Gardners and McKisic's.  Lonnie Sr's mom (Jude's great grandma) was having a big birthday party, so we went down to celebrate and spend time with family.  We started the day hanging out with Darlene's side of the family - cousins, aunts and uncles and great grandpa - who hadn't met Jude yet.  Grandpa is Darlene's dad, and is such a pistol.  He's almost 80, take no medications, gets around great, talks your head off (especially about what to eat - absolutely no pork or crabs), and is such a pleasure to be around.  He reminds me so much of our Momma D.  He has such a kind, gentle soul, and takes such delight in spending time with his loved ones.  Aunt Rhonda was there too, and man can she cook!  She came over with a SUV full of yummy food.  Those Tennessee ladies know how to cook. 

Jude had 3 plates of spaghetti!!

Three generations.

Daddy with his beautiful girls.

Jude with lots of family.

Strolling with Momma D and Granddaddy.

The best cousins ever!

All together now.

The siblings with Daddy.

With the grandkids and great-grandkids

With the ladies.

And the men.

 

We had such a fabulous day with our family.  Jude was exhausted.  But the fun continued at Margie's birthday party.

 The only picture of the birthday girl.  She hates her picture being taken...clearly.

 Her lovely cake.

It was a dual celebration...she was celebrating retirement too!

And this guy was done.  He went without a nap for 8 hours.  He slept the whole way home.

We all had such a great day spending time with our Tennessee family.  We wish we could see them more!!

What Makes Mommy Happy

Sweet Jude, how I wish I could give you a potion to make you stop growing and keep you my little man forever.  I wish I could take and hold onto snapshots of every moment in time with you.  It's so ridiculous how much I love you and I want you to be a little boy forever.  Daddy's the same way.  I see him sneak hundreds of kisses to you and he asks me all the time "Don't you wish he would stay this way forever?"  Yes!  Lately, I've been trying to think of all of the 'sweet' things you do, and there are millions of those.  I wanted to try and capture the things we have been doing lately that I never want to forget.

1. Stealing you from your crib at night -
We'll do bathtime, watch our little Sprout shows, and after 45 minutes of calming cartoons and snuggling, you're still not tired!  Usually around 9:30, we'll go to your room, turn out the lights, listen to your green frog (aka alien) sing us nighttime songs, snuggle with Bunny and try to get sleepy.  I put you to bed and you're usually wide awake, and still excited from the day, but you do eventually drift off to sleep after 15 - 20 minutes.  Then the fun begins.  Right before I go to bed, I'll go in your room and steal you gently from your crib and transfer you into bed with me.  I'll stare at you and touch your nose and pet your belly, and then eventually fall asleep as intertwined as I can possible be with you.  Then Daddy comes to bed and sometimes will put you back in your crib, but usually he keeps you in there with us and he makes sure you have as much room as you need to be comfortable.  Oftentimes, that results in Daddy laying perpendicular to me or halfway off the bed.  You'll wake up sometime between 3 - 5am, and will sit straight up in bed and start nudging one of us.  Then I'll usually scoop you up, give you a paci, and lay you back in your own crib for the rest of the night.  This process is definitely not the best way for any of us to get a good night's rest, but we love having you close to us at night.

2. Kisses -
You are very temperamental when it comes to kisses (or hugs), but when you do decide you want to give Mommy a kiss, you go in with mouth wide open.  You always laugh hysterically afterwards.  I love your silly kisses.

3. Driving the car -
I know that sounds dangerous, but we do not turn on the engine, and someone is always in the car with you.  You LOVE opening the car door (when you can reach it) crawling in the driver's seat and saying vroom vroom.  Daddy will turn on some music, and you'll turn it up and down, play with all the cool controls and act like a racecar driver.  It's always so terrible when we take you out of the car, because you have a complete meltdown.  You also try getting into strangers' cars to drive -- my little car thief.

4. Hide-n-Seek/Bye Bye -
You love to play your own little version of hide-n-seek where you say "bye bye" as you shut your bedroom door.  Mommy or Daddy will try to hide somewhere in your room and then you come back in looking for us.  It's amazing how easy things are so complex to a toddler!  Jude - we hide in the same spot almost every time, and you still have trouble finding us at times!  It's precious (but I'm sure a little scary) when you start whimpering because you can't find us.  We always come out right away when that happens to put you at ease.  Big smiles always follow when you "find" us and usually a big hug.  It always makes me feel so special to see you so excited to find me.

5. Dancing! -
You are the best dancer I have ever seen little guy.  You almost...almost!...have rhythm.  ANY time you hear music, you do this cute little wiggle with your upper body from side to side.  You love spinning in circles and pumping your arms up and down, all while having the BIGGEST grin on your face.  You also clap with the music most times, but you always make sure you clap when the song is over.  You are so appreciative of a good song or dance.

6. Hiding when you poo - 
That's not something we do together, but it cracks me up.  You'll mysteriously disappear from a room and I'll find you in the next room hanging out in a corner grunting and pushing away.  You like your privacy, and I always know when you are leaving to do it. 


That last one's TMI, but one that I want to remember.  So, ignore it if you don't want to know about J's poo.

That's what's got me all googley eyed for you Jude as of late.  I LOVE YOU and everything that you do (even when you hit me and love pinch me).  Please stay my little man for just a bit longer.

Mommy time

I had a little time off from work, and spent some weekday fun with the little guy.

Started the day right - hanging out in diaps and t-shirt.

Quick trip to the Zoo to play on the playground.

Then to the park.

Then back home to a little bit of cleaning.  As I vacuum, Jude finds his golf bag, or this toy with wheels and helps me out by doing his own vacuuming.  Such a sweet helper. 

I LOVE my time off spending one on one time with baby.  It's so much fun, I just wish I could do it more often!

Boxing

Lonnie found some old boxing gloves, and tried to get Jude to put them on and practice his skills.  Next Muhammad Ali, right?