Ludshuk Family Blog

Austin's 3rd Birthday

2010-03-05T21:27:00.004-06:00

This is the backwards post of Austin's Birthday... although, this first picture has nothing to do with it.... it's just funny that kids and cats are both attracted to getting into empty boxes.

This being the backwards post (because I haven't posted in so long that I forgot how)... we begin after the presents have been opened. Kaleb and Austin are playing his new Wac-a-mole game.

Jim is demonstrating how to use Austin's new car seat..... fascinating isn't it?

He really got into unwrapping this year.

The pile of loot

Austin and his cousin Kaden. Kaden is very good to Austin and they are great friends!

The train expo was held again on Austin's birthday, and see from his expression how much he enjoyed it.

Again, unrelated.... he likes to sit in the laundry basket and pile it full of other things.... balls, pillows, blankets.... whatever. Kind of fun.

2010-01-20T22:01:00.002-06:00

Union Pacific Rail Road Museum

These are some displays at the NE/IA railroaders club. Open to the public on Saturdays

This last one is Austin's "special train" he got for xmas. We've put it on a board and he loves to switch out the rail cars. He's quite good at it.

Let It Snow

2009-12-25T21:25:00.002-06:00

It's been snowing for over 24 hours and continues as I type. We had snow drifts nearing 3 ft tall.

Fortunately for me, the whole family helped did us out.

Christmas

2009-12-25T20:59:00.005-06:00

Most of my adult life I've been a bit of a Scrooge around Christmas and although I still not a huge fan, experiencing it though a 3 y/o eyes sure can be alot of fun. This year, again, our Christmas was filled with trains.

Santa stayed a little longer to set up a model train for Austin

Austin is learning to be careful with the "special" train.

He got a ton of Thomas stuff too.

One happy little conductor, he played with it all day.

These are just totally cute on him

Happy Boy!

Santa's Winter Wonderland

2009-12-23T19:40:00.003-06:00

We had seen an advertisement for Santa's Winter Wonderland at Bass Pro Shop. We had never been there, but knew there was a train, so we headed out. Here is the photographic evidence. Please forgive Austin's crazy hair, his hair was wet when we put his hat on.

The poor deer whose lives were sacrificed to make a neat looking landscape for Bass Pro Shop.

We found remote control Monster Trucks...

Nerf gun target practice....

And Austin's favorite..... the TRAIN!!! He wanted nothing to do with Santa Clause, so you will find no picture with Santa.... who wants Santa when there's a train nearby!

They had this HUGE fireplace by the entrance. I thought it was awesome!

We have about 2 pictures from 2009 of all three of us. Unfortunately, I chose this day to go out without make-up and I didn't touch my hair.

Playing in the elevator. We were there for several hours.... lots of fun!

Future NFL Star!

2009-11-01T20:33:00.002-06:00

Loess Hills

2009-10-26T15:57:00.005-06:00

The Loess Hills Scenic Byway traverses western Iowa through the forest covered bluffs. We decided to take a trip out that way and see what there was to see.

A free tractor museum in Missouri Vally.

Lot of trails to explore

We picked a bad day to go. It was rainy and overcast. This is the best view we got.

Fun with Daddy!

2009-09-25T14:26:00.002-06:00

Doesn't every little boy like to climb on daddy?

Saying "ME!" after daddy asks "Who's daddy's favorite little boy?"

Showing daddy his "mad face"

Showing off

You've gotta rest after all that fun!

Cool Park

2009-09-25T14:22:00.002-06:00

We found this neat park in Council Bluffs that is right by the river, and incidentally, right across the river from Eppley Airfield. So, you can sit and watch the boats while the planes fly right over your head before they land. Pretty cool.

Pretty Place

Black Hills-Going Home

2009-09-25T14:04:00.003-06:00

Finally, I am done! Now I can update more recent things. It only took me 4 months to get it done!

Black Hills-Day IV (almost done)

2009-09-25T13:35:00.005-06:00

Well, apparently in my absence from blogging, I have forgotten how to put the pictures up in order.... so they are completely messed up. I usually would have fixed it, but then I decided that none of you really care. So, here is day 4, completely out of order.

Here is Crazy Horse. Rather impressive. You can see it from the road (as this picture shows) or pay an extraordinary amount to see it up close. We chose the road, although I understand the visitor's center is really quite nice.

The weekend we were in the Black Hills, they were doing some celebration, where you could do all of this free stuff.... including entrance to Custer State Park, and a hay-rack ride where we were serenaded by this guy. We drove through the wildlife preserve while this guy sang us folk songs. It was fun!

Austin did have fun, but he just looks tired here.

It was slightly chilly.

Waiting for the ride.

They also had a free pancake breakfast. After we ate Austin, Papa and I went on an impromptu hike around a lake.

In the middle of day 4, we were tired and went back to the cabin to rest for a few hours. Our vacations are pretty packed full of activities... so rest is rare.

Earlier that week, Jim bought a rubber dart gun (at the expense of his glasses, but that's another story). During our rest at the cabin, Austin and daddy shot darts at us from the loft in the cabin. Very stealthy.

We saw big horned sheep that day, I hear they are rare.

Buffalo in Custer State Park.

We attempted a pony ride.... I say attempt because Austin was not happy. The next picture in our archive shows him crying his eyes out.... I didn't put that one in.

More Summer Fun

2009-08-08T20:51:00.003-06:00

Living history at Fort Atkinson: Blacksmiths, and it was hot that day too!

Tractors!!!

displayed at the Sarpy County Fair in Springfield

He's pointing out the next one he wants to sit on

Austin wasn't a big fan of the Carnival rides. This one was quite jerky.

A couple of wind blown boys

Black Hills-Day III

2009-07-31T18:04:00.006-06:00

This was our hiking day. Mama and Papa offered to watch Austin while Jim and I went on a hike. We went to Harney's Peak, which (if I remember correctly) is the highest peak between the Rocky Mountains and the Swiss Alps.

Here's the starting line. It was roughly a 7 mile hike, roundtrip.

If you zoom in on this picture, you can see our destination.

We passed the cathedral spires on our way. It was quite amazing to be looking down upon them!

My mountain man, on top of the spires.

The first half of our hike was virtually deserted. We took the path less traveled on. There had been a wind storm the previous day, and we had to hike over several fallen trees.

While hiking we passed this sign. We had to sign a card and leave it at the entrance letting them know how many were in our party. That seemed sort of ominous to me.

Made it to the top!

It was freezing cold and windy up there... so we didn't stay long. This is Jim trying to speed up the process of leaving.

View from the top.

Look out tower.

So, while we were hiking... Mama and Papa took Austin to see the 1880 train depart. Well, it was their lucky day and they were offered a complementary train ride! I guess Austin had a great time. I'm sort of sad we missed it!

The train engine.

Happy little boy!

After we reunited, we went this place called "The purple pie" for lunch. They had homemade pie, that Jim said is some of the best he's had. He's a tough critic, so I figure it must have been good. This is their little mascot.

"The Purple Pig"

I think there are more pictures from this day that I forgot to add... but I will add them to day four..... our last day in the hills.

A Day Out With Thomas

2009-07-22T19:47:00.004-06:00

Thomas visited Fremont, a larger town outside of Omaha. While Mommy was at work, Austin and Daddy went to see the cheeky little engine.

It started with an exciting ride on a schools bus.

We saw Thomas at a RR crossing and coming into the station

They had an impressive assortment of free activities for the children. Pulling Austin away from the train tables was like taking a bone away from a dog.

Inflatables are always a hit.

He wasn't in the car for 5 minutes before he was out.

Black Hills-Day II

2009-07-17T08:32:00.010-06:00

Wow! Day 2 was a busy day, and since it was our first day there, we have LOTS of pictures. Hope I don't bore y0u.

Austin was always ready to go long before the rest of us. He would insist on putting on his shoes and would run out to the car and wait for us.

Austin is a runner. He runs and runs. This little hike around Sylvan Lake was a great opportunity for him to do just that.

Sylvan Lake

We finally caught up to him

Part of the path around the lake

Awwww...

Two bumps on a log

Top of the world

We found this really fun rock with a peep hole in it

Austin did not find it as fun as we did

The Needles Highway. Being the off-season, the roads were almost deserted. That allowed us to take pictures like these.

I love this picture.

The cathedral spires

Jim liked having his picture taken with the wildlife. There are deer in the background

Is that wildlife?

Um, Hello. He is not as close as it looks. He's actually right outside the car door and could hop back in if necessary.

Antelope

These donkeys were clearly used to handouts. They held up every car that passed.

Including ours.

Mount Rushmore from far away on Iron Mountain Road

We stopped to have lunch. We were a bit silly and tired. Austin is sleeping in the car.

Tunnel with Rushmore in the background

Iron Mountain Road has lots of fun Hair-pin turns

This is the entrance to Rushmore.

Here we are!

We went on the little hike in the area. It has hundreds of stairs, which Austin insisted on doing by himself.

From below

Eventually, Austin complained about his feet hurting. He kept going though.

We ended the day with ice cream in Keystone. A great day!

Black Hills - Finally!

2009-07-15T16:46:00.004-06:00

Back in May we took a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota with "Mama and Papa" (LeAnna's parents). Here is the evidence!

DAY I - The Drive

I have been putting this off for months because it seemed like such a big project. I am going to break it down into days on the trip.

We made a lot of stops on the way to allow Austin to run around a bit. This is the falls in Sioux Falls, SD. Really a beautiful little park. Reminds us of the potholes in Mass.

Forgive the scrubs.. we were traveling.

Austin got to wear his favorite Thomas Pajamas the whole day!

Don't they look thrilled!

Next stop was the corn palace in Mitchell, SD. Every year they decorate the building with thousands of colorful corn husks. It sounds silly, but it is impressive.

Rock.

This is Zeke. Austin did not like Zeke. I left that picture out.

But Mama liked Zeke!

This lady was hanging out in Wall Drug in Wall, SD. Jim was very glad to find her.

Finally arrived at our beautiful cabin. It was steal because we went in the off season. Heavy winds when we arrived though. More later!

Roses

2009-07-15T16:41:00.003-06:00

I was attempting to mow the lawn. (Unsuccessfully due to the mower running no more than 20 seconds at a time) Jim came home with Austin. Jim called my name and I turned to see my little Austin holding a bouquet of flowers out to me! My dear Jim bought me a dozen roses, for no reason at all!

My photography leaves much to be desired, but you get the idea.

Summer time Fun

2009-06-28T11:21:00.004-06:00

And it's not even July yet

Austin's first real taste of fireworks. He feel asleep last year.

Waiting for them to begin. Austin's not really as mad as he looks.

We finally made it to "Around the Bend" a steak house in rural Nebraska. We had heard good things about it, and ordered this 36 oz "steak for two". It was not as great as we had heard.

Went to Elkhorn Days. This train ride was a highlight of the activities.

Jim had heard of a military convoy coming to Gretna, so we went to check it out.

LeAnna attempting to fly a kite. Didn't go too well.

TRAINS!!!

2009-06-28T10:45:00.004-06:00

This was a BIG day for a little boy that **LOVES** trains. Union Pacific sponsored this day where 5 locations had train exhibits and activities. $10 for a whole family and shuttles to each museum. While Mommy was at work, Daddy and Austin went to play.

Mark and his kids caught up a little later

Guess what Austin's first word was when he awoke the next morning.

What a Weekend!

2009-06-14T21:14:00.006-06:00

We played all weekend. No work, few chores, no projects.

The Hochstettler family left us this weekend, we had one last summer get together before they pushed off. We'll miss you guys.

mmmm...

Stopped in Springfield to see the Jerks (Soda Jerks) at Springfield Drug. The Old Fashioned Soda Fountain is worth the short trip. Sadly, Austin missed it, he was snoozing in the car.

Snow Patrol and Coldplay at the Quest Center. Both are very talented groups and delivered a great performance.

Because we're out late at the show, Daddy and Austin when to Mahoney State Park while Mommy caught a nap. We played for hours, saw kites and even fed horses. Austin got his nap on the way home.

Unexpectedly, Mark's family invited us along to revisit the footbridge. Sure glad they did. It was a blast.

Lots of fun times at the playground at the Iowa side.

A nearby tree fell victim of our antics. Kaden's contribution to the above shot makes it a real winner.

We came unprepared for this fountain park but our little boy had the time of his life. He played and played. Soaked to the bone, wet and overstimulated, it was difficult to tare him away. Watching him, we had almost as much fan as he did. We'll go back for sure.

A few videos from this weekend

2009-06-14T20:31:00.008-06:00

Playground FAIL

WATER!!!!

Getting Wet

Footbridge & Heartland of America Park

2009-05-30T12:05:00.005-06:00

The Omaha riverfront area has lots to offer a little family like ours. The new footbridge to Iowa was impressive.

Running ahead, a common sight for us.

He slept good that night.

This photo is worth explaining. Throughout the walk around the lake, we came across these lights that were about Austin's height. He found it necessary to roar at each one. I guess he showed them who's boss.

Thomas Live

2009-05-30T12:01:00.002-06:00

We went to Lincoln to see our favorite little engine. Our favorite little boy was enamored.

1st National Bank Branch Grand opening

2009-05-30T11:52:00.003-06:00

A new branch opened up near us. We celebrated with a free pancake breakfast, an inflatable, fire trucks, balloons, face painting and an animal show-and-tell with a huge snake, kangaroo and others. We also saw Lil' Red and got a ride on a golf cart.

Extra Stuff

2009-05-24T12:37:00.003-06:00

A few extra things... none that call for their own blog entry, so I'll throw them all together.

Austin crawled into this papasan chair (that I've had since I was 16) to be with daddy. We thought it was pretty cute.

Austin loves music and loves to sing. This is Mama and Austin singing and playing the piano together.

My mom got this basket from my brother for mother's day. Boston was the first to make use of it.

Austin loves play-dough, but he doesn't actually play with it. He just wants you to take the lids off and he identifies the colors.

We went one Saturday to the cat room at the humane society. A dozen cats seeking love and affection, Austin was in heaven.

This little gray cat was our favorite.... but 2 is enough.

We no longer give Austin an official nap because he won't sleep at night if we do. Sometimes he insists on it. We find him sleeping in some interesting places from time to time.

Cute little guy

Platte River State Park

2009-05-19T07:45:00.005-06:00

On my birthday we went for a hike in Platte River State Park. This was good preparation for our upcoming vacation to the Black Hills.

We spent a lot of time playing in the dandelions. It was a lot of fun. Austin loved this part, but didn't quite get it. He would blow while he shook the dandelion and held it out from him. This did succeed in losing the seeds, but the blowing was not helping.

This is our attempt to get a good picture of our little 2 year old. He did not cooperate.

On top of the tower. Austin didn't like it very much.

Walking down. He has to do everything by himself.

Here's the little waterfall!

Lauritzen Gardens

2009-05-10T19:55:00.004-06:00

The day before my birthday, the local "Botanical Garden" had a kids day. I don't know that it is a great garden, but Austin had a great time running around.

We are currently learning colors and the flowers were very helpful.

Bright Sun

Austin loved the fountains in the indoor garden area. He ran back and forth between the fountains.

Doesn't take much to please this little guy!

Gotta have Duckie (that's the blanket he carries everywhere). I keep telling myself it's better than a pacifier.

He loves water. Good picture.

More color identification.

Running

Jim took this one, obviously the vines have not yet grown, but great shot of my bum!

Showing daddy the water.

There was an amazing outdoor train set-up. The entire thing was built with natural materials. You can see the track was raised with tree branches and the trunk of the tree is where the track lays. Austin loved watching the trains. There were at least a dozen trains going back and forth. He would have stayed all day.

They had made replicas of famous or historic Omaha buildings. Very cool.

The First National Tower, and the Woodmen.

Not quite as fond of the big train, he was a bit scared.

This is "big boy". I think it's the biggest steam engine built. Taken out of use in the 70's.

Easter!

2009-04-12T11:22:00.003-06:00

Austin is a huge fan of stickers and of course the Easter Bunny know this. He was so mesmerized by the basket, in order to eat his breakfast, we had to feed it to him.

Speaking of Breakfast, Daddy's contribution was to make Banana Pancakes along with eggs and bacon before church. Yummy!

Daddy's Day Off

2009-04-01T14:17:00.007-06:00

Jim took the day off, and we took advantage of the nice weather, and our new zoo pass and went to the zoo. This first picture is actually at the end of our trip, so we are all pretty tired.

The bears were definitely the highlight of our trip. This sun bear was being fed cauliflower. Austin thought it was hilarious and was laughing like crazy. The crowd kept looking at him because he was laughing so hysterically.

Too bad we don't have sound.

The Polar Bear put on a nice show as well.

He was swimming and playing. The kids would line up in front of the window and the bear swam right up next to them. Austin had a great spot! Check out the video below.

Austin was so interested in this gong, that we had a hard time getting him to pose with the animal statues.

He's a little upset here, I guess you could say he's the gorilla

Two stubborn boys and a rhino

We're pointing to the elephants eyes.

Shoes

2009-03-16T07:44:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, there isn't much going on around here.

Austin has decided it is fun to wear our shoes around the house. You can see how pleased he is with himself in the video.

CARS

2009-02-20T09:01:00.002-06:00

It all started when we pulled out our "cat movie" which is a bunch of videos of animals and bugs designed to entertain kitties. And entertain it does. In these two pictures, Boston is attacking the animals on our T.V. Well, since that day, Boston has taken up permanent residence on top of the T.V. whenever it is on.

As you probably know, Austin loves the movie CARS. He watches it whenever he can. Well, now CARS has become a family affair.

Boston's gripped!

2009-02-19T12:11:00.001-06:00

Austin with his cake and candles on his birthday

Birthday, Part III - presents!

2009-02-06T18:52:00.002-06:00

Much to our surprise, Austin finally figured out how to open his own presents. In fact, he didn't care what was inside, he just loved ripping up the paper.

Here's a fine Goodwill purchase

Austin received a remote control car from Uncle John and Aunt Tamara. He had a great time playing with it!

Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures of the cake candle blowing or eating. My parents will have to post those on their blog (hint, hint)

Birthday, Part II

2009-02-04T17:40:00.002-06:00

It was really amazing to see what some people had created with their train collections. These first two pictures are of the display that Jim and I thought was "best of show". It had amazing detail and was set up beautifully. The pictures don't do it justice.

The bridge on the left of the picture above, swung out to allow boats to pass. Awesome!

See the little sharks in the train car?

Still a happy boy! (Excessive drool is due to acquisition of two bottom teeth, not the happiness)

Birthday, Part I - Train Expo

2009-02-04T17:13:00.004-06:00

For Austin's 2nd Birthday, we took him to a train expo in Council Bluffs. This ended up being people's personal train collections that they set up for the kids and adults to see. Some of them were extremely elaborate. Austin loved it!

He even discovered several Thomas The Tank Engine trains running around.

He would have stayed at this display all day.

This is exhibit was my favorite. They put it together on the floor and it was surrounded by children just sitting and watching the trains go by.

We have one happy boy on our hands.

One of the owners of the trains came over to sit by us and let Austin push the button to make the train whistle. The black train you see in the video is the one he owned. It was very nice of him to make Austin's day like that!

Bubbles

2009-01-30T12:05:00.002-06:00

Austin has become quite fond of our bubble machine. He will soak the entire basement until he runs out of bubbles.

Snow

2009-01-14T14:15:00.003-06:00

A big thank you to Grandma Baxter for the snow suit. Although he does not enjoy putting it on, it pays off in the cold snow. Austin likes to hang out with us while we shovel the driveway. He hasn't quite figured out how to play in the snow, but will stomp on piles.

Rare Moments

2009-01-14T13:36:00.002-06:00

Well, I guess what's rare about the first shot is that I am attempting to be artsy with photography. What's really happening is that boston is hiding behind the flowers because Austin is chasing him... that is not at all rare unfortunately.

Austin has suddenly decided to smile for the camera!

Austin is not a snuggler, but we are sneaky. He loves the movie CARS, so if you put on the movie when he's tired, he will snuggle up with you.

Boston and Brady are very loving and want a lot of attention from us, but they do not snuggle with eachother. so, this is a rare moment.

Christmas

2008-12-26T16:36:00.002-06:00

Santa was aware of the economy this year, and did most of his shopping on Craigslist. When Santa shops at Craigslist, he gets much more than is necessary for the same price. Austin's big Santa gift was a train table complete with a "Thomas the tank Engine" track and two dozen engines. Here is some photographic evidence of our Christmas.

Santa preparing to set up track in his new Wii pajamas!

Here it is... ready for one little Austin.

The big Thomas is a storage container that is holding another 12 engines.

Austin loved it!

He gravitated toward Thomas and Percy right away, but later enjoyed Toby as well. He even started singing Toby's song from the sing-along dvd.

Santa also came up with way too many toy cars. Austin wasn't even interested in unwrapping anything.... so many things to play with.

Austin got 72 cars for Christmas, most are pictured here. This is in addition to the couple dozen he already had. CRAZY SANTA!

All that playing makes a boy pretty tired by the end of the day

Christmas Videos

2008-12-26T16:19:00.004-06:00

Here are our Christmas videos. The first one is quite long, but it is of Austin walking in to see Santa's gift for the first time. Too bad we don't have sound, he repeated the word "Thomas" over and over. Very cute!

Our videos may not be that exciting, but we had one happy kid who played with his trains all day long. Good job Santa.

Snow Day

2008-12-26T16:07:00.005-06:00

The last day of school before Christmas break was a snow day for every kid in the city. I also happened to have the day off, so Jana and the kids came over and spent most of the day with us. We played hard and baked lots of goodies. I am pretty sure I gained 5 pounds in one day eating Jana's peanut butter cookie dough.

Kaleb was relaxing.

Kaden was playing with the Wii

Kassie was entertaining Austin (bless her)

Cute Kesa (who is 13 now!) gave us some good music to listen to

Jana baked! Here's the finished product, chocolate covered Ritz (highly recommended), peanut butter cookies (fabulous dough) and the potatoes were about to be mashed for dinner

Mark came over after work and did some research online.

The happy couple (who lives in this house?)

Finally daddy came home and my boys had a rest together.

Snow days can even tire out a kitty

Or two...

The Christmas Tree

2008-12-06T14:43:00.006-06:00

It is a Ludshuk Family Tradition to go to the tree farm and find ourselves a fresh Christmas tree. We have been going to Santa's Woods outside of Blair the past 3 or 4 years. They take you on a hay rack ride, a sleigh ride, and then give you hot chocolate when you're all done! They also have real reindeer and Santa.

It was a little cold, but not nearly as cold as last year.

Here's the beautiful horses that drew our sleigh. Despite Austin's expression, he really did like the horses.

Here is Santa's "throne". Unfortunately, Austin was afraid of Santa, so he got mommy instead. This is a rare smiling picture for our boy.

Austin loved running around while mommy checked how tall the trees were. Daddy was on Austin patrol.

Here's my boys warming up over some lunch in the loft of the barn! We love this tradition!

Finished product! Big thanks to Mama and Papa for their assistance in decorating the tree!

Thanksgiving Renovations

2008-12-03T17:00:00.002-06:00

I have despised the curtains in our kitchen from day one. They are old-ladyish. So, finally, the time came to replace them.

Well, what started out as a curtain change, turned into a major project.

Ugly! Before

We ended up painting the window trim, the wall, and replacing the curtains. It turned into a long weekend project, but we are thrilled with the results!

After:

You can see our "black Friday" early Christmas present. It will eventually be hanging on the wall where the clock is.

Oh the difference a few coats of paint can make!

Sorry about the bad lighting, that is a roman shade.

Halloween

2008-11-15T11:38:00.002-06:00

We are a family of little devils. Austin did not enjoy wearing his cape or his horns, but he loved running around the parking lot at the "Trunk or Treat"

Taking a rest from the running

Happy little devil

We won the contest for best costume for adults. Doesn't Jim look great?

Hmmmm... these costumes are not so great

Jim did take Austin Trick or Treating. I guess he did really well. He said "thank you" when he received the candy, and seemed to have a good time.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-31T09:46:00.006-06:00

Austin and I were lucky enough to be able to go to the Pumpkin patch twice this year. The first trip was with Jana, Mark and their kids, and Papa.

Kaden, Kesa, Kaleb, Kassie, & Austin (one of these names is not like the others, one of these names just isn't the same)

Can you see Kaleb?

Kesa and Kassie got into trouble

The tractor ride! Austin enjoyed it quite a bit.

Wow!

Swinging on the tire swing.... this didn't last long.

Couple of flannel wearing guys

Austin was chosen as a pig leader, thanks to Jana's frantic waving

Good lookin' family, better lookin' if Kesa would smile

Any tips on how to get a toddler to pose for the camera?

Austin is quite the pumpkin sitter. He loved to climb in the piles of pumpkins

He was quite upset when pumpkin climbing time was over

Vala's part II

2008-10-31T09:26:00.003-06:00

We went back to Vala's this time with just our little family, and daddy joined us!

He looks so small!

Austin loved the pumpkin patch

As you can see, it was a colder day, but it didn't stop him from running up to

the pumpkins and climbing up.

He blends in a bit

Great view from daddy's shoulders!

Annual Trip to Nebraska City

2008-10-13T19:41:00.006-06:00

Every year we head to Nebraska City to pick out some pumpkins, and visit the local orchards for some cider donuts, and apple pie. It reminds us of New England and is a lot of fun. We learned quickly this year that Austin LOVES pumpkins. He runs up to them and sits on them and climbs around among them.

You have to be creative to break him away from the pumpkins.

Daddy joined in the fun. Austin found this apple and little pumpkin in one of the orchards. He held on to them all day.

Took a ride on a motorcycle.

Played on the playground at the orchard.

We buy our pumpkins from a crazy pumpkin lady who owns a farm. She gave us 4 pumpkins for $6! She has lots of farm cats. We found this little baby kitten sleeping in the corn stalks that were for sale. She was a sweet-heart. I almost took her home with us.

Austin was a bit hyper so we stopped at the local park to let off some steam. Found this cool tank.

Ran around.

Wrestled with daddy.

Jumped on mommy and daddy who were lounging around in the grass.

We had a great time! Until next year, so long Nebraska City!

The box

2008-10-09T20:33:00.003-06:00

This was our entertainment during Conference last weekend. The box.

He liked to sit in it while we pushed him around the room.

Who needs toys?

Sick

2008-09-26T13:23:00.005-06:00

Our poor little guy was quite sick a week ago. He wouldn't eat and couldn't keep certain things down, and was really sleepy. He did a lot of lounging around that week. The slower pace allowed us to take some pictures.

He loves to sit and watch Mario in daddy's Nintendo room. He actually knows who Mario is and will point him out.

He was like this most of the week.

When he was feeling better. Daddy taught him how to have a good pillow fight.

Not Much Going On

2008-09-14T08:26:00.002-06:00

Well, we have very few pictures from recent weeks. I interpret that it means nothing is happening around here. Following are a few snap shots of random things.

Austin loves to play with his cousin Kaden, and luckily Kaden loves to play with Austin.

This is Austin making the sound that an elephant makes. Sorry about the flash and the red eyes.

Austin loves to climb on daddy's back and ride around. He pulls down daddy's head and climbs on top of his shoulders. Lots of fun.

Attempted Family Picture

2008-08-28T14:34:00.002-06:00

Well, every year while my sister is in town, we attempt a full family picture. I refer you to my brother's blog for a good picture of the entire family. We did not manage to get one.

Here is our attempt at our little family picture. Unfortunately, Austin had a less than satisfactory nap that day and was being a monster. He would not put down his blanket, and Jim and I were both pretty frustrated by him. So, the picture did not come out great. We will try again another time.

This is Austin with all of his cousins. See how they are all sitting so nicely, except for my baby?

Nothing Better

2008-08-10T10:40:00.002-06:00

I came into the basement to find a world of sleepyheads. Austin is not a cuddler, so it was very rare to catch him cuddling with his daddy. I don't know about you, but in my world there is nothing better than what I captured in this picture.

The cats were apparently sleepy too.

More Adventures

2008-08-10T10:28:00.004-06:00

We have now begun diving off the couch head first! As you can see, he doesn't mind if there's a pillow there or not.

We also had the pleasure of attending Miss Elizabeth Hoffman's 4th Birthday at Bounce U. Austin LOVED the slide. He was more than willing to take charge and go on his own after a few times. He was very upset when playtime was over and it was time to eat.

Zoo....again

2008-08-02T07:17:00.003-06:00

We decided to take an impromptu trip to the zoo. Austin loves to spend time with his cousins. He gets a huge smile on his face when he sees them.

It was hot outside.

This guy was in charge of the seals. He kept barking at us.

For those of you that have not been to our zoo, there is a bridge over a lake where thousands of fish feed off of the food you throw over the side. This picture does not do it justice. It is a fascinating sight.

We found this peacock protecting her egg. We walked right by her.

Sunday Nights

2008-08-01T16:10:00.003-06:00

Ever since Jim bought the Wii, we have had an increase in visitors. We tend to attract young children interested in playing games! It has been a lot of fun, and as you can see, the adults get into it just as much.

Aren't they cute!

The Dance game..... the girls won.

Boxing with Wii sports! You actually sweat quite a bit with this thing. Check Mark's blog for more fun stuff!

New Things

2008-07-20T18:03:00.004-06:00

Austin is learning and growing quickly, and has recently started to have some really good temper tantrums. But, he is learning good things too.

Learning to color

He did this one on his own.... at first without the pillows. We added those to provide some protection.

We found Brady asleep in the beanbag, and thought it was pretty cute.

Miracles never cease...

2008-07-04T12:16:00.003-06:00

If you are not lucky enough to know my child, you will not understand what a miracle this is. He was eating his pre-nap snack while I was washing his sippy cups. When I turned around, this is what I saw. This is unheard of for my child. He sleeps nowhere but his crib. I guess he was really tired. Even Brady was amazed and had to check it out!

Boston's Birthday

2008-07-04T12:07:00.003-06:00

Today we celebrate Boston's 5th birthday. He was born a stray and was mercifully taken to the humane society. He became ours two months later after rubbing his face against the glass when we walked by. He's always known how to make his case. He has been such a wonderful kitty and a fabulous addition to our home. He no longer sleeps on my head, but sleep right next to me. He is a smart cat. Happy Birthday Boston!

He gets it from his father....

2008-07-04T11:37:00.004-06:00

We were playing with Jim's new toy (He finally built up enough money to get himself a Nintendo Wii. It has been great fun.) When we turned around and saw Austin standing on the end table, proud as could be. He then started doing what you see in the video. This has become a favorite game of his. So far, he has not gotten hurt.

He'll just keep doing it, over and over. He thinks it's great fun.

A Tale of Two Kitties:

2008-06-29T09:09:00.003-06:00

It has been awhile since we've mentioned the cats. So, I figured I'd get a few snapshots. They aren't great, and I particularly couldn't get Brady to cooperate. But, here they are.

Furry Boston

Little Brady

Sorry about the flash. This is the cat's favorite perch in the basement. They like to sit up here and look at the birds in the backyard. It has also been a safe perch from the "Austin monster" you see in the picture. As you can see, it will not be safe for long. He already grabs their tails.

Poor thing's been sick with an ear infection. He hasn't been the same.

Here, you can see that Boston has sited a bird. Good times for a cat.

Salt Lake City

2008-06-18T14:41:00.005-06:00

Last week, my Grandma Grace died. It was expected and it's one of those deaths that is a blessing, because we know she is so much happier now than she was at the end of her life. She is now happy, healthy, and reunited with family, friends, and her husband (which one, we don't know!) She was a lovely and talented woman who was able to play the piano by ear, in any key. She will be missed. It gave my family a rare opportunity. Me, my parents, and my 2 brothers hopped in the van and drove to Utah. My sister met us there. It was the six of us... no spouses and no children. That has not happened for over 15 years. Kind of weird, but it was an excellent return to childhood. Here are some of the pictures to document the trip.

My handsome brothers (Mark and John) were pall bearers.

My sister Krissy and I did a musical number at the funeral. It was "The Lord's Prayer". My Grandma used to play that song and have me sing for her everytime I visited.

Here we are with my dad and his parents. My mom is off talking to old friends.

Here are all the pall bearers. Handsome bunch. This was a unique opportunity to get to know a side of the family I really did not know well. I have cousins I didn't know existed and an Uncle I do not ever remember meeting.

My beautiful mom and dad at the grave sight.

This is my mom with her three brothers... Ken, Bruce, and Larry.

That evening, Krissy, Mark and I took a walk to temple square and toured the enormous building where they do general conference ( I can't remember the name). This picture was taken on the roof which is amazing!

The view of the Salt Lake Temple from the roof of the Conference building. (That's not the real name)

The following day, my family participated in a family tradition. We went to a picnic site in the mountains called Moss Ledge. This is something we did every summer of my childhood. Very nastalgic.

Proof we were all there together.

We made it up the mountain to the falls!

This was a wonderful experience. I don't wish to ever repeat it, but I am glad we did it. At times like this, I am extremely grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel that I do. There are no questions.... I know exactly where Grandma is, and that I will see her again. It makes an event like this a joyful one.

Zoo

2008-06-06T14:10:00.004-06:00

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to take Austin and 3 of his cousins to the zoo. Most of us had a good time most of the time.

Blurry picture, but here they are. Kaleb, Kaden, Kassie, and Austin. Kassie was extremely helpful throughout the whole day.

They loved running through the jungle

Peacocks are amazing. They were in full colorful form.

Gorillas in the gorilla house..... oh, I guess that's the picture below.

If you look closely you can see my reflection in the glass.

More gorillas, some made of metal, some made of flesh!

This is a family of sleepy monkeys. I thought they were funny all curled up together.

Then I looked down and saw my own monkey was sound asleep. Time to go home.

Finished Walk-way

2008-06-06T14:02:00.003-06:00

Well, we finally finished the walkway. We laid the bricks and reformed the corner on the other side of the walkway.... so here is the completed project. It looks fantastic in person! The plants have started blooming and we are very happy with it!

We were also blessed by a happy surprise in the spring when our backyard trees that border the fence bloomed these beautiful pink flowers. Quite park-like in the backyard (if you can sort through all the plants) It needs to be cleaned up, but don't the trees look great!

Goodwill Hunting

2008-06-01T09:19:00.007-06:00

Jim goes to the Goodwill 4 or 5 times a week in search of treasures. This is something he's been searching for. Finally, there it was! Austin likes it too.

Memorial Day

2008-05-28T13:29:00.003-06:00

It was a cold and cloudy morning for Memorial Day. We met LeAnna's parents, and Mark/Jana & kids at the local park for a breakfast cookout. We had yummy eggs, sausage, and homemade cinnamon rolls. Needless to say no one touched the fruit that was provided. This was one of Austin's first experiences with a playground. What a deprived child!

Obviously, he loved the swing.

And the carousel thingy

Kaleb and Kaden loved the muffins.

Picnic buddies

Austin found Kaleb's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stick, and waved it around until Kaleb noticed.

Mark and Jana's 4 kiddos. Kesa, Kassie, Kaden, and Kaleb. They are very sweet with Austin. They really enjoy playing with him and he loves them.

Me and my mom.

Economic Stimulus Part II

2008-05-18T19:11:00.003-06:00

Well, in hindsight, I should have reversed the order of this post and the following post, but keep looking and it will all make sense.

So, here are some pictures of the landscaping process that we undertook last week.

It begins. Jim against the bush.

Terrible picture of me, but proof that man (and woman) can conquer the enormous overgrown evergreen bush in their front yard.

This, is the bush. Well, it ended up being 3 bushes planted together, but this was all the yard waste from that one planting. I feel bad for the yard waste guys.

This is Austin's contribution. He really enjoyed the enormous dirt pile, and starting throwing dirt into the yard waste bags.

Here is an after picture. Look at the following post for more before and after. We completely redid the edging, and took out all the plants in the front. We planted things that will flower and should grow up quickly in a year.

We all suffered war wounds. I nearly chopped off my left pointer finger, we think Jim fractured his wrist, and Austin fell on Mama and Papa's driveway, and completely scratched up his nose. He looks terrible. His injury is completely unrelated to the landscaping, but worth noting. Hope you enjoy the pictures! More to come next week.

Economic Stimulus

2008-05-18T19:00:00.004-06:00

Mr. Bush and his friends told us to stimulate the economy, so we decided we would stimulate Lowes and Lanoha Nursery. We have never liked the landscaping on the new house, we thought it was overgrown and lacked color. So, we began the LONG task of completely revamping the yard. So, we took half the week off and spent all day every day ripping out bushes and replanting. Here are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER

Fearless

2008-05-14T07:54:00.007-06:00

We have 2 sets of long stairs like this, and we never used "baby gates"

He's been doing this for a few months now, this was taken just this morning.

2008-05-09T22:20:00.002-06:00

Our first attempt at posting a vid

Austin was eating a banana and every time he ate a piece, he did a "touch down".

Had to record it

Lawnmower Men: The Tradition Continues

2008-05-09T14:27:00.003-06:00

During Daddy's day off , Jim and Austin went Garage Sale-ing. They found a free broken lawnmower and a $10 snowblower.

So while Austin slept, Daddy fixed the lawn mower and posted it on craigslist. Austin awoke in time to help make the sale.

All before mommy got home.

Posing for the camera

2008-04-14T06:51:00.003-06:00

Now that daddy works the day shift, there is an increased opportunity

to take daddys baths. On this particular evening, we turned on the

jets and made an abundance of soap suds. Austin grew a bubble beard!

If you look closely, you'll see the wound on his forehead from where he took

a header into Mama and Papa's brick fireplace hearth.

I sat him on the couch to take his shoes off and went to the next room. When I returned, this is how I found him. Perfectly posed for a picture!

He was having a lot of fun on that couch.

Eating Cheerios while watching daddy work in his "Nintendo Room"

De Soto Bend

2008-03-28T06:18:00.003-06:00

Well, we took a trip as a family to De Soto to see the birds; however, there were no birds. Apparently the birds have not stopped at that spot during migration for four years. So, instead we enjoyed a nice drive together.

Austin highly enjoyed crawling and walking around the facility. He didn't notice the lack of wildlife.

As you can see, the lake is birdless.

One of our favorite parts of the outing is when we were looking at the steamboat exhibit, Austin walked right into the glass partition. It was pretty funny.

Here is the one bird we did see. Pretty impressive.

Trip to Kansas City

2008-03-12T22:15:00.002-06:00

Our good friends, Brian and Julia moved far away two

years ago. They came to visit family in K.C. last week and

we could not resist that chance to catch up.

Austin, despite being nearly half Eric's age, weighs more!

The two had a nice time playing together.

This is Julia, little Kaitlin, and Eric (who apparently enjoys putting his arm through the neck of his shirts).
This picture doesn't do it justice, but the two were playing peek-a-boo. It was adorable.
Just a bonus picture here. Our little guy was a trooper on our trip. When we arrived we realized that he had a temperature of nearly 103! We gave him some Tylenol, and he was great all day. We discovered later that he had a tooth coming in, we guess that was the cause of the fever. So, after some fabulous BBQ in K.C., a car show, and (my favorite part) hanging out that evening... the poor sick guy slept in the car on the way home. He's a trooper. We had a great trip, it was good to see the Buells!

The Car Show

2008-03-12T22:02:00.002-06:00

While in K.C., we went to a car show. None of us had been

to one before, so it was quite interesting.

This was our favorite car at the show. A very pretty Camaro.

Here is Austin, testing out the driver's seat in a beautiful Mustang.

After the long car ride, Austin wanted to be on his feet quite a bit. He found this little metal bar, and went round and round and round.

Here, Brian is demonstrating that in this particular mini-van there is plenty of room to stash a dead body.

This was our favorite part of the car show. This is Max, the Ford robot. He was interactive and very cool. Even Austin liked him... he laughed and laughed.

2008-03-12T21:47:00.003-06:00

All About MY Husband
Guess it's my turn. I am responding to the challenge set forth by Jana and answered by Krissy.

What is his name? George James Poleshuk Jr. (Jim)

How long have you been married? 6.5 years

How long did you date? 3 months before we were engaged, 4 months after.

How old is he? He will be 30 in two weeks!

Who said "I love you first?" I honestly don't remember. That's probably really bad.

Who is taller? Jim

Who eats more sweets? Me by a mile.

Who can sing better? Definitely me, but he is improving.

Who is smarter? Hmmm... I would say I am smarter with organized education... he beats me at life experience and social smarts. If that makes sense.

Who does the laundry? Usually me, but he did it in January as a Christmas present.

Who pays the bills? Me.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're looking at the bed, it's him.

Who mows the lawn? We share that responsibility.

Who cooks dinner? Unfortunately, neither one of us cooks often.

Who drives? Sometimes we argue over who has to drive. Jim probably does it 75%.

Who is more stubborn? Don't tell him, but I think it's Jim.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first, but he did wait until he had broken up with his girlfriend.

Who asked who out first? He did. Museum.

Who proposed? He did, but it was sort of prompted by my parents.

Who has more siblings? Jim is an only child... I have 3 wonderful siblings.

Hope you enjoyed learning about the love of my life!

Spring-Like-Day

2008-03-02T18:02:00.006-06:00

Friday and Saturday gave us temps in the 50's and 60's. We took the opportunity to go outside in our backyard for the first time. The ground was pretty wet from melting snow, but Austin didn't seem to mind. Boston joined the outside excursion as well.

Austin enjoyed rolling his favorite ball down the hill and waiting for mommy

to bring it back to him.

Austin enjoyed this game much more than mommy.

Then we discovered rocks. We had a great time taking all the rocks out of the

landscaping area and putting them on the grass. You can see in the picture below how many rocks he managed to put on the other side of the edging.

Here is Boston rolling around, enjoying the weather as well. He was not happy to be ushered back inside. I say Spring-like day, because it is clearly not spring yet. It started snowing again today. Alas, we must a bit longer.

Milestones

2008-02-22T20:36:00.002-06:00

It has been awhile since our last post, and there is much to report.

Here is our handsome little guy!

He is now walking! He has been taking multiple steps since

his birthday, but has really taken off in the last week or two.

This is our attempt to collect photographic evidence.

Austin also said his first official word! Ball. He had been saying

Dada for months, but had no idea what it referred to. He certainly

knows what a ball is, and now that he learned to say it.... he says it

ALL the time! Apparently LeAnna's brother John also said ball as his

first word, which is fun since Austin's middle name is partly in honor of him!

Finally captured both milestones in one picture!

Watching Baby Einstein. This is the only television programming he is interested in. The blanket he is holding is essential. We have three of them and they are definitely his "security blanket". Sometimes he will walk around holding one in each hand. "Ducky" is his favorite. He's in the wash now, but we'll try to get him on film too, (Ducky that is).

Happy Birthday Austin!

2008-02-03T10:02:00.000-06:00

Daddy helped Austin blow out the candles. The cake doubled as a Super Bowl cake.

Austin did not get particularly messy. He didn't like the feeling of having frosting on his hands.

He got mostly clothing for his birthday, so there were only a couple of toys to get excited about. This one is from Mama and Papa.

We managed to find a toy train on Craigslist. Austin was quite taken with it, as were his cousins! Particularly Kaleb.

Here he is enjoying watching the train go around. He had a great birthday!

Happy Boy

2008-01-19T15:11:00.000-06:00

Austin is a really happy kid. Tried to capture some of it on film.

Of course, one baby's happiness is two cats' fear. He starts to laugh when he sees them and they know it's time to find a place he cannot reach. Clearly, they are safe where they are, but they continue to eye him suspiciously.

SOLD!

2008-01-19T15:01:00.001-06:00

Thanks Shelly!

Trip to the Zoo

2008-01-19T14:51:00.000-06:00

Jim took a day off to celebrate selling our home. We all took the opportunity to visit the zoo. It was cold out so we stayed with the inside exhibits.

Currently the size of a Gentoo penguin

He enjoyed the shark tunnel

There were a dozen sharks swimming around. Very cool.

The rainforest kind of tired him out. He was ready to go.

Bath Time!

2008-01-07T21:43:00.000-06:00

This is Daddy's version of giving Austin a bath. It is actually quite adorable. The two of them have a very good time together. Thank goodness for all of those soap suds!

Recently, Austin has started a habit of throwing things over his shoulder. Whatever he can get ahold of, he throws until there's nothing left to throw. He loves to throw every towel and tablecloth out of our kitchen drawer.

Caught in the act!

New Years Entry

2008-01-01T17:33:00.000-06:00

Finally finshed the bedroom over the holiday. Though LeAnna still wants to get some curtains.

Austin looking cool on New Years Eve

16-0 baby!

Christmas Morning

2007-12-26T15:58:00.001-06:00

Santa brought Austin a cool work bench and a bunch of tools. Isn't that tool belt the cutest?

As you can see, he's quite pleased with his ride on the truck. One of many great scores we got off of Craigslist this year.

Austin made out very well this year as far as toys go. I'm sure we're not the first parents to go crazy for their kid at Christmas. We'll probably just get him clothes now for his birthday next month.

The cats did alright too, here's a neat dual perch so they can look out the window.

We greatly appreciate all the generous gifts we received from friends and family this year.

Winter Wonderland

2007-12-22T11:28:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures we took around the outside of the new house after the first good snow storm. We have pretty much had snow on the ground the entire month.

Snow covered pines. We love having mature trees in our yard. Even in the winter, there are little critters running through our yard collecting food and such. It is fun to watch.

This is the spiral staircase that leads down from the covered deck.

After all that cold, it is wonderful to take a nice Sunday afternoon nap. Jim caught LeAnna and both cats snoozing away.

Prodigy

2007-12-22T11:16:00.001-06:00

okay, maybe not exactly a musical genius, but he does love to play the piano. He will try to play the same note you just played, but that's about as musical as it gets.

Making sure he doesn't fall off the bench.

We had to share with you Boston's latest nap spot. We have two Christmas trees this year, one real and one fake. This is the fake one in the living room, and there are no decorations on it.... well, almost none. I came downstairs one morning and this is where Boston was sleeping.

Later he actually moved up one rung on the tree. We thought it was really funny. Anybody have a good way to remove cat hair from an artificial tree?

Picking a Christmas Tree

2007-12-11T18:02:00.000-06:00

We have a family tradition of going to a tree farm and picking out the perfect tree to have cut down. This being Austin's first Christmas, it was his first experience with "Santa's Woods". It is a really neat place with Santa Claus, reindeer, hayrack rides, clydesdale horses, hot chocolate... the works. Of course we chose a very cold day to go (high of 10). So we're not sure that Austin enjoyed himself.

Here we are heading out to the tree farm on the hayrack ride.

Needless to say, the cold inspired to choose quickly. It actually looks pretty nice in our family room. Not decorated yet.

Poor guy, daddy's trying to keep him warm.

Ah, they had a nice fire for us to enjoy and warm up a bit.

Here we are back in the lodge warming up. Good times. We think Austin will enjoy it more next year.

More Rooms

2007-12-05T22:04:00.000-06:00

The Family Room

This is our fireplace in the family room. It is a 2-sided fireplace that doubles as a fireplace in the kitchen. This is the second room we have officially painted and put together.

The ugly flowery window coverings that were left by the previous owners have been removed. We plan to put in curtains to match the pillows on the couch. The doors you see in the back of the room lead out to the covered deck.

This has become one of Boston's favorite napping spots.

The Playroom

This is basically a HUGE bedroom that we have put all of Austin's toys and videos in for him to play. Obviously we've done nothing else to it. We would like to eventually have the walls painted with a really cute kids landscape, or dinosaurs or something like that. But, that is a bit down the line.

Here he is playing with the toys! See the desk in the backround? We picked that up at a garage sale and refinished it. We're pretty proud of it. We can thank Jim's vision for that.

The Nintendo Room

There is a funky, sort-of, finished room off the main basement area. Jim claimed it as a display room for his Nintendo collection, and a place for him to play the games. As you can see, Austin is more than willing to join in.

Here he is trying to get daddy's controller. His nose is a little red from a cold.

He actually sat in the bean bag content for quite a while. See what video games do to you kids? Doesn't he look spacey.

Of course, Boston found a place to sleep to be part of the action!

On a more serious note. Today has been a difficult day for us here in Omaha. It is one thing to hear about a shooting, it is another to hear about one in your neighborhood at a place where you could have been innocently shopping for Christmas gifts. Today we are counting our blessings that our loved ones are alive and well. No matter what our current stressors are, there are always things to remind us of our blessings.

Moving!

2007-11-27T21:47:00.000-06:00

You will notice it has been awhile since our last post. That is partly due to the fact that we have now officially moved! We are nearly completely settled in the new house. Just a few odds and ends left... mostly cleaning out the garage. We are very excited to decorate our new home and feel like we have tons of space!

The cats share a last look out the window of the old house.

Kesa and Kassie ham it up for Halloween

On moving day we tipped up the king size mattress to take apart the head board and frame. Boston and Brady decided it would be a great idea to climb up the mattress. Here they are inches from the ceiling.

It took some work to get them back down.

This is our new dining room. The first completed room in the new house. It was also the first room we painted. Most of the house needs to be painted... big project!

Here is the other angle.

We'll keep you updated on our progress. Austin is doing great in the new house. He sleeps extremely well and even sleeps in an hour later from time to time. He loves to climb the stairs. He moves pretty quickly. Now all we have to do is teach him how to come back down!

Random, but adorable pictures

2007-11-01T21:43:00.000-06:00

Austin with his Grandma (Mama). I LOVE this picture. Unfortunately, I didn't have the red-eye lens on, but if you ignore the red eyes, it is adorable!

In this picture Austin is celebrating the victory of the Red Sox in the World Series! We are hoping to have a similar picture of him in Patriot garb in early February..... check Mark and Jana's blog for the special celebration that took place following the Patriots win over the Colts last Sunday! It's good stuff and there's a super cute picture of Jim and Austin.

That's our happy boy. Especially when it's time to eat!

This is the natural habitat for the cats. Believe it or not, Brady will lay in the sink when the water is on! Their life is going to be seriously uprooted in another week when we move them to an entirely new house. I don't think they will appreciate it at first.

Halloween

2007-11-01T21:35:00.000-06:00

So, this year for Halloween, we represented your local cook-out! It all began with the ketchup and mustard, but then we found the greatest little hotdog costume for Austin... cute!

Daddy had to work Halloween night, so this is us at Mark's house.

The whole clan, dressed and ready to go!

Nebraska City

2007-10-17T14:08:00.000-06:00

Every year we take a trip down to Nebraska City. We love to go to the apple orchards and get some home grown stuff. This year we picked up an apple pie, and of course.... cider donuts. We also make it a point to visit the crazy lady at Pumpkin Ridge where we get some cheap pumpkins. Austin had a great time!

He got his first driving lesson at Union Orchard.

Unfortunately this year, we did not get to see the crazy lady. Instead, we were helped by the crazy lady's crazy husband! A true testament to the sanctity of marriage. Austin was able to pick up his very own pumpkin (and mom and dad got to pick theirs out as well!)

Austin adores cats, but ours won't let him touch them. At Pumpkin Ridge he found this very friendly cat who was nice enough to allow Austin to pet him. As you can see, Austin is laughing his head off.

For some reason Austin has begun to smile with his tongue out. We think this pumpkin is as big as him!

This is at the Arbor Day Lodge. Apparently we were unable to get a picture where we were both looking at the camera!

We were grateful later that evening that Austin is still so young. Unfortunately, that night our lovely neighborhood teenagers smashed all 3 of our pumpkins in the street (taking out our landscaping light with them). We are just glad that Austin didn't wake up in the morning and want to see his first pumpkin. But, nasty teenagers aside, we had a great time!

Nintendo Nerds

2007-10-07T09:11:00.000-06:00

So, Jim is really into this Nintendo collecting now. And he's trying to involve Austin as much as possible. As you can see, Austin doesn't mind. He quite likes the controllers (especially when we are trying to play a game)

Good times for everyone.

This picture was meant to be an inventory picture on a purchase Jim made, but Austin crawled into it. I love this picture because it shows off Austin's little New England Patriots jersey and the little icons on the butt.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-07T08:56:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday, Austin and LeAnna went to Vala's pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, Jim was working so he was unable to join us. Instead, they went with Mark and his family. Austin enjoyed watching the other kids, but he became pretty tired. We discovered the next day that he was getting his first tooth!

Whenever one of the kids is being difficult, Jana says they are up for sale. So, with a teething baby, and a demanding toddler, we thought this picture was appropriate. This is Austin with his cousin Kaleb (or is it Kaden?) I can't tell.

Jana took Austin for a little ride in one of the cars. I don't know how he felt about it, but immediately after he started crying and went to sleep.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures. But, Jana got a really cute one of the three little boys, check out eisenbartthepirates blog to see if she's posted it (hint hint)

The Marathon

2007-10-01T11:56:00.000-06:00

LeAnna got it in her head that a great way to lose some baby weight would be to train and run a half-marathon. Jim, being the excellent support that he is, decided to join her in the effort. Well, despite some very poor training, and neither of us losing much baby weight, we completed the half-marathon!

We had sort of a rocky start in that we actually arrived late for the race and still needed to pick up our packets. So, by the time we crossed the starting line, everyone else was long gone. We couldn't even tell which direction we were supposed to go! But, pretty quickly we started passing some walkers and SLOW runners. (LeAnna runs pretty slow to begin with, so it's hard to catch up to anybody when you start 15 minutes behind them).

As you can see here, Jim is looking great. This is about mile 6 or 7.

In roughly the same place, LeAnna looks pretty good too. At least we're both smiling. Little do we know that there is a killer hill just down the course from this point. But, what goes up, must come down.... and down the hill was pretty fun.

Here we are after finishing the race. 13.1 miles! We did not finish quickly by any means. In fact, the first and second place FULL marathon winners finished before us, but we still feel pretty good about getting it done!

Developmental Milestones

2007-09-24T18:53:00.001-06:00

Austin is now nearly 8 months old, and has become a mover and a shaker. He is nearly crawling now. He currently does a lot of rocking and scooting... this is the best evidence we have of the crawling.

He has always been a strong kid, and loves to stand. He is now able to hold himself up for quite a while.

He loves to sit on the floor and play. This is just a picture of him being happy. He is usually a pretty happy kid, which makes for a happy mom and dad!

In training for our half-marathon (which we ran yesterday and will address in a later post) we ended up running on a morning that was pretty cold. We were concerned about Austin because the wind comes right at him in the jogging stroller and we were planning on a 10-mile run. We found the warmest thing we could, but it was way too short. We had to cut holes in the bottom to stick his legs through! Here is the result. He got a little upset at the end of the run, and then it started to rain, so we cut the run down to 9 miles, but he has been a trooper through the whole training! He's a great baby!

Jim's Newest Addiction

2007-09-14T23:49:00.000-06:00

If you know Jim well, you know that he has an addictive personality. He often gets into stuff to a level that exceeds that of a normal healthy person. His latest craze..... Nintendo games.

Initially it started off as buying games systems trying to turn a profit. Then he got a Nintendo for $25 which marked the beginning of his loss of reality. To make a long story short, he's wasted many hours locally and on the internet acquiring Nintendo games. He now has nearly 100. He insists that he's only spending "his" money and not any house money, but there are doubts.

What's funny is that he doesn't play them alot. In fact, often when the game is played its a game that LeAnna and Jim play together. LeAnna is fond of smashing him in Dr Mario.

Photographic evidence of his illness....

Lawnmower Men

2007-09-09T17:15:00.000-06:00

The night this picture was taken marks the 3rd time in the last 6 months that Jim and Austin got a lawnmower needing minor repairs, fixing it, and selling it for a little profit.

Actually, Jim does the repairs while Austin cries for attention.