Halloween!

I didn't dress Austin up for Halloween, but he did wear his skeleton pajamas. :) I snapped this cute pic of him in my Pumpkin that I carved with The Smiths.

And here is all of our Pumpkins lined up!

I get a huge kick out of decorating our house....

I see you!

(This looked super creepy at night because we had a black light in the porch light fixture... everything was glowing.... creeeeeeepy!)

Cardon Children's Hospital NICU Allumni Halloween Party

So all of you know that Austin spent the first week of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cardon Children's Hospital... Well each year an amazing nurse named Colleen puts on a Halloween party for all of her "Graduates." Most of the babies there are multiples or preemies, but there are a few, like Austin that just had a tough birth. Its a really great way to meet people that have been through and are going through some of the same things that you are. We met a nice family who has a daughter with two clubfeet, and since Austin has one on his left side, we struck up a conversation about the process and what a toll it takes on the kiddos and us, and all in all it was a really nice moment shared with a family who has lived and is living with the same disorder. We sort of felt out of place, because when you first glance at Austin, or even take a long look at him, it is very hard to tell that he ever had a stroke, or even ever had a clubbed foot. He seemed to be one of the healthiest children there, and for that I am so grateful. It sounds awful, but please know that I don't mean better those parents than us, I just mean I am glad that he looks, acts, sounds and is growing normally or even above normal considering what he went through, and to see those babies who look just like he did when he was hooked up to all the IVs and monitors makes me so happy to know that he really is living proof that they can and will walk away from their experience in the NICU with so much to live for just like Austin and Chris & I.
Enough jibber jabber... Here are the pics! Chris & I made Austin's costume. He was a caveman, and a darn cute one if I do say so myself. :)

After the party, we took Austin to the "Punkin" Patch by our house.....

First Haircut... Yeah you heard right....

So remember back in my favorite shots post? Remember all the crazy hair? Well let me remind you...

Before:

During:

And... Drum Roll Please................
After!

Believe it or not... As I write this today, it has already grown back out, except now he has two bald spots where he rubs on the floor. :)

First Foods

We decided to give Austin some baby food on October 4th. He had some rice cereal before this and did ok, so we decided to go straight for carrots. So one stained shirt later.....

Austin couldn't quite figure out how to swallow the food, but man, was he sure cute trying!
We tried again when grandma and grandpa came to visit on October 6th... This time we had Bananas for breakfast. Can you tell those are his favorites even now? :)

Favorite Shots (from 9/30/11)

I took some pictures of Austin a while back, on September 30th, that I wanted to share with you. He was playing with his baby gym and just had some cute faces looking up at me through his barrage of toys. He is so photogenic that it makes me sick.... ok not really. I love it. I especially love the last one with all of his crazy hair everywhere!

Update on my goals!

1. Join Weight Watchers again. (done - 10/6/11) I am currently down about 10 pounds... Not nearly where I wanted to be at this point, but I will take it.
2. Exercise more - Do Double Headers of softball on Friday nights and taking the stairs count?? I need to work harder on this one. 
3. cook more - ACHIEVED!!! I am happy to say that lately I have been in the cooking spirit and have tried out tons of new recipes. :)
4. keep the house cleaner - EPIC FAIL. Who knew that two adults, one baby, and two dogs could make such a mess?! I swear, I clean and then 5 minutes later we are back to tornado-ville.
5. get A's in school, because there is no excuse not to. - I have been trying VERY hard with this one. I have gotten A's on most of my assignments, but still struggle with the tests. I am currently sitting at B's for all of my classes, so this goal will probably be a long term one.
6. Keep Austin active - Man oh man is this kid active. We broke the cardinal rule, or so it seems according to the developmental Dr. and bought him a walker. He absolutely LOVES it. I have never seen him light up with any type of toy like he does with the activity station on this thing. He can easily push the buttons, and squeals with delight when it makes sound for him. I say everything in moderation is good for baby, so what can it hurt?
7. do things that make me happy - ACHIEVED! I have been taking lots of pictures lately, which is my most favorite thing to do. I met my friend, Tessa's baby for the first time and took some pictures in the backyard with her. They are amazing. I hope I can get permission from Tessa to share some of them with you. Also, did I mention I QUIT my job... BEST decision I have ever made.
8. Learn to sew with Michonne - This goal needs some serious work. I'm so sorry Meesh. I really do think about this one a lot, but we all know where too much thinking and not enough doing gets us.... However, I have been doing some hand sewing and no-sew projects, so I am feeling slightly accomplished. :)
9. Be a better wife and a better friend - only my husband and friends can say whether this one is getting done, but I really have tried to be there for some friends that seemed to need me lately. And if I haven't called or talked to some of you in a while, it really isn't because I don't love you too... PROMISE.
10. Volunteer more with Nursing school and in the community. - I am volunteering in the background right now, meaning I haven't gotten to go to any events lately. This one needs work too. I have been collecting donations for a "baby shower" that my school is doing for some mothers to be that are currently homeless or not able to afford clothing and things that they will need for their babies. Austin was blessed with so many gifts of clothing that I thought it would be good to pass some of them on to someone who needs them right now rather than stow them away in the garage. (Don't worry though, I kept our favorites.)

Well there is your goal update... ;)

Gotta Love my Meesh!

I have so much to catch up on here, but first things first! My sister from another mister, Michonne Dietrich, bestowed upon me a Versatile Blogger Award. So all I have to do is share 7 things about myself then pass it on to someone else. :)

 

1) My most favorite thing in this world is taking pictures. Ever since I was very very young I have had some sort of camera in my hand. I hope to share more and more pictures with you all!

2) I snort when I laugh... Those of you that know me, know this well because I laugh a lot. :) Maybe its because I have such funny friends and family!

3) I LOVE to eat Slim Jims.... gross, right? I know, it totally is, but I can't help myself.

4) I am a closet singer. I was in choir and did talent shows in school, but dropped it in High School. I secretly wish I had more opportunities to sing, and seriously considered joining our Hospital's Choir...

5) I will take Coca Cola over Pepsi any day.

6) I have an amazing family that includes more than just my blood relatives. Miss Meesh is one of them. I have a favorite quote that says Friends are the Family we choose for ourselves, and I can definitely say I am more than blessed to have chosen such great family members.

7) Lastly, my son is my life. There was a moment when I thought I might lose him, and even though he was brand new at the time, I knew I didn't want to be in a world where he didn't exist. I don't talk a lot about how that whole ordeal made me feel because I don't think its good to dwell on things that we cannot change, but I will say this: When all hope is lost, when you feel like you are going to fade away, god is always there to guide you back, and in the process he makes miracles happen.

So now I get to pass this on to someone else! And there is no one else that can hold a candle to my good friend Laura Kincaid. I have known this beautiful woman for most of my life, but since we both went our separate ways in grade school, we had a hard time keeping in touch. Since modern technology has given us Facebook and MySpace, we were able to reconnect and picked up just like we saw each other the week before. Not only is she beautiful, but she is an amazing mother now and man oh man do her kiddos take after her! I could sit here all day and go on and on about his wonderful friend of mine, but instead I will bestow upon her this award!