ALBUM: 2008-10 Halloween

ALBUM: 2008-10 First Snowfall

ALBUM: 2008-10 Week 51

New Videos of our Social Boy

Austin's First Leaf Pile

We thought that we would share with you this brief story:

First, we should probably preface the story with a some background information...one of the primary reasons why we elected to purchase our home where we did was because the house was in a young neighborhood. There were over 20 children on our cul-de-sac alone, and it only features 11 houses (I think). Christine wanted to have a home surrounded by sense of community and a group children that Austin could grow up with.



Well, little did we know how cool some of the neighborhood kids would be. Four of the five homes adjacent to us on our street have children who absolutely adore Austin. Right now, it is likely that it is because he is the youngest kid on the block...the baby. But, regardless, the kids genuinely love to spend time with him. The children will often ring our doorbell asking if Austin can come out and play with them. Basically, this requires Christine to take Austin outside and sit with him in the grass for 30-60 minutes while the children ogle over him...but it is cute nonetheless.



So...to our most recent story...Austin was outdoors with the children when the kids decided that they wanted to make Austin his first pile of leaves to play in. Granted, Austin is small and the leaf pile wouldn't need to be too large to satisfy his needs, but there was a small hiccup in their plan: there are no real big trees in our neighborhood.



You see, our neighborhood was built on farm land, so there are no trees per see, but rather 2 saplings in each yard that, one day, will help make the neighborhood look/feel a little less barren. Unfortunately, these trees have few leaves to offer, and even fewer of them had actually fallen off the trees...but the children were undeterred. They went around the immediate neighborhood, and went tree to tree, collecting the few leaves that they could find and bringing them back to our yard to build Austin his pile. The result of their efforts can be seen throughout this posting.



In the end, Austin had a lot of fun playing in his leaf pile...and the children were so proud when he did. A pretty cool thing for to witness, really...it is moments like these that help validate all the difficult decisions we have had to make as a family this past year.

Getting SOOO Big!!!!

Can you believe how big he getting? Less than one year old and he is already able to touch the door knobs. Just 11 months ago, he looked like this....


Time flies, huh?

The Lafayette Apple Festival

As planned, we went with Kevin and Peggy to the LaFayette Apple Festival in LaFayette, NY.


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Things started a little slow...Austin needed to eat his cereal and yogurt before getting his finger foods. So we entered the grounds, then waited 15 minutes for Austin to have his meal prepped, feed him, and clean up. After he ate his cereal he was left in his stroller to eat the finger foods placed in his tray while Christine and Aunt Peggy took in the 250+ vendors on the grounds. Christine walked away with some homemade pumpkin fudge and peanut butter fudge, decorative vines for on top of the kitchen cabinets and a fall wreath for the front door on the house. While the girls were looking around, the boys stayed outside while Kevin and Keith talked and continually tried to prevent Austin from taking his hat off (it was unseasonably warm and sunny, and we didn't want his head to see too much sunlight.



After the shopping was finished, we got some very yummy apple fritters and took various cute pictures of Austin to remember his first trip to the Apple Festival:

First there was Austin on the over-sized pumpkin...





Then there was Austin on the John Deere (successfully knowing where the shifting knob was as well!)...





Lastly, there was Austin visiting the animals in the area designated for children to pet and feed the animals...




All in all, in was a beautfiul day, Austin was awesome throughout (in large part to Peggy singing to him all the way to the festival) and everyone had a wonderful time!

Some new videos for you all...

"Open Wide!!"

We offer you our usual apologies for not posting sooner...but to be honest, things haven't been too eventful, really. Keith is working, Christine is meeting new people (and just went to her first Mother/Baby playgroup) and Austin is just plain fussy.

We think that Austin's fussiness is likely attributed to teething, but there is no way to be certain because his gums aren't flared up yet (if that is indeed the problem). So...Austin is just quite himself; he is waking up earlier in the mornings crying and is very, very clingy. We are convinced it is his teeth, because a dose of Tylenol/Motrin cures what ails him.

Later on this morning, we are joining with Kevin and Peggy (who stayed the night with us after a fire and smores last night) to go to the Apple Festival in close-by LaFayette, NY. We expect it to be fun, but also crazy with crowds considering how nice the weather is anticipated to be today (high 60's, nary a cloud in sight). We will try to remember to bring the camera and take some pictures.

But enough small talk....on with the entertainment!

Our Little Drummer Boy





He really wants the camera!



Such a polite, little boy

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ALBUM: 2008-10 Week 50

ALBUM: 2008-10 Week 50

ALBUM: 2008-10 Week 49