Family Visit

I'm really late (of course) blogging about this, but we had a very fun visit from some of Jeff's family in August.  His parents, his brother, and his sister-in-law all came down to Charleston for a weekend.  It was a quick trip, but we had a lot of fun.  Austin loved having them here and was very sad to see them go.  We did some of the usual tourist things and just hung out.

I didn't get pictures of everything, but we spent some time downtown and took the ferry to Fort Sumter. On their last day, we took John and Catherine to see one of the Plantations to look around.  We even saw a couple of alligators.  Or maybe we saw the same alligator twice.  I'm not quite sure!  We had a great time with everyone and hope to see them again soon!

Ferry Ride to Fort Sumnter

Hanging out at Fort Sumter

Austin absolutely loved the Elmo shirt Grandpa and Grandma brought for him.  I still have to hide it so I can actually wash it every once in a while!

I wish I had a better picture of this, but this is how Austin felt 

when we dropped John and Catherine off at the airport.

Big Boy

There have been a few signs around our house lately that suggest I no longer have a baby in the house.  We have a big boy.  One of those signs is that he was excited about the toy that came in the cereal box.  Also, he has been trying to make a cape out of anything he can find - Jeff's ties, my scarves, etc.  So I found an easy DIY cape on Pinterest and made it for him last night.  He was super excited this morning when I showed it to him!  I can't wait for Jeff to get home tonight so he can put on the matching cape I made for him.  (He doesn't know about that yet.)

     Since Jeff started his job in January, he has been really busy.  Most days, he left at 5:00 a.m. and wouldn't get home until at least 8:00 that night.  He also went in most weekends to study.  From January until the end of June, we counted only 5 full days that he took off and didn't go in to work at all.  That includes weekends!!  Needless to say, he was exhausted and in need of a break.  Austin was excited to play with him.  And mommy was excited to have some time to relax, too.  We were so excited for him to get a 2 week vacation.  He spent part of it in Utah for his yearly golf tournament with his friends.  The rest of the time we kept him busy at the beach, the aquarium, the zoo, and just hanging around at home relaxing.  Austin definitely didn't let him sit down very much.  They did lots of running, jumping, playing, and exploring outside.       Unfortunately, we were having so much fun I forgot to take many pictures!  But here are a couple from the zoo.  We really enjoyed the Columbia Zoo.  It is really interactive.  You can feed the giraffes and walk into the Kangaroo exhibit.  

Austin really enjoyed the Kangaroo exhibit - until we got this close to one!

When it gets quiet . . .

Uh ew

Tonight when I put Austin to bed I said, "I love you," just like I do every night.  But this time he said "uh ew"!  He has been picking up lots of new words lately, but those are my favorite!

Do Not Disturb

  Jeff and I always check on Austin before we go to sleep.  We crack open his door and use the light of our cell phones to peek in his crib.  Most nights, we stay for just a minute and he doesn't stir at all.  Every once in a while, though, he wakes up.  Tonight when we went into his room, he sat up in his crib, rubbing his eyes and whining a little.  I wish there had been a video camera there to capture the rest of the scene. When we realized he was awake, we clutched our phones to our stomachs to hide the light and dove to the floor.  We squatted there for a few minutes until we were sure he was back asleep.  While I was hiding on the floor, I started giggling thinking about how silly we must look. 

The things we do to preserve our kids' sleep. 

First Haircut

Austin's hair was starting to get really long, so we finally decided to cave and take him to get a haircut.  I had tried to cut it myself a few times, but it usually ended up looking a bit like a mullet.  I really didn't want to get rid of his curls in the back, but he definitely needed a trim.  I was really impressed with the lady who cut his hair.  He was moving his head the entire time, but she just kept cutting. . . and it came out looking even!!

                                                            I'm not sure about this, Mom!!

                                                       Oh, I get a sucker?  Let's do it!