A little overdue.... ;)

Cutie pa tutie! :) two adorable little guys after their bath




Whoooaaa horsey
Just hanging out with some of the cousins

What a ham... ;)

Anna :)

Finding a good pumpkin

what little helpers

Here I come!

Andrew, Austin and I went to a pumpkin patch and had a lot of fun! Below are some pictures....Austin's favorite was def. the slide.

Look at Daddy go......

Like daddy like son.....I love this picture!

I had to get a picture of this because he did this everyday for at least a month. He loved to stand on the side of the couch and play with the pens.

Andrew, Austin and I took our annual trip to Gatlinburg the last weekend in October. This was the third year in a row we have done this and it was wonderful once again! We were not home for Halloween so we dressed Austin up and headed to downtown Gatlinburg for some trick or treating where he received and ate his first dum dum. ;) I have included a couple of pictures from the last three years as well. We started going when I was pregnant with Austin. I just thought it would be fun to look back.

First year:

Second year:

Third Year/this year:

This year for Halloween Austin was a......

raaaaaaaarrrrrrr....Dragon

A very nice dragon. :)

When on vacation there is plenty of time for a skipping rocks lesson

even from mom (the amateur)

Taking a walk with Daddy...

I believe daddy taught him how to put this on his head and he thought it was hilarious..... :)

Grandma came for a visit a week ago. It was great! :)

Saying see ya later.... :)

I just thought this was a cute one to end on. Austin is now talking a lot! He repeats a lot and also can say 3-4 word sentences when he wants. He likes to say "play with that" and also likes to ramble in his own language, then adding a word at the end such as "cow", "blanky"..which sounds like Becky and I still hear, "papa here?" a lot, along with "Daddy here?" He is such a blessing to us!

Fall Fun

Austin and I went to a pumpkin patch with some others from a mops group that we go to. Here are just a couple of pictures a friend took.
First Hay ride

Updates

Austin has been comprehending more everyday. He has started saying 2-3 word sentences. Today he had oatmeal for breakfast and said hot...blow it. :)
He calls both of his Grandpa's papa and boy does he love them. We often hear, "Papa here?" (then because we have told him so many times that Papa is at his house we hear:) "Papa house"

He really likes to play with balls and be outside. He also gets very excited when he sees a truck, police car (anything with a siren), or motorcycle. He always likes to have a little buddy to play with and gets very excited when he knows we will be seeing one of his little friends.
When he is indoors he likes to look at books, listen and dance to music, rough-house and climb. ;)

He has us smiling and laughing all day long! What a blessing!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days:

Trying on Daddies shoes

Andrew gave Austin a haircut tonight and below are some pictures that expressed how he felt about it.... ;)

WHAT...... NOOOOOO

My little man (after his haircut...my baby's curls are gone :( )

I love baths

Gatlinburg with the Greens

A couple of weeks ago we headed down south to the Smoky Mountains! We spent a week at a chalet and had a blast. We went hiking, horseback riding, mini-golfing, swimming and just spent sometime relaxing, playing, reading and enjoying the view! What a refreshing week. Austin had so much fun playing with his cousin Levi, lovin on Anna and climbing on Juncle, Cha Cha, Nana and Papa.

What a perfect sign

It was very windy on of the afternoons...the breeze felt great!

My beautiful niece

Am I blessed or what.....

We went to Cade's Cove towards the end of the week and just took in the most beautiful views (below). It was breath-taking.....

Making some music

Bedtime story

Double Date night....enjoying some mini-golfing!

tickle torture....

Enjoying the hot tub

Singing if you're happy and you know it clap your hands....one of the favorites from the trip

bum bum

Austin giving Anna a kiss... :) (a nice cousinly one ;))

Rode through the beautiful meadow and up some of the mountain...

My lil' cowboy! :)

Skipping rocks....

So hungry after a long hike....man it's hard riding on the daddy's back. ;)

What a joyous time!

Climbing with Daddy

There's nothing like rock-climbing in the smokies... :)

Let's just say that Austin LOVES his little cousin Anna very much! Everytime Anna would wake up from a nap or come into the room we would hear AAAANNNNNNNAA. He really liked to give her kisses on the forehead and hold her hand...along with pointing to her eyes.....He has continued to call all the babies he sees here back in Indy....Anna

The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous!

Precious little Anna with amazing big blue eyes!

Papa reading to the boys..this was definitely a favorite for them

Daddy and Austin

Here are some pictures of Andrew and Austin reading a book and just goofing around!

Something in the book was very interesting

Haha...love this one. I asked Austin to show me where Daddy's nose was... Thought I would put in a pic. of us as well. It was supposed to be of all three of us (as you can see Austin's lil' hand in the picture) but Austin decided to squirm his way out. :)

Fun with friends

Anyone in there?

Austin, Lydah and Josiah at Lydah's 2nd b-day party! :)

"Here Daddy, I found this cool hat...you try it on"

"Mom, can we go to a birthday party everyday? This cookie is so yummy"

Christa-blowing bubbles with the boys

20 months

Austin has been changing, like usual, everyday! :) It has been sooo much fun. He started choosing a word that Andrew or I would say (or someone else) and repeating it (normally the last word of a sentence) almost 3 weeks ago and is now moving onto repeating a couple of words at a time. He keeps us laughing all day long. ;) He started a while ago taking our wash cloth and cleaning the fridge, oven, and sometimes floor. ;) Lately he has been in and out of things; up and down and all around. He is one curious, energetic little boy. A couple of days ago I was on the phone in the living room and he walked into our dining room (out of site but I could still hear him playing). My friend and I were talking about how our boys love to sit at the little picnic tables or get on and off from them and then soon after that discussion I hung up the phone and I hear, "down". I quickly walk into the dining room and there is Austin sitting at our table (tall table) with a pen and pad of paper scribbling. This was the first time he had climbed up on one of our tall chairs. :)
He is still loving music and will teach you that you cannot just listen when you can dance! :)


My little man...

We had to teach him how to drink from the hose ;)

Over labor Day (Andrew's b-day) :) we went to Brighton and spent a lot of time with BJ and Laura while both sets of Grandparents were able to enjoy some time with Austin. Below are a couple of pics. with BJ and Laura on Laura's parent's boat. There was a gorgeous sunset!

Cousins

Greg, Courtney and Lydah were over the other night and we decided we really needed to get a picture of Austin and Lydah holding hands because almost everytime we are together they do. ;) So here are a couple of pics. Aren't they just adorable!

The card in our camera was full or we would have been able to capture the hug and kiss from Austin right after this pic. was taken. ;)

Cousins

This is a picture of Austin and Levi just walking along! :) Love this picture! Aren't they cute?

A couple of many favorites

Make a Smilebox postcard

Just thought this was kind of neat

Make a Smilebox postcard

More fun in Holland--We cannot stay away, especially in the summer ;)

In the last week and a half Austin's volcabulary has been exploding (19 1/2 months)! It is so much fun. He repeats a lot of what we say. It is still mainly one word at a time, sometimes trying two. He speaks in sentences...in his own language. :)

Eating some corn on the cob! He couldn't get enough! We met up with Joel, Paula, Levi and Anna while we were in Holland and had a great time eating pizza and then playing at a park. Here are some pictures:

I love this one!

Cousins! Can you tell? ;)

boys will be boys

and men will be men... ;)

Austin loves his Cha Cha! :) We took quite a few pictures on the beach trying to get a good one to put on canvas for in our house.....

Austin the Dance Machine

Happy Boy

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures of a little someone who brings so many smiles to our faces. :)

Camping in Holland

I have started letting Austin feed himself every once in a while. Here are a couple of pictures of him enjoying some yogurt. mmmmmm

And here are a couple of pictures of Daddy and Austin sharing a nectarine. :)

Austin was eating oyster crackers and one got stuck to his cheek. He could see it but didn't know how to get it off. Cheap entertainment with an 18 mo. old. ;) One of our friends Matt, teaching the boys what a monkey says. ;)

We went to Holland for the 4th of July and spent almost a week camping at Oak Grove right by the beach. It was so much fun. We spent a lot of time riding our bikes, swimming in the lake and pool, just hanging out at the beach, sitting around a fire at night and just relaxing.

Walking the peer!

Here comes Daddy...he's gonna get us

This was his favorite water toy as well as his favorite place to be in the pool.

Chillin by the picnic table.

Underrrrrr-dogggggs :)

We rode our bikes to the beach almost every morning! It was beautiful!

Austin took a lot of these walks with Grandpa and Grandma around the camp ground.

Austin wasn't feeling so well on this day. Poor little guy.

Just chillin in the wheel-barrow.

This has got to be one of my favorite pictures. Austin was walking with Grandpa and Grandma and saw a cat on a porch and really wanted to get to it and pet it. ;)

Eating some lunch in the fifth-wheel

Daddy makes me laugh!

Following a seagull

Deciding if the water is too cold. ;)

Austin really did enjoy these rides to the beach everyday.

Headed into the water in our clothes...woohoo!

He was ready to go in again...

And then he was ready to get out again. ;)

Austin found a doggie on the peer and did not want to leave it!

Austin heading out into the water! What fun!

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa

Happy Birthday LEVI! :) We went to Levi's 2nd birthday party. It was great to beable to celebrate it with him. He is such a sweetheart!

Goo Levi..it's your birthday :)

Andrew making some friends

Here are a few pictures of Austin really enjoying his first icecream cone. He was first just eating it and enjoying and then he couldn't get enough his mouth was always open waiting for more. That is when he decided he should hold it and never let go. :)

Levi and Austin saying goodbye! :)

We met GG and Great Grandpa in Saugatuck for some icecream and to visit Paige who works at Kilwins (icecream shop) on our way home. It was so much fun!

A visit to Oregon to meet Jaron/Outside/Josiah and Austin

Austin is now 18 months! He went to his check up and was 50th percentile in weight (25 lbs) and 97th in height (35 1/2 inches). These days he is not afraid to say "hi" to strangers and then lift up his shirt and say "belly". ;)

Having fun before bed.

We went to Oregon a couple of weeks ago with Papa and Nana to go visit Geoff, Celina and to meet Jaron. It was a great time. Jaron is precious and it was just so much fun to be with family. There was one funny thing that Austin was doing in the airport while daddy and mommy were taking turns walking with him (to get some energy out). We were walking and everytime we would come to a store or restaurant he would stop and start dancing to the music that each place was playing. It was so cute.

Here's.................JARON (Austin's new little cousin)

This was a common occurrence-Austin feeding Rosie :)-

Can't help but just stare at him, he's so cute. :)

This was the view from our hotel room. It was beautiful. We all, including Austin, enjoyed it.
We went to a park while we were there. Below is a picture of Austin saying "hi" to the ducks.

We were driving up through the beautiful roads of Oregon and came across a horse show. We decided to stop and take a closer look. Austin had so much fun watching them and we were all pretty entertained as well.

What a happy lil' guy!

SUMMER DAYS...

Getting ready to go play some ball.... ;)

Opted for the porch instead... :)

This is a picture of Josiah and Austin. I think I have about eight pictures of the two of them doing the same thing. Christa and I were trying to get them to look at the camera, but they were busy stealing the little twig back and forth from eachother. :)

Brown County/Outside fun!

Last weekend we headed down to Brown County with some friends (Chad, Nicole and Christian). We stayed in a cabin for the weekend and had such a great time! It was wonderful to get away and be in the middle of no where and just enjoy some time with friends. Very refreshing! Here are some pictures from the trip:

Playing under the table.

I don't think I have enough food in my mouth, more please? ;)

In their Pj's, so adorable.

Here, want some milk?

We went into downtown and saw this (after having to take a different route because of a flooded road); it was really sad.

Fooseball: Mommys VS Daddys and sons!

Austin giving Christian a hug!

He was about to show his belly button in this picture. He has been doing that a lot lately. He lifts up his shirt and points to his belly button. It's cute! :)

Below are a couple of pictures that Nicole got of the two boys playing while she was watching Austin one evening.

The pictures below were taken last week. It was such a gorgeous day. It was cooler and quite windy because a storm was coming. Austin and I decided to go and play on the porch. He got so excited about how the trees/leaves were moving. I thought he just looked so cute in his little shorts and shirt that I had to get a couple pics. of him.

Basketball

Charlie Brown....as Grandma's boss calls him

Here is a recent picture of Austin at an open house at Shepherd (thanks Colby). He had just finished a chocolate chip cookie. There is still chocolate on his teeth in the pic. below. ;) It was a special treat. His hair has turned a lot lighter recently and today I swear he seemed like he was at least an inch taller than yesterday. ;) Our fast growing little boy:

Laughs! :)

Have I mentioned lately that he loves to try to squeeze into little places. This morning there was a book on the floor in the bathroom and he insisted he had to have it while he was taking care of business..feet/ankles crossed and all. How fast they grow into little men... ;)