Western Day

Austin's preschool had Western Day last week! My friend, Kristen, works at the preschool & was sweet enough to get some pics of the festivities!

Our cowboy! Okay- the ears. Shane says he has my big ears... nice. But in his defense (and mine), he kept pulling his hat down really low & so his ears were forced out! Yes, that's it.


Riding the pony




The petting zoo




Half of Austin's class (they couldn't fit all 12)


Kristen & Austin's teachers said he had a great time- Yee Haw!

Impromptu trip to the zoo

Last Wednesday we woke up and decided to make an impromptu trip to the zoo! Shane didn't have much going on at work that day AND it was half-price day at the zoo. So after our appointment with ECI, we were on our way!

This trip was a little different from trips in the past- Austin really wasn't interested in the animals. At all. He was so busy running around & climbing on things that he couldn't be bothered with taking the time to look at the animals. So basically he probably would have gotten just as much enjoyment if we'd taken him to an open field. Oh well. We had fun... when we weren't chasing him. Oh wait, that was the entire time :)

Watching the gorillas




Walking with Daddy


Some of Austin's favorite animals:
Giraffes


Elephants


Monkeys


We took our lunch & ate at a picnic table- it was a beautiful day! (this is why I don't like Shane's blackberry- he's addicted.)


This is usually what Austin does when I pull the camera out these days- lovely.


Always a favorite- feeding the birds






Hitching a ride


Loves the carousel (sorry for the blurry pic- we didn't have our nice camera with us.)


Watching the lions




Our crocodile hunter


One last peek at the gorillas before heading out!

Being sick

The last several weeks we've all been battling sickness- just the allergy, sinus, cold stuff that is going around. Austin had a temperature the weekend before last and was feeling pretty lousy. He was pretty pitiful, but I will admit liking how much he wanted to lay on the couch and cuddle with his mommy!

Cuddle bug


What a smile, even when he's sick!


On a side note, Austin reached up and touches the stove last weekend & burned his 4 fingers and palm of his left hand. He was in a lot of pain and spent several hours crying (off and on.) Poor guy kept trying to play & would hurt himself. Thankfully I got some medicine for his hand that took the pain away & it never formed blisters. But now he points to the stove and to his hand- so I doubt he'll do it again! I hate that they have to learn some lessons that way :(

A busy bee

I feel like Austin is never satisfied unless we are actively doing SOMETHING. So recently we've been doing a lot of activities and crafts around the house. I wanted to document a few:

Painting- we still stick with watercolors most of the time, but he loves it!

Very serious, as usual.


Helper #1- he likes to grab the paint brushes & run off


Helper#2- he just watches


End result


Coloring- I've started giving Austin blank pages to color instead of coloring books...encouraging a bit more creativity. He's also learning to use the roll up crayons! His favorite part is probably taking all of the crayons out & putting them back in his camo pencil bag. Imagine that... he likes sorting/organizing.

Notice helper #1 is back


Playing- we do this daily, but on this particular day he took every single toy out of his toy box & put them on the couch. He had lots of fun in the chaos.

All the toys on the couch


What a mess


Watching tv from his new favorite spot


Crafts- I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a ton of craft items (thanks to my friend, Leah, who make me a very helpful list of supplies and activities.) Unfortunately Austin does not like to watch me do something and then do it himself- he wants everything to be his idea. So craft time only lasted about 30 minutes total. But we made some cute things!

The pumpkin mask which he liked holding and looking through the eye holes (can't tell in this pic- but the eyes are cut out & the mouth and nose are glued on.)


Macaroni necklace and pipe cleaner bracelet


Cooking- Austin LOVES helping me in the kitchen. I don't have pictures of everything, but recently he liked helping me make blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies (for his teachers' birthdays), and pigs-in-a-blanket. I also made sugar cookies and then we decorated them together for Halloween!

Loved all the different sprinkles


Some of the finished products


Playing with beans- another idea from my friend Leah. He loves pouring them from one container to another, spooning them, and sometimes using funnels. I've only come in once to find all of the beans in his lap & on the floor. It took the two of us forever to clean up that mess, so he hasn't done it again since!

Sorting


My little bean counter (chip off the old block)


Computer literacy- he likes to type on Shane's computer A LOT.... and does it whenever he gets a chance!

Getting a little out of control!


Getting to be such a big boy

Fire truck visits preschool

On Tuesday the fire truck visited preschool! I was not able to be there, but a friend who works at the preschool took some pictures on her iPhone for me. She said not to feel guilty, there were no parents of 2 year olds there- I guess it's better that way since they are still so teary when it comes to separation from mommy & daddy.

Here are the pics she sent- notice the kids next to Austin in both pics.. so typical of this age.

Sitting on the fire truck (they were asked to wear their preschool shirts that day- boys have green and girls have red.) I also just realized his class is very balanced with 7 girls and 5 boys. The woman in the pics is one of his teachers, Miss Tiffany! His other teacher is Miss Jennifer!


Such a big boy (by the way, he is in the oldest of the four 2's classes at his school- some kids are already turning 3 this month!)

Take me out to the ballgame...

Today we went to Austin's first Texas Rangers baseball game! I'll admit that neither of us had high expectations.... but it ended up going REALLY well! We went to the game with Jared, Leah, Reid, and Leah's brother! When we got to the ballpark, we took our time getting to the seats- which is always the case with two toddlers. We ended up getting cheap tickets, as we didn't know how long Austin would last & didn't want to shell out a bunch of money. So our seats were pretty high up, but it was nice because we could see everything & I wasn't worried that we were bothering people around us.

The three of us walking into the game. I don't have a Rangers shirt, so I went in support of one of my favorite teams that also wears blue :) FYI- the Cowboys did not play today, so it made our decision about going to the Rangers game much easier!


The boys- they were so excited.... all of them!


This was my first time to see the new Cowboys Stadium in person- it is truly amazing. Kudos to Jerry Jones... really. (For those of you that don't know, the stadium & ballpark are right next to one another.)


Getting settled in their seats- aren't they cute? They pretty much ate snacks the entire game- THAT was the trick.


We're ready for the game to start! GO RANGERS!


Our family


The Ballpark at Arlington




Me & Leah


Taking a break during the 7th inning stretch


Austin & Daddy


Austin, Shane, Reid & Jared


Jared & the boys (teaching them about the game)


Austin became restless during a few points in the game, so we went for a few walks. He also LOVES stairs, and so it was a constant battle to keep him in our row & away from them. Jared & Leah were so good about keeping him in line- he listens to them better than Mommy & Daddy... you know how that goes. Whatever- as long as he didn't throw a fit! I will admit that we had to do one timeout at the stadium.. it was pretty funny.

Jared making Austin laugh


Shane & Reid


I honestly thought we'd be gone by the 4th inning, but we ended up staying until halfway through the 9th- and only left because the LA Angels had scored again & we weren't confident that the Rangers could come back. Thankfully, it didn't matter that they lost the game- they're in the playoffs anyway! We headed back to the car & ended up grabbing a quick bite for dinner on our way home. Overall it was a very fun & successful day! We can't wait to go again!