Destin 2010- Part 2

This post is a bunch of random pictures from the week, and things I want to remember about the trip:

*Austin loved sitting in his highchair after dinner while my dad would hide from him. My parents' house is very open, so he could peek around the from the living room, kitchen, or hall- and it was funny to watch in anticipation to see where Papa Jim would pop up next!




*He was able to show Papa Jim & Gigi that he is not perfect & is officially in his terrible 2s. Several fits (one where Gigi had to spank him), & several moments of pouting. This is one of them.


*Our favorite cowboy


*Reading with Gigi- every time I walked in the room they were reading, coloring, or she was pulling him around the house in a wagon.


*Austin was terrified of my parents bedroom/bathroom and also their new front loading washer and dryer. By the end of the week he was playing in their room, taking baths in their bathtub, and fascinated with watching the clothes spin in the washer/drying (and helping Gigi do laundry.) He probably thinks our old machines are SO boring now.

*Visiting Papa Jim's office- everyone at the office loved seeing Austin & he enjoyed closing/opening the doors & running around the conference room table.


*Visiting Nana & Jim's new house (my parents best friends). Every time we went over he wanted to go out to the pool- so finally Nana took him out there! Nana is another one of his favorite people- he even called her Nana at church on Wednesday night. We were all in shock since he doesn't talk!

Destin 2010 - Part 1

Austin & I made a spur of the moment trip to Destin last week! Shane has been traveling a lot, so my parents decided to use some of their mileage and fly the two of us to visit them for the week! I was nervous about the flight, but anxious to get there and have a mini vacation! The flight there was OKAY. The 1.5 hour delay was torture, but once we got in the air (with the DVD player and tons of snack)... he was fine!

Our week was VERY relaxing! We had no plans.. just took everything day by day! The week started off cool, but it was almost 70 degrees when we left! I have lots of pics, so I'm going to break it down into a few posts!

We flew in on Sunday & spent the evening with several of my parents church friends- they all love playing with Austin, and he loved being the center of attention! For the next few days we had the same schedule- hanging out at the house in the morning, meeting my dad and friends for lunch at the beach, and a fun activity with Austin after nap time.

Playing at the house


Playing with Gigi


You need sunglasses when you eat at the beach!


So what if they are Gigi's sunglasses...


Coloring (which he has recently started loving)


Looking at the water out the window- he kept trying to stand in the highchair to see & point at the beach.


Being silly with Papa Jim


Riding the carousel with Gigi (first time)




A few things I really enjoyed about the trip:
*Relaxing- my parents (especially my mom) took care of Austin a lot! I even slept in several mornings!
*Eating on the beach- some of my favorite places to eat are in Destin! So it was nice to have some good seafood with beautiful views.
*Going clothes shopping for myself... ALL alone. At least 3 or 4 days I went shopping around town for some new clothes while Austin napped! I forgot how nice it is to shop without a stroller, wining toddler, diaper changes, and constant snacking. I just took my time & ended up getting LOTS of great deals!
*Eating at home almost every night- home cooking by my mom!
*Catching up on movies- I rented 2 movies that I've been wanting to see & watched them on our portable DVD player in my room at night!
*Visiting my parents alone with Austin. I know that sounds weird because, of course, I wish Shane could have gone with us- but it was different to be there alone. I haven't been to my parents' house alone since before we got married!

Record Snow

We were supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow today, but there was already 3 inches on the ground when I got out of bed this morning. There is at least 8-9 inches right now & they are saying it will continue snowing until 3am.. WOW! So lots of pics~

Big smiles this morning over the snow

Watching the snow- can't wait to go out in it!

Jack & Max- thankful to be indoor cats

Petting Max (the bowl- he ate a snack out of it, and carried it around all morning)


Austin's new trick- climbing on the bed to bug the cats (then he slides down the side & does it over again)

FINALLY OUTSIDE- Running up and down the driveway

Not sure about what is on his hands

Sitting in the snow

Playing with daddy

Eating snow- from the expression, I'm not sure if he liked it...

The backyard this morning at 10am (notice the amount of snow on the bird feeder already)

The house

Looking down the street

Our front sidewalk

Shane shoveling the driveway (he couldn't get up the driveway when he came home at 2pm)

Somebody was NOT happy when we were done playing in the snow

A few other random pics not related to the snow:

Austin is still convinced that he can slide down the ramp of his Little People Garage- he tries, and tries.... and tries

Practicing sitting on the potty- yes, it's in our bedroom still. And no idea on the facial expression...

Austin's first tattoo- Scooby Doo (from one of his school valentines)

Eating chocolate chip cookies on a stick that mommy made (trial run for his bday party)- he LOVED the stick!

UPDATE- total snow at our house measured 12 inches (and over 12 inches at DFW airport)- setting the all time record for most snowfall!!

First day of preschool

Today was Austin's first day of preschool, and I was really nervous about it! He still gets upset when we leave him in bible class at church, and also gets upset when we pick him up (but his teachers say he is fine during class.) So I was expecting the worse.

He will be going to 1 day a week (Mondays) at First Baptist Keller- it's great & only 5 minutes from the house! Drop off is at 9:15 & pick up at 2:15- but I got him early today because I wasn't sure if he would take a nap.

Drop off went great! He walked into the classroom all by himself and started playing with the other children (there are 8 total including Austin, equal boys and girl)- didn't really even check to make sure I was still around. After talking to his teachers (Miss Tammy & Miss Misty) for a few minutes, they distracted him & I slid out the door. I went to the office to hand in paperwork and pay tuition, and then the coordinator wanted to show me the sign in procedure back at the classroom door. As we headed back, Austin's class was coming out the door to go to music class. So I quickly hid so that he wouldn't see me. I could see him though, and was so proud to see him walking down the hall holding his teacher's hand... just as happy as could be! I was SHOCKED he didn't cry. But of course I did.

I will say it was so nice to have several hours to myself! I ran a few errands and then did some cleaning around the house before heading back at 12:30 to pick him up! When I got there all of the other kids were getting ready for a nap, and Austin was sitting at the table waiting for me. He looked a little sad & immediately started crying when he saw me. He calmed down after a minute or so, and we went in the hall to visit with Miss Tammy about his day. She said he did great all day until around noon when they were headed back from the gym- to have lunch in the room. Today was pizza today because of Valentine's Day parties, and although he loves pizza- he did not eat. I'm sure it was just because he was upset. I looked in his folder and he had a great report, and it looks like they did lots of fun things!

I'll be anxious to see how next week goes... now that he knows what to expect! I'll also try to get more pics in the coming weeks- maybe Austin with his teachers & friends. I just didn't want to push it on day 1.

Choo Choo

Today we met my friend, Janell, and her twins (Alex & Addison) for lunch! Before lunch we took a ride on this cute train that goes around the inside of the mall- the kids LOVED it! Granted it was $3/person and lasted about 5 min... but still worth it! The pics aren't great- I decided against bringing out nice camera and just grabbed the older small one!

Austin & I riding in the caboose (I know, THE PACI)

Janell, Alex & Addison

Alex

This was Austin's first time to eat at Rainforest Cafe- and he REALLY enjoyed it! He was constantly looking around at the animals & listening to them make noises. It was so fun to spend some time catching up with Janell & getting a preview of what Austin will be like in about a year by watching her sweet kiddos! After lunch with walked around the mall for just a little while before heading home for nap time!!

Janell and Alex

Austin & Mommy

Scary!!


In other news, Austin starts preschool on Monday! He will go every Monday from 9:15-2:15, but they will let me pick him up before nap time if I'd like. We probably won't try nap time the first week (seeing as how it's a big adjustment just being at school for that long!) But hopefully he will catch on in a few weeks. It should be interesting since he's never slept anywhere besides his crib... hoping peer pressure works this time! I'll post pics of his first day next week sometime!