When God Closes a Door, He opens One Doozie of a Window!

So many of you might remember that I was planning on going into nursing school. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision to get started. Brian and I were in this (what seemed like) never ending holding pattern. Trying to have a baby with no success; me at a job I don't love-love and not wanting to be at forever. So after a little contemplation, I started taking the prereqs and loved them! It was really nice to enjoy school again.

Right at the end of my first class, we found out I was pregnant with Austin. So I quickly squeezed in the other prereqs so that I could apply for the program before Austin was born and then use the waiting list time to stay home with him and figure out the details of how to still make the program work for us.

The program (which would have started this week) I was going to take would be a part-time one. Just one night a week and one all day session either Friday or Saturday. Not ideal with a little one, but not too bad too. Not like we don't have plenty of people biting at the bit to babysit.

Pretty quickly, I got a phone call from the administration letting me know I was accepted....and that the part-time program I had signed up for had lost its funding. What?? My only option there was a full-time program (8am to 3pm, Monday through Thursday) which I was not willing to do. The whole point of this Stay-at-Home-Mom thing is, kinda, you know, to stay at home with your kid! There was another part-time program in Santa Ana, but by the time I factored in driving, that wasn't too much better of an option.

I was really disappointed, but at the same time I was okay. Like I said, this was a spur of the moment thing at the beginning and it's still a goal I'd like to pursue, but I was fine with the timing just not being quite right. Brian and I both decided that there was probably a good reason it wasn't working out right now and we'd just keep it on the back burner until a better time arose.

So onto that window being opened...

Turns out we didn't have to wait too long to figure out why it wasn't the right time to be taking on a new career path.

Brian and I are happy to announce that we are expecting another baby! He or she will be making his or her grand entrance sometime at the end of March/beginning of April. We are very excited and still slightly shocked. After having to endure what seemed like a lifetime of waiting for Austin, God decided to switch us to that unfamiliar "fertile" category. First time's a charm, apparently! Who knew?!

Austin will be just about 18 months older than his little sibling, which was my minimum comfort zone. (Really glad we didn't start trying earlier, by the way!) It will be all sorts of chaotic, but should be fun having kids close in age too. I'm hoping, girl or boy, that they will be the best of buds!

Austin, of course, has no clue about how his life is about to change, but he's still horribly excited about it. See??



So keep checking in for updates. I'm currently just under 10 weeks along, as you can see from the ticker at the top of the blog. I'll be posting pics of my ever expanding waistline, (turns out it starts expanding much earlier the second time around!), pics of ultrasounds, and little, tiny, minuscule details like gender. (My Momma's intuition apparently is broken, because I have no inklings or feelings one way or the other. Didn't with Austin either. I just joyfully take whatever God plops in my arms!)

The Cruelest of All Cuts....Apparently

Austin was in dire need of a haircut. See?

My sweet shaggy little guy.


So we went to a place called First Cuts to get his hair cut. They have rocketships to sit in. It was very cute. Auntie Suz came along to document his first big cut!

Austin enjoying his rocket seat.


First cut. Not too bad. Didn't like the sound or feel of the scissors.


So we went for the clippers. He wasn't crazy about the clippers either.


And then there was crying.


Then it got worse...


and worse...


and worse.


Then puffs helped.


But sometimes even puffs can't help.


Then he perked up some and she finished cutting his hair...


even though there was still some wiggling.


Then she tried to brush the hair off.


That really did not go over well.


But thankfully the haircut came out great, despite it all!

Austin's 1st (and last!) Plane Trip

I've been trying to get this post out for more than two weeks now! We went right from traveling chaos into teething chaos and needless to say, we're all a little tired around here!

Two weekends ago, Brian, Austin and I traveled to Michigan to visit Brian's brother Sean and his wife Sarah. We had a wonderful long weekend with them and were so sad to go! Getting there was rough and getting back was even more so!

We took a redeye flight there. Big mistake!! I was thinking "Oh Austin is such a great little sleeper, he'll zonk right out!" Wow, was I ever wrong! There was so much to see! So many people to stare at! I eventually was able to nurse him to sleep with maybe 1.5 hours left of our flight to Chigao. And he did zonk out on our connecting flight to Traverse City. Thank goodness! But we did all crash pretty hard once we got to our hotel room.

My cute little worn out travelers




(Oh and I'm a bad momma, blogger, scrapbooker because I have no official pics of his 1st flight. I was so preoccupied with getting him to sleep, I didn't take any pics! :( Waah!)

So onto our trip! We had such a great time. Michigan is just beautiful! Sean and Sarah have a gorgeous house, nestled in amongst the trees, out in the middle of nowhere, but not really out in the middle of nowhere, which is great. My requirements for living are that there are stores and food within 15 minutes. And that's where they are. Out in nature, but within driving distance of a hamburger!

Auntie Sarah and Austin


Look! Nature!



Awesome barn about 5 minutes from their house!


I wish I had gotten some pics of Austin chasing the cats. Sean and Sarah have 4 not-small cats. And by not-small, I mean gargantuan. About the size of Austin. He had a ball chasing them all weekend. I think he only caught one once because he doesn't know how to quietly sneak up on them. His exuberance just could not be contained and he'd shriek with glee at the sight of them!

The 1st night we were there we got to have dinner with Brian's cousin, Keegan, and his family too. They live in Kentucky and we rarely get to see them, but they just happened to be vacationing in the area. Good timing!

Austin, Ty, and Fisher playing together


Fisher & Austin racing


Keegan & Ty


The next day we went out to a lake on Sean & Sarah's pontoon boat. The lake has a sandbar that everyone just pulls their boats up to. Then you can get out and wade around. Austin didn't quite like the water at first (just slightly colder than the heated pool we go to for swimming lessons!) but he got used to it for a bit. Then his lips started turning blue and we were done for the day!

Showing off his cool lifejacket. Poor little guy could barely move in it!


Captain Sean


Hanging out with Daddy in the water; Sporting a killer hat!


Floating along


Drying off and warming up! (Notice the blue lips? Oops!)


Loving the wind in his hair! He was bouncing up and down as we went fast.


Friday night & Saturday we putzed around the house and town. Sean & Sarah took us to some good eating spots, including one of the best hamburgers I've ever had, one of the best salads I've ever had, and some of the best ice cream I've ever had (straight from the cow!)

Sunday we went out on a different lake. Did a little swimming but mostly watched Brian & Sean drive Sean's remote control boat.

The little boat


Austin and Uncle Sean


And them Monday we came home. That flight was way worse! Austin slept for the first 40 minutes and gave us hope of a good flight. Then he woke up tired and cranky and squirmed and whined and cried for the last 3 hours! I did, however, get cute pics of him on the trip home!

Waiting for takeoff


The short lived nap!


Surviving the rest of flight. Thankful Momma didn't throw him out the emergency hatch. (Notice the ecstatic look on Brian's face?)


All in all it was a wonderful trip though! Just next time we're driving to see them!

Thanks for having us, Sean & Sarah!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh and I have to include this picture, cuz it just cracks me up. Apparently the school was named after someone with the surname "Black" but still...they could have come up with a better, more 21st century name for the school, dontcha think?? Sean assures me that they are very forward thinking, there in Michigan, but I dunno! =D

10 Months!?!?

New this month...

If I thought he was crawling fast last month, I was wrong! He moves out now! Of course, still when he's trying to get to something or somewhere he knows he's not supposed to be! But my favorite is when I go to pick him up from my Mom and she puts him down across the house and he crawls to me. He gets going so fast and he shrieks in amusement/excitement at the same time. Melts a momma's heart, I tell you!

He likes to chase after you crawling too. Brian says that Austin is in his herd. So they go tromping around the house like that...Austin shrieking as he goes!

He has perfected pulling himself up on the furniture and is now cruising around it all. We really have to watch what we leave out now.

It took him a while to figure out how to get down from standing. He would stand there until his little legs would shake before he would let me know he wanted down. When he finally figured it out, he would carefully hold on with one hand and slowly lower himself to the ground until his other hand touched the floor. Then he would let go. It was very cute to see. He's more confident in his squatting abilities now though and just goes for it.

He's becoming a bit of a climber. This means that our fancy babyproofing with the pillows isn't working quite as well, cuz he just climbs up on those and gets to where we were trying to block!

He loves loves loves to climb on Brian. They call it King of the Mountain. He tries to get up and over the back of the couch. And he could probably do it by himself if we let him.

Tooth #2 came in without any incident! He's chewing on his hands a lot, so I think the top 2 will be coming in soon, although they don't look like it yet.

He is chattering so much. I wish I knew what he was saying, because it sounds fascinating!

He shrieks...a lot! Happy shrieks. Funny shrieks. But loud shrieks! My favorite was when he grabbed Brian's face in his hands, pulled it close to his own face and then just yelled! Funniest thing we'd seen yet! He also likes it when you shriek back, so we have contests sometimes.

I think he likes to sing. He just makes "la" sounds in different pitches and likes it when I sing along. We try to harmonize. I would say it probably sounds pretty darn bad to the outside listener, but we think it's beautiful! =P

Have I mentioned what a good sleeper he is? His naps are long and predictable. 1.5hr in the morning and 2-3hr in the afternoon. Sometimes longer! It's wonderful! I miss him while he's asleep, but I do get lots done too.

He's started doing this funny nose squishing thing. He does it when he's upset, when he's thinking, when he's hungry. It looks like he has a bug up his nose or something! I love it! I'll try to capture it with the camera one of these days before he stops doing it!

Still is not crazy about diaper changes or putting clothes on. Cannot, for the life of me, figure out what his deal is. It's getting a little better, but at times I have to strap him down or put him on the floor and virtually sit on him to make it work! He prefers to get dressed standing up now too, so once the diaper is on, he usually gets to stand up and that has been helping.

Loves going outside in the morning to see the cats. He's learning to be gentle too.

He's becoming a little shy and clingy now. Not too bad though. I hear it's a normal time for this phase though.

He is a great eater. Loves his finger foods. Cheese is his absolute favorite right now. He does this cute little head tilt when he realizes it's cheese in front of him, like "Oh, I like those!!" and then proceeds to shovel as many pieces in as he can. He was chipmunking it for a while, hoping to maximize what I would give him, but now he's doing better about taking his time. I think he realizes he gets more that way!

Loves his Carseat Pooh. We have lots of Winnie the Poohs, if you haven't figured that out by now. Giant Pooh, Night Night Pooh, etc. Carseat Pooh is his stuffed one that stays in the car. Once he's buckled in he gets it. And he grabs it and gives it a big ol' kiss. Okay, it looks like he's biting its face off, but I'm pretty sure it's a kiss. Pooh has a rattle inside too, so he bounces it around while we drive. It's very fun to listen to.

Likes to play this game while he's snuggling or nursing where he pushes my face away so I can't look at him. When I turn back he's pushes again. But if I keep my head turned he pulls my chin back towards him while laughing. He has such a quirky sense of humor already. Such his daddy's boy! I love it!

Once Again, It Still Counts!

The month of July sure got away from me, so before I knew it, it was almost August and I still hadn't gotten Austin's 9 month pictures taken! So we squeezed them in last week. Still counts!!