A Few Lost Friends

I've been looking through Chris' photo archives this morning and came across some really great pictures taken before Christmas. I thought I'd post them since I'm so lacking in posts these days. Things have been busy, I've been feeling very pregnant and well other than that there's no better excuse as to why I haven't posted in so long.

I hope everyone is well and that you all have a wonderful Easter. I hope to have some pictures of our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt up soon, but who knows...

We'll start with Halloween I guess.

Austin and Ava, his most favorite girl. Isn't he charming? Picking his nose and all.

Austin with the cutest pumpkin in the neighborhood along with Jack, baby Parker

Here's Austin with most of his adorable friends. His buddy Billy had a spooky playdate. That's Austin in the pilot's costume, a tribute to daddy's service in the Air Force. And yes he has stickers all over his face, what a goof.

Giving Daddy a hand with the hard wood floor project.

Me, in shock because we finally have hard wood floors and because Chris did such and AWESOME JOB!

Waiting for the Christmas Spectacular to begin at Radio City Music Hall.

Mommy and super cutie.

Strolling the streets of NYC with Bo-be and mom

Lovely Laura showcasing a beautiful cupcake treat.

Not such a great picture, but you get the point, it was pretty.

A chilly night out with Miss Ava. We took the kids to see the parade of lights downtown Annapolis. It was a Zoo because the city dock was closed off for construction (actually I think it still is), but we still had a blast.

Opening presents from Grammy & Pop-pop before heading to Memphis for Christmas.

In January, Austin did so well on snow shoes while we were in Maine...

...we decided to put him on skis in Connecticut. He did just as well on skis and I think Chris may have cried he was so proud to see his little man skiing. Like father like son, Austin threw a tantrum when it was time to go in.

Le Petit Prince

'Look mama, I skateboard too!'

I know they're a lot of the same picture over and over, but Austin was having a great time with the crown he had made in school last month. I finally got a box to store all his projects in and when they all resurfaced he took favor with this one. I just love his imagination these days and all the art work he creates at school and at home. He could spend the entire day painting and coloring if I let him. I'm looking forward to it getting less messy at this point, but I am really amazed with the things he creates and all on his own.

He's really getting so big. The other day at the Farmer's Market he saw a little girl (maybe 5 or 6) zooming around on her Heelys, you know the sneakers with the wheels in the soles. Well he wanted to skate so very bad, just like the girl and he would run, run, run! and stop short and say 'Look at me mom, I skateboard too!' Now I ask myself, at what age do I introduce him to a skateboard or Heelys? I think we should stick with skiing and swimming, then work our way to the less gentle fall, more bone breaking, hard surface hitting sports.

P.S. His rash seems to be getting a little better. He has a follow up appointment Tuesday, we'll see how it goes.

We Caught the Sun

Caught him taking a breather

SO!!! Excited to have the sun out.

Ready to slide

'Yummy big, big carrots and juicy 'matoes...'

Still has that sweet little face, always my baby.

Austin and I caught the sun being warm Monday. On our way back from the dry cleaners we decided to make a pit stop at the neighborhood park. It was nice to just be outside for more than 5 minutes, the air wash fresh and clean and Austin was having a great time playing. Then we headed home for lunch on the back deck. I even broke out the bubbles and buckets of water to play with. He made mud pies in the back of his Tonka trucks from the potting soil left in the planters on our deck. The day was so pleasant I didn't even mind so much cleaning up the muddy mucky mess when it was time for him to take a nap.

Since then the weather has been gray, cold, dismal and quite frankly plain depressing. Hey little man, at least we had Monday. Hopefully the sun will show us its warmth again soon.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures. If you hadn't noticed, Austin's got a little funky rash going on. It's unfortunately continued to get worse since Monday and the doctors are not quite sure what it is. Come Friday if it hasn't started to clear up we'll have to take him in to see a specialist. No worries though, Austin feels just fine, just a little itchy that's all. Still keep him in your thoughts, hopefully this thing will clear up soon.
I hope this blog finds you all well.

With love, Liz

Solo in San Fran

Fidel - a.k.a Deli-boy

my ladies

Leah in the hat

Going to market

The Bay Bridge (not the Golden Gate ;o)

Leah, the hat and some coffee

us

again

China Town

China Town Dim Sum - yum!

I can't believe I was there

My favorite picture from the trip

Muir Woods

Big Tree

love this shot

us in a big tree

Abba and Geo in the same big tree

Us so cute! Fatty in the middle :o)

Ab' and Geo at Sunset

Heaven - the perfect ending to a perfect trip

With two wonderful ladies of course. I enjoyed a quick weekend getaway without my guys in San Francisco last week. Thanks to my lovely hosts Abbey, Geo & Fidel, I was able to get a very good taste of the Bay Area. And yes, by that I mean that I ate half the city while I was there. I'm a little tired and just relieved to be getting a post up for you all to enjoy. I don't feel that I could do any justice to just how tremendous and wonderful this trip was for me by writing right now. So I will spare the details and allow for the photographs to speak for themselves.

I hope you are all well. Thanks, as always, for checking in on us.

Love, Liz

Not worth much of anything

Yes that's me, not worth a whole lot right now. I am exhausted. Had a fabulous trip to San Francisco and since I've returned I can barely justify rolling out of bed in the morning especially since Austin has begun telling me to go away when I try to wake him up. His new big boy room is THAT cozy.

I know I've failed to reach my 30 pictures in 30 days project, but I do have some great shots for you all. I should have them posted by the weekend. Then I'll try to pick up where I left off. Hopefully we can reach 30 pictures before the baby arrives. Hang in there with me, I have the motivation, just not as much energy as I would like. Not that I'm complaining, I do love having an excuse to take naps and sleep in :o)

Love to all. Liz

I owe you

She really loves her baby, no matter what she tells you.

He had no idea I had stuck (using static) this balloon to his head.

I know, I owe three photos as of today. I hope to get one up there, though I'm preparing for a trip today and may not get around to it. No these darling photos don't count because I took them the same time I took Day 7's photo.

The weather is so crappy here. My dear husband spent (and I'm not kidding or exaggerating here) 4 hours and 14 minutes in the car last night trying to get home. If any of you have visited or lived in Annapolis, you know that the town is surrounded by bridges, all of which were CLOSED! last night due to icing. Not to mention that there were accidents on every road into and out of Washington D.C. Maryland and Virginia. It's cold and wet, frozen and messy. I can't wait to get to California.

Day :: 7

I heart my dog.

My Funny Valentine

He just loves to be messy. Austin had just woken up from him nap and wasn't in the best of moods. I tried a cupcake to cheer him up, which did the trick until I put the camera in his face... I get this look a lot and it's often followed by him telling me, "No more mom, all done, too bad!" Which translated means, "Please just cut it out already, I've had enough. Get that thing out of my face." Our poor children, I wonder if they'll ever appreciate all these pictures. I like to think they will.

Hope you're all well. Thanks for checking in on us. Lots of love, Liz

Day :: 6

Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean cup cakes topped with
sweetened crème fraîche and sprinkled with love.

Too few

There will never be too many moments like this. Chris and I were finished eating dinner and typically end up sitting at the table talking until the A-man has finished his plate. He's been a bit of a picky eater these days, putting up a fight when we feed him anythign other than chicken nuggets and pizza, and this night was no exception. Until Chris and I were done and our plates had been cleared, he surprised us and actually began eating the quesadillas I had made for him, dip, dipping them in the salsa and guac left behind from Chris and I.

Of course Chris and I never give Austin's little miraculous acts like this any attention only because we fear he may stop at once with any sort of acknowledgment. So we continue on our adult conversation paying him no mind, when he decides mid-meal, that he wants to cuddle on daddy's lap and climbed on over from his seat to Chris'. I couldn't grab my camera fast enough. It's just a little moment, but one that I know if you were a fly on the wall in our home you would have thought it was pretty darn cool too. I can't even tell you how fortunate we feel just knowing there will be twice as many moments as these in just 3 short months. So fortunate, so grateful, so blessed.