Happy Halloween!

We celebrated Halloween last night down here in Texas! I think they did it on Saturday because Sunday is a school night, I'm not sure though. Instead of going door to door trick or treating we went to the Halloween Party at the Library. They didn't have much for the little babies to do but it was fun just to get Austin in his costume! He ws so cute as a lion! We were shocked too because ever since we've had his costume he wouldn't keep the hat on. Last night he decided that he wanted to wear it all night, even though it didn't fit him! My mom was going to fix it when they were here but I told her not to worry about it because he probably wouldn't wear it anyways! Oh well, he only had it on for a little while!

Libby; you will have to take lots of pictures of Jackson and yourself in your costumes so I can see how cute you look!

We hope everyone has a good Halloween!
Andi

Austin and Mommy, getting ready for the Halloween Party 

Daddy and Austin at the Halloween Party 

Mommy, Austin, Devlin and Jamie at the Halloween Party 

Ms. Janette, Austin, Ms. Amy and Devlin at the Halloween Party at the library! 

Do you like Austin's new shirt? My parents brought it to him...this was the smallest size! It still looks cute though! 

Lefty or Righty?

Hello everyone! My parents left yesterday to go back to San Antonio to spend a couple days there before they headed back home! It was great to see them and I know they were really excited about seeing Austin! We didn't do much...our town is not very big and doesn't have a lot of things to do! We hung out and relaxed most of the week!

My parents did point out one thing while they were here though. Austin does a lot of things with his left hand! He picks up his snacks and puts them in his mouth with his left hand and he grabs and plays with his toys with his left hand. I never noticed it before until they said something! Now I'm noticing it all the time. When he grabs something out of our hands he tends to grab it with his left hand, it's funny! He does have a really good chance of being left handed, Great Grandpa Ringman, Great Grandma Richards, Papa Richards, Aaron and Libby are all left handers too, or do some things left handed! We'll have to see in a couple of years I guess!

After my parents visit I'm really excited to come back to Michigan to see everybody! Only 50 days until we leave for our car ride up! I'm sure it will go by so fast! Too fast I'm afraid, because that means that it's that much closer until Michael leaves. He got his Desert issue on Monday and he begins to wear them on this Monday. It's kind of scary because that means that they will be leaving within a couple of months. We still don't know an exact date of when he will be leaving. I was really hoping that he would be here for Austin's 1st birthday but it doesn't look like that's going to be possible, at least he gets to be here for Austin's 1st Christmas!

Well, I hope everyone had a good week and have a great weekend!
Andi

Peek! Austin was peeking at my Dad while he was trying to take his picture! 

Austin got his first black eye yesterday! I left to take Michael to work and Austin stayed here with my parents! He was standing by the coffee table and tried to take a step to it and ended up bonking his eye on the table! Ouch! 

Another picture of his black eye! 

Austin's first black eye! 

The Doctor is in...

Well, Austin did really good for his doctor's appointment! He only had to get one shot today but...he had to get his blood drawn! He did really really good for them! He didn't even know that the nurse was poking his finger and pinching it to get his blood out and he only flinched and cried for a second when she put the needle in his leg for the shot! They drew his blood to see if he was anemic...he wasn't, everything was normal!

He hasn't gained any weight...he actually lost 5 ounces, but the doctor said that it's due to his mobility! He is now 28 inches long...growing an inch since last time! He is also getting all four top teeth right now! The doctor thinks that they all should be in within the next couple of weeks...explaining the reason for his runny nose this week! I thought he had a runny nose because I left his fan on all night but the doctor seems to think it's because of those teeth! You can see the teeth coming in but they haven't broken the skin yet! He has been so good about it lately I hadn't even noticed them!

So he did really good for his appointment, the next appointment will be for his ONE YEAR check-up! It's so hard to believe that he will be a year old in three short months! I can't wait though! Oh, the doctor thinks that he should start walking pretty soon. Not really quick, but since he's standing up all the time it shouldn't be long now! Maybe he will be walking by the time we come home in December...

Have a good week!
Andi

9 Months old!

Austin is getting ready to go for his 9 month check up and shots this morning at the doctor. I'll let everyone know how much he weighs and how long he is later! I'm not sure if he's going to get shots today or not...he has had a runny nose all week. Hopefully he won't have a fever and will still be able to get them!

My parent's got here on Saturday and we've just been hanging out. I had Austin wave at them when the pulled in the driveway! He was so cute...but he didn't quite understand who he was waving at! He was shy at first, which I knew he was going to be, but warmed up rather quickly. He kept loving on my mom, it was so cute! Now he is getting more and more comfortable with them too! We went out to dinner on Saturday when they got here and showed them on post. Yesterday morning we went to the grocery store then hung out the rest of the day! Good ole Killeen isn't that exciting!!

Thanks Libby and Jackson for Austin's bag of Halloween goodies! I love the t-shirt and he loves the book! He is so facinated with lift the flap books! Oh...and thanks for Jackson's pictures! I have to get a cool frame to put them in! Tell Jackson that I'm going to put one of his pictures in Baby Austin's room so that he can see him every day!!!! Hope your new job is going well! I can't wait to see you guys in less than 2 months!!!!

Look for an update later...

Andi

Happy Birthday Grandma Ringman! I love you!! 

Isn't this the cutest picture of him, he looks so innocent! I love him so much! 

Wow...time is flying by...

I can't believe that it's the middle of October and my parents will be here in two days! It seems like we just moved down here and getting used to the routine still! It's hard to believe that we've been here for almost four months!

Not much has been going on lately...although we did go to the zoo on Sunday. It was just a little zoo, but it was fun to go together as a family. The ride there and back was not as fun...Austin had some major screaming fits! He hasn't felt very good all week and I think that was part of it. If that's any indication how the ride home in December is going to be, we're going to be in trouble with a capital T! We might have to drive at night again! But about the zoo...there weren't very many animals (there are pictures of them in Austin's October photo album) and Austin fell asleep in the stroller after seeing the monkeys, the turtles and the bald eagles. But all in all we had a good time!

Congratulations Libby on your new job! All good things come to those who wait!

Hope everyone is having a good week!
Lots of love for everyone!
Andi

What is he reaching for???? 

He's reaching for the papers on the fridge! He must think that the pizza box is going to get him that much closer! He's so smart! 

Ha-caught him! 

The zoo was SO exciting for Austin! He saw the monkeys, the bald eagles, and the turtles and I guess that was enough for him!  

Well...feeding himself is going good...he also tried to feed the high chair, the floor and the refridgerator!!!!  

Doesn't he look like a caged prisoner wanting out!!! He loves to look out the front door when we have it open! 

So nice...

Austin was so nice to me this morning! We slept in until 8:00! Of course he got up at 4 but I put him in bed with me and after an hour or so of tossing and turning he went back to sleep! I swear that he is the biggest bed hog though! He turns sideways to sleep and kicks me! Hmmm...sounds like someone else I know...

Michael is coming home from the field today! He has been gone since Tuesday and we'll get to see him around 11 this morning. The FRG is doing a fundraiser so they are meeting all the soldiers at 11 to sell them pizza! Pizza will taste so good to them after eating MRE's all week!

Well, we better get around if we're going to meet him at 11. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Andi

Brrrrrrrrrr...

It has been chilly today...it has only been in the low, low 70's! I know that seems really good to everyone, but it seems freezing to us! Austin and I are both wearing long sleeves with pants!

Austin is really grouchy right now! Great...we're getting ready to go to our meeting! Hopefully he will fall asleep on the way there so he's in a better mood when we get there!

Hope everyone has a good night!

Andi

Austin got some new shoes today!!! He had to get size 3! What a big boy! 

Here's a close up of what they look like! 

Made it until 6:30...

Well, Austin slept until 6:30 this morning. I don't know how he functions all day on as little sleep as he gets. I get the same amount and I'm exhausted in the mornings! I think he's going to stop taking a nap during the day! He doesn't want to go to bed until 10 pm lately and is up around 6 the next morning. I don't know what his deal is!

Oh well, we don't have anything big planned for the day. We do have to go to the bank and the post office but those won't take very long! Oh, we are going to the next FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting tonight. I am the platoon rep for Michael's platoon. So when they go to Iraq I will be calling all the soldiers wives to check in with them every month. I told the ladies in charge that I would think about it at the last meeting, seeing how I would be in Michigan and all, and let them know at this meeting. Well...Michael came home from work last week and said that he volunteered me! How nice! No, it's ok because I was going to do it anyway!

Austin is so cute! He's in the living room putting things on the coffee table, knocking them off, saying "uh oh" then picking it back up and starting all over again! He does it on purpose and all I can do is laugh at him!

What's going on with everyone else? Libby, look for a package for Jackson to come next week sometime. I'm going to mail his Halloween package today! I hope he has fun with it!

Well... I better get Austin's breakfast around. He's going to try scrambled eggies today! He really likes pancakes for breakfast so we're going to try something new! Hope everyone has a good day!

Andi

Isn't he cute!  

One wish...

My good night wish is to get a full nights sleep without any interruptions...and sleeping past 6 am!!!!

Will my child be nice to me????

Good night everyone!

Andi

Lookout...here he comes to get you!!!!

Playing in the swing! We got it out so Devlin could swing in it and Austin wanted to play in it too! I'd say he's a little too big, wouldn't you? 

So many new things...

Austin has been doing so many new things lately! He now constantly cruises around the coffee table in the living room! He is starting to stand up on his own too! Sometimes he just lets go when he's holding on to things or if I'm carrying him and want to set him down he doesn't want to sit on his bottom, he wants to stand up! This is both exciting and scary at the same time! Next thing you know he'll be walking around getting into even more stuff!

Austin has also learned how to open the cupboard doors now too! He likes to stand up and bounce the door back and forth and make the most annoying sound ever! Of course he thinks it's so funny to make such a big racket! He also likes to help me unload the dishwasher whether it be clean or dirty!

And let me talk about him being all boy! Like my mom says, "it sounds like you guys are raising a heathen down there!" He puts his toys on the coffee table and then proceeds to knock them off with either his hand or another toy. I keep trying to tell him that he can't put his big truck on the table either and he gets mad at me! But the cutest thing is when he knocks his toys off on purpose and he says "uh oh!" I don't know why uh oh is the first thing he's saying because I didn't think we said it that much. Must be we do! But it's so cute! Although it's not always cute when we're at the grocery store and he keeps dropping his toy on the ground just so he can say uh oh then watch me pick it up! But, it keeps him entertained instead of fussing so I really can't complain that much!

He has been drooling really bad the last week too, so I don't know if he's trying to get more teeth or what. I can't see any yet, but I guess it's only a matter of time! Speaking of teeth, Austin is starting to feed himself now too! We are putting him in his highchair and putting little pieces of bread on his tray so he can practice picking things up. He loves bread and has almost gotten the hang of picking them up and getting them in his mouth! Last night he ate 3 bowls of cereal, half a jar of baby food, drank some milk then had half a piece of bread on top of that for dinner! I don't know what we're going to do when he eats food with the rest of us! I'm going to have a huge grocery bill!!! Oh well, it's worth it!

My parents will be here in 2 weeks to visit! I'm getting excited to see them and for them to see Austin! And only 10 weeks until we leave for Michigan. We're still unsure of how we are going to spend our days in Michigan. Really it's Michael's time to spend with everyone since Austin and I will be back a month later! We'll figure it out, probably not until the ride there, but we have over 20 hours to think about it!

Well, I better get going. Michael is having people over to watch football and have a cookout today so I better get the kitchen cleaned up! Plus, Angie and I are playing Michael today in fantasy football!!!! Hopefully we can beat him like we beat Ben last week!!!! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Andi

All tuckered out!!! Story time must have been fun! 

Always smiling! Everytime I get out the camera he comes to get it so it's hard to get pictures of him! 

Playing with his swimsuit string. If there's a string, he's playing with it and chewing on it!