On the Move...in more than one way!

Move #1: I arrived home from work on Tuesday to be asked a question by Adam. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?" When married to a rancher, this is never a good sign - and so I must have looked a little like a deer caught in the blinding glare of someone's headlights. As I stammered to say "What?" Adam chimed in, "Well, the bad news is that you weren't here to see it, but the good news is that Austin crawled today!"

"He did?" were the next words out of my mouth. As we visited a little more, I found that he had crawled a few feet and then stopped near the couch. Quickly after, Adam put him back on the floor, in hopes that he would do it again. No such luck! This little kiddo is definetly on his on own scheudle. I just can't wait to see it and get it on camera!!!

Move #2: Just to let you all know, we'll soon be moving to a new address. We'll be moving out of town (YAY!) and out to the ranch! Please pray for us that we are able to keep our sanity together and our tempers mild as moving often brings on a little stress. We are looking forward to lots of crawling and running space for Austin and lots of bunnies for Trapper to chase. As of next week, our new address will be:

1960 Road 3

Weskan

We'll be sure to keep updating Austin's crawling status and add moving pictures as we have time!

Austin's First Christmas Travelling Adventure!

Austin's 1st Christmas sure was an eventful and exciting one! We enjoyed Christmas with Adam's Mom & Steve, Kim, Kayla & Ethan (shown above) the Saturday morning, before Christmas. Austin got to play in his new walker and enjoyed getting his bottle from Great Grandma Smith.

That evening, we were able to celebrate with Adam's Dad & Cathy before our big Indiana trip. He got lots of great toys and even better...lots more attention! It seems that Austin was already very spoiled before we even got to see my family.

On the 22nd, we headed for the airport in Kansas City, with Grandma & Austin (and all of his stuff) in tow. After a not so short delay and an hour of sitting on the plane, we were off the ground in KC and on our way to Indiana...or so we hoped. During our delay in KC, we had heard that Indiana was getting pounded with a nasty ice storm. Thus, there was no guarantee that we would make it to Mom & Dad's once we landed in Minneapolis. We just had to sit back and wait - or sleep, as Austin did. What a great boy. He slept almost the entire flight and showed no signs of difficulty with the altitude.

An hour or so later, we arrived in Minnesota to find out that our flight to Indy was right on time. Within an hour, we boarded and Austin fell asleep and slept all of the way. Boy, were we truly blessed. Unfortunately, the ride home to Mom & Dad's didn't go as smoothly! The normally 2 hour trip turned into 5.5 and at a drowsy 3:30 AM, we finally arrived at the Snipes Bed & Breakfast.

We remained at my parents' home for Chrismtas Day and enjoyed seeing lots of family and a new cousin, whom we hadn't seen yet! The kids sure all had fun playing and taking in all the lights and decorations.

All in all, Austin celebrated at 6 different gatherings and had a fantastic holiday! We hope yours was joyous and that you were able to enjoy visiting with your family and friends!

Best wishes for a Happy and Blessed New Year!

Lots of Love, The Smiths
Adam, Christine, & Austin

Growing...Growing...Growing!!!

Our little guy isn't so little any more! Austin visited the doctor last week for an ear infection (no worries - he's doing great now), and weighed 15 lbs. 10 oz. This week he's been drinking lots and lots of milk. It seems our little "Milk Monster" has returned - and in full force! I think we're in for another growth spurt the way he's been eating!

We also started some cereal this week. I'm not sure that he's a great fan of the rice concoction - but its growing on him...and mommy and daddy. It seems to really help us get through the nights and wake up bright and cheery at 6:00 A.M. Yea!!!

New Tricks!!!

Austin learned a new trick this week! While we were playing with him Tuesday evening, he rolled over onto his tummy, and back over onto his back without ANY help!!! You can imagine how ecstatic we were. Austin must have thought his mommy and daddy were nuts because they were cheering and clapping...not to mention the enormous smiles on both of their faces!

I found that he had done it 2 more times at the babysitter's yesterday. We haven't seen it again since Tuesday evening, but you can bet the next time, we'll be waiting with cameras ready!

We'll be posting Halloween Pictures as soon as we have them. Our HS volleyball team is advancing to state finals this weekend in Hays, so our Trick or Treating has been postponed to Sunday evening. Keep your eyes open for more pictures, coming soon!

Hard Day's Work

Austin and Daddy found some time to relax after a long, chaotic weekend. Friday was a day of being home with Mommy. We woke up really, really early Saturday morning. We went back to sleep and then woke up about 8 to go to Colorado Springs for a day of shopping and odds n' ends. Saturday night followed the pattern of the night before; staying up late and waking up super early!

Sunday afternoon, after running around a bit, Austin found some time to snuggle with daddy! He must have been pretty comfy! He snuggled with Daddy for quite some time before waking up and needing a snack!

Feels like Autumn!

We started off this morning happy as can be, as we got up and had our breakfast! Austin was all smiles. Mommy was heading off to work, Daddy was heading out to cut feed, and Austin was going to Grama Debbie's for the day! As we started getting around, we noticed it was feeling a little chilly out, so we decided it was a great day to try out our new winter outfit! Check out the pictures of our little deer below!

Smile for the Camera!

What's Next, Mommy?

That is the question. What IS next? This week, Austin has really taken to playing with his toes and holding his own bottle. That is...if it's almost empty. The way I see it, milestones are milestones!

He is definetly going to be a roller coaster kid! Adam tosses him in the air (very, very gently) and hangs him upside down a little and Austin just smiles and smiles!

When he is lying on mommy's lap, Austin has begun to push himself backwards so that he can hang his head over mommy's legs and the couch to see upside down! What a little squirt!