Seasons Greetings!

Seasons greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah:

Some of you might have thought that Web address at the bottom of our holiday card was just an ad. But really, it wasn't.

We just decided to put a holiday letter/message on the blog, instead of sending one out through the mail. Also, we figure that some of you might want to catch up on our lives here if you haven't been following along already.

So, here's a recap of 2008:

There were a few months before Austin was born. But it's hard to remember those seemingly quiet days.

Austin came into this world on April 19 at 8 pounds, 7 ounces. I had to be induced, so my parents had enough time to drive out for his birth.



Like everyone told us, life hasn't been the same since.

We were lucky to have help right away. As the first grandchild on both sides, the grandparents and aunts were eager to meet the baby. So, we had a parade of visitors all summer.

My mother was able to help us for two weeks after Austin's birth. The same day she left, Michael's mother, who likes to go by Noni, and sister, Aunt Alison, arrived. More visitors came later: Aunt Laura, Aunt Karen, my cousin Gina. The great grandparents -- my maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather -- also came by during their vacations. My parents ended up coming several times.

Michael was fortunate to be able to take off a month at first and then two weeks later for paternity leave. So, there was a lot of time for family bonding.



Austin has already taken two plane trips. We visited Michael's friends and family in Chicago in September. In October, we all went to Tucson to see my relatives.

I ended up taking almost six months off for maternity leave -- one month before birth and five months after. I can't say my days were terribly exciting. I made it a goal to get out of the house at least once a day, but that usually meant a walk to the market, the mall or just around the block. Still, it was wonderful to have so much quality time with Austin.

The Register allowed me to cut my work week down to 30 hours when I returned in September. I've been writing about two small cities and recently, I started writing about the economy's impact on north Orange County.

Michael's job took some twists and turns this year, but for the better. When the sports department made some changes over the summer, Michael got to switch to cover USC. It's a good fit with Michael's extensive football background.

Our work schedules work out well for childcare because we have staggered schedules. We have a wonderful nanny, Ana, who comes to the house 15 hours a week.

As parents, we've been amazed to watch Austin's continual growth, changes and new skills.



At first, we were so excited when his eyes could follow his mobile or turn toward our voices. Now, he's crawling, pulling himself up to standing, clapping and waving when we ask him to say, "Hi." He giggles when we make sniffing, kissing or animal sounds. He says "ba-ba" and "ma-ma," although he doesn't know what they mean yet. Austin is a very curious boy, picking up and examining anything he can get his hands on -- junk mail, cans, stuffed animals, books.

We're looking forward to Austin's first holiday season. He's already enjoying Christmas lights and decorations. We plan to celebrate the holidays both here and in Tucson. At home, we're going to have a little Hanukkah celebration for the three of us. Then, we'll spend Christmas in Tucson with my family.

We wish you all the best of times, peace and love.

Chunky monkey

Austin is going through some sort of growth spurt.

Every day, we pick him up and he feels heavier and bigger.

His weight gain was apparent Sunday when the Ding girls came over for a long overdue playdate.
Maven, at 11 days older, has always been much bigger than Austin. But Austin seems to be catching up to her in size and weight. Contrary to Maven's assertions, Austin does NOT have fat rolls. But he is chunky and solid. They felt about the same weight.



Maggie and Michael traded babies to compare their weights.



Maven was a little bit cranky on Sunday, so Austin had fun with a doting Sedona, who wanted to hug and kiss him. They're becoming fast friends.





Later in the day, I took Austin to Ellyn Pak's baby shower. Baby Ella is due next month. Another girlfriend! The Korean BBQ place had a kids' room. Tia Cindy let Austin climb on top of her.



Last week, we bought Austin an early Christmas present -- a jumperoo.

Really, it's more a present for me. I needed something to put him in upstairs so he doesn't crawl around, stick his finger in the computer, pull on power cords or yank down the trash can. That way, I can get some stuff done. He likes it.



Austin loves his bath, but he's really growing out of his infant bathtub. We ordered a new one.



Austin has started drinking juice. He held the bottle on his own.



Last but not least, Austin FINALLY figured out how to crawl. He's been scooting around for months. He was so quick, we didn't think he'd find the need to get on all fours. But he did:

Seven month skills

Sorry it has been awhile since our last post. Our personal Internet was down, so I couldn't get the photos until now.

Since our last entry, Austin turned 7 months old. And he's made some progress.

Austin now weighs 19.2 pounds and 27 inches long. He gained more than a pound in about three weeks. So, he's getting to be a little bit heavy.

This weekend, he got his first tooth. Grandma, the dental hygienist, noticed a nub when she was cleaning him up after eating bananas and rice cereal. Austin keeps making sucking and smacking noises, obviously playing with his tooth.

Austin is also learning how to stand up when grabbing onto something. Last week, he could barely put his hands on the top step of our stairs. By the end of this weekend, he was standing with just one hand, cruising from side to side and almost climbed onto the first step. Yikes! We're in big trouble.

Austin practiced his new standing/climbing skills by trying to crawl over Grandpa.

Earlier in the week, Tia Courtney kindly agreed to babysit so we could go see Coldplay. She said he was a bit fussy before falling asleep early at 8:15 p.m. It was probably the tooth. She was lucky that she babysat before Austin learned his dangerous new skills.

He was playing in this box before she arrived.

The next day, Grandma and Grandpa arrived for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Aunt Pat agreed to host the dinner for 10 (including Austin). She had a beautiful display on her table.

Austin wore his turkey bib.

On Friday, Grandma babysat while Michael and I had a two-part date. We saw "Slumdog Millionaire" during a matinee. (We highly recommend it). Grandma wore him out so much that he fell asleep early around 7 p.m. before Michael and I headed out for dinner. Grandpa had spent the day helping Aunt Pat, so he didn't even get a chance to play with Austin that night.

Here Grandma is reading Austin a book:

On Saturday, Grandpa got to spend some quality time with his grandson when we headed out to Seal Beach to see the ocean and eat some tacos.

Austin enjoyed the baby swing at the playground on the beach.

That is, until I made him stop to take a picture.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. We're obviously most grateful for Austin's health and happiness, even if he seems a little too healthy these days. :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Daddy time

Michael had his last road trip of the regular football season this week -- a big relief for mom and baby.

Well, mostly mom. With our alternating schedules, it's kind of hard to get time to ourselves or with each other. It's still going to be busy for the next few months, but I think it will be a little bit better with him in town. (OK, Dings, I know you think we have nothing to complain about. We know your schedule is much worse.)

The work schedule works out pretty well for Austin. He gets quality mommy and daddy time. I get up early and start working at home before Austin wakes up for the day. Daddy is still in bed when I'm ready to leave. So, I bring Austin to bed with daddy:

Bicha, the cat, gets more attention from Michael. So, she cuddles up to Michael more. Here's a Michael sandwich with our two babies:

Here he is in a cute outfit from my friend, Debbie. The shirt says, "ABCD, for those about to rock." My little rocker:

For those readers out of state, just wanted to let you know that we are away from the fires. We can see lots of smoke, but the flames are far enough away.

Historic week

It was a historic week for the country last week with the election of Barack Obama.

And it was also a historic week for Austin.

OK, well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. But Austin did learn a few new tricks.

He sat up on his own. He was rolling around on the floor one night. Before I knew it, I looked up and he was sitting. It only happened once, but I'm sure it will happen again. In this picture, I put him in sitting position.

Austin also learned how to wave. I didn't believe it until I saw him do it three times.

We've been trying to show him the motions of "hi" and "bye" as people come and go. First, when his nanny was leaving last week, I saw his little hand go up. Later, he waved back at me when we got back from a walk. Finally, he waved when his daddy came downstairs. We both saw it. It really happened. I don't have a picture yet.

I also took Austin on his first trip to the zoo. He couldn't see many of the animals, but he enjoyed watching some monkeys swing around. In this picture, he's watching an elephant. You'll have to take my word for it. I didn't get a good picture.

Daddy took some cool pictures early one morning:

He likes to lie on his side these days:

Other than that, Austin is getting ready for the holidays, like everyone else. Warning to grandparents and aunts: He's checking out new toys for his Christmas list.

I just added some photos from the Tucson trip and some more October photos. Check them out.

-Sarah

Pumpkinhead

Austin doesn't really understand trick-or-treating. But we wanted to do some Halloween activities, anyway.

Babies are just too cute all dressed up.

We bought him this Halloween sleeper on clearance last year when I was pregnant. It's the first item of clothing that we bought him. Luckily, it still fit. But as you can see, his toes are a little bit tight. We bought the pumpkin hat to top off the outfit this year.

On Thursday - the day before Halloween - we caught up with our friends from the "Mommy Matters" class in Old Towne Orange. Kids dress up and trick-or-treated at the stores by the circle. Mostly, we sat on a bench and people-watched. Bobby (aka Superbaby) and Austin weren't too cooperative for a side-by-side picture.

On Halloween night, Michael and I dressed up Austin again and took him to Main Place Mall, which was having trick-or-treating. We just walked around and saw all the dressed-up kids.

I wore a "Happy Halloween" T-shirt.

Michael wore an orange shirt.

Next year, we plan to come up with themed-costumes.

Tucson trip

Road trips usually mean that the family is apart for the weekend. But last weekend, we got lucky.


Michael had to cover the USC game in Tucson. So, the three of us went together. There, we got to see even more family.

No one was happier to see Austin than Grandma Judy. Her shirt says "Happiness is Being a Grandma." For weeks, Grandma had been buying stuff, asking what we need and arranging for aunts and cousins to lend baby stuff for Austin. (Thanks, everyone!)







I think Grandpa Phil was pretty happy to see Austin, too. Grandpa let Austin climb on him on the beanbag chair and play around on the floor. Here, he took Austin to the pool for a foot dip.



Grandma and Grandpa hosted a family party so everyone in Tucson could meet Austin. I think about 30 people filed through the house.


Austin met cousin Elliott, who is six weeks younger than him.

Aunt Linda came by on her way to the football game, where she and Uncle Chuck work security.

Cousins Caitlin and Grace also stopped in before tailgating at the UA.

Great Grandpa had fun seeing Austin again.

Aunt Peggy brought over a beautiful hand-sewn quilt that we plan to put on Austin's wall.

Cousin-in-law Tawnya held Austin so cousin Alexis could see him again.

Many more family members came through, but we didn't get pictures of all of them.

Most of the weekend, though, Austin was just "Grandma's Little Pumpkin" (as his onesie says).

-by Sarah