Shootin' hoops

Aunt Laura said she doesn't believe Austin can walk. She wants to see a video as proof. Well, how about one of Austin shooting hoops? Is that good enough?

The mini basketball hoop is a birthday gift from Aunt Alison. We just put it on the back patio.

Sandbaby

Memorial Day weekend was jampacked with social activities. With Friday off, we had a four-day weekend.

Austin started off with a playdate. He loves going to other people's houses and using their toys (above).

Later, we were invited to a pre-wedding BBQ for my colleague, Adam, who lives in San Clemente. For you out-of-towners, that's way down south at the far end of Orange County. With Memorial Day traffic, we decided to head down south early.

First, we went to Dana Point to walk around. Austin loved running around this grass near the water.

He loves to be chased.

At the BBQ, one of the guests called Austin a sandbaby. That's because he spent almost the entire three or so hours we were there playing in the sand.

The setting was just gorgeous. They set up in a ramada just a few feet from the waves near the pier. Michael got many great shots of the sunset. Here's one:

Austin enjoyed the sunset, too.

And watching the surfers and people on the swingset. We let him swing, too.

Michael took this nice Rockwell-esque photo.

The next day, we went to a going-away BBQ for my friend, Rosalba, who got a job in Washington, DC. Austin charmed everyone with his dancing and smiling. He walked around almost the entire time. Here he is resting for a bit near the music.

On Sunday, we kept it fairly low key. We tried on this new outfit from Noni before we went to breakfast. Too cute!

We ended our weekend on a sad note with a funeral for my friend, Vu, who died of a heart attack at age 34. Michael took care of Austin while I went to the service, but the boys came with me to the reception. I told Austin he needed to make people happy, which he did.

One more picture: Michael put Austin's hat on backwards while playing basketball. Cute!

Waterboy

Austin loves anything to do with water.

So, the latest water-filled playdate was perfect for him. Here he is playing in a fountain



Now that the boys are walking, mom Kristin suggested that we take them to Fashion Island where there's a flat water fountain where water spurts out of the ground. The boys could walk around, get wet and chase the water. Hard to describe, but you can kind of see it in the photos.




Austin preferred to sit or crawl. Bobby, left, and Allistair, right, walked around more. Another buddy, Anthony, was a little bit afraid.



Austin loved it nonetheless, even though it was a bit chilly. You can see the water splashing in the back.

When they were done, they were all pooped and ready to go home. Just one more stroller huddle first.

Which one's the monkey?

Normally, I start blog posts with cute images of Austin. But this picture of a panda perfectly captures where we went: the San Diego Zoo.

We got a great deal on an annual pass for the zoo and Wild Animal Park. This was our first trip.

Austin liked when he could get up close to the animals. The petting zoo in the Children's Zoo area gave him that opportunity.

Austin got to see and touch lots of goats.

They were very friendly.

It was feeding time in the orangutan section. This little guy was eating popcorn out of a bag.

The glass enclosures were perfect for Austin. There's an orangutan right behind Austin's reflection.

At the end of the day, it was getting a little chilly. So, we dressed Austin up like an animal in his dog-eared hoodie.

On the way back to the exit, he fell asleep. It was a long, fun day.

Three days in Tucson: Mother's Day

About the only thing missing from a great Mother's Day was my own mom, who was in Chicago with my sister enjoying a trip to the outlet mall and the JC Penney gift card she requested (and which I delivered on time, for a change).

Our Tucson Mother's Day started with me bringing Austin to the tail end of morning Mass at the Tullys' church. It continued at Aunt Alice and Uncle David's place, where we took another "Four Generations" photo featuring Sarah, her grandma Mary, Judy and Austin. I picked this photo cuz Austin's sideways pose just cracks me up.

As does this face full of berries.

Despite his increasing mobility, Austin's generally a good boy. Here he's patiently hanging out with his mommy at the pool while she talks to her cousins. (Not pictured: Austin's little feet in the water. Awww.)

Attending a function on the Richardson side of the family gave Austin a chance to reconnect with cousin Elliott, who's 6 weeks younger. Both have amazing blue eyes. Why do I get the feeling they're gonna be each other's wing men in about 15 years?

Cousin Tillie joined Elliott and Austin the backyard. They were all looking at a birthday book from Aunt Alice. (Also worth an awwww.)

We left the Morkerts' a little early to sneak in a trip to Phil and Judy's cabin atop Mount Lemmon. Or, as I like to call it, the most relaxing place on earth. Here, Grandma Judy shows Austin her "favorite waterfall."

After yet another delicious meal of barbecued bison burgers and sweet-potato fries, Phil and Judy hung out with their grandson on the deck. It got a little chilly after sunset, so they wrapped Austin in a cozy blanket.

Austin fell asleep on the way home and was so worn out that he didn't even wake up when Sarah transferred him to his pack 'n' play.

We went swimming and had Mexican for lunch the next day before flying home. It was a truly wonderful weekend.

Three days in Tucson: Park outing

Gosh, the quality of Tucson's playground equipment really has declined since Sarah was a kid.

What you're seeing is the box from the dishwasher that Grandpa Phil spent much of a day installing. The old dishwasher did date to Sarah's youth. Austin got a kick out of the box.

But the real fun came at the park in the Ft. Lowell neighborhood where the Tullys used to live. Luckily, the little-kid jungle gym (do they still call them that?) was mostly in the shade on a 100-degree day.

We met up with some of Sarah's old friends, who have kids older than ours, including Claudia, below left, about to follow Austin down the slide. Claudia's older brother, Benjamin, was also there with their parents, Tim and Patty. Jameson, Kristen Cook's son, also came.

Sarah's grandpa and his companion, Helen, still live in the old 'hood, and they came by to see us and great-grandson Austin.

While we visited with Sarah's friends and grandparents, Austin got some quality time with his grandma, Judy.

Austin very much enjoyed crawling through the tubes.

And how does one cool off on a hot day in the desert? With a dip in the kiddie pool, of course.

Check back Wednesday for Part 3!

Three days in Tucson: Daddy's birthday

And yet Austin's the one who gets the present, in the form of stackable cars from grandpa!?!

In actuality, I was well taken care of during my first-ever b-day in Tucson, where we spent Mother's Day weekend. (It was really three days plus big chunks of two others, for the record.)

Sarah got me some new Nike hats, Judy made me a masculine, baseball-themed barbecuing apron and Phil and Judy bought me another Arby's gift card (the gift that keeps on giving!).

Best of all, the loving Tully grandparents took care of Austin the night before so Sarah and I could go to Cafe Poca Cosa (mmmm) and during my birthday so we could have brunch at Frank's and see "Star Trek" (which was awesome).

As you can see below, Austin enjoyed Friday night's homemade carne seca almost as much as I did.

We like to think our boy is so big now, but plunking him down in grandpa's recliner shows that really isn't the case.

Austin slept well in Tia Karen's old room, where he enjoyed the various Snoopy-related paraphernalia, including this Woodstock doll. As you can see in the photo below and the one up top, Austin is standing. That's old news. The new news: He's walking. Yeah, it's pretty much all over for us.

Check back Tuesday for Part 2!

Adventures in California

As part of the free birthday promotion to Disneyland, we also got a free pass to Disney's California Adventure. Our timing fell right in the middle of the Southern California 2 parks-for-1 price promotion, so the Disney employee was nice enough to give me a freebie to both parks. Michael already had the 2-for-1 ticket.

So, we took Austin on Friday to see the other Disney park.

Like Disneyland, Austin mostly liked looking around.

He enjoyed the rides in Bug's Land -- a cute kid section with tall plants that make you feel like you are the size of a bug. He cried when we got off a twirly ride that made Mommy and Daddy feel woozy.

Mommy and Daddy took turns on the adult rides. Austin patiently, and hungrily, ate all of his graham crackers. We think the kid is going through a growth spurt.

Most of all, he loved the Pixar parade.

He was clapping and dancing through the whole spectacle, although he looks serious in these pictures.

That was our last event before going home.

A few days earlier, we packed up Austin on a chilly night for 31-cent cones at Baskin Robbins. Last year, we went there with Grandma when he was less than 2 weeks old. Big difference.

This time, Austin was old enough to eat. But we didn't give him ice cream. We took Grandma's advice and gave him a plain cone instead. He loved it!