Austin, part 4: Farewell

Finally, the last of the Austin tour was John's birthday and making the rounds to say good-bye to those we could for now.

Our 'Game Night' group - on hiatus since the babies joined!

Kim and Gerard

John's advisor, Dr. Carey

And one last visit to Austin Children's Museum. Only a couple of things went in his mouth this trip; that's progress! :) They had a lot of interactive exhibits with golf balls demonstrating momentum, but Owen's favorite thing was the staircase, of course. I think he'd get a lot more out of the museum in another year. He did like the blocks.

Other notables since being uprooted: 1)Tooth #12 made its appearance

2)Front-facing car seat (he could not care less, it seems, but it's nice for the adults!)

3)He can open lever-style handles. Might want to lock that bathroom door now!

To all of our Austin (and other TX) buddies, we'll miss you! But we hope to see you when we next return to the Lone Star State. Come see us when you are melting in summer! :)

Austin, part 3: Zilker

Yes, we are still here in Austin, but this is our last day! Our empty house on loading day... So long Teton Ridge, hello Tetons! :)

Granna and Grandad came in for a last round of hugs and kisses.

(and baby wrestling)

Had to hit up Kerbey Lane one last time. I think Owen just told a joke!

Umlauf Sculpture Garden had lots of trails to ignore and plants to trample.

Barton Springs, Zilker Park and the Zilker Zephyr kiddie train (spoiler alert - someone was in need of a nap!)

All aboard!

Family shot on the train; hope someone was holding on!

I think we still have more pictures from our Austin tour for one last post, so stay tuned!

Austin, part 2: UT

As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room because our house has been packed up and shipped out. Kind of a strange feeling, being free of all of all that stuff and 'homeless' for a week. Makes you reevaluate what's important in life and what you can do without.

On that note, we did a tour of the University of Texas campus with Owen. It was pretty warm out (we should have been wearing shorts!), but he enjoyed the people-watching. You can probably tell he wanted to be out of his stroller though.

It was Valentine's Day, and George was in the spirit.

They don't call it the Tower for nothing

Closest we came to the capitol...

Cooling off with DKR stadium in the background

The building where Mommy spent 4 years of her life

The building where Daddy spent 10 years of his life :)

Daddy's schoolmate, Roy, is still there! (different building though)

Taking in the sights of Lake Austin before chowing down at the Hula Hut

O's favorite seat, Daddy's shoulders

P.S. We have tooth #11! One of the bottom lateral incisors is finally coming in so that his two little teeth won't be alone anymore. :)

Austin, part 1: 14 months!

Owen's officially 14 months old tomorrow. He doesn't seem any heavier, but he definitely seems to be growing taller. The kitchen table now hits him near the temple when he's not paying attention! Some recent developments: talking with his tongue a lot (cracks us up), sucking on his thumb whenever he encounters something soft now (not just fringe!), testing our discipline consistency (when he touches lamp cords and TV buttons mostly), and protesting when we put him down. Ah, I can see the terrible twos may be coming early! :)

We've begun our Austin tour with him, photographing him with the meaningful landmarks of our adopted home. We started with a trip to the park, complete with cactus and swings.

Threadgill's, an Austin institution, always has yummy Southern home-cooking. (Gotta stock up while we can!)

Then Uncle Dan and Jennifer came into town for the weekend, and we went to Mill's Pond and Mount Bonnell.

More Austin to come!

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day! With all that's going on, that's pretty low priority for us. :) This is a sneak preview from our UT tour. Yes, that's George Washington with a flower stuck in his mouth!

Pele Pete

It's in the gene pool. He can entertain himself with a soccer ball for at least 15 minutes. In baby time, that is forever!

Snow!

Owen got to play in the snow for the second time in his life. This time was at the ranch where we had several days that were below freezing and culminated in about an inch of snow on Friday. He got to enjoy a nearly endless fire in the fireplace, which is always a given at the ranch when it gets below 50 degrees!

Retro high chair that may have been his mother's

Checking out all the white stuff.

Photo op. Apparently, this is my snow fleece (refer to the link above). :)

His favorite yard ornament, the pinwheel, because it spins!

He thought the snow was pretty fun until he fell down in it.


But he's going to have to get used to the snow. He was staying at the ranch (thanks Granna and Grandad!!!) because his parents were on a successful house-hunting trip in Idaho! Here are some pictures to give you an idea of Idaho in the winter.
This is a misty morning over the Snake River falls.

The foothills south of town (shot from the mall parking lot!)

Eagle Rock sculpture (usually a fountain, but it freezes over in winter)

We'll be there permanently in a few weeks, so the next few posts may be sporadic. We hope to document our last stops in Austin and the journey up there. Cross your fingers for a smooth transition!