Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Florida Family Vacation - Days 1,2 &3

Well this summer we decided to take our first and last family summer vacation as a family of 3. We decided to head to Florida so Austin could meet his aunt and uncle and cousins. We were a little hesitant about driving 20 hours in a car with a 1 year old that just learned to walk but, Austin was an angel. We could not have asked for a better car ride. For the most part he was very content in his car seat, playing with his toys, having snacks, and playing with mommy or daddy who sat in the back with him. 

We left Sunday morning at 3:30am in hopes of getting a lot of driving in while Austin slept. He did great, and we didn't have to stop until 6:30am when we did a  quick change of drivers and let Austin stretch his legs a little. 
Austin was all smiles playing in the backseat with Mommy

The only long stop we had to make on the trip was in Tennessee where we let Austin play and walk around and had a picnic lunch. The temperature was about 95 degrees with 100% humidity. Us Michiganders were not used to it and got back in the car with the air as soon as possible. 

To our amazement, Austin let us get all the way into Georgia. We ended us stopping for the night around 5:00 p.m. so that we could let Austin have a fairly normal evening. By the time we stopped we only had about 7 hours left to drive. We stayed at a really nice hotel that had an indoor pool. After a quick dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, it was off to the pool for a little swimming. We are so happy to report that Austin LOVES the pool now. After some swimming, we headed back to the room for his bottle and some sleep. We were all very tired from a long day in the car and all fell asleep. 
Austin thought it was the greatest thing going for a ride on the luggage cart. He road it all the way down from the 3rd floor. 


Austin with his new monkey beach towel. 

So vacations mean getting to do stuff you normally don't get to do like eat junk food, stay up late, and for Austin pull all the toilet paper off the roll and throw it all over the bathroom. Not the best example but hey, its vacation and we didn't have to clean it up!

We arrived in Florida around 1:30 p.m. We headed right to New Smyrna Beach which is where Uncle Eugene and Aunt Karen were staying for the week. Austin was very happy to get out of the car and instantly started playing with his cousin Caroline. Since we made such good time we were able to visit with them and Aunt Karen's family and have an excellent dinner with everyone. Around 8:00 p.m. Austin was starting to show signs of being tired so we headed out where we spent the night in Oviedo, which is where my uncle's house is. This was the only night Austin's schedule was slightly altered, he went to bed around 10 p.m. When we all got up in the morning we enjoyed the already warm humid weather and went swimming in their pool. 


In true Florida fashion it is now raining, Austin is enjoying a long morning nap while John and I are enjoying some relaxation, then it's off to our condo and then lunch at the much anticipated Sweet Tomatoes. We just got word that because of the weather, Dan, Katie, and Nate's flight has been delayed so they will be joining us a little later then planned. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, we are headed back to New Smyrna Beach for a day at the ocean with the family. 



Thursday, June 25, 2009

1st Father's Day

Austin and his Daddy on Father's Day

I had an amazing first Father's Day! It was a lot different being on this side of the Father's Day routine. Austin gave me (and Christina) the best Father's Day gift by sleeping in until 8:00am! I'm not sure why he did, but we weren't complaining! After opening presents, breakfast and church, Austin took us to eat at my favorite restaurant, Mongolian BBQ. I had to leave the waitress a large tip after seeing the pile of stir-fry and rice that Austin decided to leave on the floor. Right after lunch, we headed to Grandpa & Grandma's house to visit. Austin had a great time playing with his cousins and tearing up Grandpa and Grandma's house.


Four generations of McMahons on Father's Day


Me and My Dad


After we left my parents' house, we headed over to Grammy & Papa's house. Austin had just enough energy left to tear up their house too!



Austin in my shoes and tie

Father's Day was such a great time. It gave me a chance to reflect on the past year. Austin and Christina have been such a huge blessing in my life, I cannot imagine it without either of them. Being a father is the best thing in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Officially Walking!

Just a quick update on Austin. We can now consider him to be officially walking. He walks about 90% of the time, only crawling if he falls down. It is very cute to see him wobble around the house. He is learning very quickly to navigate around objects on the floor and corners. Along with walking he is starting to learn the concept of going down stairs. He knows now that going down face first might not be the best method, and he will turn around and scoot his little butt down the first stair. In about another week or two, I am sure he will have it mastered.

Austin has also learned to drink from a straw which most babies already have mastered by now, but for Austin he just could not get the concept. Finally last week, John kept trying to show him and he got it. This makes it a lot easier when we go out to eat so I dont always have to pack a sippy cup. To celebrate his new achievement, he got to pick out Diego cups with straws at the grocery store.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Picnic at the Park


Yesterday, Austin got to go on his first picnic. We went to the New Baltimore Park which is one of Austin's favorite parks. We packed our sandwiches, watermelon and lots of snacks. Austin was such a good boy, he sat on the blanket by the beach and ate his little sandwich and shared a Twinkie with daddy. Once we were all done eating, Austin sat on the beach and played in the sand.He even got to taste his first (and 2nd, because he obviously didn't learn the first time) handful of sand! After the taste testing, we took a walk by the water and let the waves crash over our toes. Luckily, there were no screams when the water hit his toes, so we are hopeful that swimming this summer will be a fun experience. Austin got to go on the swings, play on the slides, and daddy even took him on all of the big kids stuff, even though it made me very nervous.

After the picnic, we went home and all laid down in our bed and took a family nap. Unfortunately, for John and I, Austin decided it was time to get up, before we were ready. After our nap, we all got up and barbecued chicken for dinner. After dinner it was time for Austin to take a bath, get his bottle and off to bed. It was the most perfect Sunday ever!


On Wednesday Austin is going to be 11 months old. I cant believe how much he has grown. He can now get on and off his bouncing zebra without any help at all. He is walking a lot more, and is almost ready to give up all his bottles. He has 8 teeth and I am sure the way he is teething, more are on the way. He is wearing 12-18 month clothes almost in a size 4 shoe. Size 3 diapers are a thing of the past and we have moved up to size 4. He has grown into a very independent child and rarely likes help with anything. The bigger the challenge the better for him. He has gotten very attached to his blanket and now when he is ready to cuddle, he grabs it and brings it over to you. I am so excited for Florida because he is no longer a baby but a little man, and he is going to be so much fun experiencing all of the new things.

In pregnancy news, this little guy is WAY more active then Austin ever was. I am not sure if it is because I am more active, having to keep up with Austin or if it's him just reminding us he is around. He has also decided that barbecued food, especially ribs is his food of preference. The funny thing about this is I hate ribs! You couldn't pay me to eat a rib in the past but, now that's all I want. Anything with barbecue sauce will do but, ribs are the preference. With Austin there were small things that I liked more but nothing that I had cravings for and definitely not anything I didn't previously like. I was into chocolate milk, applesauce,and english muffins with peanut butter with Austin. Until now I have not had any specific cravings with this one. It's funny how each baby is completely different. I do hope this one takes after Austin in his sleeping habits, sleeping 4 hours at a time from the day he was born.

John's job at Reach Academy did not happen to be God's plan. As disappointing as it is because John has put so much extra time into it and was really hoping to stay there, we both know that God has a perfect job waiting for him. By the next day of finding out he would not be staying at Reach, John got a call from another principal at a brand new National Heritage school. He has his first interview tomorrow. We are leaving everything up to God. If this is the school he is supposed to be at then it will all work out and if its not, then there is another plan.
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