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.

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.

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.

Random Videos & Pictures

Austin dancing to music

Austin going for a walk outside

When Austin was a newborn he always took his naps on this blanket. He used to fit perfectly in the middle. Needless to say he doesn't exactly fit but that didnt stop him from taking a 2 hour nap on the floor.

Our cousins from Texas

The swing is so much fun! The slide's a littlle bit more scary

Look I can feed myself!

Me and my little brother.

Austin "helping" with laundry. He loves to push things around the house. The heavier the better. He likes to show how strong he is.

Austin eating his favorite treat pushups. No matter how many times he has one or we tell him they are cold, he still acts surprised everytime he takes a bite.

Mommy's new car

Austin watching John eat a snow cone at the zoo. He wanted to make sure daddy was sharing.

Austin at the polar bear exhibit

Austin and Papa on the boat.

Teething, Teaching and Pregnant

Well the McMahon's have been a busy bunch of people this last month. With Birthday parties, graduations, illnesses, and out of town family, we have rarely had a moment to relax. I am anticipating the relaxation of a fun McMahon/Walkenhorst family vacation.

For Austin, the last month has been filled with cutting 4 teeth. They have finally all cut through and his count is now up to 8. He has also been walking a lot more, venturing out and taking steps on his own. He is very active and and determined. We are still battling with the concept of "no" and we are often given a huge cheesy smile when his hand is slapped or he is told no. Trying not to laugh or smile back when he is looking so cute has been one of the bigger challenges of disciplining a 10 1/2 month old. He has had his ear infection recheck and well visit and everything is looking good. He is about 20 lbs of solid little boy. He is 30 inches and as his doctor says "he's a big boy". He is back to eating very well and likes to feed himself. Mealtime is much more of a mess now since he wants to do everything himself but, at least it gives us time to eat our own food. Austin is "talking" so much now and everytime you see him, he has tons to say. Right now he pretends everything is a phone and holds it up to his ear and chatters away. He is showing some signs of trying to say certain words, mama not being one of them. I have come to the conclusion he will never say my name because he knows I am always there at the slightest peep. Dada seems to still be his favorite to say, and Dada is who he talks on the pretend phone. He tries to say Kacie which is Grammy and Papas dog. Up and yuck are other words he attempts and comes pretty close to saying. Austin can also locate (when he chooses to do so) a nose and a tongue.

On the downside, this morning he woke up with a pretty nasty cold. He spent most of the weekend outside so I think it just caught up with him. He was so sad this morning and just wanted to be held. Hopefully some sleep and Motrin will help him feel much better.

For me, I am going to be 24 weeks pregnant and its going very well, much like Austins pregnancy. This little guy is much more active then Austin was and he lets his presence be known throughout the day. I have been sick much more in terms of colds, ear infections, and sinus infections. This past weekend I have been battling and severe ear infection that sent me to urgent care. With the help of antibiotics and ear drops the pain is finally under control and now I just have to fight a cough and plugged ear. This pregnancy is flying by compared to Austins. I cant believe that we only have about 4 1/2 months left. I am cherishing all the time I have with Austin because I know that he will have a hard time sharing him mommy with another baby.

As for John, he is busy teaching and loving his job. Being a new teacher and waiting to be offered the permanent position for next year, he has been working really hard to show the principal that he would be a good asset to their school. Hopefully within the month he will be offered the position and we can relax a little, knowing what will be going on next year. He is still working at his other job, not as much thankfully but still enough to the point where some nights he gets home late.

Summer is fast approaching and I can't wait. Austin is going on his first trip to Florida to meet his Uncle Eugene, Aunt Karen and cousins William, Louis, and Caroline. We are very excited. Going to Florida has been almost a yearly event for John and I since we have been dating and we cant wait to bring Austin along this year. We are driving which I am sure will be a challenge but also an adventure. I will be in my third trimester which means flying is out (not that it was an option unless I could have been heavily drugged and knocked out). We will be going to Florida and then making a stop in Tennessee on our way back for a couple of days. Austin will be turning a year old in Florida and what better way to spend a birthday then hanging out on the beach and swimming in the ocean!

Graduation Day!

Today I officially graduated from Wayne State. I just wanted to take a moment and publicly thank Christina and Austin for their tremendous support! Getting through 8 months of student teaching was very hard on Christina. It left her taking care of Austin many late nights as I went to work after student teaching. I am very happy to be done, but probably not as happy as Christina is.

Thank you Christina - I love you!

10 Months Old!

On Sunday, Austin turned 10 months old. It is hard to believe that less then a year ago, he was this little peanut that only weighted 6 lbs when we brought him home from the hospital. With turning 10 months came Austins first ear infection. Last week Austin got sent home from daycare with a very high fever. Because of all the crazy stuff going on, we got Austin in to see the doctor right away. He was diagnosed with his first ear infection, although he was miserable, we consider ourselves lucky that he is almost a year old and has not had one before. With lots of Motrin, cuddles from mommy all night, and an antibiotic, he is now doing much better. He is still pulling at his ears but is back to his old self, hurricane Austin, destroying everything in his path!

More updates about Austin: He is now on 1 bottle a day at night. He is completely off baby food and has good days with eating and bad days. For the most part he will try anything. Peas and carrots are still on his do not like list but we find other ways to hide them in his food. For the last 4 days, Austin has been sleeping from 9 p.m. until about 8-9 in the morning. This has been so wonderful for us to get a little taste of sleeping in. This morning I even had to go wake him up so I could go to work! He is still working on walking. He has mastered walking if you hold one of his hands and can take about 5-6 steps on his own if there is something he really wants. He loves pushing anything around the floor. He likes to push our laundry baskets around until he runs into something. Buttons are his new favorite adventure. He now knows exactly what buttons to push on our two tv remotes to turn it on and off. He knows exactly what buttons on his humidifier to push to turn it on and off and is in the process of searching the house for more buttons he is not supposed to touch. He is "talking" more but still refuses to say mama. His loves his dada and calls for him everywhere we go. Dada is always there according to Austin. Austin gives kisses on demand now. Daddy getting the most. He is daddy's little puppy dog, following him around wherever he goes.

We are noticing Austin loves to study everything. His new favorite game is to take all of his diapers out of his basket one at a time. Not only does he take them out one at a time, he places about half on one side of him, then the other side of him, and some behind him. When you watch him, you can tell that in him mind, he is thinking out every move he makes.

In baby news, I am starting to go through another tired phase. This might be in part of Austin being so active. The baby is starting to move a lot more and making his presence known. I have been having some cramping and contractions at night, I think in part to overdoing it. The ultra sound showed that he is healthy and right on track. We do have a name picked out for our new little one but decided to wait until he is born to tell everyone. We are hoping Austin will adjust well, but as of right now, he is very protective of his mommy and does not like when I pay attention to any other baby.