The Stick Collector

Here are some more pics from our Wheeler Farm visit.
He was in heaven with all the sticks and rocks!!!
He was making it hard for me to get cute pics of him because we all know he won't hold still!

Inspecting a piece of hay.

He kept calling the big stick his walking stick.
Don't know where he learned that, but super cute!

One For You......Two For ME

That is Austen's method of feeding the ducks.

I took the little man out to Wheeler Farm for probably the last time this year.
I let him stay as long as he wanted and get as dirty as he liked too.
We usually stop at the bread outlet on the way there and buy a huge bag of duck bread for a dollar. When you buy the duck bread, they have you sign a waiver saying you won't eat it.
Well, Austen doesn't quite understand that the bread is only for the ducks and last time we got it he kept eating it.
Now we just take regular bread since he likes to give himself as many bites as he gives the ducks!!!

He has his own little system and he doesn't like me interfering at all!!!
I can't even hand him the bread....he has to get it himself!

Taking a closer look....He had created quite the feeding frenzy and he thinks it's hilarious when they fight over the bread. Is he a boy or what?!?!

Love this pic!!! It's even better bigger!

Don't Mess With Nap Time

The other day Austen's Grandma came down for a visit.
It just happened to coincide with nap time and it was the day after a very rough night.
(Those incisors are no joke!)
I kept him up to play with his Grandma and boy did he have fun!!! She really wore him out!

About 10 mins after she left, we had a nuclear meltdown.
Austen started crying and screaming and throwing a fit that could be heard for miles.
I put him in the car because he'll usually fall asleep if I take him on a drive, but not this time.
He had worked himself up too much to fall asleep.
I tried another diversion that always works.....Walmart.
Not this time....he wouldn't even let me put him in the cart!
After a huge struggle, I finally got him strapped back in his car seat and drove him home.
(still screaming by the way.)

I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but finally he stopped crying for some mac and cheese and his favorite show.
He stopped the fit long enough to eat and then this happened.....

That was the very first time he's ever fallen asleep in his high chair. I felt so bad for him, but I had to take some pics because it was hilarious!!!

Lesson Learned Austen......Mommy won't mess with naptime ever again!!!

Austen.......Meet The Naughty Chair

I'm sure it will be a very long friendship.
(I use that term, but they'll be more like frenemies!)

That's right, I've decided to try the time out thing on Austen and see if that helps.
He is sooo stinkin hard to discipline.
He is doing stuff that is really quite naughty (and quite creative too), so I'm trying to put a stop to it as best I can. He thinks everything is funny and when I'm trying to tell him no, he just laughs at me. That kind of renders all punishment useless.
I tried the chair this morning after he climbed up on the desk in the office and tried to throw the monitor overboard.
He cried, but he stayed in the chair for the whole minute and he hasn't climbed on the desk since, so maybe he knows I mean business. We'll see.

I'm pretty sure the discipline is the worst part of parenting. I used to think it was the messes, but I've changed my mind.

He turned the side table upside down so he could use it for a ladder.
See what I mean by creative???

He's mesmerized when I put on mascara, so I should have known it was just a matter of time.

He actually got some on his eyelashes which is very impressive.

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!!!

This is seriously a record post as far as pictures go and that's AFTER I narrowed it down a LOT!!!

***

I've been teaching Austen to say "trick or treat" for a while now, so that he would be prepared for Halloween night and I'm happy to say it paid off.
He got the concept after one house!!!
(I thought he might just be satisfied with the one piece of candy and be done, but that was sooo not the case.)
He was such a trooper and walked all over the neighborhood braving the cold wind and even rain at times.
He would go up to the door say trick or treat get his candy and be done. He was even saying thank you!!! I was so proud.
Eventually he realized that the people in the houses had lots of candy and near the end he would go up to the door get his candy and then just stand there until they gave him another one.
The funny part is....it actually worked!!!
I can't tell you how many times he would come down from the porch with two candies when the house was only giving one to all the other kids.
I can't stop laughing about that!!!
****
All in all, it was a VERY fun Halloween and Austen is ready to throw on the dragon costume again to go back out tonight.
How do I explain this is a once a year thing???

We even dressed up the dog!

Here's the soldier, cowgirl, dragon, and pirate.

Austen picked this costume out himself, and I have to say it's the cutest thing evah!

He was sooo cute with his cute witch cousins!!!

And even cuter with his daddy!

Pumpkin Carving........Err Poking?

Get ready for a ton of pics!!!

We had a blast carving our pumpkins after we picked them out at the patch.
Austen was really curious about all the stuff we were pulling out of them, but he didn't want to help once he felt how slimy it was.
We picked out our patterns and got to work.
Brian of course picked the most difficult pattern to carve into his giant pumpkin.
Let's just say I cleaned and carved two before he was done with his one.

Giving it a bite test.

This little poker was his favorite.
I thought it was better than a knife, but I got stabbed a few times.

Helping daddy

Finished product....Austen thought the lit pumpkins were very neat!

Brian's was so intricate it deserved a close up.

Happy Halloween!!!

Pumkin Patch 2010

We finally found some time to go pick out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.
Last year was so much fun, but this year we went too late!!
Most of the good pumpkins were gone and it was freezing and muddy.
We let Austen pick out his and then I ran him back to the car where we could stay warm while daddy picked out the other two and paid.
Needless to say, next year we'll be going earlier!

The quest for the perfect pumpkin begins....

Found it

One of my new all time favorite pictures....seriously, how cute are they?

It got a little heavy, so he had to set it down for a sec.

P.S. You should hear him say pumpkin.....it is seriously cute!