Austin Bound

I'm sure you've heard that we're moving our little family to Austin, TX (ATX).  And we're pretty excited about it.  However, in order to achieve our ideal lifestyle, there are many sacrifices we are having to make right now.  The most difficult part is that Martin is living in Austin while Amelia and I are living in Houston.  Martin got an incredible job with a new company and had to move right away.  I'm staying behind to finish up at my job and it offers me some time to find employment.  Luckily Austin is only 2.5 hours from Houston and it's easy to go back and forth on the weekends.  We have been enjoying our weekends there taking long walks, going to Barton Springs and being immersed in all things Austin.


Some updates on Amelia - she's walking almost full time now.  Still crawling when it calls for quick transportation.  She has developed a serious attitude (or maybe she's had it all along) and she'll let you know if she disapproves of something.  She also bit another friend at daycare last week - same boy twice!  The teacher told me that Amelia doesn't like anyone in her space!  What do they say about the apple not falling far from the tree?  I'll leave it at that.  Our little girl is growing up and it's so amazing to see.  We laugh constantly at little things she does or cute faces she makes.  We are so blessed.  



Here are some cute videos.  Mute the player at the bottom to get the full audio effect.  Or you can always go to our YouTube page - link on the right.


Amelia reading





Walking and standing

Put one foot in and one foot out

This weekend Amelia took her first steps!  She's not full on walking yet, but she'll take about 6 - 10 steps in one go.  It was an awesome sight to see.  And both Martin and I were there to witness the first time she did it.  No photos of it yet, but I'll make sure to get something soon.

So much is happening right now.  We are in the process of moving our family to Austin, Texas!  Martin has started working for a great company there and I will hopefully find something by the beginning of the new year.  In the meantime we have two homes - one in Austin where Martin spends the week and one in Houston where Amelia and I stay during the week.  The weekends are split between to the two cities for now.  Minor sacrifices for a better future for our family.  As soon as we get settled next year, our house is open for visitors!

Little Ballerina

Chillin' with milk and a movie

Walking around an Austin park

Family photo - Karl Rove took this one.  No lie.  I don't like his politics, but he takes a good photo.

She likes reading material in the tub:)

Amelia practicing her walking skills

Cute video of Amelia walking. Well, with the aid of her toy. Enjoy!

Don't, Don't, Don't Bite your friends.

We had our first biting incident recently...  I went to pick up Amelia from school and the teacher informed me that she bit one of her classmates!  Since she bites me all the time, I knew it was only a matter of time before she wanted a new chew toy.  According to the crime scene report, the teacher was playing on the floor and had one of the kids in her lap.  Amelia also wanted to get in the teacher's lap but the other child did not want her there and proceeded to "shoo" her away with the waving of his arm.  Amelia did not like this behavior and took the victim's arm into her mouth and bit down.  No blood drawn, but the bite left a good mark.  I have to say, I'm glad she was on the delivering end and not the receiving end.  And she knows how to fight for what she wants.  Should I be proud? 

12 months and counting

Amelia is officially a toddler as of her first birthday!  Her birthday party was a huge hit with the kids and then she had two more celebrations with our family.   This kid had a full party calendar planned out.  As of her 1 year check-up she measures 18 lbs and 27.5 inches long.  And there's a small sigh of relief, she went up in the percentile chart on her weight.  Now she's totally in proportion with her height and the fact that she's light isn't so big of a deal.  Over the past month we've been adding olive oil to her bottles and butter to all of her food.  It was nice to see it helped.  We've switched to whole cow's milk with some Pediasure in each bottle for the nutrients.  Since we've done that there's been a dramatic increase in how much she'll drink and eat.  All this time she was probably trying to let me know that formula tastes like crap!  I tried it, it does taste like crap.


New things she can do - she says "Uh oh" when she drops something or when something unexpected happens.  It's so cute.  And... she says "Daddy" when she see Martin.  That will absolutely melt your heart.  She doesn't say Mommy yet, but she does know that I'm "Mama" and she is not afraid to shout for me.  Amelia is such a mommy's girl right now - completely clingy to me and sometimes won't even consider going to Martin without a fight.  I secretly love it and will savor it for now because I know the day will come where she won't give me a second glance.


Another big issue about to happen - I'm going to take my first long trip away from her.  My job is meant to be spent partly out in my markets that I manage.  Unfortunately, my markets are on other continents.  On Saturday I'll leave for Europe for 8 long days.  Luckily it's a fully packed itinerary with 4 countries in 7 days - Netherlands, Sweden, Germany & France.  I know what you're thinking - this is awesome and totally cool to go to these places.  And I agree.  Part of the glamour of my job is the exotic trips.  But now it's so hard to leave home even for one day. Martin did such a great job when I went to Miami for 4 days and I know everything will be fine here.  This trip is going to be harder for me because it's not like I can just jump on a flight and be home quickly in an emergency.  It could take me a whole day to get back home or longer.  The only saving grace is that I'll be so busy it will be hard to find time to be sad.  Wish me luck!

Future tennis star

She finally has just enough hair for a piggie (she's mid-yawn)

Fascinated by the vaccuum

Buggy loves Amelia's toys:)