Local Happenings…

So today…

• Austin tried to “help” vacuum. This led to vacuuming taking significantly longer than usual. Apparently a one year old holding on to (and pulling on) the cord does not help vacuuming efficiency.
• Kirby (our pug) took a pill with no problem at all. Except there was ONE problem: The pill wasn’t for him. No he won’t be keeling over any time soon. It was just a buffered aspirin I was TRYING to give Maizie (Our Jack Russell Terrier who hurt her back…AGAIN). Just more proof that Kirby will eat anything…literally.
• Austin tested his climbing abilities. He emptied a basket, turned it upside down, put it next to the bookshelf and then stood on top of it. Of course, I missed all of this except the part where he was standing on top of it. There were no injuries sustained.
• Zack answered my cell phone when my mom called today (he had permission). The problem? My mom thought it was me and proceeded to tell “me” what she got Zack for his birthday. Zack was VERY excited… Luckily, he ended up thinking she was talking about something he’d already gotten for Christmas.

Who knew so much could happen when you don’t even leave the house? ;)

Did you know...?

...that today Mr. Freeze and Batgirl got married? They had a wonderful wedding. There was cake and eating and dancing. They now live in a castle and Batman came to live with them, too. You may say, "But I thought they didn't get along!" Well, apparently they DO! And that's why they got married.

What's that? You didn't know that? Well, neither did I...until Zack told me all about it. ;)

“Sew” What?

So, I’m pretty sure I’m not a “good” blogger… At least, I’m not if a “good” blogger is one who posts regularly and keeps her readers (if they exist) entertained and enlightened. If that’s the standard, I fail. Fortunately, I think most my “readers” are friends and family who know me, and my scatter-brained ways. *whew* Well, there’s a load off.

Now, to a random posting that may or may not entertain or enlighten you (you’ve been warned).

So I recently rediscovered sewing. Ok, so I knew sewing existed and people did that sort of thing, but I hadn’t touched a sewing machine in ages. Last Christmas (we’re talking 2008 here) my mom got me a sewing machine. I’m sad to say, I didn’t even try it out until this past fall (yes, 2009). I pulled it out to sew a patch on Zack’s Cubbies vest and presto – I had the itch to sew something substantial.

Finances were (and are) tight, of course, so I decided to look around online to see what I could find. What’s awesome is there are many ladies out there who have created sewing patterns for different things and decided to share them – pro bono – with all of us! Isn’t that nice?! Well, I certainly think so.

I should point out here that I do have sewing experience – I just hadn’t drawn on said experience in quite some time. I actually learned to sew when I was a pre-teen and sewed many an item to enter in 4-H contents (yes, I was BIG into 4-H) and even modeled some of said items. Yes, there IS photographic evidence, but I decline to share it here. ;)

So, for my first “serious” sewing project (in years), I chose a cute tote bag that seemed fairly simple. I got all excited to go pick out my fabrics, etc. The kicker with this project was I also had to make the pattern. That proved to be the toughest part for me (I’m not a math fan…) But I got the job done and finally got to start SEWING! I was really pleased with the final product…

(NOTE: All these pics were taken with cell phones… sorry!)

I made another of these bags for my sister-in-law Cassidy for her 10th birthday. She picked out the fabrics herself and it came out great! (We had to add a Yorkie patch, in honor of her pup, Aeris)

Next up, I offered to make some curtains for my sister-in-law, Amber for HER birthday - for her new house. I was able to get one set finished to give to her on her actual birthday. (a set to cover the storage space above her bathtub)

The other set is currently in progress (they’re BIGGER!)

Next up, I think I’ll be making another bag/purse. Cassidy got me a couple great patterns for Christmas. :)

Another pursuit I’d like to take up… knitting. I haven’t got a clue how to do it, but I want to learn. Crazy, you say? Pshaw! Crazy is my middle name! Or maybe it’s “Crafty.” Ok, maybe it’s Marie…

So, hopefully you’ve been entertained and/or enlightened by this post. If not, my humble apologies and my gratitude for making it this far.

Blessings. ;)

Blizzard ‘09

Last week, we got to experience the Blizzard of ‘09 right here in Iowa. We got more than a foot of snow on the ground, then the winds came. Up to 50-60 mph. Whew!

When I opened the back door to let the dogs outside… this is what we found.

Then I took a peek at the swingset…

And then of course, there was the front yard and the cars…

We were stuck in the house for a couple of days… but then my hubby (who is awesome) braved the outdoors to clear the driveway. And he did an awesome job!

The wind was still blowing when the snow finally eased up, but we just couldn’t resist taking Zack outside to experience some of the big drifts in the backyard. At first, he wasn’t sure about how deep it was.

But it didn’t take long for him to start having fun! (and then, of course, there were tears when I said we had to go inside)

We’re still pretty covered in snow around here…but at least we can get around again. (Although, I’m beginning to think the City of Des Moines has forgotten our neighborhood…Bring a plow down our streets for goodness sake!!)

A Little Late…But Still Thankful

So, I have yet to get a post up about our Thanksgiving trip to Oklahoma…but I’m finally getting to it now!

We left Des Moines at 4am the day before Thanksgiving. We left this early on our last trip to Oklahoma and it worked out really well because we arrive around 2pm and we get more time with my family. :)

Mom and Jake outdid themselves with the food, as usual. It was all delicious!

It was Austin’s first Thanksgiving, so we let him try a drumstick (basically just for photo opportunities…) He LOVED it! In fact, he cried when I finally took it away.

Zack, on the other hand, had this reaction when I GAVE him a drumstick. Suffice to say, our boys are different in many ways. ;)

Thanksgiving night, we celebrated Christmas with my family. The boys had  a lot of fun and got lots of fun new things.

I was blessed with this awesome gift… Footie pajamas from my mom.

Complete with MONKEY FEET! (I laughed…A LOT)

Besides all the holiday festivities, we of course had to get outside with the boys. The weather was beautiful! Zack spent most his time outdoors with Grandpa. One of the first orders of business…riding the tractor, of course!

And Austin had to get out to see Whisper and Bunny, of course. Bunny just wanted to know if they were hiding any treats…

And Whisper wasn’t about to be outdone.

We had a great time in Oklahoma, and loved getting to spend time with my parents and my brother, Jake. And we’re looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad again this week as they come up to see Zack in his Christmas program!

For now, goodbye from Reindeer Austin…

And Zack… uh, I mean, Luigi. ;)

A Mommy Project

I know, I'm incredibly behind in my posts. Not sure anyone really notices that, but I have several posts rattling around in my head that I want to get typed up... just haven't had the time. Today, just a short one... to show you all a little video I put together for Austin's first birthday. There are a couple of glitches (as I'm trying to figure out software I hadn't used before) and I didn't take as much time on it as I would have liked... but I'm pretty satisfied with it. Of course, I could watch home movies of my kids for hours... ;) So, please try to forget I'm supposed to be trained in video shooting & editing! Just view from a mommy's point of view...

Austin's First Year from Kristy Heilman on Vimeo.

The First Year

It’s official. My baby is a year old.

At 3:16pm today, Austin moved on from the “___-months old” category to one YEAR old. Sure, it seems insignificant, but not to a mom.

Our littlest man entered the world at 8lbs 10z and 20 inches. Today, he tips the scales at nearly 23lbs.

That sizable weight gain is due in part to his incredible love for food. I kid you not – Austin will eat just about anything. He has RARELY refused anything. He’ll at LEAST try it – and chances are he’ll probably like it. Zack, on the other hand, is a picky eater. Not so with his little brother. Austin not only eats just about anything – he ENJOYS it, too. Practically the entire time he’s eating he’s making noise. Something like, “Mmmm, Num Num Num” and such.

Our Austin also came into this world with some slightly misaligned feet. Today, you would never be able to tell.

(Below: Austin tries to find weak spots in Zack’s fortress)

Austin began his treatment for clubfoot when he was about 2 weeks old. He’s received EXCELLENT care from Dr. Dietz at the Ponseti clinic in Iowa City. What an amazing gift from God. Not only was the world expert on clubfoot in the U.S. – he was in Iowa… just an hour and a half drive from our door. We have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that God led us to Iowa. He has proven it over and over again. This was just further confirmation.

 

Now after spending weeks in casts and months in a brace – Austin is mobile. He’s been trying to walk and showing interest, but usually goes for crawling (because it’s just easier). Today, he turned a corner… He walked across the living room BY HIMSELF without any coaxing. He was SO EXCITED when he did it! It was precious! Then, of course, he wanted to keep going! I have a feeling he’s going to be walking and RUNNING all over the place in no time!

He’s growing and changing so quickly – and I’m so glad I’m here to see it all happen.

Here are a few of Austin’s other favorite things/new discoveries:

• Austin’s first word was probably ‘Dada.’ He says it ALL the time now. He has also started saying, “This!” and pointing to things. It’s SO cute (of course, I’m biased). He’s also starting to say ‘Mama’ (which makes me giddy, of course)
• Austin has figured out that many animals growl or roar. He’s also figured out that he can make such a sound. So now, most animal toys he plays with growl or roar… even if it’s an elephant.
• Austin also loves cars and trucks. So, the same “roaring” sound he uses for animals is also used in connection with cars and trucks. He loves to make an “engine” noise and push cars and trucks around.
• Austin LOVES Blue’s Clues. We discovered this kind of by accident. Now, he adores it and gets SO excited when he hears the music at the beginning of the show. He also says, “Cues! Cues!” (aka: “Blues Clues!”) when watching it. Of course, this show is in reruns now, so finding Blue’s Clues toys, etc is difficult…
• Last, but definitely not least, Austin loves his brother. I’m pretty sure he’d follow Zack to the ends of the earth – even if he had to crawl the whole way. In Austin’s eyes, Zack is pretty much the coolest guy on the planet, and also hysterically funny. Zack, seems to only be mildly aware that he’s revered in such a way. He adores Austin, but doesn’t yet realize the power he COULD have over him (I know, he’ll discover that eventually).

And so ends my birthday post for Austin. My sweet, sweet little boy. I should clarify: My sweet little boy is also incredibly onery…but is so darn adorable while being onery it’s distracting. ;P

Austin, I love you. We are so blessed that God has entrusted you to us. Our hearts have grown so much since you joined us a year ago. I’m so excited to see the man you’ll grow to be – but I’m not in a hurry to get there. You and your brother are treasures to your daddy and I.

Happy birthday, little bubba. :)