Austin the Magnificent

Austin grew up so much this past year.  But to tell you the truth, I often sense that inside the mind and heart of our little boy is full grown character from some epic tale that has already lived epic adventures and traveled the world over.  It's as if there's an ancient sage trapped in a little boy's body patiently waiting for the size, skills and faculties to properly tell his story.  When he was born his Aunt Jana looked at him and said, "Those feet have already been places."  I think it's true.

Thus, it is so exciting to watch him grow and learn and begin to express his inner self  in new ways.  Here are a few of the attributes I've seen emerge this past year....

STEADY LEARNER

This time last year, Austin was in preschool.  He did not love the academia but did love playing with a room full of little boys all day.  Apparently, they loved him too.  According to his teacher, Mrs. Patsy, the other boys would fight over who got play with Austin and vie for position as "Austin's best friend." Yet, through it all, Austin never showed favoritism and instead played calmly with them all throughout the year.  A year which culminated with a preschool graduation ceremony through which the typically crowd-hating Austin marched proudly and confidently!

However, starting Kindergarten was something else all together.  The first day was one of the hardest for him (and me).  It took weeks of meltdowns at home and at school before things normalized.  One day he said to me, "Mom, I don't want to go.  I just miss you toooo much!"  I'm sure you can imagine my near heart failure.  BUT as we expected, he soon came to love school.  Once he was confident in the routine, environment and came to trust his beloved teacher Ms. Lampman, we started to see him truly enjoy using the new skills he was learning at school like doing science experiments and writing stories!!

CLEVER BUILDER

This part is not new.  He has been making cool stuff ever since his little hands could stack one thing on another.  Building is definitely one of his outlets for creative expression, and it is fun to watch his creations become more intricate as his academic skills increase.  This is typified (as any mom of a 5-yr-old boy will tell you) by the foray into Legos...

BRAVE ADVENTURER

Okay, this one is not so new either.  But this year he had the opportunity to explore new lands and use new tools that are essential to the spirit of adventure. Running wild in the Redwoods, hiking for miles to discover a black sand beach, wrestling waves and for sand for hours--those experiences are soaked into his bones and will not be forgotten.  Building fires, wielding a pocket knife and learning to bear the responsibility of both--that's new.

MIGHTY WARRIOR

He is a warrior and a fiery one at that.  I love it.  For now, he is the victorious hero of imaginary battles in which he uses his strength and cunning to combat any "bad guy" who would dare obscure his path.  I will not discourage such wiles of his imagination.  Because I believe they are good practice.  I believe he is destined to be a leader.  I believe he is destined to use his strength and his imagination to combat the real woes of our age.   There is a Victorious Hero within him, and I always want him to believe that.

TENDER CHILD

Yet for all the epic-ness about him, he is still our sweet tender boy.  His heart is full of love, innocence and purity.  He still adores his stuffed animals, is unabashed about kissing us or holding our hand and clings to us when he's scared.   I know that these childhood sweetnesses will soon be replaced by some kind of older-kid awesomeness, but for now I cherish him just as he is.

Beecause He's Awesome!

Grandpa made the news in Huntsville, TX!

(photo from Huntsville Item)

Benefits of brother and sisters

When people find out that Austin is going to be the only boy among so many sisters, the first thing I usually hear is, "Aw, poor boy."  

I get it.  And in fact, I spent a bit of time grieving the fact that he will probably not have a brother.  He really did want one; he even picked out a name for his new little brother--John Jasome (?!)  I feared him being crushed with disappointment when he found out another sister was on the way.

But you know what, God knows him better that I do.  He wasn't crushed in the least.  In fact, ever since we found, out his affection and excitement for Hazel has been growing.  It seems they already share a special bond.  He whispers to her.  They have secrets even I am not privy to.  He even asked if he could have Hazel for his birthday!  My prediction is that they will share much more than just a birthday month.  I don't think there will be anything "poor" about it.

He will have whole-hearted cheerleaders to support him his whole life.

And he will know how to offer his strength to the women in his life in ways that bring honor to everyone.  He will surely know how to play with girls, talk to girls, listen to girls.  Sounds like quite the leg-up for Austin-as-a-young-man if you ask me.

He may be outnumbered but he will not be outdone.  Or over-shadowed.  Or drown in a sea of pink.  He will thrive.  We all will.

Christmas 2012 - Part 1

I was so caught up in our family's birthday blitz, I forgot to blog Christmas.  It was a blog-worthy holiday for sure.  Looking back, my photo coverage was not as thorough as I would have liked, but that's okay.  We were living the moments to fullest.

First off let me tell you the most memorable moment of all (for me).  It was the day we arrived in Pearland where Brent and Leigh Ann so graciously hosted the whole Vaclav family.  The house was full of kids and food and presents.  Presents!  Here is a little snippet of a convo between and Michael regarding presents:

Me: Michael, will you bring in the wrapped gifts from our car?

Michael: What wrapped gifts?

Me:  Blink, blink, silence.........ummm....the ones you watched me wrap for several hours the other night.

Michael: They aren't in the car.

Me:  Blink, blink, silence......(light bulb!)....Hahahaha Babe.  So funny!  You forgot the presents.  Good one.

Michael:  Blink, blink, silence.......I'm not kidding...

Me: Yeah, right.

Michael:  Babe, I'm really sorry!!!

Me: Oh SH*T!!!!
**************

That's right.  We started the holiday by leaving the gifts in Austin.  Well played V-Force.  Michael dutifully drove back to Austin to retrieve the gifts and save Christmas.  Now, on with the show.

Cousins Zane, Libby and Cade were totally gracious about sharing their rooms, toys and just about everything with their six cousins for five days.  Very admirable.

These two played slide-n-crash for ages!

We rented a bounce house for Sunday afternoon; it was awesome.  But the best part is that the rental company went on holiday break Sunday night so we got to keep the bouncy until Wednesday at no extra charge!!  Hello Christmas miracle.

It came with a flying Peter Pan.  Oh wait, that's Zane.

Here you can see that Michael is still a kid at heart.

And Michael's father is very, very brave.

He maybe should have thought twice about demonstrating how to ride the bounce house as it's inflating. But really it was J's idea.

It was a rare and precious treat to spend several consecutive days with Marik; she is full of love.

Now this is the only decent picture I took of Leigh Ann, who hosted this huge gathering with love and thoughtfulness and just-right holiday cheer.  Wish I had beheld her more to tell you the truth.

Their house is directly under a flight path, lots of planes but angels too I think.

Also failed to get a decent picture of Cade; he is classic oldest-cousin awesome.

We feasted every meal.  It's the best and only way to go at a Vaclav gathering.

And sometimes, Vaclav gatherings feel a bit like this...but in a good way.

Hazel was there too!!

Brent is an extremely diligent toy assembler; I have much respect for the skill and patience that requires!

The kids got schooled on their new tech.  Hello iPad, nice to meet you Mac.

Uncle J and Cade included Austin in their ball tossin'.  It may have been Austin's first time.  I felt kind of bad that it has taken five and half years for him to have such an "all American" experience.  Makes me extra thankful for uncles and boy cousins.

And here is J modeling The Hover.  It's a stance all the grown-ups assume around the kitchen island as we graze, regret and graze some more on the continual bounty of Christmas fare.  It is so, so GOOD.