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.

Birthday Boy

Birthday breakfast....

Waffles with syrup, strawberries, whip cream and sprinkles alongside a flaming sword cookie.

The first thing he said about the cookie was, "Oooo Mom! I like the flames!"

The next thing he said about the cookie was, "Hey look!  If you turn it upside down there's a heart!"

Those two observations say a lot about his nature.

More on that soon....

Beecause He's Awesome!

Grandpa made the news in Huntsville, TX!

(photo from Huntsville Item)

Geometry of 35 weeks

Sphere...

...or oval?

Both.  Depending on how I sit.  

Don't know about you, but I think there is some definite Easter egg belly painting in order...

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.

Febs

We made cookies on Valentine's Day.

I am usually resistant to such activities--easily deterred by the potential for massive, chaotic, sugar-highed mess making.  This year, I got past that.  However I got totally stressed out in the "set-up" trying to preemptively mitigate potential frosting wars and sugar-sprinkle bombs all over the house.  Gonna have to work on that part because when we got to the actual decorating...we had a ton of fun!

The kids were so proud of their creations.  I was too.  And as a bonus, they were the best tasting sugar cookies we've ever made.

We made different colored frosting with gel food colors, which I love!  The gel is way prettier than the liquid food color.

I manned the baggies of frosting; they were in charge of designing and spreading and sprinkling.  The system seemed to work pretty well.

This is one of Elia's favorites.

Emerson's cookies were mostly pink.

Austin was most proud of this one.

The sheer brightness of it all was worth the mess. 

 And when they were done, I got to play with the leftovers....

It's my birthday month!!!

Just in case you didn't know.

I am so behind on the Vaclav haps.  Here is some randomness from the last month and a half....

Austin decided to participate in the Science Fair.  He did a Sink-or-Float project. 

Handsome boy.

Random photo shoot in the parking lot.

Sweet snuggles.

Belly curiosity.

Elia went to Amarillo to have three teeth removed by her stellar out-of-town dentist.  She was completely and loving doted upon by Mimi and Papa.  And as an added bonus got to play in snow!

Manipedi for the trip home BY HERSELF!  She flew as an unaccompanied minor for the first time and was a total champ!

The 100th day of school happened.  Austin made "Lego Park" with exactly 100 legos to commemorate the occasion.

Hannah is now doing all kinds of big girl things like sleeping in a now-converted daybed...

...and learning to use the potty.  Man, what a process.  It's been different for all the kids, but by now it's my official opinion that potty training is one of my least favorite parenting responsibilities.  Almost makes me want to go diaper-free.  Almost.

Little sparkle-face also went on a solo trip to Amarillo!  She had five days of MimiPapa bliss all to herself.  

She also got snow--but a lot more of it, much to Elia's chagrin.  

My guys.  My favorite guys in the world.