Annual Beach Trip

July 7: This year we stacked our vacations back to back and did something totally unprecedented in the world of Shannon and Zach and took an entire week of vacation!  It was GLOREAOUS.  We met Steve and Sue at the condo in Gulf Shores and took in some much needed rays!  At one point Zach and I were laying on a raft in the ocean and I thought to myself-  I have not been this relaxed or carefree in years.  Sue and Steve jumped at any opportunity to watch little man so Zach and I got a lot of quality time together on the beach and at the pool.  We had a great time with Austin and he loved the baby pool.  I have to brag on my sweet child so I can look back at this later when the tables may have turned---he was the most amazing child the entire vacation.  He took long naps in the car and would wake happy and giggly and rarely fussed.  Also everytime we went out to eat he was excellent even after having to wait over an hour for a table at most places. We couldn’t ask for a more flexible and easy going kid.

 

At LuLu's for Dinner

Early morning breakfast on the beach with my lil man

Mr. Personality around the condo, he just hammed it up for Yeah Yeah and G pa!

Our annual breakfast at Tacky Jacks 

Throwing them back

Let's close talk Yeah Yeah.  So sweet

 Sue and I went on a para-sailing adventure one day with Zach’s half-sister Dawn.  It was really fun and we could see for miles.  I recently decided that is about it for me, I always thought I wanted to skydive and/or bungee jump however with age came fear…or maybe it’s really wisdom.  Call it what you want but I have too many important people down on solid ground to chance jumping through the air.

Father's Day

 It was Zach’s first real Father’s Day and we had a very special day with 2 very special guys, our dads!  We went to Bastrop for a fun day in the sun by the pool at G Pa’s house.  Sue made us an awesome lunch and we spent the rest of the time relaxing in the pool watching Austin swim around. Austin loved being out there so much.  He actually fell asleep right there poolside and took a nap on his Cars cot.

As a gift for all 3 dads, Austin and I made these frames.  Each one spells their name…Papa. Dada and G-Pa. 

Playing Catch-up

Here I am typing like a crazy woman trying to get y'all up to speed.

Let me start for apologizing for being MIA the last month or so.  Immediately following my birthday in May I received word that I would be managing a project that was high priority, high profile and of course what does that translate into for me…high stress!  It didn’t end up being too stressful but I was traveling back and forth weekly to Jackson and at the end of the project I was basically living in Jackson for 2 ½ weeks.  It was a fast-tracked project so it only spanned 10 weeks and although it was a TON of work it was really interesting and shall I even dare to say FUN, or as fun as work really can be.  I am starting to think I just convinced myself I was having fun to distract myself from the fact that I was away from my family entirely too much.

So the past few nights I have been working on catching up the blog.  It’s really important to me to record life as we go so we can show Austin everything we did when he was a baby.  So when people ask what he did as a baby he doesn’t reply, “nothing, mommy worked”.  Then each year we make coffee table book from the blog posts.

Austin Lately

Austin @ 13 months
21 lbs, 31 inches

Current Vocab includes:
Dada (1st Word)- Daddy
Mama- Mommy
Baba- bottle
Bye- says this really load as he holds his hand in the air waving
Ba- Ball
Baah- Bath
Nin, nin- the sound he makes with cars/trucks (thanks Papa)
rurr rurr- the sound he makes when he sees the dogs
Pa- Papa
Nana- banana
BaBol- bubbles
Ahhhh- after he takes a drink
Suuu- shoe
du to- thank you

Signs:
Eat- hand to mouth
Bye- waves and says Bye
Hi- waves
All done- holds his hands up and rotates wrists
Hello- he holds his had to his head like he is on the phone
Clap-Claps hands
Throw 'em in the pan- throws hands in air
Nose
Ear
Brush teeth- moves hand back and forth on mouth
Brush hair- pats his head like he is brushing his hair
Kiss- he blows kisses (this is rare but SO cute)

He know the words and will point at it when you say:

Nose, ear, cheerios, goldfish, juice, bath, puppy, Mommy, Daddy, Papa (Dale), Grammy (Lynell), G-Pa (Steve), YeahYeah (Sue), chair, book, rock (he goes and rocks his chair), toothbrush, brush, paci, car, golf club, duck.

What he is doing:

He brushes his hair if you give him a brush

Loves to play the "Steel your nose" game- steals everyone's nose

He points at everything he wants

He picks up the remote and points it at the TV

He walks everywhere and likes to climb on chairs and stairs (eek!)

Sits in his chair , crosses his feet and read his book everyday

Loves to push anything that moves- cars, stools, strollers

Opens and closes doors every time he sees one

Plays with drawer pulls and knobs

Feeds the dogs

Puts his hand to his mouth and make sounds like an Indian

Gets really excited and laughs & screams- sounds like a car trying to start

Loves Patty Cake, bathtime, bananas, brushing his 8 teeth

When you say dance he dances

When you say rock he rocks the chair

 Rides his Powerwheel, he gets on and off and on and off

Drinking whole milk

Can open the child-proof locks on cabinets

Loves Wagon rides (here is one last weekend with Papa and G Pa)

Loves "loading" the dishwasher

The Book

For months I have been planning to make Austin a book of his immediate family.  He LOVES books and we want him to know the names and faces of the family members.  So when I saw that Shutterfly was running a 40% off Photo Books special, I jumped at the opportunity to finally check this off my list.  Also I am a coupon code freak and search high and low to find any and all additional deals.  So I ended up getting the book 40% off plus and additional $10 off bringing it to $26!  Not bad for a priceless keepsake!  You can view it here:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books  offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

Happy 1st Birthday Austin Alexander Jex!

A year ago right now Zach and I were holding hands and having a baby.  July 16, 2011 was the most amazing day.... and with each passing day it just gets better and better.  I never knew you could love somebody so much.  Austin brings us so much joy and laughter and we feel so blessed to be his parents.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Pea!

Drive time

Mom and Dad recently moved into their new house out in the Beau Pre Country Club and it took a lot of getting used to having to drive THAT FAR.  It’s a whole 7 miles from our house but it feels like an eternity to us small-town folks that don’t spend more than 5 minute increments in the car on most days.  Zach still can’t understand why anyone would live SO FAR from downtown. I take Austin out there 3 days a week and I have started to appreciate that time in the car.  On my way there I get to chat with Austin about what he has planned for the day at Grammy & Papa’s.  He is quite the chatterbox in the morning and talks with his hands like his mommy. I can see the reflection in the car seat mirror of his little arms waving about as he illustrates his stories. 
Remember when we vowed the vows walked the walk

Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard
lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when

Remember when the sound of little feet was the music
We danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give it up
Remember when

Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now lookin' back, it's just a steppin' stone
To where we are, where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when

Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when

Today one of my all-time favorite songs came on the radio while I was driving back to town - Alan Jackson’s Remember When.  Do you have a song that literally grabs a hold of your heart and soul as soon as you hear the first few notes.  Everytime I hear this one it brings a tear to my eye and warms my heart…. Here are my favorite parts:
 feel the heart-racing excitement of our wedding day and the vows we took with nervous hands yet calm hearts…….then I relive the moment I met the next love of my life, Austin, and the indescribable joy I feel hearing the music of his soft voice and his careful footsteps….next I totally relate to the part about “thirty seemed so old”, it did until last month when I realized it is just a wonderful stepping stone.

Then my 7 minutes of driving were up and as I pulled into the office I thought, man….God sure has blessed me with all the life I’ve had. 

Happy Friday everybody…… now go grab your iPod or an old CD and relive one of your all-time favorites, it will make your day!