When is Mommy coming back???

Mommy is getting a well-deserved break and is away for the weekend, scrapbooking with her sister Heather. You guessed it...that means it is all Daddy all the time for about 2 days. I don't know how you do it Mommy! However, I did manage to find a little time to put some video clips together. Enjoy!

Babbling Babes

Today was Selah & Nana day ~ so I took Judah on an adventure of his own. We went over to my girlfriend Jody's house, to have a mini playdate with her twins (Jack & Kate). Here are a couple pictures to capture the fun they had together. Judah is a crawling maniac and even more obsessed with furniture walking ~ it amazes me how stable he is. So far no bumps and bruises, but something tells me there will be an ER trip at some point with this boy. Especially since last night we caught him standing on Selah's chair in the attempt to get up on her piano!!! As you can see in the close up picture below, his tooth has fully emerged and the other one is poking through now as well. His other obsession is blueberries ~ he can't eat enough of them! Thankfully they were on sale at Costco's, so I just cut them in half and away he goes!

(Jack, Kate & Judah)

(Kate & Judah crawling & sharing cherrios)

(Judah & Jack hanging out by the jumper)

(Judah showing off his big tooth)

Here are a couple fun shots of Selah playing dress-up. It is now a daily occurence for her to go get dressed up and come out only to ask "Mommy/Daddy, how I look!!!". She is LOVING her preschool and yesterday told me she learned how to concentrate as she rubbed her head and tummy at the same time (thanks Miss Margaret)!

The Days Of Our Lives

Welcome to the world Alexa Lorelei Austin. She graced our presence on Sunday, January 27th. Now Gordy & Jennifer get to join the rest of us with two kiddos or more! It always amazes me when holding a newborn that my children could possibly have been that small, but only 8 months ago ~ Judah was just this size (a tissue please!!!).

Judah is keeping us on our toes ~ not only is he crawling ALL over the house, but Derek discovered on Saturday that he can now pull himself up on furniture, like his crib! He is so proud of himself everytime he accomplishes his goal ~ which pretty much includes crawling everywhere mommy goes and standing up on anything/everything that will stay sturdy long enough for him to pull up. Gotta love that boy! FYI ~ his tooth finally popped through, I will post a picture when it comes up a bit more!

And last, but certainly not least is our funny story of the week. I almost didn't put this picture on here ~ but how could I resist? To give a little background, Selah has been a weeee bit curious about me nursing ever since Judah was born. So, being "good" parents and all we just told her that was mommy's chest and that's where Judah gets his milk! Well, on Sunday Selah was drawing a stick figure of me and for the first time drew two small circles and said those were my "chesties"! We both just about fell over in laughter! We thought later, hmmmmm, will she say that to anyone else but us. Well, at Nana's today she answered that question for us by drawing this picture of Rosie from the show Caillou ~ these are the parent moments that are a bit embarassing, yet still a treasure to remember! If you ask me, she is quite talented too (even though I might be a bit prejudice)!

Happy Birthday Selah!

Ok, it's very hard for Derek and I to wrap our heads around the fact that we have a three year old daughter! Seriously, where has the time gone? As parents, ofcourse it's natural to think your child is the cutest, smartest, sweetest ~ but Selah REALLY is all those things!!! We can't imagine life without her and can't wait to see what new adventures she will take us on next.

Saturday was her birthday and we threw her a little family party to celebrate the occasion. She woke up and said she wasn't three until she had her birthday cake (literally didn't want to open the presents we got her until the cake arrived) ~ quite the hoot that one! Here are the pictures so you can share in her birthday fun.

Selah getting her cuddle time w/ Logan (he just got his braces off~good job buddy)

Selah w/ her twin, Morgan (who is practically a teenager)

Selah getting help from her other cousins; Leah & Kayla blowing out the cake!

Our other BIG news is that Selah started preschool today (one day a week for 2 1/2 hours). How much can one mommy take in a week? When I dropped her off ~ it was the dreaded scene of clinging, screaming and sobbing! When I picked her up ~ she didn't even know I came back, she was too busy playing dress-up! She told me in the car ride home that "school was so much fun mommy and can I go back and play again??". I told her that made mommy cry because I was so happy she had fun ~ she was like "mommy, you can't cry ~ I told you I had fun"!!!!

Eight Months Old & Signing

Yes, that's right ~ Judah has learned his first sign "more"! It wasn't too difficult now that he LOVES his cherrios and always wants more. I started showing him the sign about a week ago and then yesterday we noticed he seemed to be actually doing the sign ~ today there was no doubt!!! You go buddy! This week has been crazy ~ not only has he become quite the crawler, he learned how to sign, started saying "Kha-Kha" for our kitty Noel, and you can see the glimpses of his first tooth begining to work its way up. He's moving on up in the world ~ too fast if you ask me!

Here is the video of him signing ~ enjoy!

On The Prowl

Well, our peaceful days are OVER! Judah has learned how to crawl! Last week he started "scootching" on his belly across the floor and today he has mastered crawling ~ watch out Noel (our kitty) he is coming for you!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Well, as we wrap up another year we are reminded of God's faithfulness in our lives. We are blest this year with our two children who bring more joy than one could imagine and family all over the country that's love we cherish! Here are some pictures from our crazy filled week or so ~ enjoy. Love ya all.



Selah with her two older cousin's Morgan & Logan. We celebrated Christmas over at NeNe's house with the Austin side of the family. The night was filled with wild games of duck-duck-goose and ofcourse football w/ Uncle Gordy.




NeNe is wise beyond her years and bought both Selah and Leah the PERFECT Christmas presents this year. The rest of the evening was spent dressing and undressing in their new "Dora dress-up" clothes!!




Oh yeah Papa, you knew we were gonna post this picture ~ couldn't resist! We had a great time with the DuRoss side over at Nana & Papa's Christmas Eve. Selah relished helping everyone open her and their presents. Something tells me this is the last year that is going to happen with Judah on the prowl!



Here is Selah and Judah Christmas morning at our house. Selah didn't wake up until 9 am to open presents, hehehehehehe, we have to enjoy sleeping in while we still can. Judah loved the paper just as much as the presents ~ but the trucks really were a hit. He's ALL boy.


Last, but certainly not least was daddy and Judah playing along w/ Selah in her dress-up efforts. Judah may not forgive us for the pink headband ~ but that's what being a little brother is all about!!