Seattle Visitors

This past weekend some of our good friends from Seattle came to visit.  The four of us were in a Bible Study together for most of the time that we lived in Seattle.  We got to see their son Blake when he was 1 day old and flew out to Seattle last year to meet their daughter Claire.  So, to get a break from the chilly west coast and to get to meet our little doodle they came to Austin.

We mostly laid low at the house (venturing out with 3 small children is not really a relaxing experience).  But we did manage to get to the Children's Museum and out to Chuy's for some TexMex.  Monday afternoon, the Dobbins headed to New Braunfels for a few nights at a condo they found there.  We joined them on Wednesday afternoon and had fun seeing the town of New Braunfels and Greune.

Knox & Claire enjoying some pool time

Blake swimming

the men & babies

We all went out to icecream on Wednesday night.  Claire was a big fan :)

Knox couldn't make it to the party

Kyle & Blake tearin' it up at the arcade

I took advantage of having willing subjects and got to do a photoshoot with the Dobbins on Wednesday evening.  It is much harder taking pictures of four people instead of one very slow walking 11 month old, but practice is the only way to improve! Here are the best of the shoot:

11 month photo shoot

I can hardly believe that Knox is already 11 months.  I know that is what every parent probably says, but man is it true! I am having a hard time with his first b'day being next month.  I think once it has come and gone I will feel fine, but it feels like it is just looming out there and I just hate to think of him getting older.  But of course that is the way she goes.  In honor of his 11th month, I took him to the park for an early morning photo shoot. I don't really have any photos that show him standing or walking so that was my inspiration.  That and the fact that it has actually been a tiny bit chilly in the morning so we got to break out the winter attire :)

Our growing family...

More later, but we added a member to our little family today.  In case it isn't clear- he is a Volkswagen Camper Van.  And the only good news (from my end) is that we didn't pay a dime for him...Only my husband would find a running camper van and convince me to let him get it because it is FREE...  *sigh* 

first steps...

Knox just turned 11 months on Sunday and also started taking his first steps. He's a little wobbly but he's getting better everyday.

Our First Annual Fall Extravaganza!!

This weekend Kyle & I hosted our 1st (hopefully annual) Fall Extravaganza. I sort of love Halloween so having a full day of Fall / Halloween activities is definitely my idea of a good time! To start off the festivities, we headed out to a local pumpkin patch for a hayride, petting zoo and lots of good photo ops!

Here are the kiddos being tortured with photos- Knox had that face for most of the pictures we took...

our little farmer knox

Saturday was probably the first day that it actually felt like fall here- it was overcast and really rained for the first time since May!  I like that I can finally say with confidence that it will not be near 100 degrees until May or so- praise the Lord.  I think I had reached my saturation point a few months ago.  Growing up, my mom (an excellent seamstress) always made our halloween costumes.  So, thankfully she was willing to continue the tradition with Knox.  We picked out a lion pattern from the fabric store and it turned out amazing! Of course I had to make Knox wear his costume at the pumpkin patch for no less than 1000 pictures- considering what he was put through he was really quite the trooper. 

Poor kid- we couldn't be stopped after the lion photos. We also made him endure a family photo and some pumpkin shots.  He just needs to be less cute if he wants the picture parades to stop. 

a rare family shot

I love the stink face in this one

I was pretty excited to introduce Knox to his first llama! He has a stuffed llama and the full 'Llama, Llama ' book series (including' Llama Llama Red Pajama, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Llama Llama....I think you get the point)

not a great pic, but we get so few of the two of us I had to post it anyway

After we completely exhausted all the pumpkin patch had to offer, we headed back to our house for our family tradition of chili and watching 'Charlie Brown & the Great Pumpkin'.  I know that chili may seem like a strange Halloween tradition, but it started when I was growing up.  My mom would always put a pot of chili in the crockpot and we could all have a bowl before heading out to trick or treat.  So, strange or not I always think of chili and Halloween.  We had a great time hanging out with friends and enjoying the start of fall here in Texas! Hopefully, this will be the start of a new tradition.  

-Stacie 

A weekend away...

This past weekend, Kyle & I got to spend a weekend away.  Away from diapers, laundry, dishes, cooking, vacuuming, walking dogs, feeding dogs- do I really need to go on.  My mom flew in from Virginia to watch Knox and Kyle & I flew out to Chicago to enjoy a few days away. I had high expectations of what four days of sleeping in and doing nothing for anyone would be like and it did not disappoint.  I missed Knox A LOT, but I LOVED sleeping in until 9 am everyday (he is usually up by 6:30 on a late morning) and doing what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it.  Don't get me wrong, I love being a mother.  But I didn't mind spending a few days just thinking about me.  Getting to just sit and read a book or shop in a store without having to wonder about how Knox was doing or what he would need was absolutely glorious.  It was like the angels were singing down on me and I soaked in every glorious moment of it.  Okay, I will stop- I think you get the picture.  

So, we decided to go to Chicago because Kyle was going there anyway for work and luckily I had always wanted to go and never been. Perfect! We left on Friday morning and after a quick flight were in Chicago Friday before lunch.  After we checked into our hotel we spent the afternoon in search of a good chicago-style hotdog and seeing the sights.  Chicago was definitely cooler than I imagined (temperature and fun wise).  Friday night we went to a comedy show at 'Second City' were some of the greats like Chris Farley and Jim Belushi have gotten there starts.  We ate some amazing deep dish pizza as well- more than once.  And really that was all I wanted to accomplish. I have a soft spot in my heart (and stomach) for hotdogs and pizza so I really was in heaven.  

Part of the Chicago skyline

Kyle & I love taking tours when we visit different cities, so we boarded the 'Hop-on-Hop-off' Chicago bus tour on Saturday morning and spent the day seeing the sights of the city from our bus seat.  

The Chicago River

Since Kyle was a little kid he has been a Chicago Bears fan.  He grew up watching them on TV and has always dreamed of going to Soldier Field where they play.  As our luck would have it, the Bears had a home game this Sunday so we made the trek out to the stadium.  We didn't' get to go to the game but we did get to see the stadium and walk there with all the crazy bears fans! Also, our hotel was close to the stadium so we went down to the hotel bar after the game and had a few drinks with some Bears fans that Kyle made friends with.  He was like a kid in a candy shop- as happy as a little clam! (could I possibly use another cliche here! geesh!)

Kyle at Soldier Field 

Us posing in Chicago

I think this trip was a much needed break for both of us.  We spent a lot of time traveling and vacationing with our families this summer. But we haven't gotten to go on a trip with just the two of us since Knox was born.  It was so fun and refreshing for it to be "just the two of us" again.  

Chicago was an awesome city and we will definitely be making the trip back sometime in the future!