Christmas Recap: Austin

Jesse, Hank and Kai

We spent a few days in Austin on our trip to Texas.  While we were there, we celebrated Christmas with Brett's family.  Now that Hank is old enough to play with his cousins it was great to sit back and watch him play with them.

Hank was the recipient of a lot of hugs and squeezes from Kai and Jesse.  To show his affection, he would crush them and sometimes pretend to go night night on them.

 

Jesse showing off his impressive head standing skills.

Family shot...yes that is Justin Bieber in the front row.  If you want to meet him let me know and I can hook you up.  Hank is already really into him. 

While in Austin, Brett was able to score lots of cuddles from Hank!  (He was running a fever off and on that week so he was extra cuddly).  Brett was soaking up all the loving, even if he did have to endure Hank's finger in his eye.

Our friends Nita and Saber were able to stop by and visit us at Kathy's house.  They couldn't bring their sweet daughter Harper because she was sick.  We were really bummed but we were so glad for Nita and Saber to finally get to meet Hank!

We also got to see our friends Brittany and Tim along with their daughter Presley and fur baby Leo.  Silly me didn't get any pictures but we LOVED visiting with them and seeing their new house in Austin.  We're still very sad they left SF but so very glad they are settling down in Austin. 

-a

Just because

...this melted my heart since he hasn't slept on Brett's shoulder since he was two months old. Somehow Brett got him to sleep like this on our return flight from Austin last week. It was sweet to see him sleeping on his dad like this. He woke up just as I was taking the picture after we landed so that's why he looks like a sleepy head who's annoyed that someone just woke him up.

-a

Meeting Jackson

Hank and Jackson meeting for the first time.
Hank's classic move...try to swipe the other baby's face.

Emily giving Hank some love

While in Austin, we were able to visit some dear friends of ours and introduce Hank to his new FF (Forced Friend). Emily and Joe had baby Jackson in January and we have been patiently waiting for these two babies to meet. Little do these two babies know that they have no choice as to whether or not they will be friends. They WILL be friends. Done deal.

-a

Little swimmer

Hank went in a swimming pool for the first time ever while we were in Austin. Technically he was in swim gear but it really looks like he jumped in a pool with all of his clothes on. I admit, I am a little over zealous on the sun protection, but I would like for him to stay snow white - just like me! He enjoyed the water a lot. It was too cute to see his little feet kicking in the water!

-a

Family time in Austin

Hank, Auntie Lele and Luke

Kai and Brett

Pearce, Uncle Kris and Jesse

Paulson cousins - Jesse and Kai (missing JT and Jake!)

My mom, sisters and nephews Pearce and Luke drove down from Dallas to hang out for a day. We all gathered with the Paulson family and had a big get together like we used to do back in the day before everyone moved away. Hank met his Paulson cousins for the first time. He immediately loved Jesse because Jesse didn't mind it when Hank pulled his hair! Kai, on the other hand, was having none of that hair pulling business! It was great to have my family and Brett's all together again. Lisa's kids and Kris' kids are close in age so all the boys entertained each other all day. By the end of the day Pearce was referring to all the kids as "his friends". So sweet.

Ron and Gigi reading to Hank

Hank was able to spend a lot of time with Gigi (Brett's mom) since we stayed with her on this trip. I was able to sit back on the couch and relax while she chased him all over her house! Thank you Gigi! Want to move to California???

Auntie Nene helping Hank lounge in the pool

We got a special treat...Courtney changed her plans and stayed the entire weekend in Austin!

Sisters...out on the town together for the first time in a LONG time!

We had a lot of fun with family on this trip. I was so sad to leave Austin behind when our plane departed. The last several trips I have been happy to return to CA to get back to my own house (and my own bed!) but now that we have Hank, it's hard to say goodbye to family. We'll see all of you soon!

-a

P.S. Mom and Aunt Theresa - I didn't get any pictures of either of you. :(

Lovely Austin

Sunset over Lake Travis

I am a little late posting pics from our trip to Austin. Our trip was filled with swimming and hanging out with family and one little visit with friends squeezed in!

I have a few posts about Austin coming up!

In the mean time, here is a beautiful sunset over Lake Travis that we were able to enjoy out on a date. Hank stayed home with Gigi.

When we left the house, Hank was crying a little as he drifted off to sleep for the night. Brett and I laughed in the car and we wondered if Gigi would be able to withstand the crying. (It's not that it was a loud or sad cry...it's just that she's a grandma and grandmas are hardwired to go in and pick up crying babies even if you have instructed them not to.) Brett was cracking me up. He said "We left him with someone weaker than me!" When we returned, Gigi had a sheepish grin and admitted to going in to pick him up, but she claimed it was "only for a few minutes". Let's just say Hank was one spoiled little baby while we were in Austin!

-a

Happy Birthday Brett

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and Hank's fabulous Dad!

To celebrate, we went to lunch as a family and had yummy mediterranean food. To top it off, we went to get cupcakes. Since Hank had been in the stroller and car seat for the whole outing, we let him stretch his legs when we got to the cupcake store. Brett was entertaining him by hovering him above the treats. The little guy is quick and he was able to swipe a cupcake before Brett could stop him. I loved it! He got Brett's - not mine! ha ha Poor Hank. All he wants is to hurry up and get through the fruits and veggies so we can move on to more important things, such as dessert.

Before the cupcake swipe

After the cupcake swipe. I love Brett's reaction!

I had a strawberry cream filled cupcake. That thing was amazing.

We're off to Austin on Wednesday so Brett's birthday gets to stretch into our little vacation as well. :)

We weighed the little swiper today...he's 17 lbs 4 oz.

-a

Good times, good friends

I forgot to post these pictures from a few weeks ago. Brittany, Tim, Presley and Leo came down from SF to hang with us for an afternoon. Brett and Brittany have been friends since high school, so we have known them for a long time. It is so fun to see our kids (and dogs! ha ha) play together.

They bought a house in Austin so they'll be leaving the Bay soon. We're jealous happy they are moving back to A town but we will miss them dearly!

-a

Holiday round-up

Brett goes back to school this week so that means the holidays are officially over. Here's a round-up of our adventures this holiday break!

Christmas Lights in Austin
Angie, Brett & Ellie ~ Kathy, Tyler & Ron ~ Ellie checking out the lights from the car

On Christmas Day in Austin, we went out and saw Christmas lights with Kathy, Ron, and Tyler. First, we drove down to San Marcos to this hilarious place called Santa's Ranch where they basically covered several acres with millions of lights and you drive through them and check out all the little scenes they created. From there we went back to Austin and headed over to a neighborhood that is full of hippies who decorate their yards and houses with lights and other crazy props. Both of these places define the slogan "Keep Austin Weird".

The Texas Paulsons
Jake ~ Jesse ~ Kai ~ Kris & Theresa ~ Julian & Brett

On Friday, the day after Christmas, we hung out for most of the day with Kris & Theresa and the boys. After a great lunch out to eat, we came back to their house to exchange gifts and play games. It was great to see all of them. The boys are getting so big now - big enough to beat Brett and me at HORSE!

On Friday night, Brett and I snuck out on a date and had tapas and just enjoyed being in Austin again. After dinner, we were able to drop by Emily and Joe's for a little while. We haven't seen them since they visited us in Palo Alto over a year ago. I didn't get a pic of us on my camera. :(

The Dallas Family
Brett & the boys ~ Courtney ~ Pearce, Angie, & Ellie ~ Lisa & Luke ~ Mom ~ Pete

From Austin, we went up to Big D to spend a few days with my side of the family. We had a big Christmas dinner and exchanged gifts and watched the boys play with their new toys. Thanks to Santa for giving Brett and I the Mexican Train Dominoes. We played that for a few hours that night and we've played it several times since!

New Year's Day in Carmel
Pic taken with camera phone - can you believe I forgot my camera?

On New Year's Day, we headed out to Carmel to be hosted for a night by Adam and Rachael. We had a great time with them as we walked along the beach, ate fajitas and efficiently watched football using the DVR. Who knew you could watch a football game in an hour and a half?!?

I'm always a little sad when the holidays are over - I am not taking the tree and decor down until tomorrow so technically it's not over yet - but I know this new year is going to be filled with so many things to look forward to!

-a