Just a typical Saturday afternoon...

Who doesn't like a little Saturday afternoon dance session while Daddy plays the guitar?

Inspector Austin Laves, at your service

Dad recently installed safety locks on the kitchen cabinets so children (like myself?) couldn't get into anything dangerous. Of course, even Daddy with his high and mighty "Project Management Certification" should know that you have to test what you construct. --> Enter Austin Laves, Senior Quality Inspections Agent for the Infant Safety Division of Laves Inspections Inc. (A subsidiary of AML Media Publications):

Need I say more ... Dad failed inspection, and was reported to the chief immediately (a.k.a Mommy)

Where's Austin? In Austin, Of course!

Dad has often told me that in order to get more meaning out of life, I have to go into the wild or nature and find my center. I honestly had no clue what he was talking about. I thought to myself, "Where is Austin's center?" And then, it hit me like a lightning bolt ... maybe I could find my center in Austin. Voila!

So, we packed our bags, hopped on a Southwest flight, and paid homage to Dad's Alma Mater, Austin, Texas! Besides, I really needed to spend quality time with my Uncle Louis, Aunt Shir, and Cousin Itay.

We landed on a Thursday morning, and I could already tell this was going to be a good day. Uncle Louis & Itay picked us up for our expedition in an Expedition. (I'm still working that one out in my head) Then, we met Aunt Shir for some lunch at Trudy's Mexican Food!

Side Note: According to Dad, you can sometimes find your 'center' at the bottom of one of Trudy's famous "Mexican Martinis"

Here's me and Aunt Shir. As you can see, I'm already starting to find peace!

After "fueling" up on tortilla chips at Trudy's, what better place to find my center than at ... Whole Foods Corporate Headquarters! (Ok, maybe it's not the 'best' place, but at least it was organic) Regardless, I knew that meant getting to ride in a shopping cart, and I love those.

Here's me & Itay at Whole Foods. There were plenty of food samples to keep us happy!

Later on, I got to play around with some of Itay's old toys. Amazing that a toy cell phone five years ago is as big as a shoe because the one I have at home is just about the size of my hand! A sign of the times, I guess!

Here's me with my Cowboy Hat ... but still no 'center'!
Later that weekend, Bebe and Zayde came into town. Here's us on Uncle Louis' back porch:

Of course, Zayde coming into town means ... DOMINOES! I was so excited, I could barely get the case open. I thought, surely dominoes would help me find my center...

However, it wasn't to be. So, next I thought maybe I could find my center at one of the great museums of Austin - the Austin Children's museum. My cousin Itay helped by showing me the ropes:

Here's me practicing my drumming skillz...

I was starting to feel very centered when my drumming was interrupted!!! Sometimes, no amount of centering and balance can help when you are distracted by ... the opposite sex:

If I couldn't find my center at the museum, then maybe I could find it at the bottom of a plate of BBQ! We made a trip to the County Line, one of Austin's local BBQ waterin' holes. This was my first rib (and definitely not my last!).

All in all, the weekend was a great time. I think where I really found my center was in Uncle Louis' backyard on his hammock. My favorite part was just relaxing with a good story from Dad:

The 'other' side of Peek-a-boo

So, if you remember from my post a few months back...on peek-a-boo, I love the game of peek-a-boo. All my friends do too. But, as I am such an entertainer, I figured I should also learn how to be on the 'other' side of Peek-a-boo. Many one year olds have tried, and many have failed. It is I, Austin, alone that has mastered this skill at the very young age of 1. Here's 2 videos that show my performances:

(note: sometimes I get a little too excited when I play)

Who says you have to walk before you can dance?

Even though I can't really walk on my own yet, that hasn't stopped me from dancing. I just need something to hold on to:

(Note: Romo jersey courtesy of Lee & Courtney Hunt) - Thanks!

My second Passover, my first taste of Matzoh!

We celebrated Passover Sedar again at the Jourdan's in the suburbs of Chicago.

When we first got there, I was greeted by Trixie, the Jourdan's dog. As you can tell from my earlier post about Murphy ... I'm all about dogs. Here's a quick video of Trixie & I playing:

Once the sedar started, I found myself asking, "Why is this night different than all other nights?" ... well, first of all, I got to stay up late!!! Booyah!

Also, I also got to try my first piece of matzoh:

Here's me, Marcia, and Dana (note - this is now my 3rd piece of matzoh)

Here's me, (Aunt) Sandy & Alan.

(Note: It's waaaaay past my bedtime as you can tell from my face)

Maybe staying up late wasn't as exciting as I originally thought!

My 1st Birthday Party

This past week was my first birthday. I actually had no idea, but I thought something was up when my Uncle Alex and his girlfriend Caroline showed up!Then...Mom & Dad starting acting a little strange. First, Daddy went on this huge baking bonanza and kept having me try this blue stuff called 'frosting' to see if I would like it. It wasn't cold, so I was confused why it was called 'frosting', but nonetheless, I was hooked! Here's Daddy in the midst of the baking:

Then, the morning of my birthday, Mommy got all excited and started telling me the story of my birth. Then, she dressed me up in a new outfit. I thought I was particularly suave:

...but the thing that really got me thinking was when a bunch of people starting showing up at my house including all my little friends. Here's a picture of my buddies Aaron (left) and Colin (center) trying to fly my airplane. I kept trying to tell Colin that he was on the plane backwards, but he wouldn't listen...

So! It was really my birthday! The house was decorated, and everyone was so excited. Mom even got me a birthday hat! I wasn't a big fan of the hat at first:
Those things are itchy! So, we took off the hat, and Mom put me down in my seat. I thought, "finally... I'm starving, some grilled cheese sounds good." To my surprise though, there was no food in front of me. And to make matters worse, all these people starting singing to me and Mom put FIRE in front of me! It was kind of scary at first, until I realized that the fire was just a birthday candle and the people were just wishing me happy birthday with the happy birthday song. Here's a pic of my frightened look
Now, I'm allergic to eggs, so there were two cakes. One for the adults, and one for me. Can you guess which is which???At first, I was a little confused by the enormity of the cake in front of me...but after a while, I was going to town:
but no one told me that too much cake might make your tummy ache:I overheard Daddy talking to Mom afterwards about me being right handed. Apparently, I used that hand to eat the frosting and put the leftovers on the side of my chair. Here's the aftermath:For those extreme fans of my blog - here's a short clip of my cake eating experience:

Overall, it was a great birthday. I did have a bit of a runny nose during the whole thing, but I man'd up for the event!

The next day, Mom, Uncle A, and Caroline all went downtown. It was a bit chilly, so we had our hats on. Here's me and the Seattle crew in front of Buckingham fountain.