Austin's visit

Austin came to visit by himself for the first time last weekend and we had so much fun! Even though he hadn't seen us for 3 weeks, he came right to us with hugs and kisses when we met Jillian and Brit for the "switch" Friday night.

When we got to our house, he remembered where everything was and went right to his favorite toys. He is a great block tower builder! See how high his tower is-sorry Buddy is in the way so the bottom can't be seen. He likes knocking them down as much as he likes building them, though.



Every long object is either a bat or a golf club for that boy, and anything circular is a wheel. If he sees the camera, he immediately stops what he is doing and says "cheese"! (Austin loved chasing Buddy around yelling "Buddy" with the towel Buddy likes to chew, but we couldn't get a good video all weekend, because he kept stopping and saying "cheese" when we tried). When it was time for bed, he went right to sleep without a peep and slept all night both nights! Well, he did get up at 5:30 AM on Sunday, but he went down for a 45-minute nap at 7, so it wasn't too bad for sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum and he especially loved playing with the water table and the fire truck. The fire truck had a place to put balls down a hole, after which they went down a ramp and into a bucket. He played that game for quite some time, and even learned to take turns with some of the other kids there. He observed the older kids very closely and then copied many of the things that they did.













Austin also thinks that wet rocks are very pretty, just like his mom and his aunts ;)


After getting a tiny pumpkin at the Farmer's Market, and eating Thai food for lunch (his favorite was the mini-corn), he took a nap.

When he woke up, we took him and Buddy to Gallup Park, where there was a playground area and a big sandbox.




Austin even talked on the phone with Jillian and Brit when they called-he is so amazing-not that I am biased or anything ;)
Sunday morning, Austin and I made cupcakes. He had a lot of fun helping, but I think he decorated himself more than he did the cupcakes!




After lunch and a nap, we returned him to Jillian and Brit and ate dinner together at Chipotle in Maumee before heading home. It was a great weekend and we can't wait to have Austin visit again.

Here is a video of Austin and Buddy. Buddy already has the towel and Austin can be heard to say "cheese" at the very beginning. Yes, I am wearing Grandma Teresa's housecoat; it was just after we decorated the cupcakes.