Happy Fall!

I really do love everything about fall, though it seems that it has taken forever to really get here this year! The crisp cool mornings that beckon a sweater, sleeping with the windows open, pumpkin spice latte's, seasonal candle's, the leaves on the ground, the early setting of the sun, and yes, even football. You name it, I love it about this time of year. I have been oh so patiently waiting to layer my clothes and dress Augie in his sweaters and jackets. The cool front that has blown in over the past couple of days finally has me eager to introduce August to this season...just in time to decorate for the next.

  

I made these!
recipe

Best. Pumpkin Spice Latte. Ever

Another Austin Weekend

This past weekend was another glorious weekend spent at home! With the holidays approaching, and our calendar quickly filling up with trips, we savor the down time we are able to spend around the house and this great town. Saturday was primarily spent working in and around the house again. Kevin put in so many laborious hours on the back patio project once again, and was able to complete the new planter project! I think it is so functional, looks great, and am so happy to get out there and start enjoying it as a family in this new cool weather. (I of course will add more pics once the plants are in place and get Kevin's seal of approval) Sunday we were able to meet up with our good friends the Sprad's for brunch at the quaint Blue Dahlia bistro on the east side. We enjoyed a great meal and conversation before Kevin had to catch a flight out to Virginia. I am so thankful for such a capable, hard-working husband, and another beautiful weekend in central Texas.

Week 40

This week was a fairly typical week as far as our daily routine is concerned. August however made some noticeable developments. First of all, I can't believe how much hair this little man has now! It has really grown over the past few weeks and is becoming quite the 'big boy' head of hair. More excitingly, August found his way over to the toy box, stood up, and pulled the particular toys out that he wanted to play with. While that may not sound too thrilling to anyone else, it was the first time that I've noticed him express his preference for something with such focused intent. It's just one more example of how quickly he is transforming from a helpless little baby, and into a capable little human being. Also of late, August and Lilly have started to interact more frequently. Granted she is usually just stalking him for the chance to get a nibble of some crumbs pasted to his body, it's still really amusing to see how much they tolerate one another. She has always been quite protective of him from day one, laying next to anyone that was holding him, and checking in on him at night, but it seems that the two are  really buddying up to one another these days. Poor Daphne on the other hand bears the brunt of his hair pulling, tail chewing abuse, and takes any opportunity she can to run away when she sees him barreling towards her. 

so much hair!

A Productive Weekend

We had a very fun, yet busy weekend this past weekend. Saturday was spent doing some much needed work in and around the house. There were a few projects that we needed to get caught up on, most importantly being the back patio. We've been wanting to redo the back planter area for a while, but once I bought August a climbing/sliding contraption on craigslist a few weeks go, we decided it needed to happen sooner than later. Kevin labored several hours deconstructing and reconstructing our planter boxes to make more room for play. It isn't quite finished but major progress was definitely made. On Sunday we drove down south to the outlets in San Marcos for a few hours of shopping fun with Kevin's mom and sister. It was the first time we've had such a meeting, but definitely won't be the last!

On Saturday night we loaded up the dogs and August for a walk down to Auditorium Shores. The city was having the first ever Gypsy Picnic Street Food Festival, and being quite the connoisseurs of local mobile eateries, we definitely weren't going to miss the festivities. We didn't make it down there until 6 in the evening, so most of the vendors had already sold out of food. The few trailers that were still open had lines up to an hour and a half long. While I would say that most of their food is delectable, I don't think I would ever wait that long for any of them! So after walking around to take in the sights, we found an ice cream sandwich trailer from the east side of town that had a fairly short line. A nice stranger gave me some coupons as he was leaving, so we ended up getting one item for free. Kevin tried the balsamic,fig,mascarpone sandwich, while I tried the lambrusco on oatmeal cookies.  It was a pleasant discovery and we will definitely be returning to them soon. After consuming our dessert first, we decided to grab some so-so latte's from a bike shop trailer and walked back home to our awaiting leftovers. All in all it was a decent inaugural event, but next year I hope that they will have more food stocked and maybe even make it a full weekend event.

Week 39

August had his 9 month well baby check with Dr. C this week. The little mister is right on track in his development, and is certainly growing like a weed! He weighed in at a nice even, solid 22lbs, and was 28 5/8" tall. That puts him in the 65th% for his height, and 80th% in weight. We're just so blessed that he is such a happy, healthy little guy and can't believe how far he has come in just 9 months. He made it out of this appointment with just two shots and one toe prick, but you couldn't convince him that he was getting out fairly easy. We just have to go back around the first of next month for his second flu shot and a yet another remeasure of his big noggin.

9 Months!

                    

Halloween

I have to admit, this year was a bit of a fail in the halloween department for the Gupton's. It was a wonderful weekend of social gatherings for us, but it wasn't really remarkable as far as costumes, decorations, or candy goes. Some of our friends hosted a party Friday night to share some of the beer that they had been working hard to brew over the past couple of months.  It was a fun, very laid-back, outdoor get together complete with beer, brats, a bonfire, and of course smores. Some of our other good friends who have just moved back from London joined in the festivities, so it was fun to mix groups of friends. August was a champ most of the time, but let us know when we'd outstayed our welcome.

When Sunday rolled around, we loaded up and headed down to San Antonio to visit our good friends Kevin and Val. Despite that we consider them to be some of our dearest friends, and that they only live an hour away, we manage to only see them once a year. Pathetic I know. None the less, they were ready to meet August and we were ready for a small dose of Alamo town. They live in a great place in the King Williams District just south of downtown. From their apartment, they can walk, ride a bike, or take the trolley to some of the coolest places in town. We ended up spending the majority of our visit at The Friendly Spot Ice House. It was very family/dog friendly with a wide Belgian beer selection and the tiniest street tacos we've ever seen!

By the time we got home at dusk on Sunday, we were tired and a bit uninspired to do anything festive. August wouldn't keep his lion hat on for more than two seconds, and given the fact that I had single-handedly devoured 2 lbs of peanut butter cups over a 10 day period, we didn't need to take advantage of our neighbor's candy. Besides, we figure this is the only year that we will be able to get away with the apathy, so we soaked it up and watched 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' instead.

at least the dogs acquired some loot