Dedication Sunday

Today we celebrated Austin's baby dedication at church. It was such a wonderful and momentous occassion for our family. We were lucky enough to have both my mom and Brent's mom there to celebrate and bless Austin with us. Brent's sister also came and helped with the picture taking. Each baby being dedicated had their name, name meaning, picture and a special verse shared with the congregation. For Austin what we shared was his name meaning:

Austin- majestic and noble and Charles- strong man

And his verse was Isaiah 58:11: "The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs and strengthen you." We both felt that this verse was exactly what we wanted Austin to know about God and to hold dear to his heart as he grows up.

(the pictures from during the dedication)

There was a little confusion during the introductions of all the babies, poor little Austin was supposed to be second but his slide wasn't there! Of course it all worked out and he ended up getting introducecd twice! Following the introductions we had a prayer and blessing time where all friends and family could come up to pray. It was absolutely amazing to see so many of our friends and family memebers come join in praying with us for the growth and spritual well-being of our son. We were blessed by the members of our life group, a few special friends through out the church, some friends we didn't even know and of course our parents who all joined us in prayer for Austin. As part of each child's dedication they recieved a small bible, a certificate signed by the pastor and a photo frame where the picture from today can go. We thank God daily for blessing us with Austin and pray for His continual guidance in raising Austin to be an amazing man of God.

Our family at home before we headed off to church.

The First 100 Days

100 days!!

(as you can tell Austin was pumped!)

As any elementary teacher knows, 100 days is a big deal! And today September 27th marks Austin's 100th day. Now at school we would celebrate by counting everything to 100, but with a baby you can't quite do that. What we can do though is recall some of the major moments that have occurred over these 100 days. In his first 100 days, Austin has grown quite a bit. He has adorable little rolls on his legs and his little double chin is so adorable!! He now wears size 2 diapers and fits into his 3-6 months clothes very nicely. Austin sleeps through the night every night and if we are lucky we can get 2-3 naps out of him during the day. He is still a big fan of the power nap, just a quick 10-20 minutes here and there, and then he is ready for more fun. He can now grab for and hold a few of his toys. Austin's favorite is his stuffed cow with chew rings and his chick-fil-a cow. He loves to put anything in his mouth including his fingers/fist. Austin likes to play in his exer-saucer and still enjoys his swing quite a bit especially when he is tired. He is so entertaining and we love listening to him "talk" and make all of his sweet little noises. Elliott is still struggling a bit with having to share his attention but keeps trying to play with Austin. We just love watching him grow and change and are so blessed to have this sweet little guy in our lives.

Austin putting everything in his mouth including his fingers, lion, cow and saucer toys!

My two little boys playing and resting together!

HEALED!!!

Finally my c-section incision has officially healed! My last would care appointment was 9-9-09 and I was finally declared HEALED. At the end of my last appointment, all the nurses gathered in the hallway to cheer and I had to ring the bell. They made it such an event to be celebrated and reminded me just how far we had come on this little adventure. Even though it was "closed" at my appointment, I was still told to keep it covered for a week more and to keep my activities limited for the next two just to insure that it wouldn't re-open. Although it was terrible experience and so stressful with all that happened, I am very thankful for the wonderful staff at the Wound Care Center and all they did to help me. They were always so nice and so involved and caring about me and my family. Each week they asked about Austin and always remembered exactly who we were and what was going on in our life. That is such a rarity in doctor's offices these days and it truly helped a bad situation not seem so bad. But after 12 weeks of appointments, treatments, 2 weeks of a would vac, and numerous dressing changes; I finally made it. What a perfect anniversary present!! I still don't really know how I will adjust to life without weekly doctor's appointments. So far it just seems like something is missing since they have been part of my life for so long now. Ever since May I have been to at least 1 doctor a week for some reason or another. I am really looking forward to returning to a semi-normal life.


And just because I find it so interesting...
Wound stats:
start-length-3 inches
depth-2 inches
width- .5 inches

It took 72 days of treatment for it to heal completely with 15 of those days being attached the would vac. I would post the photos of the wound at the start and at the end but I have been told that is "gross"! But my wound is healed and I have a beautiful baby and the scar to remind me of it forever!

Sic 'em Bears!!

Austin went to his first Baylor football game on Saturday September 19th. Baylor was playing Connecticut in their first home game of the season. Since it was still pretty hot outside, Austin and I waited until half-time to make our appearance. Both Brent and I were pretty excited about showing off Austin to all of our friends in our section. Austin wore his Baylor baby onesie and his new hat to the game. He did really well at the game, the only time he fussed or got upset was when the crowd would suddenly get loud or start clapping (luckily it was a Baylor game so this didn't happen too often). Austin liked looking around at all the different people and even "watched" the game for a bit. But since it was a night game and a pretty exhausting day, Austin ended up sleeping through most of the 4th quarter! It was so much fun to be back at good ol' Floyd Casey watching those Baylor Bears. Who knows maybe this year will be the one that changes it all!!

Mommy and Austin enjoying the first Baylor game of the 2009 season

we all support the bears!

Austin has only missed 1 Baylor home game this year and that was the Kent State game. We decided to skip that game since it happened during a monsoon! We thought it best to stay home and just watch that loss on TV. He seems to enjoy being out in the crowd and watching all of the excitement regardless of the score.

Here are some pictures of Austin at various other Baylor games this year:

Baylor vs. Northwestern

Sept. 26th

Baylor vs. Nebraska

October 31st

Austin slept through most of the second half but didn't he look cute in his hat!

3 months old

Wow, Austin is already 3 months old. I cannot believe how fast it has gone by. This third month has brought many new developments for our little guy. The biggest is that he is trying to sit up! Almost every time we hold him in a laying down position he tries to pull his head and torso up so that he would be sitting. I must admit he is pretty darn strong for a 3 month old! Other developments are that he has turned in to a super sleeper. Gone are those early days when we could never get him to sleep through the night or even sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time. Now this boy can sleep for days! We even had to move his bed time up a bit because he was so sleepy and fussy. We now start the bed time routine (bath, bottle, and rocking) close to 9pm and Austin is usually down for the count by 10pm. Once we place him in his bed he will sleep all night long and almost always has to be woken up in the mornings so that we can begin our day. On non-school days Austin will sleep until 10am at least and even then we still have to go wake him up. On school days, I usually let him sleep until the last possible minute and then take him out of bed and put him straight in the car seat. He is almost always still sleepy & groggy and of course still in his wonderful footie pajamas when we get to the baby-sitters. On the rolling over front, Austin has only made it to his side so far; which he does every night in his sleep. He doesn't like being on his stomach lately, so he hasn't made any progress in a full roll from stomach to back or back to stomach yet. I keep trying to work on this skill but Austin tends to start screaming when placed on his floor. I am guessing it is because he can't really see what is going on when he is down there. Austin is definitely a boy that likes to see the action. He loves to sit in his bouncer these days and just watch mommy and daddy talk and do chores. His other favorite place to play is his new exer-saucer. We decided to go ahead and get it out since he can hold his head up so well. Austin does great sitting in it, he has even got himself spun around a few times much to his own surprise. He likes to stare at the different toys on the tray especially the mirror. But it is always a moment of excitement when Elliott decides to join in the playtime with his entertaining. Elliott still is having trouble understanding that Austin can't quite play with him yet but Elliott keeps trying to share his toys. Austin has definitely settled into more of a consistent routine. We make him wake up most mornings at 7am, rush to the sitters where they feed, change and dress him for the day. I pick him up between 11:45 and noon, we then come home for lunch and a 2-3 hour nap. After he wakes up from his nap, we tend to have some fussy time until he usually eats around 4pm. Then it is mommy and Austin playtime! We like to swing, walk around the house, sing songs and on a really good day Austin will be cooperative and I can actually get some school work done while he sits in his bouncer or exer-saucer. This is often short lived until dinnertime around 7pm and then daddy comes home at 7:30pm. Brent likes to have some daddy and baby playtime before we eat dinner ourselves. If need be we might run some errands or take an evening walk around 8pm which Austin regularly naps through. Now most would worry that a power nap so close to bed time would keep the baby from sleeping, but not our boy, he will still go to bed no matter what! Then it is back home for a bath, bottle and bedtime about 9:30pm. Bedtime is for sure my favorite part of the day. It is when Austin and I sit in the rocker for a 6 oz. feeding, listen to some classical music and enjoy some great cuddling. Austin is still only eating 4 ounces at a time during the day and then a bigger bottle at night. Each time we try to up the amount he eats during his day time feedings, he tends to spit up and be unhappy. So for now we will stick with the smaller 4 ounce bottles every three hours and then the bigger 6 ounces at bedtime. Austin is just so fun right now, he is constantly becoming more aware of his surroundings and making the most adorable faces. He isn't really into any of his toys yet but he LOVES his hands. They are always in his mouth and close to his face. You can tell he is getting sleepy when he starts to hold his pacifier in his mouth with one and and with the other starts rubbing and covering his eyes. Austin is making more and more noises and really enjoys "talking" with us. We have even managed to get a few little giggles out of him. It is just the most precious little sound ever!

Austin has found some of the toys on his exer-saucer

enjoying some exer-saucer time and of course elliott has to join in!

look at that big boy trying to feed himself!

such a happy boy!

elliott trying to share his duck toy with Austin

Austin trying to pull himself to a sitting up position

The 3 month photo shoot:

some of the out-takes....trying to sit up, putting his hand in his mouth & his hand in his mouth again

and the official 3 month photo!

I heart footie pajamas!

Austin finally began sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old. It truly was the perfect time for our family because the first night he slept all night was the first day I had to go back to work and lucky for us he has done it ever since. For the first two weeks after that he would consistently wake up around 6am. But then all of the sudden our sweet baby turned into a sleep machine and I completely believe it was because of his pajamas. Now Austin had been sleeping 5-6 hours most nights but always woke up without his socks, shirt twisted up and the blanket kicked completely off. So I thought maybe he would sleep longer if he stayed warmer thus brought us to footie pajamas. We had only gotten 1 set of footie pajamas as a baby shower gift so I gave them a try and what do you know.... it was like magic!

1st night in his footie pajamas

just look at those cute little feet!

Austin slept almost 8 hours that night, I actually had to go wake him up to get ready for school that Friday morning. All I could think was it had to be the pajamas. Later that day I told his Aunt Lindsay about his amazing accomplishment and the wonders of the footie pajamas. And lo and behold if she didn't go buy him 7 more sets of footie pajamas!! Friday night we tried out our pajama theory again with one of his new sets from Aunt Lindsay. Austin was dressed in his magic pajamas, had his bottle down and enjoyed some quiet rocking time then at 10:30pm he was laid in his bed to see if it really was the pajamas that made the difference. Off to bed we went and I did not set an alarm because I figured Austin will wake us up in plenty of time to get ready for the day. Saturday morning, September 5th, sometime after 9am....I remember waking up that morning in a panic because it was so late and I had not heard him yet and I started to worry that something was wrong. So I immediately ran to his room to check and found him safely curled up on his side, thumb in his mouth and sleeping soundly. It was so darn cute I had to take a picture. I still don't know how he got on his side, they must really be magic pajamas!

all curled up....

thumb in mouth!

We do love Aunt Lindsay and those magical footie pajamas. Now every night Austin sleeps in his footie pajamas and we have to go wake him every morning because he is sleeping so well. So after making fun of those silly pajamas and how anyone would dress their kid in them, I must admit..... I HEART FOOTIE PAJAMAS!!

game day!!

College football season is finally here!! September 5th was a big day in the Coatney house; Baylor and OU were both kicking off their seasons. The Baylor game was first so the whole family put on our best Baylor gear and got ready to watch the bears on tv. We headed to Randy's house for lunch and to enjoy the Baylor game on the big screen with our good friends. Austin enjoyed watching the game for the first quarter but it soon became nap time and we had to retreat to the other room for some quiet rest time. The only time Austin fussed during the game was when Baylor had a big run to score and all the boys yelled. After some comforting and cuddling, Austin was ready for more football. Sadly the adorable Baylor Baby outfit didn't make it through the whole game. I won't go into details but it was a mess! Baylor beat Wake Forrest and we were all super excited! What a great start to new football season.

Austin all ready for the game!

of course elliott didn't want to be left out!

all my Baylor boys!

After the Baylor game we headed back to our house to get ready for the Sooners. This of course meant changing clothes for everyone in the family. Brent had been waiting since February to put Austin in his OU onesie. (It was actually the first piece of baby clothes that we got!) So we all put on our OU gear, ordered Poppa Rollo's pizza for dinner, and settled in for the game. Unfortunately, the Sooner game did not turn out as well as the Baylor game. The Sooners lost and it was very sad evening in our house. Who would have thought that Baylor would win and the Sooners would loose?!? But regardless of wins or losses it was a great day of family football fun!

Brent and his Sooner son!

our tired little guy

all wiped out from a day full of football!

Now that football season has officially began, I am sure most all of our weekends will be consumed with games to go to and games to watch. Oh how I love the fall!

and the Grandparents came!

Labor day weekend Grandpa Jim and Grandma Ann came down from Tulsa to visit with Austin (and maybe us too). During their visit we did some shopping, went out to eat at some of their Waco favorites and spent lots of time playing with Austin. Austin spent the entire weekend in someone's arms and seemed to love it! They came down on Friday and we had to order some Poppa Rollo's pizza that night for dinner. We all spent the evening at home just catching up and enjoying all the fun faces of Austin. Saturday was game day and we all headed to Randy's for some barbeque and football. Sunday we just hung out at home and then Monday we all went to Chick-fil-a for our free sandwich and some shopping. Grandma Ann bought him a hoodie jacket for fall time and a super cute onesie from baby gap for halloween. We always have such a good time when they come to visit and they just love watching Austin!

Grandpa Jim feeding Austin

Austin with his grandparents

The next weekend Gigi (grandma Karen) came down from Abilene to visit for Grandparents day which was Sunday September 13. Saturday was again spent watching football and Austin was loving it! Sunday was church and lunch and even more football. Good thing Austin enjoys watching football! We all love having family down to visit and are so glad that all his grandparents are so involved!

Austin talking with Gigi

Austin watching football

Daddy and Austin watching football

Visitors, Visitors and more Visitors!

The last few weeks have brought us many visitors! At the end of August Brent's brother David and his wife Cayla came to meet Austin for the first time. We had a good time chatting and showing off our little guy. So sad that Uncle Dave and Aunt Cayla live so far away and don't get to visit more often.

Austin with Uncle Dave and Aunt Cayla

The very next day we had even more visitors from Tulsa! Brent's favorite cousin Michelle and her best friend Jerri Jean also came to meet Austin for the first time. We all went to dinner at George's and had some great food and good conversations. Michelle and Jerri Jean then came back to our house to hang out and play with Austin. Those girls are so much fun! They even brought Austin some super cute clothes that he will get to wear when the weather turns cooler. They also sent him an exer-saucer the next week. Austin is already loved so much by all his family in Tulsa and here of course too!!

Michelle and Jerri Jean