Ridiculous? I Think So.

Austin went to the doctor a week and a half ago for his 12 month checkup. Seemed like a pretty normal visit: weight, height, scheduled vaccines, etc. The diaper rash we've been dealing with on and off for months had flared up again, so Dr. Jabir recommended hydrocortisone cream again and said to call her if it didn't work.

I got my "Explanation of Benefits" this weekend from the insurance company and noticed that they were billed for both a preventive care visit and and an outpatient/office visit. I thought that was odd so I called the person in charge of billing to see if there had been a mistake. Turns out, Austin's rash (or anything else, however minor, that represents a less than 100% healthy child) that gets looked at during a regular visit gets charged like a separate visit. My insurance was charged an extra $55 for something that took less than 30 seconds of the doctor's time! Does that seem a little shady to anyone else? No wonder health insurance is so outrageously expensive.

Rough Night Update

Zach and I finally resorted to hiding in the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, we have ourselves a sleeping baby. Should have done that an hour ago, I guess. He didn't even cry. We'll keep that in mind for future travels. Anyway, we crept back into the room like burglars and are settling down to watch a movie on our laptop. (Gotta love the dual headphone jack feature.) So now...how long will Austin stay asleep?

I Think We're in for a Rough Night...

I am currently sitting on the bed in a hotel in Charleston, WV. Zach is across the room trying to pat Austin to sleep in his pack n play. This activity has been going on for approximately the last hour and a half. We've tried shushing him, singing to him, walking around with him, and just letting him sit/stand and amuse himself by pulling his socks off. Despite having been awake since 1 pm, he seems 100% awake. Zach just whispered "Austin, it's time to go to bed" in a rather stern voice. I don't think Austin got the message. On the upside, Austin also seems quite happy, even amused by all our efforts. Better than yelling his head off.

Sheesh. To think, I once actually wondered if we were crazy to contemplate a weeklong hotel stay with a ten week old. Little did I know how easy that would be compared to this!

New Skills All the Time

Two weeks ago Austin could hardly crawl. Now he can do that and more. He is moving all over the house and pulling up on everything. He would walk around all day with his push toys if he had the chance. And when Zach put him on the stairs today and he immediately figured out how to climb them...wow.

Got to throw in some funny pics from the last few weeks. This is how Zach found Austin in his crib one morning recently.

And here is my little secretary sorting some papers I was tearing out of an old owner's manual to prepare for recycling. He kept himself occupied for twenty minutes!

Finally, Austin with his beloved Grandma Susan. He was more interested in the cars driving by than in smiling at the camera, but I got this shot which I thought was pretty cute.

Birthday Fun, Part Two

Austin had a birthday party today. Five little friends (all boys, coincidentally) and their mommies and daddies came. Austin handled himself very well; he did all the things little birthday boys are supposed to do...

...play with balloons......open presents...

...blow out candles...

...eat cake......eat more cake...

...and enjoy the company of family and friends!

Okay, I have to back up and show some pictures of the cake, pre-Austin attack. I will admit, I am rather proud of this cake. I saw the idea in a book, and my mom and Megan helped it become a reality. I am so thankful for them--they came here to party and I put them to work as cake decorators! I could not have done this on my own!

Birthday Fun, Part One

Austin turned ONE yesterday. To celebrate this passage from babyhood to little boy, we decided it was time for his first haircut. Since Aunt Megan and Grandma Susan came to town to celebrate his birthday, we took quite a crowd to the salon.

Before...

During... (as you can see, some snacks were involved to keep our little guy calm)

After...

Fun Discovery

This afternoon I was looking through a scrapbook of our childhood that my sister made me for my wedding, and I found this picture of me and my Grandma Irene.

Am I the only one who looked at that and thought "wow, that looks like Austin"? I don't think I have any good pictures to show it, but he does that exact biting-the-lower-lip thing. Something like this:

So fun.

Quick Trip to Texas

Our family traveled to Texas last weekend for Zach's Aunt Debbie's wedding. We flew into DFW around midnight Thursday (remind me never to do that again with a young child) and then drove down to Austin Friday morning. The weather was springy, the wedding was beautiful, and we enjoyed catching up with some family we hadn't seen in a few years. Zach had to leave early Sunday morning to get back to work, but Austin and I stuck around with Gran and Pops until Tuesday. It was a fun and relaxing trip but over way too quickly.

Austin pretending to be an airplane the day before we left.

Austin playing with an airplane in the kids' area at the Pittsburgh airport. I tell you, every airport should have a place like this.

Technically it is still a week until Austin's birthday, but since we were with family we cheated a bit and celebrated his birthday early.

Little boy, big present.

Austin ate a bit of his cake but mostly he enjoyed squeezing it in his hands.

I'm sure this is what the hotel had in mind when they put laundry baskets in the closet!

Three handsome Collins men

We ate breakfast with Zach's cousin Josh and his family. Here are Austin and his nine month old second cousin Anthony getting to know each other.

My college buddy Heather lives in Austin so we got together for lunch.

Hands down, my favorite development of the last few weeks is Austin learning to give hugs!

Okay, this isn't from the trip...I stacked some blocks for Austin today, then he did it himself! Pretty cool to see how he is figuring out new things like that all the time.

New Trick

I put Austin to bed like usual tonight. He fussed for a few minutes, then quieted down. "Good," I thought, "He is getting back into his routine after our trip to Texas." I peeked in the door and was greeted by his smiling face peering over the crib rail. I already knew he could pull up on the futon, the laundry basket, etc. but he has never tried to stand in his crib before; he usually goes to sleep pretty quickly. Good thing I moved the mattress down a few weeks ago just in case!

Now, by the way, Austin is wailing in his room because I made him lay down again. Life is so rough.