Santa visits KVUE

Every year, Santa Claus comes to KVUE, where Sarah works, to tape a special Christmas show that airs on Christmas Eve. All of the kids at the station and their families get to come for the taping, which means Ryan got to sneak behind enemy lines and enjoy some holiday cheer.

Everything went really well, as you can see above, until Sarah got the bright idea to take away Luke's candy cane...

...which did not go over very well.

I believe he's giving Mommy the evil eye here. Yep, moral of the story - taking candy away from a baby is HARD. And will result in an hour-long meltdown. Don't do it.

Autumn in Texas

Behold, the confident stride of Luke at 16 months!

And his smile, as sunny as the Texas sun in fall!

He is indeed his father's pride and joy, and looks great in jeans.

We love playing outside in the fall!

NXNW Oktoberfest

Ryan and Sarah love beer and never miss an opportunity to raise Luke right.

That's right, Luke is too cool for Bud Light.

We went to the North by Northwest Brewery Oktoberfest to enjoy some local beer...

...yes... we enjoyed most of it before we remembered to take a picture...

...and we also got to check out the polka bands, although it was a little too crowded to dance. But we all enjoyed the music!

Luke got the opportunity to show off his many faces to our fellow revelers.

And he tried out the bounce house...

...although he didn't get much beyond the entrance and never got up to jump.

But we did meet up with Adolfo and Pinty the Bear! We'll definitely be back at NXNW next year!

A day in Spokane

We drove from Montana back to Spokane the day before our flight back to Texas. We enjoyed an hour or so at Riverside Park downtown, where Luke enjoyed running around...

...looking around...

...and riding around!

He also got to check out the geese in the river...

...and walk over a bridge all by himself!

We had a great time in Spokane for the short time we were there, and followed up our trip to the park with Thai food with my cousin, his wife and their daughters. Lovely end to a lovely trip to the Northwest!

Family reunion, part 3

As the reunion came to a close, we gathered together for some photos. Some gathered a little easier than others.

 Luke managed to stay in the vicinity of his cousins for long enough to snap a picture or two.

The grandkids were able to hold a little more still.

But my grandparents were happy to surround themselves with the great-grandkids, too.

We also got all of us together in the meadow - one big, happy family.

Luke had a blast with Gramma Anna and Grampa Ed. He got to spend a lot of time running and climbing and getting dirty and chasing his cousins around. I'm so glad he had the chance to visit my grandparents at their wonderful home.

Family reunion, part 2

We drove around Flathead Lake and visited a couple of other breweries the next day while Luke stayed at the house with Grandpa John. First, Flathead Lake Brewing Company in Woods Bay, where we picked up a growler and shared a couple of pints around.

Then, we visited a quilt shop and an antique shop. No, there are no pictures. Sorry!

After that, we drove further around Flathead Lake and found Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside. We had some excellent food and excellent brews, followed by some excellent photo opportunities outside the brewpub.

Downtown men, part 2

Luke likes going downtown... there's always a lot to look at! Today we went to Katz's Deli on 6th Street for lunch and had a pastrami sandwich. (That's right... just one... they're enormous.) Ryan was going to introduce us to the famous owner, Marc Katz, but we didn't have a chance. Still, Luke brought the ham to the Jewish deli. Whoops!

Luke's first haircut

A week before we took some family portraits, we realized it was time for Luke to get his first haircut. At 11 months old, he was getting quite shaggy.

So we took him to Birds Barbershop in Austin, where Ryan and Luke would both get a haircut. They even give you beer while you wait!

We had only made it through about half of one beer when they called us back. Ryan got caped up and held Luke on his lap.

Finally, it was time for Julia to start snipping.





But the snipping didn't last long - Luke started fidgeting and I had to put the camera down while Julia quickly worked some magic with her clippers. Soon she was done, and Luke looked great!

Downtown Men

We went downtown to check out the Austin Farmer's Market and eat lunch at Frank, and it was such a nice day! Ryan and Luke looked so hip, being all downtown-y and stuff.

Naptime

Luke had a rough afternoon one day and Ryan went in to comfort him. I heard Ryan shushing Luke, but after a while I didn't hear anything anymore. I peeked into the room and this is what I saw: two worn out guys passed out together.