The boy can stand up all on his own!

Yep, for just over a week now Austin has been standing up without the aid of furniture, walls, toys etc. and is almost ready to become an official walker! He hadn't repeated his first steps since his birthday until I had him outside in his bathers on the really hot day we had a week ago, and he pulled himself up to a stand using the drawf agapanthus as a crutch. In his excitement he ripped off the flower heads and then stood there, holding the flowers in his hands witrh a bemused look on his face. I told him "Look baby! You're standing all by your self!" and he gave me a tremendous smile! Which in turn made him lose his balance and fall straight onto his bum.

He then struggled for 30 secs to stand up again, but the flowers were gone, so hje had to do it by himself, and he managed just fine, thankyou very much! But the moment he did he got excited, started giggling and lost his balance. This went on (up, giggle, fall) for about half an hour before he tired of it and he even made two tiny steps toward me, however cautiously. I am beginning to think he must have walked on his birthday without really realising as Andrew had been holding his hands when the excitement of his new car gripped him and I think all he was focusing on then was the new car, not how he managed to get there. But this time he is really comprehending that he can do it on his own, and once he does it, he tries again, entertained by his new abilities. So much fun to watch.

In the past week or so he has attempted to walk a few times, giving us a few steps here and there, and becoming more stable on his feet every day. He will be running around with Elizabeth in no time!

Now onto my photography challenge... It is getting hard to get a decent shot of Austy every day, especially now I am working full time (and studying part time), come home to a tired boy and have to just snap a couple of quick ones in between dinner and bed time. So far I have only missed one day, which I will make up for at the end of the month. I am impressed with some and horrified at the rubbish I have taken on other days, but I am certainly improving, even if it's one step forward, two steps back some days. I will attach the link to my challenge photos in the right hand column under LINKS on this page so you can feel free to have a browse. There is this thing they call EXPLORE on the photo website which shows the "most interesting" photos for the day. I have only seen really good professional looking shots in there (often taken by pros) and I have been surprised as three of my challenge pics made it in there, even if they only got to #226 (226th best photo) for the day... I know there are thousands of good photos put up every day, so getting into explore is an achievement for me, which I never thought would happen. This challenge is really helping me, and Austy will have some nice photos for later on.

Almost a walker...

Not alot has been happening in our household this week, other than Austin trying to take a few more steps, and standing up on his own a few times (after pulling himself up on furniture he lets go). He has started saying so much more too, but has now started being very demanding saying "That That!" if he wants something he can't say the name of. He is quite strong both physically and in determination.

I have finally agreed to let Andrew take him to get his hair cut at our local hairdressers tomorrow so these will be the last pics you see of him with so much hair and curls (sob). I agree the fringe is a little messy at the moment, but I so don't want to lose those gorgeous blonde curls! Andrew tells me his hair is sooo long when it's wet, and I keep saying, but it curls up when it's dry and isn't long then... Hopefully the curls will grow back, thicker and curlier than ever - they are just so adorable on him. But the fringe really needs a tidy up as you can see.

I have been doing a 30 day photography challenge since Jan 1, which requires a new and original photo of Austy each day. The idea is that by taking photos of the same subject on a daily basis, you have to explore different angles etc. to keep it interesting. I am starting to feel that it IS a challenge now as it's hard getting good photos of an active toddler at the best of times, let alone trying to get a good one every day! Just thought I'd share a few with you here, please excuse the watermark - I am now saving the photo without it for printing, then a version with it for uploading to the web but the first few all have it except for the original unedited shots straight off the camera.

Happy 2007!!!

Thought I'd better get my butt into gear and update this webpage with some Merry Christmas and Happy New Yeras wishes! A tad late, but you know what they say "Better late..."

Here are a few photo's from Austy's second Christmas. Not he best as he refused his morning nap and only slept for half an hour after lunch so wasn't the best subject for photographing, but we got him anyway. I tried to take a pic of him opening the present Michael and Debbie sent over, and then wearing the cute Quicksilver scuffs, but he wouldn't have it, the scuffs got kicked off his feet within seconds and a major tantrum errupted before we called it a day and took him home to bed.

I just love this outfit we bought for him for Christmas day (and the Christmas card photo). While the colour and star on the front make it super Christmassy, the back is just adorable - I will have to get a photo from behind him in it one day soon. The top says "Born to Rock" and the shorts have the words Rock Baby written in a star on the back pocket. Big cousin Jarryd would love it! It suits him perfectly too as he does like a good beat, and can often be found rocking away in the back of the car with Triple J turned up loud. Andrew was determined that he was going to be musically "cultured", and while he loves his Baby Classics music DVD's he will bop along to Veruca Salt, or Eskimo Joe and apparently loves to listen to things like Audioslave.

New Years was very quiet for us, we didn't even attempt to stay up for it this year after last years lame attempt and us falling asleep in front of a DVD. Maybe next year! I have been trying to cut out Austy's late night feed so we have had a few nights of him crying for a couple of hours at 2am (with me trying to resettle him without the milk bar!) so we need all the sleep we can get at this stage. Other than that, my New Years resolution is to improve my photography, which I think will be an ongoing challenge. Austy has already improved it tenfold, but I need to learn to be more creative and try new things (and settings on my camera - like going fully MANUAL - eek!). I got a great photography book for Christmas (thanks David and Rob!) so am churning my way through that, and spending every spare minute at the computer in photoshop.

Austin is still not walking, so I guess that will be his New Years Resolution, but I really don't care when he does start as he gets around fine by crawling, and no doubt walking will bring about more mischief making opportunities! His 4-5 steps on his birthday have not been repeated, but he is starting to get the hang of walking with his Fisher Price car in the walker mode (yelling "go go go" as he motors across the living room floor, then "cash" as in CRASH! - we definitely need more space!!!).

Okay, must get a move on, nappies to wash, dishes to clear and then bed!