Sledding, Snowmobiling, and Santa

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

6 Months!!!!

Afton turned six months old on the 12th and today he had his 6 month check up. He's had a bit of a cold for the past two days and wheezing a bit, which makes me nervous! Most of you probably know how severe my asthma is, so I'm a bit paranoid about it! The doctor thinks it's just an acute problem brought on by a virus, but still, he's never even had a fever! He has to take breathing treatments for a week, but he's such a trooper. He just sits there and doesn't even fight me! He really is the perfect little angel.


Afton weighs in at 17 pounds 9 oz. which is the 50th percentile for weight...so he's actually not as much of a bruiser as he appears!

His length is 27 1/4 inches which is in the 75th percentile.

His head is 43 cm diameter which is 30th percentile but, no, he doesn't have a pin head...it looks just right!

He rolls everywhere! We're about to need to 'baby proof' everything!

He is eating oatmeal cereal and apples, pears, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, and bananas...but only about once a day.

He babbles all day and occasionally sings in his 'sweet voice' when he's going to bed.

He can take his pacifier out of his mouth and then put it back in by himself.

He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth including his feet, toys, blankets, my hair, nose, face, and he was gumming my (empty) beer bottle the other day...he is his father's son.

He can sit up by himself for short periods of time.

He laughs out loud and is very ticklish!

He LOVES girls and I have caught him making goo-goo eyes at everyone from my hair lady to the check out girl at Panera to his pediatrician...what a flirt!!!!

He claps his hands and pats Dustin and I all the time.

He plays in his activity saucer and can entertain himself for about 20- 30 minutes at a time.

He, like his cousin Greta, is addicted to the T.V. and cannot be bothered when his favorite shows are on...but no soap operas!

That's all I can think of for now, everyone have a Merry Christmas! We love you all!!!

Getting Ready For Christmas

So we made it back from Oklahoma November 30 and decided that it was time to go pick out our annual Christmas tree. We got Afton all bundled up and headed to the local nursery to pick out our tree. It was about 20 degrees, Afton didn't seem to into it so Aislinn and I picked one out. We got home and after all of the snow had melted onto our floor we started to decorate. Afton quickly rolled across the floor and found out that the green plant that had lights on it in our living room had prickly things on it that made his hand hurt. He likes to look at the lights, but for the most part keeps his distance. For Christmas this year we are headed up to the frozen tundra known as Minnesota. If it is anything like it has been in the past 100 years it will be well below zero and there will be mountains of snow to deal with. Afton is excited to see family, eat wrapping paper, and sit through a church service where he is required to be quiet for up to an hour. he is now eating fruits, vegetables, and or anything that will fit in his mouth. We had a great time in the great state of Oklahoma during the Thanksgiving holiday and would like to say thank you to all of our friends and family.

Thanksgiving Oklahoma City Style!!!!

21 States in 5 Months

So by now you all know that we are a traveling family. Last week we celebrated Afton's 5 month birthday in Arizona. We are on the home stretch of a two week Newman Wachs Racing show car tour That spans 5,000 miles and 7 more states to add to the list for Afton. From Baltimore we traveled to Jackson, MS. We spent three days there and took off for Phoenix, AZ. The trip has been fun but I think all three of us are ready to get out of the car for good. Tonight we are in Santa Rosa, NM and will be arriving in OK tomorrow afternoon. Lucky for us we will be spending Thanksgiving there spending time with friends and family. To be honest I don't have any really funny stories to tell about Afton on this trip, he has been such a good little boy. He is starting to talk alot and rolls over faster than you can imagine. Here are the 21 states that Afton has been to. IN, IL, WI, MN, MO, OK, TX, PA, UT, AZ, NJ, NM, MD, VA, TN, MS, LA, IA, OH, GA, AL.!!!!! For all of you parents out there that think you have to keep your children on a strict schedule... I've got news for you, Afton has been sleeping through the night since he was 2 months old and can adapt to situations faster than most adults. Afton loves to travel, and loves spending 24 hours a day with mommy and daddy. Check in for new pictures and stories.

Laughing Baby

Baltimore, MD

As most of you already know, Aislinn, Afton, and myself are in Baltimore, MD working this week. We are staying down town at the Hyatt and there is alot of fun things to do. Today we went on a tour of the USS TORSK. It is a US submarine used in WW II. Afton started the tour sleeping but woke up due to the smell of diesel fuel, and natural odor's coming from the depths of the 65 year old submarine. Lucky for us, we got some good pictures of Afton and the family. Tomorrow Aislinn has to work all day but we are going to make a point to go check out the Baltimore Aquarium in the evening. Maybe if were lucky we will get a picture of Afton riding a sting ray, or feeding a gator?? I will keep you posted.

Pictures from the USS TORSK Submarine

Halloween

So for Halloween we decided to dress Afton up as a Pea in a Pod. One reason being the bottom was inclosed so his feet and legs wouldn't get cold, and another reason being, there are no pirate costumes available for a 4 month old. One problem though is the fact that Afton is in the 95th percentile for height so in order for him to fit into his 3-9 month Pea in a Pod out fit he kind of had to bend his knees. For you guys that don't know, Afton hates to have his legs covered or confined so getting this outfit on him, and keeping him happy was not an easy task, not to mention that he couldn't wear it in his car seat so every stop we made we had to put it back on him and convince him that it wasn't going to be as bad as the last time. We made 3 stops at various friends house's until reaching our final destination of John and Sharon Fricker's. Afton's girlfriend, Tilly is the daughter of John and Sharon. Here we just hung out, had a fire, and socialized as the two little ones fell asleep. It was a great Halloween. Next we pack our bags and hit the road yet again for our 2 week family outing across the USA. First stop Baltimore, MD second stop Jackson, MS, and third, Phoenix, AZ. We will keep you posted!!

Halloween Pictures

Afton and Tilly

"I'm the son of a third generation farmer"

MN Trip (Pumpkin Patch)

Brewery Tour

So we decided to stop off at the Leinenkugel brewery for a little tour on our adventure to Minnesota. The brewery is in Chippewa Falls, WI, we spent the night in Black River Falls, WI and couldn't resist the temptation to go and take the tour. Afton had a good time, he was a little upset when the lady at the front desk asked him for his ID.

Back from Georgia and off to Minnesota

Hey all, So we just got home yesterday from Atlanta, Georgia. The trip went well but to make a long story short we did not win the race or the Championship. Afton had a good time. He hung out with mom most of the time and enjoyed being apart of the day to day activities. It is amazing that almost every one from every other team knows Afton. He puts a smile on every one's face no matter what the circumstances are. On Friday night we went to the Atlantic awards banquette and had a good time. All three of us got all dressed up, Afton never even got to see his outfit because he was sleeping when I put it on him and he slept through the entire event. Now we are home for two days, regrouping and leaving for Minnesota. I am going to help my dad do field work and Aislinn and Afton are going to relax and ride with me in the tractor. All three of us are excited to get there, Afton is especially excited to see Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Carlee. See you soon.

10 States in 3 Months

So I am sorry that we haven't published anything in the past 2 weeks but we have been seriously busy. 2 weeks ago we all went to New Jersey for a race. It was fun, our good friend Augusta came with to watch Afton while we were working at the track. We came home for one day and left for Utah for yet another race. Afton handled all of the traveling very well, he loves being at the race track. Aislinn normally flies with Afton and she was ranting about how hard it was so I volunteered to fly back from Utah with him!! Let me tell you it is hard as Hell to be on your own in an airport and on an airplane with a pissed off baby. But we made it back and I played it off to be easy!! Like I said in the title Afton has been to 11 stated in his short 3 month life. Minnesota, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Utah, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. Next week we will get number 11 when go off to Georgia for the next race at Road Atlanta. We will keep you posted.. Love you all

3 month photos with friends

Girl friend Fiona

Champ Car driver and best bud, Speedy Dan Clarke

Sprint car driver Ryan Pace and Girlfriend Augusta

GO Colts!!!

It has been a big weekend for Afton watching all of his various sports icons. It was a busy Saturday watching college football and Afton was pleased that the Minnesota Gophers and Oklahoma State Cowboys (Go Pokes!!!) both won their games. To balance out the heavy sports watching, we all ventured to the Penrod Arts Fair at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and had our fair share of culture for the day as well. On Sunday it was the Indy Car Series finale at Chicago and Afton was glad to see that Scott Dixon won the Championship (Scott's wife Emma met Afton earlier this year and they became friends...the little charmer that he is). Finally, it is the Indianapolis Colts opening game Sunday night and to commemorate this great event, Afton and I dressed up proud in blue to support our team. Afton loves Peyton Manning and he feels that Peyton will have a great game this evening.

On another note...we purchased a jogging stroller a little over a week ago, and we're now up to running 4.5 miles a day...that's a lot for us :) and Afton loves to go fast. It used to be that he hated being still and we had to keep the stroller moving, but now when we walk it's not good enough, we have to run. We'll have to nip this whole "going fast" thing in the bud now unless Uncle Slade makes it big and decides to sponsor him!

Oh, and another thing...you can probably tell in the photo, but Afton's hair is falling out!!! He had so much when he was born, everyone commented on it and now he's half bald!!! Oh well, he still looks good!!

Travelin' Man

OK. so Afton is 11 weeks old today and has already been to 7 states...I won't go through them for you, but he has been quite the traveling man. After we flew home to Indy after Oklahoma we drove 13 hours to Minnesota to see Afton's other grandparents, and extended family, all who threw a shower for him on Saturday afternoon. He received more things than he ever imagined thanks to the graciousness of those in MN who love him. Afton also met his cousins Greta and Aaliyah, Greta is a few months older than him and was really interested in Afton's toys. Afton did not seem to mind as you can see in the pictures he slept right through most of it. We also went to 3 of Aunt Carlee's tennis matches and Afton slept through all three. By the time Wednesday came, Afton was tired of all the attention and was ready to come to his home in Indy and relax. The trip home was going well until we got to Clear Lake, Iowa. I'm not sure if he hated being in the great, exciting state of Iowa, or if he was ready to get the F out of his car seat, but we had a major meltdown in the car!! This was not your average baby in the back seat crying because he was hungry meltdown, this was a I'm holding my breath with my mouth open but no sound is coming out until I get what I want meltdown. I pulled off the Interstate not once, but twice as if there was a cougar in the back seat trying to maul us. I went from a steady cruising speed of 78mph to a dead stop, on the shoulder with the flashers on in about 3.7 seconds. After all the dust settled and my blood pressure had stabilised we were back on our way, and made it home safely. It was a great trip, thanks to all for the gifts and love.

Pics

How many people can say they have washed a combine...ok ignore that if you were born in MNNice hat

Why am I wearing a bonnet?Afton fell asleep playing with cousin Greta...

Minnesota evening