It's almost Christmas!

It is sad that we haven't made a blog post since Halloween and it's almost Christmas...I know. I am usually trying to balance nine things at once in my two hands and one of those things isn't usually a camera so we don't have much photographic evidence of the past two months...but here goes!

We went to Minnesota for Thanksgiving and this is the sole picture I took while we were there.

Afton's sporting his Thanksgiving outfit and his Conan hairdo. We're growing his hair out and it's insane right now. Insane. :)

We've had a couple of snows so far but not too much accumulation. I bought Afton a coat and bib overalls so he can play outside at school. School, you ask? Afton goes to school??? Well, no, it's not technically schoool, but that's what we call it. He's been going for almost two months now and he loves it. He gets to play with kids his age and he is in a structured, learning environment for the two days a week that I go to the office. We love his teacher, Mrs. Richards, she rocks! He runs in when I drop him off in the mornings and makes himself right at home with all the others. The second day I ever dropped him off, he went straight up to a little girl who is the same age as he is and planted a big smacker right on the lips! Already found a girlfriend after only one day! Ladies, look out...

We decorated the house with blue lights for the first time. Sadly, I do not have pictures of this but Dustin did a great job and it looks nice. We bought a real tree for the third year in a row and have accumulated quite a few decorations of the years.

Afton does great and only occasionally feels the need to touch the tree. He even says "Christmas tree" in his language although nobody other than I would recognize that's what he's saying. ;)

We've gone sledding in the backyard- we have a small hill and Afton loves it when we pull him around in it. It's very tiring so mommy and daddy take turns. Afton loves to play outside in the snow and once he got acclimated to walking around like the Michelin man we couldn't get him inside.

Afton has also discovered frosting. He licked all the frosting off my candy cane cookies and even used some to style his hair!

That's about it! We're headed to OK to spend Christmas with my family and we can't wait to see what Santa brings Afton this year!

xx

Trick Or Treat!!

This evening Aislinn, Afton, and myself returned home from Jackson, Mississippi after being there for about a week. We took our show car to a PGA golf tournament that ended up getting rained out, but we did not let a little weather get in the way of our Trick or Treating plans. Some friends of ours happened to live in Jackson so we took advantage of it and hit the streets. Afton had it made, our friends live on a golf course so we took there golf cart door to door, A, to limit the amount that Afton had to walk, and B, more candy in a shorter time for ma and pa. Our good friend and Newman Wachs Racing driver, Jonatan Summerton stayed in town an extra night to take part in the festivities. Afton also had a few friends from the neighborhood to tag along with. A Tornado, Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite, Elvis and a kid dressed up as a character from "A book Series"? I have to say that our little Garden Gnome did pretty well and scored enough candy to fill our candy bowl for the year. Special thanks to Margie, Bob, and Alex. Enjoy the pictures!!Yes I am a garden gnome, no I am not a lumber jack with red shoes"I ask for Cheerios, I get a popcorn ball!! Is this worth the hassle?"my pal, Jonathan SummertonYes it was a beard and not chest hairTrick or Treating crew 2009I hope this house has chicken nuggets!!

2009 Season

This past week Aislinn and I were in Laguna Seca, CA for the last race of our 2009 season. Afton went to the Twin Cities to stay with Uncle Phil, Aunt Sherrie, Cousins Austin, Jessie, Cole Hermann. Going into the race weekend our cars were second and third in the championship points standing. We had a great race and an even better season finishing 1st and 2nd in the race as well as 1st and 2nd in the championship. All and all we racked up 6 pole positions, 7 wins and over 2 million dollars in prize money. We returned to Chicago on Monday night and drove to the Cities on Tuesday morning to pick up Afton. We was really happy to see us as were we to see him. This next week we are going to have a visitor coming on Thursday, Aislinns mom, Aftons Grandma is coming to town. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks to the Hermann family for watching Afton, even though we practically had to steal him back from you!!!! Gooooooood Day.Jonathan Summerton. 3 Poles 3 Wins (Dustin's Car)Summerton after winning in Mosport CanadaJohn Edwards 3 Poles 4 WinsEdwards after his win at Autobahn in Chicago

Apple Orchard in WI

Today the Family loaded up the car and took a little drive up north to a Apple Orchard. It was the first time for all of us so we really didn't know what to expect. Aislinn and Afton took a ride in a wagon pulled by a lawn mower, we took a hay ride, Afton touched a goat, and we ate a carmel apple, and just so everyone knows if you don't get the carmel from a carmel apple off of a child's face in the first 5 minutes, it turns into carmel concrete and will there until you can locate some steel wool. We also picked a bag of apples and stoped at Mars Cheese Factory and got some cheese curds. It was a fun afternoon and I think Afton had a good time. Next week we are going to MN to play farmer, stay tuned for pictures and stories............... GOOOOOD DAY!

OOOOOOklahoma!

We survived another trip to Oklahoma. Barely. See pictures below. Afton and I traveled by ourselves and Dustin just flew in for the weekend. I have to say, traveling with Afton now is a whole new level of challenging. When he was just a baby all he did was sleep the whole time. Not anymore! The flight there all he wanted to do was run up and down the aisles. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of people who wanted to go from Chicago to OKC, and it wasn't too bad on the way down.

Dustin and I went to the Oklahoma State/ University of Georgia football game last Saturday.

We made the short trip to Stillwater where I went to college and drove by my old sorority house and met up with sorority sisters at various tailgate parties before going to the game. Stillwater has changed so much and with Boone Pickens' some-odd hundreds of million dollar donation, the football stadium has been vastly improved.

I was very impressed. While Stillwater had changed it was nice to see that all of my old friends had not. We are all still the same despite our little ones and jobs. We went out on the "strip" after the game and this is when I was forced to face the fact that I am 30 and cannot drink all day and stay out all night. We called it an evening by 1230 and this was a stretch...!

Afton had fun staying with grandpa Wendell overnight and I'm pretty sure he was allowed to do whatever he wanted and eat whatever he please. This, according to my Dad, was a tantrum-free 36 hours. I don't buy it. Dustin and I arrive home and Afton promptly throws a tantrum at lunch and Dustin and I were forced to take turns eating while we walked around outside.

I have said it, and I will say it again...this is definitely the toughest stage yet. At least I think so. I'm not sure what Dustin thinks, but I am mentally exhausted.

Afton did learn to 'play' the piano very nicely at my mom's house and he was really interested in her waterfall. She has a lot of land for him to run around on and he loved walking over 'obstacles.'


The trip home last night was...well, just look at the photos!

Catching Up

I'm officially blaming the lack of postings on Dustin. He was the stronger blogger of the two of us and he has been on the road a lot lately. I do realize that Afton's daily adventures are the source of entertainment to many and as important as the local news...so I'll try to catch you up!

Afton officially has 2-4 weeks left in his helmet as of tomorrow. This depends on how much his head grows in this period of time. We honestly don't even mind it anymore but I will be glad when it's all done and his head is perfectly (well, mostly) round! Then we can see all his beautiful, blond curly hair! Speaking of hair, he already needs another haircut, but I love it long and curly!



Afton is walking and running everywhere and is very tall and lean. He is so active. He eats three meals a day but he is becoming increasingly picky about what he will eat. Some days he shovels everything in front of him in his mouth, other days he refuses it all. We've been taking him to a local playground which is a mecca for kids...I've never seen a playground like it! He loves to just walk around and go up and down the ramps and stairs. He really likes to walk over un-even ground and challenge himself. Needless to say, we have a difficult time getting him to leave.

While Afton has never been a quiet, shy child, he is the antithesis of this now. He regularly breaks into constant babble, telling us about his day with a lot of feeling. I find myself talking back to him quite often and people at the grocery store are like, "what?" and I'm like, "I was talking to the baby..." and they run away. I realize now that this appears that I am a crazy person. Well, some days when Dustin is gone and I don't have to work, Afton is the only human I come in contact with, so maybe I do seem a little crazy on those days!!!

Afton's first words were "dog" and "Dad." He loves dogs and always points them out when he sees one. Even on tv, he'll spurt out "DOG!' and we'll look at the tv and sure enough...he's right. It's a proud moment when your child knows what he's saying. He has just recently begun to point to his nose and ears when you ask him where they are and he also says "uh-oh" when he drops something and "all done" in a sing song voice when I promt him to. It's funny.

Afton did go to the race at Mid-Ohio with us a few weeks ago. We stayed at a hotel with an indoor waterpark. Afton got his first black eye when he took a header in the kiddie pool...I'm not saying whose watch he was under but it was not mine. :) Afton looked like the bruiser he is and despite my attempt at getting him to say, "you should have seen the other kid," he just dealt with it.

We also went to visit one of my oldest friends from Oklahoma, Sidney, and her family in Indiana. They have a lake house about 3 1/2 hours from here so we spent the weekend with them and her little boy Ryder, who just turned one. Afton is much bigger than Ryder, but they had their moments where they played together and we've decided that they are going to be best friends.


Wednesday we're going to Oklahoma and Dustin is flying in on Friday! We're going to the OSU game Saturday and it should be fun! Go POKES!!!

First Haircut!!!

Well I know it's been awhile since we've made a blog post. Terrible, I know. We've had a busy month and I don't know where July went. Dustin has been making the posts lately, and he was gone much of the month, and, well, I try to limit my recreational computing since I've lived on the computer so much lately I think I may be developing carpal tunnel :) just kidding.

This is the busiest part of the racing season by far. It's a tough stretch and Dustin will be gone a lot this next month as well but I'm not complaining...much. It's been an easy season thus far so it's a small price to pay right now. Afton's Aunt Carlee came and stayed with Afton for a few days while I went to upstate NY for work and Dustin was at a race about an hour and a half away in Joliet, IL. They had a ton of fun and we can't thank Carlee enough for her help! We're so lucky to have such great family.

My brother Slade has been in Europe back-packing by himself for 3 weeks and comes home next week. It's been fun for all of us to track his travels through emails and online posts and occasional phone calls. It's almost like we've been with him this whole time!

Afton is going through quite a few changes this past month. He's getting so grown up. He is walking all of the time now- almost running, and this has been both fun and stressful. He doesn't want to be held anymore-not that he did very much, and he wants to be free all the time. He has become almost impossible to take out to eat because he just wants to walk around and harass all the other patrons. He has a LOT to say, but we're still waiting on the translator to come in the mail so we know what he's saying. He's beginning to throw mini-tantrums. I'm not really sure why. He definitely knows the word, "NO" and doesn't like it one bit. He sometimes 'fake cries' when we tell him No, other times he gets mad and starts throwing everything within reach and/or scratching my face, pulling my hair, and looking quite sure of himself. I try not to laugh, but his little face is no joking. I thought we had a good couple of years before this type of behavior! Dustin thinks it's pay back for my 'attitude' but I don't know what he's talking about. :)


The big thing that happened yesterday was Afton's first haircut! His blond, curly locks are so adorable but he was starting to resemble a girl, and his hair stuck out all crazy from under his helmet. It's much better now. Afton is so laid back I didn't think he would mind the haircut at all, but just when I thought we were in the clear, major meltdown! Why is it that babies don't like their hair to be cut?

Anyhow, this was a long one, but that's what we've been up to!
xxxx

13 Month Pictures

4th of July weekend at the lake

This 4Th of July we headed up to Minnesota to go to my grandparents lake home in Alex. We drove to the Twin Cities Thursday night and stayed with Aunt and Uncle, Sherri and Phil, along with cousins Austin, Jessie, and Cole. Friday morning we drove to Alex to meet the family. That afternoon we hit the beach. Afton liked playing in the sand but was not to keen on going in the water. It was a bit cold!! I think that Afton's favorite part of the weekend was playing with his cousin Gretta. He also liked to take the bean bags, out and put them in the hole for the bean bag game. All of the fresh air made even Afton a tired boy at the end of the day. Sunday we returned home and are now back to work. It was really nice to see Grandma and Grandpa Willander, Mom and Dad, Nicole, Uncle Buck, Carlee, Tom, Jamie, Gretta, Scott, Kasey, Kody, Katlyn, Tracy, Scott, Ally, Paige, Lucas!!

Road America 2nd time around!!

This weekend we went to one of our favorite places in the world, Road America in beautiful Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. We went up there on Saturday morning to meet up with Grandpa Wendell and Uncle Slade. Although Afton is only 1, this was his second time at Road America. The first time he was there he was only 3 months old. It was the annual "June Sprints", which is a very famous SCCA Club race held every year at Road America. We also stayed at the "WORLD FAMOUS" Siebkens hotel and bar. Wendell was running his two drivers, one in a class called Sports 2000, and one in a class called GT 2. We went up to help, but more importantly to hang out with him and Slade. We had a great weekend and it was a bunch of fun. Jack finished 10th in his race and Jim finished 3rd. It was fun to get away from the stressful racing life we live, and get to have good family time, and enjoy a fun, yet very competitive race weekend. Thanks to Jack and Gail, Jim, Wendell and Slade for such a good weekend!!