July 4th

We had a great time at the lake July 4th.
Here are some pics from our weekend.

Random Thoughts

If you haven't read "The Last Lecture". I would recommend it. Written by Randy Pausch, a renowned professor of computer science who was stricken with pancreatic cancer.
It isn't a story about dying...Its about living! He lives his life with a unbelievable optimistic spirit. His wife is amazing. The book chronicles his life and it seems every one of his experiences had a life lesson to be learned and passed on to his children.

Yesterday I was reminded why I do car seat education! We had a car seat check in South OKC. The parents were the most needy. But they we also unusually inquisitive, and thankful! Almost every seat I checked, the parent asked questions and was genuinely concerned for their child's safety. You don't even get that in affluent areas, most parents want to get a free seat and get out of there!
It was just super rewarding even in the 95 degree weather!

You'll notice a link for Haley Palmer on my blogroll. She is a little girl who lived in our neighborhood in Owasso who recently lost her battle with cystic fibrosis! They are an amazing family! Here's a link to an article about her an another girl from Oklahoma.

You all knew it was coming...

Its my passion. I believe its my calling to educate others. It's Child Passenger Safety. But really not just child passenger safety, but motor vehicle safety. The bottom line is that child restraints (car seats) and seat belts save lives. In case you need more reasons to believe this truth I am here to educate you with the facts.

*Each year 975 children die in motor vehicle accidents.
*Car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 80%
It is important to use a child restraint EVERY TRIP! But it is also important to use your restraint correctly. Unfortunately, 8 out of 10 child restraints are used incorrectly. The most common form of misuses for all child restraint system (CRS) included loose vehicle seat belt attachment to the CRS and loose harness straps securing the child to the CRSs.

Its important for everyone in the car to be restrained in every trip. Here's why:
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTEVEN IN THE BACKSEAT

Basic child restraint use suggestions:
Infant should ride rear facing as long as possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests until they reach the upper weight limits of a rear facing seat. Some seats that means 22lbs and some up to 35lbs. At the VERY LEAST until the child is 20lbs AND 1 year old.
Children 20 to 40 lbs should ride in a forward facing seat (preferrably a 5 point harness) and always use the top tether for optimal protection.
Children above 40 lbs should use at least a booster seat until the child can fit in a standard seat belt correctly. (Some car seat manufacturers have 5 point harnesses up to 80lbs.)
All 50 states have child restraint laws. 25 states have primary or standard laws for child restraints, meaning police can stop a vehicle soley for seat belt violations.

Ok... I'm glad to get that out. Much more info to come.
Please know I am not making any of this up. Feel free to check my information.
Visit: www.usa.safekids.org or www.carseat.org
I welcome any questions or comments!
I'll leave you with this... The reason for my passion.

Him a few months ago in his new big boy seat!

Hanging in the swimming pool... Some kids have a blankie for comfort...Our has a pink hammer!

Words to Live By

My hair has been successfully repaired. Thank you Kyla!
I'm glad to report not many of you had the privledge of seeing the disaster.

Words to Live By:
"Remind yourself that one day, you will be caught up on laundry, your house will be spotless, and your babies won't fit in your lap anymore."

It could be worse

I could be wearing a banana clip and whitewashed denim! I officially received the worst haircut of my life today. Its awful. Its something like this...
I'm the blonde guy in the middle!
Ok maybe thats a slight exaggeration. But not far from the truth. Needless to say, you will not be seeing my smiling face in pictures for a while.

It's official. I'm addicted to blogging....Not just my own blog but everyones. I even bought the book "Blogging for Dummies!" I know I'm a dork, and its kind of oxymoronish (I know, I know) to buy a book about a technology as great as blogging. I guess I should not have dropped my web design class(es) in college. Because now I think its amazing! I have read so many witty and inspiring blogs I just can't get enough. I have added some favorites to my list. The problem is I click to see another post and lose track of what I thought was so great. Hence the reason for the book. I want to learn shortcuts and options, about blogrolls and widgets, RSS feeds, the magic of search engines and more! I hope all of you reading this blog enjoy it and leave comments. There is certainly more greatness to come....
I have so many things I want to blog about, it is a great way to keep track of memories and recount old ones. And you can always go and take a look back...that is unless choose to delete something (which is a great feature!) but is anything ever really deleted from the Internet anyway...


And now I will leave you with the real reason most of you visit this site...
Pictures!!!Our little water baby trying to put his feet into the dirty Oklahoma River!
Playing "catch" with Dad in the outfield of the cowboys baseball game.

"Tomorrow could be one of the best days of my life"...then it rained!

We are back from NYC and recovering.

Unfortunately, the Yankees/Mets game got rained out. Just to give you some background. I got tickets to see them play for JonEric's 30 b-day, so that is really the reason we went... Thursday was gorgeous and Saturday was perfect. Friday it rained from the time we woke up until after we went to bed. Thursday nite Jon Eric said to me.. just in conversation that tomorrow could be one of the best (most exciting) days of his life. Then it rained...I feel so bad for him. I know he is disapointed. But at least we got to go to the stadium before the tore it down... and it was really cool. We had a great time overall.

We (I) shopped Madison Ave. We went to central park and the 9/11 memorial. There is so much to see and do...It was a great time just to be together! We were glad to be able to visit there. It is definately like another world from Oklahoma. Its a great place to visit, but I could never live there.

I'm sure you've noticed. My pictures were really small last time. I'm working on it! I've posted alot of NY pics on Kodak gallery so I'm not going to post them here. I got a new video camera for Mother's Day so hopefully in the near future I'll be able to share some video blurbs of Austen with you on here. As soon as I figure it out! So for now here are a couple of priceless pics of my little person with personality!

I can't begin to tell you how blessed we are. I have been thinking alot lately about how amazing it is to have a healthy child. I guess working in the hospital just does that to you, I have the opportunity to work with some very sick kids. We've also been personally connected to a couple sick babies recently.

Austen will be 10 months tomorrow! He is getting so many teeth(8) and beginning to cruise the furniture, not far from walking I'm sure. Just a few weeks ago we dedicated Austen at our church. Both sets of grandparents were able to join us for this special day. I've posted a picture below.

Jon Eric and I will be leaving this week for our trip to NYC! We are super excited. Although I am not excited to be away from Austen for 4 nights! I know..I know...you all say I'll be begging for that in a few years... but not just yet.

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day. I have to say, I got butterflies in my stomach when the pharmacist wished me Happy Mother's day. I'm a dork!

I have to brag that Austen has officially begun sports! He is now able to make baskets into his basketball goal... and he loves it... too bad we will have to break it to him that he will probably be too short to play basketball! just kidding!

This past weekend we celebrated Macy Austen's cousin's 2nd birthday. I've added an adorable picture of that day. Macy, Madeline, & Austen.