Whole Foods Austin

Another pleasant discovery awhile back was the amazing Whole Foods Flagship Store on Lamar and 6th St. Downtown.

Miles of cheese and chocolate!

I also learned their Global Headquarters are there as well as the sometimes relatively unknown rooftop park they have open to the public. We visited again on a nice, but windy March day to enjoy some good food and a little playscape for Max. He wasn't as interested in the slides and climbing, but sat and enjoyed digging in the mulch.

14 mo. -  Mulch is fun!

Enjoying a rabbit shaped sweet bun

Here's a funny video of Max learning about Grackles, another critter of Austin that's somewhat of a pest here...

Grackle_Con!

Monkey Max must Climb!

Fun Baby Toy Endorsement Time!

We had to find something for Max to climb on ... he's climbing boxes of books, drawers, bookshelves, coffee tables ... everything!

I did some researching on the best indoor playset for toddlers and settled on this simple little slide and climb from Little Tikes. We have some nice foam floor playmats that take up more than half the livingroom, so there's plenty of safe play space for Max to climb on his new toy.

Proud King of the Castle

April Fools Day @ the Park

Max is walking pretty well now, at 13 months. We've started our big neighborhood Park exploration project. This was at Ramsey Park, in the Rosedale neighborhood of Austin.

Toddler-to-the-Max!

Barton Springs

We visited Zilker Park with all the kids today. Our original plan was to play on the extensive playground and ride the famous train ride, but the kids spied a creek at the bottom of some steps leading down from the playground and we discovered one of Austin's treasures - Barton Creek and Barton Springs Pool.

According to the history on the Austin parks site:

"Within Zilker Park's 358 acres, lies one of the crown jewels of Austin, Barton Springs Pool. Three acres in size, the pool is fed from under ground springs and is on average 68 degrees year round. Over the years, Barton Springs Pool has drawn people from all walks of life, from legislators who have concocted state laws there to free-spirited topless sunbathers who turned heads in the seventies. Even Robert Redford learned to swim at the pool when he was five years old while visiting his mother's relative in Austin. Today, Barton Springs still attracts a diverse crowd of people."  - Barton Springs Pool


We decided not to venture into the pool since we had Max along and the water is a very chilly 68 degrees. No one had a swimming suit along either. But the kids insisted on 'wading' in the creek that the springs spills over into where lots of folks were hanging out and enjoying the lovely early spring sunshine.

Well, wading turned into full out swimming as you can see ...

That's Laz in the red shirt, and Lily behind him. The water was COLD! Seb in the foreground

Lazarus is really not drowning, we promise - though his sister would like to help him I'm sure

A toothless, happy 7 year old

Austin has amazing parks

We've been out exploring a few neighborhoods near our rental house. While the neighborhood we live in isn't that great, just a few minutes away are some really great ones with great parks and places to visit.

I recently found out Austin has one of the most abundant public park and playground systems in the country.

251 Parks to be exact... WOW!

Austin seems to really care about its 'green spaces' and providing great ways for people to enjoy it too.

You can visit the official Austin Parks and Recreation site to explore one of the many parks in Austin. Another one I found even more useful is the Austin Parks site. I use this one a lot to find new places for us to visit. It gives a nice directory of every park and what amenities it offers visitors plus photos.

One of our favorites right now is Ramsey Park in the historic Rosedale district west of Lamar and 45th St. I've taken the Max there a few times and we have Lily and Laz here for spring break visit and playing at a few parks.

Hangin' out in the tunnels with my sister Lily 

Playgrounds are even fun for 6ft tall 13 year olds! (Sebastian and Laz)

Spring has Sprung!

One thing we're getting used to about Austin is how mild the winters are, and how early spring comes here. We're a week or so into March and already the trees and flowers are blooming. This is even earlier than Memphis by a few weeks, which as the midsouth goes, is fairly mild and the seasons are not that noticeable.

Enjoying the early spring sun with blooming pear trees!

Max is finally walking at13 months!

We're looking forward to experiencing one of the popular 'flower watching' events in Austin which usually includes lots of Bluebonnets! The Wildflower Report helps predict the best places to see this annual display of color and beauty. 

Wow.

A little background about The Maximus

Maximus did not come to Austin native born, but he should have! If our lives had turned upside down just six months earlier, he would have probably been born here. But that's ok because if we'd come to Austin sooner, he might not have been born at all. Mama would probably still be on skates bustin' girls down on the flat track since Austin is known to be the 're-birthplace' of roller derby. I skated for 3 years in Memphis. Hung up my skates and made a baby!

But this is about Maximus. (I will probably digress a lot in this blog, so do realize its about Mom's adventures in Austin too)

Maximus came into the world in an unusually snowy, blustery February of 2010 in Memphis Tennessee. The weather was extraordinary for Memphis. This was fitting for a Welcome-to-the-World celebration for Max!

The winter wonderland outside our window a week before Max was born

I guess we should have known our world would never be the same considering the 'storm' Max caused upon his birth. While it was blustery outside - I labored away inside. It was a full month earlier than Max was supposed to arrive. We learned early on Max does things his way. Always...

Here is where I had hoped to give birth to our little Max, but he had other ideas...

Max birth aftermath looks so peaceful (deceptive like that winter scene)...

An exhausting labor and emergency hospital transfer ended up with a miraculously healthy birth for Mama and baby. Our tiny 6 pound tiger had arrived Max style!

And so began the adventures of Maximus into the world. Shortly after he was born, we began traveling. First a trip to Ohio (twice) for family affairs and a job change after Daddy lost his job in Memphis. This became a blessing in disguise too and freed us from the chains of Memphis that bound us.

This is when all the adventure started for Max... (2-3 mo. old)

We spent some time up in Ohio living part-time with my Mother, and part-time in a crazy 40 foot long Bluebird Motorcoach we bought. Somehow we thought living in a bus with two surly teenagers and a cranky baby would be a 'great experience' we'd all never forget. Well that last part was true at least... we'll never forget it!

The "Gadget" - home away from home

Sunset over the Mississippi as we head out of Memphis southward...

Mom and Max (and the rest of the Monkeypaw kids) spent awhile back in Memphis, packing up our belongings for the long haul southward to Austin, TX where Daddy was starting a new job and we were starting a new life in a new city. 

Here's the Max Family! ...

"Nox" - Daddy

Max & Mama in Memphis before we left for Austin (June 2010)

'Big Brother' Jake (16)

'Big Sister' Emily (13)

'Big Brother' Sebastian (12)

'Big Sister' Lily (10)

'Big Brothers' Sebastian (12) and Lazarus (7) - on the road in the Gadget

Max has a really big family of brothers and sisters. Sadly we would leave behind half of them in Memphis with their other parents when we headed down to Austin (we're both remarried with kids from previous). We miss them and see them on holidays. :)

We arrived in Austin in early September, 2010. Life was pretty limited at first, since we had no money and were living in a rental house knowing nothing about our new city and home. But Max always made the best of it...

Out partying at Mozart's on a chilly October evening (6 months)

A playpen made of boxes of stuff and learning to crawl (7 months)

A white tiger for Halloween (7 months)

Starting to explore the great outdoors (well, the limits of the yard anyways)! - 9 months old

First Christmas - toys from Grandparents (10 months)

Making a first friend (Seamus) 11 months old

First Birthday - February 25th, 2011

And so passed our first six months in Austin and the first year in the life of Max. Quietly, with some sadness and happiness combined. We said good-bye to loved ones (kids and friends) and some we said good bye to forever. My sister Amanda passed away that year too. 2010 was a year of ups and downs - but we have survived it and moved on to bigger and better adventures in Austin!

My sister Amanda. Loved and missed.