The Austinite Baby's Bucket List

Greg and I hear it all the time.

There's a certain shock that people express when they hear that we both grew up in Austin, and we are still here and now raising our child in the heart of the city.

Austin is this awesomely hip sort of town, known for historically great live music and legendary singer/songwriter types, a renowned university, a vibrant tech scene, the epicenter of Texas politics, and for being an eccentric hub for weirdness.  I am thankful to be living as an adult in my hometown, even more thankful that my Austinite husband "gets" me and my pride (as well as my undoubted frustrations) for my birthplace, and more thankful still that we have the unique and phenomenal opportunity to raise our baby in a lively town, that just so happens to be the hometown of her parents, grandparents, and one of her great grandparents.

When friends call and say they are coming to town, there is a go-to list of things that Greg and I will recommend in our unpaid/unknown careers as extension officers for the City of Austin Chamber of Commerce.   Microbrewery lovers? We can help you. Weekend warrior cyclists/runners/swimmers/general outdoor enthusiasts? We can help you. Lovers of the arts, boot scooters, history geeks, academiaphiles, professional shoppers, politicos, foodies, horticulturalists, festival goers, animal lovers, nudists (did I mention, we live in Austin?), historical marker seekers, music fanatics, road-trippers, you name it, we can help you. There are many reasons we love living here, but there are better reasons that we love being from here.

There a lot of things that Greg and I have done here in Austin, as children, that we cannot wait to do again with our little girl in tow.  Today we marked a few off the bucket list.  After a restful morning together, we decided on an early lunch at, a Gen-u-wine Austin Original, Chuy's. No, my Tucsonan friends, not that Chuy's (ew), I'm talking the real Chuy's, the Jalapeno Ranch pourin', Mexican Martini slangin', fish taco preppin', Elvis Lovin' Chuy's. The Chuy's that Brandon Wright and Steven Aarons took me and Carrie Morton to for our pre-homecoming dance dinner freshman year. I think we smelled like fajitas when we showed up at the Hilton Downtown, but, really, what other perfume could you want in life? If you live in Tennessee, Kentucky/Indiana, or Birmingham, you may have seen a Chuy's pop up near you. I would encourage you to head on over, so long as you're not trying to lose weight. We each ordered the fish tacos (our usual, and one of Piercy's favorites while she was in the womb), a tortilla for the littlun, and a side of jalapeno ranch for those chips, please! Miss Thang got down on her tortilla, Mommy's refried beans, and even a few bites of pescado from the  tacos.

After we filled our bellies, we headed to Zilker Park, for swinging, Barton Creek viewing, and a little ride on the Zilker Zephyr, a cute little train that choo-choo's around the park grounds and solicits waves from trailgoers on the Roy and Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail.

I had my second birthday at Zilker Park, and just being under the pecans takes me back to the sound of the grackles in the trees, while mom and her fellow mommy friends watched over my older brother and I and our playmates.  The playscape has changed to a more colorful, updated, safe, structure, but some things never change: the shrill screams of excitement from dozens of kiddos playing their hearts out under those giant pecan trees transcend decades. I was reminded again today how thankful I am that my daughter will grow up loving this city that has treated her Daddy and me so well. Enjoy some of these photos of  few Piercy Joye's memorable "Austin Firsts."

Falling in Love with Autumn

My sweet Grandmother, Angel, talks fondly of October - her favorite of the months, she's sure because it is her birthday month. She loves the leaves crunching under her feet and the crispness in the air during an occasional cool front.

My affair with Fall is more recent. The beginning of the season and the ushering in of the first northern breeze reminds me of marrying my Ain True Love in late September. Last year we shared the news of a new baby on the way with our family on our second wedding anniversary too. While I will always love March and April (my birth month and Sweet P's respectively), I've recently fallen hard for this time of year. The cooler temps and shorter days seem to energize me in a way that feels less like mere summer survival, and more like gearing up for what is sure to be yet another terribly mild Texas winter.

I've rolled out my sewing cabinet that usually lives in a closet in Piercy's room, and rolled up my sleeves for stews in the kitchen. On the downside, as I was contimplating a second helping of Beef Burgundy last week at Angel's weekly Wednesday night dinner, she whispered to me about the frustrations of trying to kick the last of the baby weight while parading into holiday/cooking/crafting season: "It's not so easy or fun in the fall and winter to sip iced tea and walk all day!" She's right. I'd much rather just hunker down with a big bowl of chili and pretend that highs in the upper 60s warrant that kind of hearty eating!

Last weekend we made good on the second round of a new annual tradition: our lovely pumpking carving party! Greg's good buddy, Randy, brought his beautiful girlies, Allyson and Farrah Jewel (who were our sweet flower girls), to the house to do some carving. My not-so-baby brother Joe was also able to come, as were Piercy's Flanagan grandparents, and her BeBe Browne. Pops (Greg's dad) was flying and couldn't make it.

Randy and his beauties posing with their pumpkins in front of our giant spidey web

In other BIG news, Piercy Joye started sitting up days after her six month birthday. This has made for a lot of changes at our house, like...

Sitting in the big girl tub and not the sink for bathtime:

I cannot say enough good things about this hand-me-down bean bag style bath tub support. It's an awesome transitional tool for sink to tub.

Being frustrated that we can't crawl... yet...

Pretty Baby

Dates with sisters:

Best Babysitters in Town

Giving Mom Photography Instruction:

Enjoying the beautiful mornings and afternoons on a big blanket under the pecan trees in our yard: Neighborhood lore has it that the original owners of our house managed a dairy and a pecan orchard on the block before many of the other homes were developed. We so have enjoyed our mini-orchard in all seasons.

So much happiness!

Those eyes, those eyes! Add another "blue" to the Brownes!

Sweet little turtle face she's done since we met her on her first day

Our beautiful pecans

Baby Girl, Grass Eater

Best slobbery kiss giver in the family. Yes, better than Sissy Lady Bird.

We've also realized that Piercy Joye can help in the kitchen with her newfound sitting skills, which has made me a much more efficient cook now that I have two hands (Greg, may beg to differ):

Sissy Lady Bird always supervising

Lastly, but surely not least, yesterday we celebrated Piercy's first Halloween. Our little girl went as "Piercy Cottontail," and we had a sort of last-minute open house with friends and family stopping in and out for beers and a helping from a big pot of Greg's Famous Red Venison Chili. Piercy Joye's new friend, Eliza, and her family stopped by, which was so much fun, and of course I forgot to document how sweet they were together. Also in attendance were the smashingly hip Taylor Baughman (recently Austinized Arizona swimming sister) and beaux Dan, Kathryn Elofson (also recently Austinized Arizona swimming sister and freshman/sophomore year roommate), my very own daddy, Randy, and Lindsay Voyles, one of my swimming BFF's since 1994. We'll have to do this again next year, although I'm sure the party won't be quite as seamless, as I imagine we'll have a trick-or-treater in our midst.

w.o.w.

Who knew life could really be this much fun?