Guest 'Blogger: qAustin!

I got something earlier in the week that I just had to share. But before I do, let me give you a little back story:

One of my Brothers-in-Law, Austin, is a funny guy. He reminds me so much of me, it scares me. He says and does things that I remember saying and doing when I was 13. Sometimes, he says stuff that is so completely out of left field, it's surprises everyone. Usually when he does, I think, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Take, for example, the title of this post. The "q" is not a typo. I've been calling Austin "qAustin" for several years now. It started when Mikayla, my sister-in-law, was practicing her cheerleader routine one lazy Saturday afternoon in her parent's living room.

After watching her do every cheer she knew (most two or three times), Austin stood up and said, "I've got one." and broke out into this little ditty:

Silent Q!
A-U-S!
T-I-N!
qAustin! qAustin! qAustin!

(The saddest and funniest thing about this whole episode is his cheer had rhythmic clapping and choreography--but that's another story...)

Since then, Austin has been qAustin. Ironically, the "q" really isn't silent. Phonetically, it would be "KWOS-ten". He decided that I needed a silent letter, too...so I now answer to "kNorman" (the "k" sound gets it's own syllable).

Here's a picture of qAustin, taking while I was delivering a beating to him in Star Wars: CCG.

The Force isn't with him--despite the shirt.

That's just one story about qAustin that I could tell. Over the 4 years or so that I've known him, we've defintely had our share of laughs.

Anyway, the other day, I get an Email from my mother-in-law, Elaina (better known in this 'Blog as "NoName"--three syllables to that, btw.). She sends me a little video that qAustin had put together about everyone's favorite little guy, Jaxson.

Tara and I thought it was really cool...so we decided that we'd share it.

The Hall Monitor, in conjunction with qAustin's Video Entertainment, proudly present:

JAXSON BLUES

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a future Marty Scorsese on our hands.

Special thanks to qAustin for sharing and his permission to use the video, and for NoName for sending it our way.

(Noah--referenced in the video--is the unborn son of my friend Kyle and his lovely wife, Brie. I'm sure he'll be really cute, too.)

Hope you guys had a great week, and that you enjoyed the video.

The next update will be more pictures of Jaxson, I promise. In fact, I've had an idea boiling around in my head for a while now that might just come to fruition this weekend. Check back later for another exciting update from...

THE HALL MONITOR!

Later,

Norman

(Any rebroadcast, reproduction, or other use of the pictures and accounts of this video without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is prohibited, and is intended solely for the use of our audience.)

Busy week...

Whoa...what a busy week!

At some point--we're not exactly sure when--Jaxson has learned to sit up. We just "discovered" that he could do it--but only when he's really interested in something in front of him. Otherwise, he just crumples to the floor.

Then, on Tuesday, my parents came in for a visit. They had been travelling the great state of Texas, and came by on their way to my uncle's house near Austin (hsssssssss).

They got to spend some much needed time with Jaxson. They hadn't seen him since my sister's wedding (back in August). We 'Blogged about that, remember?

Here's Jaxson being entertained by Gran--or vice versa...

...and Jaxson learning how to snap from Grandpa.

Jaxson enjoyed the time with Gran and Grandpa, but he REALLY enjoyed playing with Grandpa's shoelaces. Here's a quick video of the two of them:

On Wednesday, we packed up to go to the State Fair of Texas. My parents had never been, so we headed that way. Getting a five month old ready for a day in the sun is a lot of work:

...but when we got there, it was worth it. It was very hot for October, but it was a lot of fun. If you want to go, Wednesday is the day to go. With three canned goods per person, you can get in for only a buck. We learned that AFTER getting to the fair.

Here's a picture of us about to head inside for some food, fun, and Fried Coke (surprisingly delicious, by the way):

As we said, it was a busy week, and it took it's toll on us all. Jaxson's got the right idea:

...so I'll keep this short. Good night all.

(By the time you read this...Jaxson will be SIX months old! Has it really been that long?? Seems like only yesterday we were talking about him being five months old...)

Thanks for coming by...

Norman

Arrrggggghhhhh...HTML!

Me (Angry)

If some of you were up late...really late...you might have viewed our last post in a state of utter disarray.

All the content was there, but it wasn't very pretty.

In putting video clips in the 'Blog, I've had to take a "trial and error" course in HTML (Internet Language), to get things to look "right".

If you saw the 'Blog in the last hour and a half...I'm sorry if it was all messed up.

Things should be back to normal now. If they aren't...let me know. I'll work with it more if needed...tomorrow, after I've slept.

Thanks for your patience.

Norman