Austin Michael is five months old, and he already owns a tiny pair of hockey skates. This blue-eyed Michigan boy comes from a family of hockey players (on his dad’s side), and his mom is my beautiful niece Lia. That makes Austin my GREAT-nephew!

I met Austin for the first time last weekend when we flew to Michigan to visit him and the rest of the clan. It was a whirlwind trip with very little time for photos, but I managed to squeeze in some time between our back-to-back activities and Austin’s naps and feedings.

This little guy is trying to crawl, he coos and laughs, and he has an adorable fuzzy head of hair – including one long tuft that’s always floating above his head (I had to get a shot of that endearing detail).

Congratulations, Lia and Greg! Here are a few of my favorite images. I can’t wait to see this little guy on the ice someday. 🙂