Fall 2011

I've been doing a terrible job of keeping up with Austin's blog. And I don't keep a baby book for him, so I'm afraid I'll forget about things. Austin started going to preschool in September. He started out just going Monday and Wednesday, but I started a shop on Etsy, so he's going Monday- Thursday from 9am-1pm so I can work. I go between being in the red and being in the black weekly. Hopefully I'll be in the black and stay in the black soon.

Austin loves going to school, though. When I drop him off he goes right into his classroom and gets to work playing. He's a good little sharer and seems to do really well playing with the other kids. They get to play on the playground every day (weather permitting) and he does arts and crafts. He has already made me a few treasures. My favorite was "Night Creatures", which was an owl, bat and raccoon which Austin had scribbled over with a black crayon. I saw it and laughed and said "Nice coloring job." My favorite thing about him going to school (besides being able to get things done) is that he surprises me with new words. I was putting his jacket on him the other day and he said "Zip it, Mommy." I didn't know he knew the word "zip".

Austin is a sweet little boy who loves giving his mommy hugs and kisses. He is happy most of the time and still loves getting to hang out with his grandparents and aunts and uncles. He talks in caveman sentences "I eat pop-pop!" "Where Daddy go?" "I did it!". His favorite thing to say is "I did it!" He's totally obsessed with bikes. Rachel got him a little plastic two wheel bike that he just pushes with his feet. He can play on that thing all day long. He likes to ride it backwards down the driveway, which freaks Mommy out. He likes watching cartoons now. His favorite is Curious George. Every morning he says "I wanna see ooh-ooh". He also likes Elmo and Barney, too.

We are working on potty training. This morning he actually asked to sit on the potty and he went pee-pee. He likes to pee off the back deck like a little redneck baby. He calls Aunt Jennifer "Fe-Fe", Rachel is "Re-Re", Bryce is "Bebe" or "Bice", my mom is "Gimmie", both his grandpa's are "pop-pop" and Kennen's mom is "Nana".

His favorite things are bikes, trains, cars, sitting in cars, dogs, cats, horses, riding horses, riding dogs, watching bike stunts and crashes on Youtube, playing with Cade next door, playing with Maxx, going to Chick-fil-a to play on the playground, popsicles, Curious George, his grandparents, his aunts and uncles, his tunnel, trucks, and asking "What's that?" Oh, and asking if we're going to "Hobby Wobby".

Austin Bieber

Austin went into my closet, pulled these high heels out, and went and hid in my bathroom.

Pictures

Modeling his Nana sweaters

Aunt Kendall's surprise birthday party

Austin and Binx

Getting creative

Hanging with Daddy

Breakfast time

"Where'd you find this guy?" pointing at Charlie

14 months

I haven't been doing a great job of keeping up with the blog lately. Austin's 14 months old now! He started walking about 3 months ago and now he can get around a little too well. We had to put baby locks on all the cabinet doors. Not just so he couldn't get a hold of something that would hurt him, but so I wouldn't have to clean up pots and pans a million times a day. He still can't climb up onto furniture by himself, but he can climb off. He can climb up the stairs, but has a hard time getting back down them.

He isn't really talking - he can only say "up" but he understands a lot of what we say to him. If you tell him to give something to Charlie, or if you tell him to go get his milk, he'll do it. I can tell he's getting close to talking, though. He has little made up words. Like food or drink is all "Gaw!" And dogs are "daw!" He can give high-fives and repair broken cellphones. He HATES getting his diaper changed and once you get the dirty one off, he likes to run away and go pee somewhere.

He loves being around other little people, so we've been going to storytime on Tuesdays with his friend, Jake. Jake lives 2 doors down and is 3 1/2. They get along really well and Jake keeps an eye on Austin. In other words, he will rat him out.

Austin gets excited when his daddy comes home. He loves spending time with his grandparents and his Aunt Jen and Uncle Bryce. When either of them are around, that's who he wants to hold him. I guess they are the "cooler" version of his parents. Austin loves hanging out in his playroom and he likes to be read to. He loves going outside and chasing "Mr. Binx" around. He hates putting clothes on and he still hates getting his face or hands wiped off. But he doesn't mind a bath, most of the time. If you give him some bath crayons he'll hang out in there all day. Also, he'll eat the crayons, so be careful. He still likes to put things in his mouth. Maybe not quite as bad as he used to, but he still will put anything in his mouth. Dog food, paper, gross things he just found on the ground in public...

His playing has gotten more creative. The other day he was sticking his bottle into a measuring cup and then holding the measuring cup and tipping it up and drinking it. It reminded me of something that Jennifer would have done. He also got a hold of one of Kennen's pocket knives and was acting like it was a cellphone. (Don't worry the blade wasn't out) He knows that socks and shoes go on your feet. He likes to try and put them on himself. He knows to open the trash you put your foot on the lever.

He eats about anything now. His favorite foods are pasta, pretty much any kind of fruit, Goldfish, cheese, cookies, ice cream, and he'll actually eat carrots and broccoli. He sleeps through the night (as long as he's not teething or sick). He goes to bed about 8:30 and wakes up around 8am. Every once in a while, if I'm lucky, he might sleep until 9am. He takes a nap about 1pm for about an hour. Cleaning, cooking and getting things done is still a challenge. Austin has to be in the right mood. Some days he's in a "I have to be held" mood and then it's impossible to get much done. But it's a lot easier than it used to be.

Austin and the dogs

Lately, Austin has been helping the dogs out with their dinner:

Hanging out in the dog pack:

Ruby Falls

A couple weekends ago Kennen, Austin and I went to Ruby Falls. Here's a video of Austin enjoying himself.