Sit Down Claus is Coming To Town!

So, again, it's been too long. Halloween has passed, Thanksgiving too....and a lot has been going on! Let's start off with Halloween. Austin loved to pick out his pumpkin, and we let him paint one this year since he's not old enough to carve on yet. We tried to let him clean out the pumpkin guts, but he wasn't at all interested in that. He LOVED to pain his pumpkin though. Every pumpkin that Austin saw he referred to as "Granma Punkin". My mom had given us a decorative pumpkin, so he just figured every one was hers! Here's a picture of him picking out his pumpkin, which he actually chose about 10 different ones before he settled on one, and him painting it.

Towards the end of October, it was our niece, Kylie's, 6th birthday party down in Cincinnati. We made the day trip to celebrate with her and let Austin hang out with his cousins late into the evening. Here is one of the sweetest pictures i've ever seen of two little ones. Austin had a blast and loves visiting with his cousins. He'll get to see more this weekend, and even more the next weekend!

Who is the baddest sheriff in town? That would be Austin! Here is an awesome picture that Jared was able to capture of Austin on Halloween using his newest lens. Since Jared has worked so hard this year and has done so great with his side business, he deserved a little treat. This is one of the first pictures he took with that lens, and it's pretty amazing. Austin enjoyed trick or treating, but he didn't have much of an attention span for it like most things. We managed to go to about 4 houses, he said trick-or-treat, thanks, and was done. He didn't even really seem to enjoy the dressing up part of it yet. Maybe next year!

Typical male, huh? Austin is doing really well with potty training. Don't get me wrong, he still has his fair share of accidents (mostly he just poops his pants still), but he wears undies during the day, and he wears a diaper or a pull up at night since he can't hold it that long yet. After the holidays and things settle down, i'm going to start trying to wean him from his nap diaper, because as of right now, it's been quite a while since he's had an accident at nap time. He is finally starting to tell us when he actually needs to go at times, but it's still sort of hit and miss. He's doing so well though for just being over two.

Here's a picture of Austin....well, being Austin. He knows his first, middle, and last name now. He's also starting to learn his ABC's and loves to sing the song. He's even starting to learn some of the Letters and told me what 6 of them were the other day while we were playing with his Play-doh! He's also starting to sing other songs like "Clean up, Clean up". He loves running around and saying things from movies also. His favorite is getting a stool out, standing on top of it, and saying "To infinity....and eyond (eyond=beyond)" like Buzz Lightyear does in Toy Story. He also likes to say things like "Go Koko, Go Koko", "Coming Through" and "Oh Bumpers" from his favorite TV Show, Chuggington. You would think we let him watch t.v. all the time, but he just catches on that easily. He's using other things like "Bless you", "Excuse me", "Please", "Thank you" etc. He even tells me in the morning that "Daddy's not here. Daddy takin shower. Daddy go to work." He's getting so smart, and so observant. He's even starting to refer to use pronouns such as you, me, I, we, etc. correctly. He recognizes and can tell you most of his shapes (triangle, oval, square, rectangle, diamond, circle, octagon, and he still get's stuck on pentagon). He knows the names of colors, but he still doesn't get those right a lot. We'll get there with that in time. Otherwise, it's truly amazing to watch him learn and grow.

Here is one of Austin's favorite things to do now that it's so cold outside. He loves taking the cushions off the couch and jumping on them, and it allows me to sweep them clean. He asks to do it all the time, sometimes he even just pulls the cushion off the couch on his own when I say no.

Here's my little monkey. He's been such a handful lately. He's cutting his last and final tooth right now, and he's been a bear. He's hit his terrible twos and tantrums are in full swing now, and it's quite the combination! He's still such a sweet little boy......most of the time!

This isn't the best picture, but it's one of very few that I have of the two of them. We were over at my parent's house one day hanging out and grandpa stopped by for a bit. For whatever reason, Austin doesn't go around my dad that much, so this was a very special occasion. They were laughing and having such a good time pretending to sleep (another one of Austin's favorite things to do with people right now is telling them to "have sweet dreams"). Austin even tried to share his hat with grandpa (which could have fit, by the way. They both have HUGE heads)! This is probably a moment that stands out in my dad's mind, and i'm glad I captured it...even though the picture isn't the best, the memory sure is!

Here is us playing outside one of the last nice days we had in November. Even with as cold as it is outside right now, Austin still wants to play out there daily. This year he even likes the snow so far, which he hated last year. I love that he loves to be outside so much....it's such a wonderful thing, but man, is it not fun for me this time of the year! In the top picture, he's dancing in the street, and in the bottom....well, the kids just on a mission!

I just thought these two pictures were too cute not to share. Austin amazes me at how much he can be a booger sometimes, and still make my day. He's such a wonderful, special little boy, and we couldn't be prouder or more in love. I know that everyone always tells you growing up that there is no love like that you have for your own child, but it's the truth. I never thought it would be like this, but I just can't get enough! Even on the worst of worst days, there's always at least one great moment that makes everything in life worth it! :)

Another big event recently, the purchase of Austin's "Big Boy Bed". He is so proud of his bed, and he lets everyone know it. It's adorable! It doesn't matter if you've seen his bed before, he has to take everyone upstairs to show it off again. My parents were very gracious in giving us a lot of help in making it possible that we could move him into his bed so early, which was great, because he only had a few inches left before he grew out of his toddler bed. He loves sleeping in this bed! He especially loves the freedom that he can get out of it in the middle of the night, slam doors, greet us bedside, and give us 6 a.m. wake up calls (and sometimes earlier). Oh well, it's all a stage I guess.

My first cold of the season happened to be the day we had "Breakfast with Santa" that was put on by Jared's work. I felt like crap all day, but I wasn't going to miss Austin and his first encounter with Santa. He freaked out....and hated him! You can tell by the look on his face what he thought. We didn't go near Santa after that. We've said all along, we're okay if Austin likes Santa from a distance....and that was the case with him this year, for sure! I'm sure he'll LOVE him Christmas morning though!

Until after Christmas, and probably New Years, Happy Holidays All! (And if you're reading this, Thanks again, Josh!)

Two years, come and gone...

Austin's officially two years old now, and man, is he a wild man! We've hit the terrible twos in full swing, and so far, it isn't so terrible. He has days where he's really fussy, whiny, and throws tantrums with the best of them, but for the most part, he's just wild! We had his two year check up today and he's now 31.5 lbs (85% for weight), and 36.25 inches tall (91% for height). The doctor told us we can go ahead and transition him into his big boy bed, and said he looks like he is doing great! He's speaking a ton now, and is putting together several words to make a somewhat clear sentence (today's classic one after I told him no snack; "grandma, couple crackers snack please"). He's coming up with cute phrases like "Ride the rails" when he's playing with his trains and "oh bumpers" when he does something wrong. He even told some girls one day riding bikes "hey girlfriend, come here." He even told me the other day "one more time, time out" when he knew he was doing something wrong and was about to get a time out. That made me smile, and needless to say, he didn't get a timeout.

One of Austin's favorite things to do in the late summer was to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to feed the fish! He got really good at throwing the bread, and loves to watch the fish eat it. He looses interest pretty quickly, but it's still an experience and something he looks forward to every week. Grandpa loves to take him down there and show him the fish. One day, maybe even next year, Austin will actually be able to go fishing over there with grandpa on the weekends. What a treat that would be for both of them!

The biggest and most exciting news in our house lately (for most parents anyway), as many of you know, potty training has been in full swing now for about two weeks at our house. Austin has been doing great! Between the combination of "naked time" and the cessation of diapers completely during the daytime, Austin is really getting the hang of it! He is able to hold his pee for several hours at a time now (we go to the grocery store, the zoo, parks, etc. without diapers....I'm so brave!), and is doing really well keeping his big boy undies dry. He wears a diaper at nap time and during the night still, but he's starting to get to the point where he even stays dry during his nap time occasionally. He loves picking out his undies in the morning and will tell you proudly most days what kind he has on (It's either Queen for Lightening McQueen, or Buzzundies for Buzz Lightyear). He notices now that mom and dad are wearing undies, and loves to tell us what colors we have on. He even watches me use the bathroom and helps me tell my fluids bye-bye (I know, it's gross, but it seems to be working, and i'm willing to do quite literally, whatever it takes!). He sometimes even blows them a kiss good-bye and waves. He's recently learned how to flush the toilet, and does so over and over again while unraveling an entire roll of toilet paper in a sitting. He still poops his pants quite a bit of the time, but we're getting there. We'll take it one step at a time. Austin's doctor was very pleased that he was in his undies today, and said that he was way ahead of the game. Go Austin, GO!

Austin not only looks just like his daddy, but they have a lot of similarities also. For starters, they both love me of course :) Seriously though, these two look so much alike. I think Austin is even going to end up adopting the love of photography, just like his dad. Austin saw Jared playing with his camera one night, so they started taking self pictures so that Austin could see himself on the camera. He loves it. He's even been dragging out Jared's light stands and saying "Cheese" and "Smile" as if he was looking behind a tripod. These boys couldn't have picked a more expensive hobby, but at least it's something rewarding!

At the beginning of our potty training days, we didn't leave the house for quite some time. Imagine trying to occupy a two year old for several days straight without going anywhere, and being confined to the inside and outside of your house. As most of you know, it's not that easy! We did everything from play outside, to watch movies, do puzzles, play with trains, and even got desperate one day. I took off the coushinos on the couch and let him have at it. He thought this was great to be able to jump all over the place, as you can see! We'll definitely be doing this more and more in the winter months to come.

So here is my first shot at using Jared's camera in a non-automatic mode. Not to shabby, huh? This was taken at the Lindenwood Nature Preserve near our house. It's beautiful there, and it's a place that Jared and I have enjoyed going to for the past few years. We thought Austin would love to walk around and explore, and he did......until I almost stepped on a gardner snake and freaked out. Jared and I then had to carry Austin through the rest of the preserve! He did enjoy it for a while though :)

Our favorite summer spot finally closed it's doors for the summer. The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is open for their Zoo Halloween, but that's it. Austin loves going to see the an-imals as he says. We went about once a week for the entire summer, and he loved it. At the beginning of the summer he just looked at the animals, and by the end he could tell me what all of them are. He even got brave by the end of the summer and would run through the tiger look out area and sit on the Komodo Dragon sculpture. It's amazing to see what all he's learned in the short time of 5 months. I look forward to next summer when I can start teaching him about what the animals eat, where they came from, etc. It's such a great place, and we are so lucky to have something so close to home.

Here was Austin the morning of his birthday party. This was his reaction to the presents from Jared and I.....priceless. He had such a wonderful birthday party, with many great, wonderful, loving people surrounding him. He got many wonderful gifts from everyone, and has loved playing with them ALL, and yes, I've seen them all over lately. He got several trains (he knows all of their names now), dinosaurs, an awesome play-doh set, books, movies, and a pair of cowboy boots. He even got clothes, but he wasn't too thrilled with those, but I sure was! He even got some bath tub toys, which he loves and plays with Elmo and "Bernie" all the time. He's loved his toys so much that we were going to take him to the Zoo on his birthday and let him ride some of the rides (we go weekly, but he's only ridden one ride, twice I think), but we couldn't get him out of the house. We ended up staying at home, playing with all his toys, and building forts out of couch cushions and blankets. Sounds like a perfect birthday to me! There is nothing that we enjoy more than watching that little boy's face light up. It makes everything you do in the world worth while.

Leave it to our kid, all the toys in the world at his birthday party, and he goes straight for the book. His love for books continues to grow and expand, and we couldn't be happier. It's amazing how they captivate him and how much he learns from them. I hope this love continues to grow.

We made Austin a Lightening McQueen cake, and the cars were dancing to "Sh-boom", his favorite song. He loved the cars, and plays with them all the time (he got a Red Fire engine, Sally, and a wet Lightening McQueen, and yes, there is a difference between a wet Lightening McQueen and a dry one. Who knew!). He blew out his candle on his own, but refused to eat the cake. He love the ice cream that came with it though!

Here are just a few shots from Austin's 2 year portrait session with dad. We went to Salomon Farms, which has tractors, and corn. There really isn't much to do there, but Jared was able to capture some great shots. There were some donkey's there, and Austin kept saying "here donkey, donkey". He loved exploring and sitting on the carts that were for hayrides. Jared realized how difficult it can be to take pictures of someone this small, but he still managed to capture great, unique shots. I love that he picked up this hobby, it's been so great to us!

Football season is finally here. And I just had to show this picture, because I loved it. This little boy is so sweet, and is our entire world. We couldn't ask for a better kid, and I think that both Jared and I would agree, we love being parents. I couldn't ask for a better "job" in the world than to take care of this little boy. I'm so blessed that we have been able to make it work so that I can be with him daily, because it makes most things in my life make perfect sense. This is what I was born to do, and i'm so glad that I get to wake up to his smiling (and sometimes whiny) face every day!

We're almost 2!

The summer is coming to an end, which is so sad. I don't know what we're going to do all winter long, so I'm going to not think about it. Austin is definitely an outdoor kid. He loves to be outside exploring things. Some of his favorite things to do are to play in his water table, "play" golf, push his crazy couple around, go down the slide, and play with his puppies. As you can tell by the picture, this child plays hard. He gets read in the face and sweats a lot. He loves it though, and we love it also! He even loves to float with us at the lake. We put a life jacket on him and he sits on our laps and throws cans in the water and watches them float up. Aunt Drew even taught him how to say "Cheers" with his beverage. Now he bangs his cup together with anything he can find, says Cheers, and then takes a sip and says "ahhh". He's too funny.

Austin's picky eating is getting a little bit better. He's finally starting to try new things sometimes. We even got lucky one day and he actually tried spaghetti (You can see a bit of the mess on his face in the picture above). He didn't really care for it, but I'm glad that he at least tried. So far, one of his recent favorites is marinated chicken on the grill. He loves it, and will eat about 2 small chicken tenders along with his fruits and vegetables. His favorite thing to eat still are the sweet things, just like his mom and dad. He asks us after dinner if he can have "couple nummies" (he calls M&M's nummies) or "couple cookies" for a treat. We usually give in, as long as he's eaten a good amount of his dinner. And yes, sometimes multiple utensils are required to get the child to eat....but whatever it takes, we'll do!

After close to two years, Austin still has those big beautiful light blue eyes. We have been wondering for quite a while if they would change, and so far, they haven't. They are gorgeous, so hopefully they continue to stay that way. His hair is starting to become a bit thicker, but is still pretty blonde, just like his daddy's was when he was little.

It's been a pretty busy summer, with visits from his Nana and Papa (Jared's parents), and us going down to Georgia to visit our friends Chris, Kristin, and their new bundle of joy, Aubrey. As usual, it takes Austin some time to warm up to people, but once he does, he's in love! He asked for everyone who visited for several days after they left. He recognizes most of these people in pictures, so at least he is starting to recognize who they are since many of them he doesn't see too often.

Speaking of Uncle Chris, Aunt Kristin, and baby Aubrey. Here is a picture of Austin holding baby Aubrey. He LOVED her. He kept asking to hold her and he would hug her and give her kisses. He was so sweet with her, it brought a tear to my eye. I thought for sure he would be jealous of Jared and I spending so much time with her, but he took her right in. He even tried to pick her up a few times (we caught him before he got too far) and would try to play with her and tell her to "shhh" and "wake up" when she was sleeping or crying. Austin calls her Auberry, which is pretty cute. Every time he sees pictures of a baby, he associates it with baby Auberry. Our friends have a wonderful new addition to their family, and we couldn't be more excited for them. It truly is the best thing in the world to watch your child grow.

Here is Austin eating some chocolate "ice cream". It's really pudding, but he calls it ice cream. He loves pudding, but isn't so sure of the ice cream yet. Either way, it's again, something new that he's finally started to try in the last few weeks, but two months ago, wouldn't even touch. It makes for quite the mess, but we wouldn't have it any other way! He's obviously pretty happy when he's messy, and he's got his "chocate ice-scream" as he likes to call it.

In about the middle of June, Austin started to become pretty interested in the potty. YEAH!! So we went out, bought him a potty and some cotton training pants, and here we are! I know it's a pretty long road until we are diaper free, but he's doing really well with it so far. We let him run around naked, or in a pair of cotton training pants (we call them Supermans because Jared doesn't like the word underwear) quite a bit. So far, I can count on one hand the amount of accidents he's had in them. He doesn't realize a lot of the time when he's going yet, but sometimes he does and will tell me he has to go, or run to the potty. Sometimes he'll even say "Oh-no, pee pee" after the fact. So, I think he's getting there, but we definitely have a long way to go. Most of the time if we sit him on the potty, he will go, and then he does his "WOOHOO" potty shout, and says bye-bye to his pee and blows it a kiss as we flush it down the toilet. I have to remember that he's not even two yet, so the progress that he's made so far has exceeded our expectations.

Here he is again in his Supermans trying to open cans of corn (he calls them "popcorn"). He seems to be the most interested in toys that don't make noise, and that he can try to figure out on his own. I would prefer that he not play with a can opener that is sharp, but he wouldn't let go of it, and it kept him occupied for quite a while. He's starting to love to make towers with wooden blocks and then knock them down. He still loves his train table, Cars, and books are among some of his favorite indoor toys.

Here Austin is with Grandma while we celebrate her Birthday. We went to the library last weekend, and picked up a few new books for him. One of these books is called Waddle, and it's adorable. The last page of the book is an Alligator, and it says "You better watch out, the Alligator's gonna getcha". Austin loves running around now saying "Alligator getcha". It's his favorite book from the library this time, and one we might actually have to purchase for him. He loves books still, and loves to learn what is in the pictures. He knows a ton of animal names, sounds, and even vehicles because of the books that he's looked through. What a great love to have.....hopefully it continues with him and follows him for a lifetime.

Here's Austin and dada looking at pictures of "baby". Austin is just this week starting to refer to himself as "Ausin". Until this week, he called himself baby most of the time.

Austin has been in to arts and crafts time lately. He's been painting a lot of things for people, and really loves to color. He's learned almost all of his colors so far, but struggles with the difference between red and orange, and blue and purple. He loves to point out what colors things are though. He's also learning his shapes. So far, he knows squares, triangles (he even calls a nose a triangle, which in a way, it sort of is), and circles. We're still working on stars and rectangles and other shapes, but so far, those are his favorite. Really, his favorite shape is a triangle, and his favorite color is orange. He's also starting to learn a few letters, he calls an "O" a circle, and an "E" a comb. His vocabulary continues to amaze me, and he's putting many words together and realizing what so much is around him. He'll tell cars to "move, get outta the way", he'll say "bess you", he even tells me when things are heavy and bright. It amazes me daily what he comes up with and says. I guess we all have to start somewhere, huh? :)

It's so hard to believe that he will be turning 2 here shortly. It's amazing to see where he is now, compared to where he was two years ago. He's such a smart, loving, sweet little boy, I wish I could freeze him and just keep him like this forever. He's just too much fun, and really is our world.