Crazy May!

So, just like every other month lately, things have been crazy, again. Austin continues to grow into such a wonderful little boy, and it's amazing to watch him develop right before our eyes. To be honest, this last month has flown by, and I really don't remember much, which makes me sad. I was trying to remember our first few weeks home with Austin and it's all become a blur. It's sad, but at the same time, there are so many wonderful things to look forward to enjoy right now, I love living in the moment with him in front of me, and I'm so honored to have that privilege.

He recently has been learning all the characters to the movie, Cars. It's his favorite so far. Grandma feeds his love, buying him most of the Matchbox type cars in the set when she can find them. So far, he knows many of their names and calles them by it too. He knows Lightening McQueen (he calls him queen), Sally, Doc, Mater (he calls him maaer), Doc, Ramone (mone), and one that is pink that he calls Pinky. He even knows where we store the movie and will pull it out when he wants to watch it, along with the remote control for the DVD player. He even says to me, "more Cars" or "go go Cars" when he wants to watch it. It's too cute! Another of his favorites is a show on the Disney Channel called Chuggington. It's a train show, which he's grown to love. He calls that Chuggie, and when he wants to watch that, he says "show Chuggie". To feed his desire, we recently purchased a train table from Toys R Us (sorry Aunt Taunja, we thought it was going to be smaller than yours, turns out, I think they only make them in one size). Grandma was generous enough to again give Austin money from his "Great" Grandpa, and we were able to purchase this table for him. It's been such a good investment so far. He was tearing up our coffee table with his cars and trains and driving them around, but now he spends most of his time at the train table! Above is a few pictures of him helping to put the table together. I'm not sure who was more excited about it, dad, or Austin!

Austin's becoming so smart. He's starting to learn his colors a bit, and likes to say the "geen" for green. He's learning so many different words, and the things he does and says constantly amaze me. He's figuring out very quickly how to climb on the couch, plug things into the computer, turn the TV on, sweep the floor, pick up his toys, etc. He really enjoys helping with things around the house also, like putting the laundry in the dryer and dusting! I love that he's starting to become a helper! He's starting to learn his colors a bit, and likes to say "geen" for green. He's learning so many different words, and is starting to put two words together quite a bit to tell me what he wants, needs, or what's happening in his day!

The zoo opened in April, and so far, we've been going like once a week. Since we started going, he now thinks that every time we get in the car, we're going to go see the animals. Austin's even learned how to say the word animal, which sounds like "ann-mal". It's so cute, because he focuses so hard on trying to say it correctly, and he really sounds out ever letter. It's too cute. Here's a picture of him banging on the drums in the Africa exhibit.

Austin has also become quite the dancer recently. Here he is with dad, "shakin' it" as we say in our house. He's learned to slide, where he slides down to his knees and keeps on dancing with his arms and bouncing. He's even started to get his elbows into it more and more! One of his favorite songs so far is called "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas. He even asks for it sometimes in the car by saying "Boom Boom" :)

I don't remember what we were doing here, but I think the picture is pretty cute! Austin is a pretty tough little boy so far. He doesn't cry much at all when he falls, which is a lot. I taught him how to "dust himself off" when he falls. He stands up, brushes his hands together, and keeps on going! He gets a lot of bumps and bruises, but rarely every cries.

We spend a ton of time outside playing. Austin loves to slide down his slide, push his car around, blow bubbles, and kick balls. He's able to kick a ball multiple times now, and almost looks like he could play soccer! Sometimes he needs a break though, and he thinks the ball is a built in seat!

I picked up this super cute pool for Austin this week on sale. He loves it so far! It's a dinosaur, which he calls "dino" and they say "roar"! He was so excited about this pool that I went to grab the hose and he was sitting in the pool, without water. I was wanting to fill it with water and let the water heat up a bit, but he didn't want to have anything to do with it. He dove right in, splashing, and kicking his feet. At least he stopped to help put the water in though!

Overall, things are pretty crazy with a toddler in the house. There is rarely ever a dull, quiet moment. Austin is such a sweet little boy though. He's learning how to give hugs, and randomly comes up to give me one. It's so sweet. He's learning how to say please, thank you, and sorry too. He's mimicking us more and more each day, and it never ceases to amaze me the things he will do and say. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little boy in our family and look forward to enjoying a nice summer with him!