Wee, I'm 3!

Austin and Grandpa at the beginning of Summer

Austin at the Zoo on the train this Sunday.

So, as usual, time has gone by way too fast.  It's been several months since my last post, and time has just flown by.  Many new and exciting things have happened to our family (as well as a few not so good) but we've managed to reflect and remember that what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger.  We have been very blessed in the last several months; we've taken a vacation with our wonderful friends and what we refer to as Austin's "Aunt's and Uncles", Jared was offered a wonderful job opportunity at The University of Saint Francis, Jared and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, Austin just started Preschool at The Children's Nursery School at Peace, and most recently, of course, today's his 3rd Birthday!  There are, of course, other things, but those are just a few. :)

Austin and I floating at Lake Webster :)

Jay, Austin, and I floating in the pool in VA

We were able to take a week long trip to VA with our friends Matt and Drew, and Chris, Kristin and their adorable daughter, Aubrey (Thanks so much to Darl and Rita for allowing us to use their timeshare! It was a great week with many wonderful memories made for all of us).  While we were there, we went to a Winery, beer and wine taste testing, swam in the pool a lot, hung out, made some great dinners, and we even made a wonderful day trip to Washington D.C. to see the sites with our awesome tour guide, and friend, Nicole.  We even got to meet up with another friend, Mike, and his fiance Leann.  It was an awesome day, and something that all of us will remember forever.  It's so great to make memories like those, and we're very blessed that we were able to share it with some of our closest friends.  Austin's favorite part of the trip was probably swimming, and let me tell you, he's a little fish.  He loves it!  His flotation device (called a Puddle Jumper if anyone's interested) was awesome.  Uncle Chris, Uncle Matt, and daddy even taught him some of the basics of swimming such as learning to kick his feet and paddle with his hands.  He's even a pro now floating at the lake with us and loves going from person to person while we all hang out!

Austin at the "Monster Truck" show at the Allen County Fair

For those of you that may not know, Jared showed Austin Monster Trucks on YouTube a while ago, and he's been obsessed ever since.  He loves to watch videos about Monster Trucks, and loves to play Monster Trucks with his cars and have the trucks "crush" on cars.  It's so funny to listen to him talk about them.  It's probably one of his favorite things right now.  We took him to the Allen County Fair to see them and he wasn't too sure about them in person!  He didn't like how loud they were!  His Birthday cake this year was even monster trucks.  Thanks, Daddy, for that obsession!

Austin outside in the Parking Lot

Austin in Front of his door at School

So, like I said earlier, Austin started Preschool this year about three weeks ago.  He's at The Nursery School at Peace right now and LOVES it so far!  It's so nice to see him get in a routine and to bring home art projects and play with other kids.  We can already tell that it's helping him out in many ways that we never expected.  It's like pulling teeth to get him to tell me what goes on there day to day, but he loves playing in the "big room" which is like recess.  He's not really to into art yet, as the pictures he comes home with typically have 2 items on them, but hopefully he'll get over that soon.  It's pretty cute to drop him off on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I can really tell that he misses me.  He just walks straight into his room without turning back!  It was really hard on me first to leave my baby, but i've known all along it was going to be a great experience for him, and so far, we made the right decision.

Austin and Jared on the Floor.

Austin on his Trike outside

As the day's go by, Austin looks up to Jared more and more.  It's pretty cute to watch him imitate the things that Jay does.  When Jared is fixing something, Austin has to go get his tools.  Even the other day Jared was dancing so Austin started to try to dance like Jared.  It's really cute to see how much Austin looks up to his daddy.  And not only that, it's like me and mini me!  The two look so much alike!  Austin even loves to ride his bike like daddy does!

Austin and Claire

This is Austin with his cousin, Claire, who's just about 6 months younger than he is.  I just think this picture is adorable.  Austin loves going to visit his cousins and has the best time.  They were all pretending to be puppies and kitties when we were down there last time, which was so cute to watch.  It's so funny to watch him play and interact with other kids.  His cousins even called him this morning to tell wish him Happy Birthday and he asked if we were going to see them today.  Not quite, but soon :)

So, we've gone Apple Picking two weeks in a row now.  Anyone need some apples???  It was my first time ever going, and Austins first as well.  He loved it!  Austins' eaten a few of the apples, but luckily Jared LOVES apples, so we haven't had to toss many of them yet!  We went last weekend just for fun and then again this weekend since Austin loved it so much.  This time though, we had the treat of Grandma and Grandpa going with us to enjoy on the fun.  Apparently, Grandpa and Daddy thought it would be fun to pick baking apples....so now I just need to figure out something to bake.  Thanks so much, guys!  

Part of Austin's special Birthday celebration was going to the Apple Orchard again, and to go to the Train Museum in New Haven.  Well, the Train Museum didn't really have much that was exciting, but Austin did get to climb around an engine and his favorite, the little red caboose.  We didn't have a party for him this year, just went to the Apple Orchard, the Train Museum, the Saint Francis Football Game, and this his friend Hayden came over to play.  It was a crazy busy day, but I know he loved every minute of it.  

Austin got many wonderful presents this year for his birthday, but this is by far, is his favorite.  Austin has been telling me for weeks that he wanted a Blue or a Black Car for his birthday.  Well, Grandma and Grandpa pulled through and surprised him with his very own Jeep!  He loves this thing!  His face was priceless to watch when he saw it.  Every time we would go to Toys R Us, or as Austin calls it "The Blue Store" he would climb into these things.  And, now he finally has one to himself.  He loves to keep it clean, run it through mud puddles, and wave to us when he passes.  It looks like so much fun, I just wish I could ride in it with him :)

Boys will be boys, right?  Ain't that the truth.  It seems like since Austin started school, we've seen a TON more "boy" tendencies coming out.  As some may know, it pretty much rained all last week here.  Austin played in a mud puddle and splashed around (as you can see by the mud caked on his face).  He was having the best time, and Jared and I just sat in the garage and laughed at him.  It's amazing to watch him do things like that and how much it makes people light up inside.  To be a child again!

Here are a few more birthday pictures of Austin.  Nothing too exciting really :)  Austin needed help blowing out the candles again on his Monster Truck cake this year (which he still won't eat, by the way).  It's hard to believe that he is 3 years old already.  We are so thankful everyday that we have been blessed with him.  I don't think a lot of people realize how lucky they are when children are brought into their lives, but it's a pretty amazing thing.  We're so lucky to have such an amazingly lovable, happy little boy in our lives, and I don't think we would want it any other way!  He's just the best!

Better late than never!

So, as always, things have been a little crazy around the house. Now the the nice weather is FINALLY in full swing, we've been spending a lot of time outdoors. I can't believe how much Austin has changed from last year even. He loves swinging on his "big boy" swings, loves riding his bike, and even getting dirty. He's recently figured out how to ride a bike with training wheels, which amazes me to watch. He was struggling at the beginning of summer, but now, he acts like it's something he's been doing all his life. And even more importantly, he loves to wear his helmet. He loves wearing it inside the house, in the car....he would wear it grocery shopping if he could (and really, that might not be a bad idea!). He's your typical "boys boy" to say the least. Very active, very wild, and very fearless.

It's been so long that even Easter has passed us. Austin loved Easter this year. We hid eggs around the house, and he found all of them. He thought that was really fun and was asking for more of them after he was done. He ate chocolate for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner that day. I told him at one point he had enough candy and he needed to lay off for a bit...only to help Jared cut his hair for 5 minutes and find 15 Reese's cup wrappers on the coffee table. He's just like his daddy that's for sure....loves peanut butter! This is Austin coloring easter eggs...he loved that also. He more or less threw the eggs in the dye, but hey, it was fun! He even tried a very small bite of a hard boiled egg....we were just impressed he actually tried it!

This is a picture of us one of the many cold rainy spring days we've had this year. We still pull the cushions off the couch frequently to clean them and he still loves every minute of it. Here, we're building forts. It was really getting pretty difficult to keep him occupied towards the beginning of Spring, because he loves to be outside so much. He had a hard time understanding that when it's cold and rainy, we stay inside. And since the weather couldn't decide what it was going to do, it was pretty difficult on him! But finally, the nice weather is here to stay!

This little boy is getting so stinking smart. He's starting to repeat things back to us (short books, for example), nursery rhymes, even songs. He knows his ABC's now and is really doing well learning the letters. He still has difficulty recognizing his lower case letters right now, because I haven't really found a good teaching tool for those. Everything has upper case letters! He talks in pretty decent sentences saying things like "Mommy, I'm sad (upset, hungry, need a snack), etc. And he also says things like "I'm a rock star". He's just getting so big, we are so very, very blessed.

"Mommy, I have blue eyes". This is what he said to me one day while I was upstairs grabbing a load of laundry for maybe 3 minutes. It was pretty cute, I just responded with "Why yes Austin, yes you do!" He makes me smile :)

This is one of Austin's dance moves. I looked back at him in the car one day and he said "Mom, dance like this". It was pretty entertaining. He's one bad dude with some of the cutest facial expressions!

He is also a water bug this year. We've filled up the pool twice in the last week. He loves splashing in it, running and jumping, throwing things in it, and drinking the water as if he were a dog. I have a feeling he's going to be one of those kids that's going to stay in the water constantly....as long as we'll let him. We really need to get him enrolled in some swimming lessons sometime soon! We're going on vacation to VA in a few weeks, and I bought him a floatty device so he can play in the big pool with all of us adults...he insisted on wearing that thing in his baby pool at home the other day! Sometimes I wonder, but why fight it?

I hate to brag, but my husband is kind of amazing, isn't he? This is a shot he took of Austin that I just LOVE! It totally captures him, when he's actually sitting still, which isn't often. Not to mention, how blue his eyes are! He's a very sweet, loving, smart, fun little boy. We are so blessed with so many wonderful things in life, but none of it compares to the joy that this little boy has brought to us!

Christmas, Come and Gone!

Well, Christmas has come and gone now. It's now the middle of January, and things are finally settling down, or so they should be. But honestly, what ever settles with a 2 year old in the house? Christmas was a blast this year with Austin. We were so blessed to see family that we haven't seen in so long, and Austin got so many wonderful things from people. He loved giving people presents also this year. This year, I still don't think it quite sunk in what Christmas was all about, but he loved opening all the new toys! He now knows who Santa Claus is and calls him by name, so I think next year, it might finally all click.

So, as for what Austin received; well, the answer to that is a lot. He got many trains, planes, and automobiles, clothes, dinosaurs, toy animals, tool box, books, a "Grandpa Hippo" Pillow Pet (Thanks Jeff and Fran, that was too perfect...and he still loves his hippos!), a desk with a white erase board, puzzles, a Leapster, a SmartCycle, and even a new Big Boy Lightening McQueen bike. He loves everything...believe me, I clean up the mess several times a day on our floor!

Santa even brought something Austin didn't remember. Uncle Ben! Ben was able to come spend several days with us over the holidays, and what a treat that was. Ben LOVES his Uncle Ben. He now even tells me that "Uncle Ben, Back to work" because he knew Ben had to go back home. They bonded in such a wonderful way, and I can't wait to see them together again. For days after Ben was gone, Austin was asking for him. He just loves his Uncle Ben! The second picture in the series was one of Ben's favorites. We actually kept sticking toys back in the bag, covering it back up with tissue paper, and letting Austin unwrap everything again just because it was too precious to not watch over and over again. His face lights up so much, and it's true what everyone says about the magic of Christmas in a child's eye. I could truly not ask for anything more than to make this little boy happy....especially at Christmas.

As I said earlier, Austin got a tool box from Uncle Ben for Christmas. Austin thinks he can fix anything with these tools. Everything to him right now when something is broken is "screwdriver fix". One of his favorite shows now that we don't have cable is called Dinosaur Train on PBS. I found him these dinosaurs a few weeks ago and purchased them for him. He's convinced that he can open the package himself here.....with none other than his hammer! He actually tried to get it open with the claw end of the hammer. I guess his daddy will have to show him a thing or two!

So, we went to Menards last weekend as a family to price shop tile, and a laundry room cabinet. Needless to say, the tile was too expensive, and we came home with a laundry room cabinet (thanks Grandma and Grandpa, by the way. You gave us the Christmas gift of Storage..and that goes such a long way). I was teasing Jared about painting Austin's bathroom (it was the only room in our house that we haven't yet painted), and told Austin to go to the Crayola section and pick out a color he liked. He came back with a bright orange....so we settled on this color...also a bright orange. It's called Crayola Sunglow....and surprisingly, it's really cute in his bathroom. Bright, yes....but very cute! It's very Austin like. We replaced the mirror, light fixture, and the pictures with little monster stickers. Austin tells us the monsters "scare me" but he loves them all the same. Austin even helped paint the wall, and he'll tell you which sides he painted. He's pretty proud of his bathroom!

This year, Austin finally loves the snow! Last year he hated it, but this year he loves to be outside. We pull him around on his sled (which is a great workout pulling 34 pounds of dead weight!). If we let him, he would stay out there all day. It amazes me that I can be freezing my behind off, and he'll stay out there for a few more hours if you let him. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I love that he's such an outdoors kid.....hopefully that sticks with him through life.

Right now, as bad as it sounds, life is pretty boring. I'm starting to do my research into preschools for Austin next year (I can't believe that time is here). We are wanting to send him to two day a week preschool next year and hopefully we find one we like. We have a couple of places that we are very interested in, and hopefully one of them works out. He tells me he doesn't want to go yet, but I know it will be good for him to be around other adults and more kids, even though it already breaks my heart to think about.

He's getting so smart and starting to put things together, which is amazing. Today, we took our dog, Jackson to the vet (he had to get two teeth pulled and his teeth cleaned), and he realized that Jackson had to go to the vet because he was hurt. He was even playing doctor and patient with his Cars. When they got hurt, he would say they needed to go to the doctor, and then the doctor would give his car a kiss and it would be better. It's too precious how he's starting to put two and two together like that. He also pretends that he's a T-Rex often and runs around the room screaming (he loves dinosaurs, and knows several of them by name now). He says things like "Scare me" and "I'm screaming". He's starting to say adorable things like "I need to grab a pair of undies" and "I love you" and he even told me tonight that his "undies were stinky". He's also reciting his ABC's, even though he still misses a few letters here and there. It's adorable to listen to. I've been trying to get a video of him doing that, but every time he sees the camera, he wants to look at the pictures and he stops singing (like father, like son)!

He's been doing terrible with his sleeping lately, and hopefully that gets a little better at some point. He realized around Thanksgiving that he actually has freedom and can get out of his bed. I really don't think he was quite ready to transition out of his crib, but hopefully, at some point, he gets used to it, because at this point, there's no turning back! We often deal with at least an hour long battle of returning him to bed silently after telling him good night, and many nights end up sitting outside his door until he quietly drifts off to sleep. He normally greets us at about 3 am and wants to climb into bed with so we repeat the routine all over again. I guess what they say is true; a parent never gets a full nights rest! I know, someday, he'll get there with it....hopefully he figures it out sooner rather than later, because it's quite exhausting!

On a brighter note, he's finally starting to tell me when he has to pee....we've gone several days without having an accident (knock on wood), and is doing so well. It seems like on the potty training front, with him, when it rains, it pours. He'll go for weeks without and accident, and then have three in one day, and be fine for weeks. I never realized how long of a process it was, but all in all, he's doing so great! I couldn't be prouder of him. Oh, and this could very well be the most adorable picture of him in a long time. He's so stinking cute.....he's got his backpack on, with his spare change of clothes in it. He was so proud to have it on, and even put his hand in his pocket. Yeah, I have the cutest kid....ever. :)