4th of July at the Cabin

We headed up to my grandparent's cabin on Whidbey Island to celebrate the 4th of July.  Remember the fun we had their last summer?  Well, this time Austin was was nearly exploding with excitement.

We love the cabin because there is literally nothing to do but have fun.  We went on a few walks, played in the sand, soaked up some rays, ate lots of delicious food, and even caught a few naps.

Of course we did our version of fireworks (i.e. just sparklers).  I thought Austin might be freaked out by the spark so I created a little shield for him with a plastic cup (bottom right picture).  As usual, I was wrong.  He had no fear and asked for more as soon as one burned out.  He went through 8 boxes on his own!

Oh....Hello There Blog....

Wow...this has officially been my longest blog hiatus ever.  Three months!!  And this has probably been the busiest three months of the entire year.  Truthfully, I needed to take something off my to-do list for a while, so the blog got the boot.

I'm finally feeling like I have things (sort of) under control again and life is settling back into a routine.  I am actually excited about getting caught up on the ol' blog.  I have a lot of work ahead of me, though.  Like I said...it's been a busy few months.

Summer is my favorite time of year.  I'm a warm-weather person, and I love to be outside.  It seems like there's just so much more to do when it's nice a sunny out.  Plus, the summers are when we get to spend lots of quality time with Nana!!!  Austin was thrilled when she arrived.  He wasted no time in checking her suitcases to make sure she brought him some goods.  Of course she didn't disappoint.

This time it was a new Angry Birds t-shirt and awesome backpack.

P.S. These pictures were only taken 3 months ago and that t-shirt is already too small for Austin.  It's so crazy how fast they grow.

First Trip to the Dentist

I was certain that taking Austin to the dentist for the first time was going to be a terrible experience for both of us.  Welp, wrong again.  He LOVED it.  We went to an office that is specifically for children, so they do a great job of trying to make the experience fun and easy for the kids.

The hygienist showed us a short video about a dinosaur who goes to the dentist for the first time. I'm not sure Austin got anything out of it, but it was a nice effort on their part.  Then they brought us to the dentist chair and the hygienist assured me that it's normal for the young kids to freak out about sitting in the chair alone.  She said he might need to sit on my lap and they'd be happy if they got a little peak at his teeth with the mirror.

Again, I was shocked with Austins response.  He thought he was pretty hot stuff sitting in the chair.  He was in the zone once they put the headphones and cool shades on him and showed him that Cars 2 was playing on the ceiling.  He opened his mouth on command and even let the hygienist give him a full-blown cleaning and fluoride treatment.  He kept asking for her to spray more water in his mouth.  The hygienist said she couldn't believe he was only two.

When the dentist came he was just as agreeable.  Austin's teeth are healthy and he has no cavities.  We'll be back in 6 months and hopefully it'll go just as smoothly.  I actually always loved (and still do) going to the dentist.  There's no better feeling than super clean teeth.  Maybe Austin just inherited this freaky trait from me.

The only blip we had was that as we were leaving Austin kept screaming for candy.  Perfect timing, kid.

Two Year Check-Up

I took Austin in for his 2 year update last week.  I was  a little worried that it wouldn't go over so well, considering he screamed through his entire 18-month check up.  I was pleasantly surprised.  He loved it.  He walked around the lobby like he owned the place.  It was a quick appointment and the doctor assured me that Austin is right on track for his age.


He's growing like a little weed.  It feels like every other week he's going through a grown spurt and eats like a bottomless pit.  He's spends all day long chatting, and is as busy as ever!  Every day I'm thankful that I get to be his Mom.


Austin's 2 Year Stats:
Weight: 30.4 pounds (87th percentile)
Height: 35.25 inches (82nd percentile)


At 2 years, Austin...


...asks all day long what I'm doing.  He just follows me around and every minute or so asks,  "Mama, what you doing?"  
...is starting to attempt to climb out of his crib.  He hasn't completely made it out  yet (instead we find him dangling from the railing, screaming), but it's time we transition him to a toddler bed..
...loves to dance and force Toren and I to dance too.
...is into watching Spider Man and Spongebob on Netflix.
...asks for a band-aid every time he even mildly hurts himself.  I just tell him he's not bleeding and doesn't need a band-aid.  So far he's been okay with that answer.
...loves Finding Nemo.
... absolutely loves going to nursery at church.
...can count to six (but he always skips 3 and 5)
...when asked how old he is, always replies with "nine!"

....wouldn't knowingly eat a vegetable to save his life.

...loves "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man," which he calls "The Rock Song."  We only sing the first verse, but he can do all the hand signals.
...points out all the buses, firetrucks, planes, motorcycles, semi trucks, helicopters, etc. when we're driving around town.

...loves to have us sing the "ACBC"'s with him.  "W" is his favorite letter to say.

...has a few favorite books - The Very Busy Spider, Goodnight Moon, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Are You My Mother, Go Dog Go!, and Ten Drowsy Dragons.

...took his first trip to the dentist...and loved it (post to come).

David, Mandy, and my adorable little nephew, Kellan, are coming to stay with us for Laura's wedding (YAY!).  In preparation, we got out a few of our infant things for them to use during their stay.  Austin begged me to let him take the swing for a spin.  Can you believe the difference 2 years makes?!?!  

Weekend Trip to Oregon

We love having Toren's family so close....especially since my family is SOOO far away.  The 2.5 hour drive down to Oregon is easy enough to allow us to visit for the weekend every few months.  We were just there in April for Blairs homecoming, but when after we heard that Aunt Maren and the cousins were making the trek to Grandma and Grandpas we just couldn't miss out.

We got in Friday night, and the boys wasted no time in wreaking toddler havoc.  It's fun to see the three boys interact together.  They're sure a wild bunch.  We gave grandpa his Father's Day gift so he could try to get some use out of it that weekend (the road is on the backside of the shirt, so when the boys drive their cars over it he gets a back massage).  Cute idea, huh?  I found here, through Pinterest.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the zoo.  Remember Austin's first trip to the zoo about 2 years ago?  He's a little bit more interested in the animals now.  And he even donated 50 cents to help save the rain forest!  Austin went without a nap that day, which isn't something he normally does.  By the time we were leaving the zoo he conked out.

On Sunday night we celebrated Austin's birthday.  He had already found all of his presents earlier, but we made it official with a delicious cake and proper candles.

We planned to head out on Monday afternoon, but not before we took the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese's.  This was Austin's first time, and he LOVED it.  He was a little scared of some of the moving rides at first, but with the help of Uncle Blair and Grandma he got right over that.  Toren and I even had a chance to play one of the basketball arcades.  He beat me 2 of the 3 games we played, but I beat him once!!  You bet I rubbed that in his face the rest of the day.  Of course I only took one picture of our fun day:

As usual, I wish I would have taken more pictures throughout the weekend, but it is what it is...

When Aunt Rara Comes to Town

It's been a tradition for Laura to come home from school and visit us for Memorial Day weekend.  She came in 2010...just days after Autsin was born -- making her the first person on my side of the family to see the Little Monkey.

And then she was here in 2011 to celebrate Austin's FIRST birthday.  And I'm pretty sure this began his obsession with Aunt Rara.  He seriously can't get enough of her, and he asks about her every day.  I admit, she is pretty cool.

So, of course she came this year...and brought her fiance, Scott, with her.  Austin talked about them all day before we picked them up from the airport.  But, true to Austin's style, once we picked them up he was stone faced and seemingly unamused...or even quite unhappy...that they were even there.  With enough tickles and smoochies, though, they got Austin to open up.  And it was all downhill from there -- the show off was unleashed!

Laura and Scott flew in on Thursday evening.  On Friday we went downtown to see some of the sights.  We visited the troll under the bridge, gasworks park, and ate some amazing burgers and onion rings and Red Mill  Burgers (which was featured on the TV show Man v. Food).  We came back and the boys (minus Austin, who went to bed) went to see the Avengers, while I hosted a bridal shower for Laura.

Saturday morning we had tickets to go to the Mariners game, and we decided to visit Pike's Place Market before heading down to the stadium (no pictures of that).  It was the perfect day for a game.  The M's lost, but we all had a great time.  Austin loved cheering "go Mariners!" at both appropriate and random times.  I wish I would have taken more pictures at the game...or really throughout the weekend in general.  I don't even have physical evidence that Scott was with us.  I guess they'll just have to come visit again!

Just found some evidence.  Aren't they cute?

Austin Turns TWO!!

I can't believe my little baby is TWO years old (as of May 27th).  The first year felt like an eternity to survive, but the second year sure flew by.  And I fear that it only gets worse!!

When Austin woke up we gave him quite the overwhelming attention.  We kept saying "Happy Birthday Austin!"  And, groggily, he'd reply "happy birthday..."  He didn't quite get what all the hullabaloo was about.  We told him there was a surprise downstairs -- to which he couldn't resist his excitement (he does know what surprises are)!

His first birthday surprise was an awesome train table and train set.  We got the table and multiple train sets for FREE from some good friend that were desperate to get it out of our house.  We were honored to help them in their time of need....  Plus, Austin LOVES it.  Doesn't he look quite irresistible in the little train hat?

I was snapping photos right and left, of course, which Austin could only tolerate for so long.  He lost his patience with me and told me to "GO!"  Then he hid below the table.  He's got a little attitude sometimes.

Aunt Laura and Uncle Scott were in town (posts about their visit coming soon), and we invited  Nana and Papa Spader over for dinner that evening.  After our delicious meal Austin opened his presents.  We could have given him any ONE of his many presents and he would have been more than satisfied.

Nana and Papa gave him a monster truck and some squirt guns (which have already been taken away for squirting me in the house multiple times).  We got him his very own lawnmower and a trike (which we're actually borrowing for the summer from another good friend for FREE...we love our friends!).  My creative sister bought Austin his very own wallet and made him his own license, cash, debit and credit cards.  It is so cute.  He likes to keep his wallet in the trunk of his bike...for obvious reasons.

And then....the cake!  I wanted to do a real cutsie cake just for Austin, but then I got lazy and decided to do a delicious cake for all of us.  I completely forgot to buy birthday candles, so Austin had to blow out tea lights.  Luckily we only needed two of them.  Austin -- and the rest of us -- approved of the cake and ended the night feeling stuffed and satisfied.  Happy Birthday Austin!