It's Been 10 Months (wow!)

As usual, I can't believe it's been another month.  I must admit that this last month flew by particularly fast.  Every day it seems more like Austin is turning from a little baby into a little boy.  He is always happy and has a silly little personality.

At ten months Austin...

...is starting to let go while standing up.
...babbles ALL day long
...pulls on his ears when he's tired.
...loves to dance to music.
...is eating more and more solid foods (mac & cheese, hot dogs, french toast, string cheese, cooked carrots and peas, bananas, cheese quesadillas, PB & J sandwiches)
...sleeps completely through the night.
...says ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and da-da-da-da-da-da
...is fascinated with all types of animals.
...loves to splash in the bath.
...laughs constantly.
...is starting to throw and drop things on purpose (and he always thinks it's hilarious).
...likes to be chased or play "hide and seek."
...loves to bush his teeth.

Taking the Train to Portland (and 9 Month Stats)

Austin had his nine month appointment Monday morning.  The doctor said he's as healthy as a clam, though we need to really encourage him to keep eating more solid foods because he's a bit of a lightweight.  She said it's probably because he's been burning so many calories by crawling around (nonstop), so she's too not concerned.

Austin's 9 Month Stats:
Weight: 18 lbs 10 ounces (25th percentile)
Height: 28.25 inches (75th percentile)
Head: 45.6 centimeters (75th percentile)

Then Monday afternoon Austin and I caught the train to Portland.  Toren is working in Southwest Washington this week so we thought it would be perfect to squeeze a visit in for all of us since he'd already be so close.

I was a little nervous about the 3.5 hour train ride.  I just knew it would be hard to contain Austin for that long.  We left right around nap time and I desperately (and a little too optimistically perhaps) hoped that he's just sleep for most of the ride.  Here's what happened, step by step...

He slept for only about 45 minutes, which meant that we repeated steps 4-8 about 100 times before we finally made it to Oregon.  It actually went much better than I expected, though we did have to walk up and down the train 4 or 5 times.  Luckily he very easily charmed the conductor and passengers -- as usual.

Nine IN and Nine OUT

Austin has officially been out of my belly as long as he was in (well, not technically because he was five days late, but whatever).  I know I say this every month, but I really can't believe it.   I was okay when 6 months came along, and 7 months seemed close enough to 6, and 8 months was really only 2 months past 6, but NINE MONTHS!?!??!  It's just too close to one year, which I am not ready for.  It seems like Austin is practically changing over night these days.  His personality is really starting to shine through -- he's becoming quite a little cheeser.  Nearly all the conversations Toren and I have start with something like "Can you believe how cute he is?" or "Austin is such a silly little guy!" or "Hurry, look at what Austin is doing!"  Yes, we're those kind of sappy parents.  And we love (almost) every second of it.

At nine months Austin...

...has finally decided he likes real solid foods....sometimes (Cheerios, pancakes, scrambled eggs, fishy crackers, ham, graham crackers, spaghetti noodles....uh, whipped cream).
...can successfully climb up the one stair from the family room to the kitchen.
...loves going to church.
...will not nap unless he's in his crib or his carseat.
...pulls himself up on everything.
...takes side steps along the couch.
...makes clicking noises with his tongue.
...loves to swim at the swimming pool.
...is fascinated by the vacuum; he follows it/me around the house.
...takes two 2-hour naps a day most days.
...hates having socks on.
...is constantly crawling; he never stops moving.
...has two very sharp teeth.
...slept from 13.5 hours straight the other night.
...is becoming a bit of a mama's boy.

And after nine months of motherhood I....

...am finally getting good sleep at night.

...can finally fit into my smallest pre-pregnancy jeans.

...finally feel like I might be able to do this.

Happy Sunday Morning!

Hopefully yours starts off a little better (or at least cleaner) than ours...

And -- of course -- I just washed his bedding yesterday!

Happy Day of Love (and Beagle Kisses)

Austin's First Girlfriend

Austin has always been quite the ladies man.  Toren will say that it's because Austin takes after him, and I feel obligated to remind him of the many years I spent dodging flocks of men before we got married.  Either way Austin is going to be the cause of plenty of broken hearts over the next 30 years (at which point he will become eligible to date).  Needless to say, Austin already has a sweet little gal pal, Jessalyn.

Jessalyn is one month older than Austin and absolutely adorable.  She is in our ward and the daughter of my friend, Missy.  They love to poke, grab, and take toys from each other.  The other day Jessalyn even grabbed Austin's binkie out of his mouth and put it in hers!  They are so fun to watch, and I'm excited to see them grow up together.

Yesterday Austin and I went to a Valentine's Day party for the under 5's in our ward.  Austin, of course, spent most of his time with Jessalyn.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Jessalyn facing the camera, but she is a cutie.

Yes, he's going for her binkie in the first picture.

Month-Long Cold, Bronchitis, and TWO Ear Infections

Austin's been sick for almost a month now.  Just as it seems like he's feeling better...WHAM...he gets worse.  It's been absolutely brutal (for him and for me).  Well, over the weekend it just got insane.  I called the doctor's office Monday morning and they squeezed him in that evening.

He has bronchitis and infections in BOTH ears. 

The nurse gave him and Albuterol treatment to help loosen up the mucus on his lungs.  She said she couldn't believe how bad it was.  He was wheezing and coughing and snotting all over.  Despite it all, though, you better believe he was still flirting with all the nurses.  We got some antibiotics for his ears.  He's already feeling much better today, though the doctor said the bronchitis would probably stick around for at least another week.

The frustrating thing is that we were at the doctor's last week for the second round of the flu vaccine, and I had the doctor check his ears because I thought he had an infection.  She (not our usual doctor, by the way) said he had a little fluid but nothing that really needed antibiotics.  Oh well.  At least we have them now and they seem to be working.  Let's just hope that this is the end of the sick plague at our house.

So we spent today just bumming around the house.  Austin and Baxter spent a good deal of time wishing they could go play outside in the backyard.  Unfortunately it was only 40 degrees.