Can you believe it's been 18 months?!! I know, me neither. I can't even believe it's been 6 months since his birthday. Technically, though, he's not 18 months until next Sunday, but we went to the doctor already. She wanted him to see him a week before we left for Thailand just in case he had any reactions to his immunizations.
This was the first time that Austin expressed any opinion about being at the doctors -- a negative opinion, of course. He screamed as he was weighed and measured...literally screamed. And then he went ballistic when the doctor tried to listen to his lungs and look into his ears. He's been going through a pretty severe case of separation anxiety lately (perfect time to send him to nursery, right?), so maybe he thought the doctor was going to take him. Whatever it was, he was not happy and he let us know. And then the nurse gave him two shots. So, yeah, it was a pretty traumatic experience -- for both of us.
BUT, I love his pediatrician. I feel like a super mom after talking to her. As usual, Austin is right on track in every way. He still isn't talking as much as would be convenient for me (though the doctor says he's where he should be), but I guess it's a bit unrealistic to expect him to say, "Mom, I'm hungry. I would like a grilled cheese, some grapes, and water in my blue sippy cup." So, for now I'll just keep interpreting the words and half words he does say.
Austin's 18 Month Stats:
Weight: 25.2 pounds (50 percentile)
Height: 32.75 inches (75 percentile)
Head: 48 centimeters (50 percentile)
Most popular vocab words: mama, dada, nana, papa, baa (Baxter), more, milk, no-no, caca (if something is gross), uh uh (uh oh), lala (Laura, as in Aunt Laura), go (in direct command to Baxter), hi, bye.
We love little Austin more than ever these days. He's so fun and silly all the time. He has a charming little personality. At 18 months, Austin...
...is showing a streak of independence.
...does things he knows are "no-no's" on purpose (and he looks at us while doing them to see how far he can get without us stopping him).
...could probably eat cheese for every meal (especially cheddar).
...has started getting embarrassed easily.
...loves Sesame Street.
...barks when he sees a dog.
...has been taking 3 or 4 hour naps regularly (which has been heavenly for me).
...is obsessed with airplanes.
...is starting to play on his own a little more
....loves to Skype with his Nana.
...makes the appropriate sounds when playing with his dinosaurs or cars.
...has been put on time out a handful of times.
...climbs on everything.
...love to dunk his fries (or anything really) in "dippies" (ketchup, ranch, etc.).
...signs some words (milk, more, food, all done, please)
...loves to give his Daddy zugas (or raspberries if that's what you call them).
...has almost a full set of teeth.
...loves to be naked.
Notice the monkey backpack in the bottom middle picture. It attaches to a "leash" so he can't wander too far from us. We bought it for our trip to Thailand and he LOVES wearing it. Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?
Saturday, November 19, 2011
18-Month Check-Up
Posted by Audrey 3 comments
Monday, November 14, 2011
Happy Halloween (Two Weeks Ago!)
I honestly don't know how time goes by so fast. It seriously feels like Halloween was last weekend. We had a great Halloween. We went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat on Saturday. Austin wasn't too excited about his costume (interpret that as "screamed bloody murder when we finally forced it on him"), but he tolerated it once we got to the church and he realized that all the other kids were also wearing costumes. And, by the time he discovered how to get candy, he had completely forgotten about the costume after all. It was so cute to see him walk around and hold out his little pumpkin bucket. He didn't want any help, either.
He was a giraffe this year, thanks to our good friends who let us borrow the costume. He also stopped multiple times during the ONE small loop around the parking lot to try to eat some of the candy.
On the actual night of Halloween we stayed home and passed out candy, which Austin loved as well. I look forward to next year when Halloween will probably be even more exciting for him.
And I just couldn't help but remind myself how cute Austin was last Halloween.
I didn't take any pictures at the annual Spader Family Pumpkin Carving Contest, but I did light our pumpkins with pride on Halloween night. Can you tell whose is whose?
Posted by Audrey 2 comments
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Pumpkin Patch 2011
Remember last year when we went to the pumpkin patch with Carmen and Parker? Well, we went back just yesterday. Look at the difference a year makes...
The boys loved checking out all the little pumpkins and gourds. Austin, as usual, did not want me to take his picture -- hence the grumpy face you'll see every one I did take. I'm so happy that Austin has a cousin that lives near him (although, we'd love it if ALL his cousins lived near him). Austin and Parker are great friends already and I can only imagine what fun the next few years will bring.
Posted by Audrey 3 comments
Monday, October 24, 2011
'Twas a Great Day for a Cape
Last Saturday Toren introduced Austin to a cape -- in the form of a backwards bib. Austin loved it! He thought he was pretty cool. And, I'll admit, he was. After wearing the bib around for most of the morning I decided to make him a proper cape out of an old t-shirt of mine. Well, he liked that one even more. I realize he doesn't have pants on, but doesn't that just make him more superheroish?
He even wore it to the annual Spader Family Pumpkin Carving Contest that night (no pictures). All in all, 'twas a great day for a cape!
Posted by Audrey 2 comments
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Our Day Today
I've learned that to be a successful stay-at-home mom I CANNOT stay at home. In fact, staying at home all day ensures that by dinner time (if we are still alive) I am completely bonkers, the house looks war torn, and Austin is practically climbing up the walls. Our best days are spent out and about until lunch/nap time. We go to story time at the library, swimming at the public pool, to Walmart or Costco to browse around, to play dates with friends in the ward. And sometimes we go to the mall.
I hate/love the mall nearby. I hate it because it's a terrible mall (for shopping). But I love it because it's so terrible that it's always deserted. I can let Austin run the length of the mall without getting into anyone's way. And there are two play areas for him to keep busy on. That's where we went today. Sorry about the poor picture quality. I took them with my phone.
As we were migrating to the next play place, Austin noticed Tilt, which, of course, was also deserted. He LOVED it. He probably wandered around checking out the games for at least a good half an hour. He even found tickets that someone left behind -- enough to buy a pixi stick.
On the weeks that Toren is out of town I allow Austin and I to eat out for lunch once (it helps me stay sane). Usually it's the dollar menu at McDonald's or a $1.50 hot dog at Costco, but today I treated us to Panda Express. Austin devoured the spring roll, orange chicken, and rice. He even got his own fortune cookie. I wish I would have taken a picture when he found the fortune inside. His puzzled face was priceless. His fortune read: You would be wise not to seek too much form others at this time. I'll be reminding him of this tomorrow morning when he wants breakfast. Just kidding... Mine was: Lady luck will soon visit you. I already feel incredibly lucky to be able to spend every day moseying around with this handsome boy. I just couldn't ask for anything more!
Posted by Audrey 3 comments
Monday, October 10, 2011
Phone Photo Montage
And, this is my favorite picture of the bunch. We were at a sporting goods store and I put a coonskin cap on Austin thinking he'd pull it right off. Not so. He wore it the entire time we were in the store. He loved it. Luckily, Nana couldn't make him put it away so she bought it for him. Now he wears it around the house every once in a while.
Posted by Audrey 3 comments
Thursday, September 22, 2011
My Busy Boy
Austin is a very busy little guy. I have a hard time keeping him occupied when we're at home (or, keep him occupied and manage to get something productive done). It feels most of our time at home is spent running around in circles -- him destroying the house and me putting it back together.
He won't spend longer than 5 minutes on any one thing! And it would be an absolute miracle if I saw him playing on his own with his toys. Usually he's dragging his toys around and following me as I do chores. Or, he's dragging the toilet plunger around, or trying to suck on the toothpaste he can now reach out of the bathroom drawer, or pulling all the clothes out of our dressers, or climbing in the kitchen cupboards, or sticking pennies, paperclips, batteries, rocks in his mouth (I never know where he finds these treasures since I do keep the house clean). He drive me absolutely insane some days, but I love him to pieces.
I mean, really, how could I not?
Posted by Audrey 2 comments














