I Don't Want To Forget!

Austin is now 18 months. I don't know about the rest of you with kids, but I'm pretty sure this stage has got to be one of the most fun parts of being a parent. Pretty much since he started walking, it has been non-stop entertainment. And I really don't want to forget all the fun things he's said & done in the last 6 months, so here are some of our favorite recent Austin-isms.

- He calls Alan "Dee-dah." Especially when Alan does something particularly entertaining to Austin. "Oh, Dee-dah" he'll say. It's so precious.

- He loves throwing things in the trash. If he sees anything that looks even remotely like garbage, he'll pick it up and with a big smile on his face say "Trash!" and go throw it away. Sometimes very helpful, others not so much. Oh, and he has to throw his diaper away after we change him. No exceptions. So I've become an expert at wrapping that thing up so tight that only sanitary parts are exposed.

- He runs with the quickest, shortest, most inefficient steps I've ever seen. But he loves to run!

- He loves when friends come over to our house and he loves playing with other kids. He also HATES it when anyone leaves. (Parents & friends included.) He watches them from the window as they leave and just cries and says "bye" through his sobs. Luckily, he's easily consoled and gets back to playing really quickly. It's really sweet.

- He loves all books, but right now he especially loves his Farmyard Tales and Ted & Friends books that have a little yellow duck on each page. Every time we read books, he says "Duck!" and brings me one of those books. And he couldn't care less about the words or stories in the book. He just wants to turn pages and find that duck. And yes, he has been known to find that dang duck before I do. He's gotten pretty good.

- Some other favorite games right now are coloring, playing with blocks, and rolling cars & trains down our ramp, which we make by unscrewing 2 legs off our cheap coffee table.

- Every night after we brush our teeth, he knows it's time for prayers. He folds his arms & calls for which ever parent isn't holding him, to make sure we're all there. And, most of the time, he sits still on one of our laps and quietly watches the other one pray. And as soon as we say "Amen" he's off our lap and runs to get his bedtime story.

- And the best part of every day is checking in on our sleeping boy right before Alan and I go to bed. He's in a different position almost every night, but he ALWAYS has his doggy nearby. Usually tucked under his arm or hidden underneath him. No matter how long or stressful the day has been, that moment brings everything back into perspective & brings me so much peace.

- Finally, here are some of Austin's favorite words to say. There are too many to list, but these are some of the most common & entertaining: Hi! Bye, back, Dee-dah, hot, hat, cheese!, choo-choo, ABC, appletree, blue, yellow, blocks, water, window, all done, shoes, socks, bee-ball (Which covers baseball, football, basketball, yellow ball, blue pokey ball, and just plain old ball.) He has also just started putting 2 words together, like he'll say "Daddy back?" or "Mommy shoes." Such a smart boy.

And no post about our boy would be complete without some pictures. Enjoy!