Milestones: 20 Months Old

Austin's vocabulary is growing like crazy! He chats away all day long and sometimes clear into the night when he should be sleeping.... We get a kick out of standing by his door at night and listening to him talk to himself ;).

I had a very special moment with Austin a few weeks ago that left me slightly freaked out, but in awe of how close our little ones are to heaven and what's on the other side of the veil. It was one of those nights when we could hear him talking instead of sleeping and I was getting tired of waiting for him to go to bed so I went into his room to try and rock him to sleep. What I saw was eerie and had me slightly creeped out. Austin was sitting cross-legged in his bed, staring at something in front of him. Normally when someone enters the room he immediately turns his attention to them, but not this time. Not even me walking over to him and picking him up got him to look away at whatever it was he was staring at. I sat in the rocking chair with him on my lap and began rocking and quietly talking to him, but he just kept staring! I was starting to freak out, thinking he might have had a stroke or a seizure or something! What in the world was going on?! Why was he so calm and unresponsive?! Why wouldn't he look at me when I talked to him?! Then it got even more scary when he started whispering to whatever it was he was looking at..... That's when it hit me. We weren't alone. I tried so hard to look in the same direction and see if I could see it too, but there was nothing. I tried really hard to not get totally freaked out and leave the room that was obviously haunted but I was intrigued all at the same time. So there we sat, rocking, staring, and whispering to our unseen friend for over an hour until I realized he wasn't going to go to sleep. So I put him back in his bed and left him and his friend alone to converse so one of us could get some shut eye.

Here's where it gets crazy! The next morning Austin was suddenly very aware of my belly and what was inside! We have tried explaining the whole pregnancy/baby sister coming soon thing but he always seemed too young to understand..... until now. Now, he knew very well what was inside. Not only was he obsessed with rubbing and talking to my belly, but he started kissing it too! I asked him, "Austin, is that your baby sister inside?" He responded with, "Sister! Baby!" and lifted up my shirt yet again to give my belly one more kiss! Now he kisses my belly constantly and it is obvious that he is very much aware he has a sister in there. I talked to my Mom and Josh both about it and we all feel his invisible friend he was chatting with that night was either his baby sister visiting him or someone else who explained he has a sister coming to him! It makes me tear up every time I think about it! How amazing is that?!

Another fun story about Austin happened just a couple days ago. I took Austin for our usual afternoon trip to the park and sat in the shade while he ran up and down the big grassy hill in front of me. Then, suddenly he fell to his knees and started yelling, "Momma! Momma!" over and over again until I ran to his side. Once I got there he pointed to the grass and said, "Bee!" I looked down and saw a little box-elder bug (or firebug as we used to call them as kids). I told him that it wasn't a bee and tried getting him to say "firebug" but he was busy making buzzing noises while trying to catch it. I picked it up and showed it to him while it ran over my hands and then passed the bug on to him. He got really excited and spent the next ten minutes dropping it and picking it up again. Then, out of the blue, his boy'ish side got the best of him and he suddenly got the urge to squish the bug! He made his hulk face and did the hulk grunt and then the poor bug was history..... I tried explaining to him that he had now killed the bug and it couldn't play with him anymore, but he was too busy blowing on it, trying to get it to come back to life. The innocence of his thinking made me laugh so hard! I pity that poor bug and all the other bugs that are yet to cross Austin's path.....

Some fun moments over the past month:

Playing at the park with Momma!

Mom, Austin, and the belly (33 weeks) catching some sun!

My baby boy.

Getting up the nerve to tackle the big boy slide!

Play date with his best friend Emmett!

cute baby bums :).

"Look what I found, Austin!"

They were so cute taking turns pushing each other around in the doll stroller :).

And of course Austin had to take a moment to study the mechanics of the stroller. He has done that since he was just a tiny baby! I can see him becoming an engineer when he grows up.

Another thing they have done since they were babies: feeding each other and giving each other drinks! It's so funny to watch!

Being a little stud at Chuck-E-Cheese with Grandma P.

Taking a ride in his big boy car seat! He loves being able to face forward and see out the window and I love being able to see him better and watch all the funny things he does!

Hanging out with Mom and eating popcorn when he should have been napping....

Playing in the box the new car seat came in with Daddy! You can't see this, but he has his monkey, bottle, snacks, and blankets in his "house" too! (hehe)

Playing outside in the beautiful spring weather with Grandma P.

Taking a break from all that playing to eat a snack.

He is so lucky to have his own personal Montessori teacher (Grandma P.)! She comes up with the greatest activities to teach him sensory learning and other life skills he will need for the future! I'm just happy to see him doing the dishes! :)