Milestones: 19 Months Old

His hair matches his personality!

We are really enjoying this age! Austin is so fun and playful! He is also a handful..... like today at church when I tried changing his diaper in the mothers room and he threw a full on fit in front of all the other mothers and ran around the room naked with poop all over his bum. I was horrified and wanted nothing more than to spank that little naked booty but of course I had all eyes on me and couldn't do anything but gently scold him, wrangle him down to the ground, and attempt to clean the poop off of us both..... good times. I was just as excited as he was to drop him off at the nursery door and let his teachers handle him for a while!

On our way to church! You can tell by that face that nothing good is about to happen....

I try to fill each day with some kind of activity or learning experience to keep him entertained, and most importantly, to tire him out! At the end of each activity, whether it's a trip to the pet store or a walk to the park, I ask, "Austin, did you have fun?" He always responds with, "Fun! Fun!" and I quietly smile and give myself a pat on the back for hopefully providing him with a happy childhood :). Well, now every morning after we do our usual morning routine, Austin starts saying excitedly, "Fun? Fun? Fun!!!" in excited anticipation for what we are going to do today :). Like I said, although he can be a handful, being his parents is such a fun and rewarding experience!

Grandma Porter also likes to keep him busy when she babysits! She is a Montessori Preschool teacher so she likes working with him one on one with all her Montessori stuff. Lucky kid!

Today was water day!

We can't go for walks or to the park without bringing a toy to push. It's all fun and games until Mom has to carry it all home because he suddenly becomes too tired....

Grandma Porter bought him a baby doll and stroller to help him prepare for his new baby sister. It was a genius idea and he is really loving taking care of his baby!

Taking his baby for a walk :).

 I am always singing to the radio in the car and I love watching Austin in the rear view mirror because he is almost always bobbing his head to the music. Last week we were listening to the "I'm so happy" song (I don't know the actual name or artist) and as always I looked in the mirror to see what he was doing. I couldn't hold back the laughter when I saw him clapping along to the song when the lyrics said, "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof." and singing "So Happy! So Happy!" over and over with the chorus of the song! It was such a cute view and I hope I always remember it.

I wish you could see his sweet little face in this picture! This was one of those moments when he wanted to hold my hand in the car so I had to drive with one hand while reaching into the back seat with the other. (Yes, this was taken at a stop light....)

He calls himself "Aussa" and his favorite game is hide and seek. The reason I am mentioning both of these facts together is because he loves to go hide and then start yelling, "Aussa!" over and over again until we come find him :). It gets even cuter if we wait to find him because he then switches over to, "Josh? Ash?" over and over until we come find him (hehe). I don't know what I find cuter, being called Momma and Daddy or Josh and Ash. They both sound so adorable coming out of his little mouth!

He LOVES his Daddy so much!!! You can't blame him though, Josh is definitely the fun one who has the energy to chase him around the house, pull him in his wagon, and wrestle with him on the LoveSac. When Dada walks through the door from work, Austin runs to him and jumps into his arms screaming, "Dada!" I'm not gonna lie, I feel a twinge of jealousy each time because he does not react that way AT ALL when Momma walks in the door from work! He looks up from what he is doing, gives me a smile, and then resumes what he was doing..... I have no idea why he does that and it drives me nuts! I miss him so much while I am away and I would love nothing more than for him to run to me the way he does for Josh. Maybe he is punishing me for leaving him? I try not to dwell on it.....

He has become a pro at mimicking everything we say. Now when he falls down he says, "Oh goodness!" or "Oh geeze" or "Oh shoot!" just like I always say. The oh shoot part sounds really close to the naughty version of the word so we have been trying to get him to stop saying that one.... On a not so cute note, he also has mastered the word, "Stop it!" and yells it at us with the angriest, most serious face he can muster whenever we try making him do something he doesn't want to do..... He has also recently learned how to sweetly say sorry and gently pats your head when he does it. That one is my favorite because of how quickly he changes his voice once he realizes he has hurt you. He suddenly becomes so innocent! You can't help but instantly forgive him.

The other morning I walked into his bedroom to get him up for the day and he pointed at me and said, "OOooo! Pretty!!" It made my whole day and I must have shown it because he does it a lot now. He says it whenever he notices my jewelry, or plays with my hair. Of course I have to have actually put on jewelry and done my hair but I will willingly get dolled up any day to get a compliment like that from him!

Yeah, we have a lot of fun :).

I love this kids' hugs more than anything in the world!

....and lucky for me, he was in a very huggable mood on this day!

I know I am biased, but he is truly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!

You would never know this was what we were dealing with just fifteen minutes prior!

Some fun moments over the past month:

There's nothing cuter than a chubby baby bum!

Especially when it's escaping up the stairs with its puppy!

He loves sitting with his Daddy and watching movies/sports or climbing on his lap and teasing him until his dad plays with him or chases him around the house.

Trying to fit in with the big kids at the skate park. The stuffed dog in the wagon really makes him look like a tough guy hahaha!

He is always in a cuddly mood when he first wakes up from his nap. Sometimes it is a happy cuddle, and sometimes it is a miserable, crying cuddle. Either way, he always has his blankie!

His bed-head kills me! If I'm ever needing a good laugh, all I have to do is go get him out of his crib after a nap.

Loving his baby!

I love this memory! He brought his baby over to my lap and the three of us cuddled and gave kisses :).

Melt my heart.

Maybe having two babies won't be so difficult after all? We can only hope!

He loves eating at his little table and especially loves using a fork. If the food doesn't require a fork, he just holds onto it.... either way, he won't eat without it!

Bath time! This poor kid is constantly falling and smacking his forehead. Lately he has had a permanent unicorn horn in between his eyes!

Grandma and Grandpa Ronnenkamp came to visit before we left for California and we had a great time!

Grandma can't get enough of her little twin.

It is evident by the constant smooches!

Austin got to show grandma all of his favorite movies.

The gang.

Grandma had fun giving Austin a bath and Austin had fun doing circus tricks for her :). This kid will do anything for attention!

Sadly, he came down with an ear infection during their visit :(. I thought he was just being a Mommas boy because he would not leave my side! I couldn't even do the dishes without him laying on the floor by my feet.

Poor sick baby :(.

We went to the Library for baby story time and had fun playing on the computer afterwards! Austin LOVES technology so of course he would go straight for this.....

We had a park play date with our friends Jura and Juliette after the library and Austin surprised me by wanting to stay in the swing the whole time! Usually he swings once and then wants to get out and go run around.

Happy Valentines Day!

I absolutely LOVE Valentines Day! What is there not to love about a day devoted to making the ones you love feel pampered and special? Josh and I both go a little crazy on this day which is yet another reason why I love it! 

We started the celebration early by having Grandma Porter babysit Austin while Josh and I spent the night at the Mandalay Bay Resort. I got there early since Josh was working and spent a few refreshing hours of solitude in the hotel room reading a romance novel and soaking up the silence! 

And it was marvelous!!!!

Once Josh arrived, we ate a fancy 3 course meal, walked around and talked, and then spent the rest of the night celebrating the holiday like newlyweds ;).

In case you haven't been there, Mandalay Bay is beautiful! We went there last year too and have decided it is going to be our tradition to stay there every Valentines Day.

We woke up early simply out of habit. It's sad that we can't even sleep in when we have the chance but Austin has trained us well! So I spent the first part of the wonderful morning soaking in a giant bath tub and watching the morning news while Josh stayed in bed with his own TV and watched the sports highlights from the day before. 

Then we went to a little cafe downstairs and got us some drinks before we headed outside to walk around the beautiful grounds, watching the swans swim while soaking up the gentle sunshine :). It was perfect! We have been having the most beautiful weather lately and I can't think of anyone I would rather holds hands and walk with than this handsome stud....

30 weeks pregnant so no judging......

Oh how I love this man!!

 


  Today is actual Valentines Day and it has been just as fabulous as the pre-Valentines Day! We woke up to presents, which Austin was ecstatic about! They weren't all for him but he claimed them all anyway ;)....... especially the little stuffed monkey holding a heart and the soft blanket! He has been dragging them both around the house all day!

Later that morning, Mommy and Austin made our traditional giant pink sugar cookies! This was my favorite tradition growing up and it makes me so happy to incorporate it into my own family. Normally I would do it myself the night before and surprise my boys with them first thing in the morning but I thought it would be a fun activity to do with Austin this year. I was right! He loved it!! His favorite part was pounding the cookie dough and screaming lol. 

"Don't look Daddy, this one's for you!"

Mommy attempting to show him how to mold the cookie into a heart, which he instantly destroyed once left to use his own creative molding.

I love that my baby is old enough to do fun things like this, but it also makes me sad that he is growing up!

Watching them bake in the oven and saying, "OOOoooo!!!!" over and over :).

And then the moment we had all been waiting for........ the final product!!

Frosting them was difficult since Austin kept sticking his fingers in the frosting when I wasn't looking....

Sharing some frosting with Daddy!

He approves :).

...........and just to show you how much our little man has grown!

Valentines Day 2015

Valentines Day 2014

 After being induced into a sugar coma, Austin went down for a nap while Mom and Dad watched the movie Valentines Day and ate soup from Zupa's for lunch! After the little man woke up we spent the rest of the afternoon at the park until the sun began to set. It has been the perfect day with the two people I love more than anything in the world!

The Weekly Ten

1) I finished my preceptorship at work, so starting next week I will be a completely independent nurse! I'm scared because it is always nice to have a preceptor nearby to answer questions but I am also excited to have some autonomy!

2) Josh went to lunch with some coworkers and they ended up being seated at the bar because it was so crowded. The funny part of the story occurred when the waitress singled Josh out and carded him. He questioned why he would need to show ID because all he ordered was a Pepsi and she told him he doesn't look old enough to be sitting at the bar with everyone else. He is 30 just in case you were wondering hahaha.

3) We were so excited for Austin to turn 18 months old so he could start going to Nursery, allowing Josh and I to enjoy 2 hours of uninterrupted peace and learning. Oh the ironies of life! We got called into the Bishop's office on Sunday and were asked if we would accept the calling of Nursery Leaders!! We accepted the calling and sadly watched the vision of "adult time" fly out the window. Our ward is huge so there are two nurseries. Austin will be in the younger nursery in the classroom next to us. The Bishop said we could put him in our class if we  wanted to but he loves his teachers and is doing so well with the kids his age. So we are going to leave things as they are.

4) Grandma Helm had knee surgery this week and is doing well. I visited her in the hospital the day after the surgery while a friend in the ward watched Austin. My Aunt Nancy from Texas is staying with her for now and then it will be up to me to continue taking care of her as needed. I love my Grandma and will happily accept the caretaker role, but it feels like just one more stressful thing to add to my crazy life. 

5) Speaking of stress, I have been feeling this overwhelming feeling of anxiety that the baby will be here in two short months and I can't keep up with my life enough to prepare for her! I have a to do list that just keeps growing and growing and there's just not enough time or energy to do it all!! 

6) Austin almost died this week. I'm pretty sure he almost dies every week but this time was especially scary! I was at a friend's garage sale going through her baby girl clothes while Austin happily played with her daughter next to me. Then suddenly I heard the garbage truck coming up the street and just happened to glance in that direction when I saw Austin running out into the street!!! I bolted after him screaming with horrible visions of his tiny body being crushed under those huge tires running through my mind, but he ignored me (of course). The garbage man didn't see him and kept driving, literally almost running him over! I grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the way just as he was within a foot of death and then began yelling "NO! NO!!" over and over at him as my shaking body carried him back to the sidewalk. I have no idea how my fat, 7 months pregnant body got to him in time but I thank God that I did and he is still alive! Well, for now at least. Everybody said boys are fun but they left out the little detail about how hard it is to keep them alive!

7) They've started building homes right in front of our house :(. That means we are losing our beautiful view of the sun setting over the mountains AND construction starts bright and early at 6:00am. I can't even tell you how loud it is! It is so irritating because I get up at 3:00am for work and really depend on my off days to catch up on sleep. Back to that irony thing again!

8) Josh is flourishing at work and has been bringing in a lot of commissions! He has stunned his employer with how fast he has caught on. Apparently you don't normally get your first commission check until you've worked for about 6 months and he got his first check after two weeks!

9) I was going to wait until summer to schedule Austin's 18 month immunizations because he picked up Croup from the doctor's office the last time he got his shots and I will do anything to keep from going through that again. But I changed my mind due to the huge Measles outbreak going on all over the country and made the appointment for next week. Fingers crossed that we can get in and out without bringing any fun germs home. 

10) Allergy season is here!! I have dealt with horrible seasonal allergies my whole life and sadly I passed on that gene to our son :(. The poor baby has had he worst allergies and there is no allergy medicine for kids under 6 years old! The drainage has gone to his lungs and he now has a cough that keeps us all up every night and a runny nose that leaves me chasing him around the house all day trying to suction his nose out! I'm going to have to ask the doctor about it at his immunizations appointment and see if they can make an exception for Benadryl or something.