You Can NOT Be Serious....

It's already started??? He's only eight months old!!! I'm pretty sure I'm in big trouble, this kid is way too smart for me!!!(He took the game out of the cupboard and used it to reach higher up on the shelf.)

If I didn't have this picture I don't think anyone would believe that he actually does this. This pic is of his first time doing it, but it has happened again and again since then.

In other my baby is incredibly smart news, Austen has started doing two new things that are totally cute. Unfotunately I haven't been able to get pictures of his newest, but try to visualize. First, he has learned to close his eyes on purpose. It's one of the funniest things I have ever seen because it takes all of his concentration and every muscle in his face. He even scrunches up his shoulders when he does it. Even with all that effort his eyes don't usually close all the way....it's more of a squint, but he is very proud of himself when he does it. I always laugh at it and he'll do anything for a laugh (sound familiar??) so he'll do it over and over. Very funny!!

Second, he has learned to wave. This is totally cute!!! Especially when he waves good-bye to Brian in the mornings.

He has learned how to escape from his bouncy chair even while buckled in. This has forced me to borrow a pack-n-play from my sister to contain him.
Just a really cute pic of him sitting in daddy's chair.


I am loving hats on him lately, so here's a couple cute pics of him in hats.

And for those of you who read my blog, the week of hell (trying to get Austen to be able to put himself to sleep) turned into eight days. I have never heard of it taking anyone that long! So, I gave up. I will try again in a month when he's a little bit older and see if he's ready then. And yes I did it right. That's the first thing everyone asks. I never took him out of his crib and I wasn't feeding him either. I am at a loss, so if you have any ideas please comment!

I've Been Replaced......

By Curious George!!!!

You're going to need the backstory.....here goes. Austen and I used to cuddle up together before bed. It was my absolute favorite thing ever and I'm pretty sure he loved it too. Now that he's eight months old I figured that unless I want him sleeping with me for the next 15 years I'd better teach him to fall asleep on his own. We are now currently in the midst of "hell week" (not my term, but the name is certainly fitting!). It goes like this...I give Austen his nightime feeding and then put him to bed. He usually cries for about ten minutes before he cuddles up to Curious George and falls asleep. It's so sweet as you can see from the above pics! I bet you're thinking that doesn't sound too bad right??? Well that's because the bad part doesn't come until later. He then proceeds to wake up between midnight and 2 am and doesn't want to go back to sleep without me. He screams and screams for hours. Don't call DCFS.....I go in every 15 mins to calm him down, put in his passa, and put the blankets back on. (Last night this took 3 hours and I wasn't in bed until 3 in the morning.) The ultimate goal is to have him sleeping by himself through the night. Everyone claims this works, but we are already on day 4 and I have yet to be convinced we're any closer. I'm not going to give up, so we'll see. I just keep telling myself that someday his strong will and determination to never give up will actually be a good thing.

Now for the really exciting part of my post.......HE CRAWLS!!!!! A real baby crawl on hands and knees and with his tummy OFF the ground! I am so excited about it that I think I've made Brian accrue about 5 hours of crawling footage with the camcorder. It's just sooooo cute that I want to make sure we capture it. At first he was a little wobbly and it was pretty mechanical looking, but he is getting better at it and a lot faster. Sometimes he thinks the army crawl is more efficient so he switches back to it, but he's doing the scoot less and less. Also, last week I mentioned his balance needed some work before he gave himself a head injury from all the falling. Well, I'm proud to say he is making progress. He hasn't mastered balancing yet, but he is starting to get it and falling a lot less! He has also started to take steps around the ottoman (while still holding on of course) to get to things that are really exciting such as a cell phone or a remote.

I had to include this pic because I think it's funny. He thinks it's hilarious to pull ALL the toys out of his toy box, but I don't, so I try to discourage it. This is a pic of him realizing he's been caught.

And here's some pictures of him crawling. Hopefully you get the idea, but you have to see him in action to appreciate the cuteness.

And.....We're Back!

Okay, we never REALLY went anywhere, I was just too busy to blog so we took a break for a while. We had company in town which was really fun. Austen got to meet his paternal Grandpa and an Aunt and Uncle. Too bad he won't remember it........I guess that's what pictures are for!



Since I last blogged a lot has happened with Austen. He's practically a whole new baby! He sits up, crawls (it's more of scooting than crawling, but it still counts because it gets him where he wants to go), and his newest thing is pulling himself up to stand. This has been the most difficult development for me because he has learned to pull himself up, however he has not mastered balance.......actually I don't even think he gets the concept yet. Since he can't balance whatsoever when he's up, it leads to a lot of falling and crying! I can't leave him for a second and if I do decide that something has to be done....ya know like empty the dishwasher or go pee.... I have to make sure he is confined. No more rolling and scooting around on the floor playing with toys while I cook dinner. Nope, those days are officially on hold....indefinitely. It's alright though because he is just so proud of himself once he gets up. How could I not be just as excited and proud???

Here's a pic of his other new thing.....sleeping on his side. I think it's so cute that he's starting to develop preferences.

I had to include this pic for two reasons. One it's proof he sits up and two I bought this super cute toy that I thought he would love (it shoots balls out, they roll down, and do it again all while playing music) and he is scared of it. He's so scared he will crawl backwards away from it while crying. It sounds awful I know, but it's actually really funny!


Oh, and he got a highchair that he loves to sit and eat in!

This is just a really sweet picture that we took while we were at the zoo. Look at that face!

And last, but not least.......a montage of him pulling himself up and getting into everything! Please look especially close at the top middle pic. It's too funny! I totally caught him getting into the toy cupboard and he just gave me his cute little smile so I wouldn't get mad. (Did I mention he also opens cupboards now?)

What We've Been Up To

Brian has been working a lot lately, but we've still been getting in some fun stuff. I talked Brian into going to the zoo again which was not easy, but it was really fun. The weather was perfect (I was wearing a sweatshirt in August!) which made it nice, but it was also fun because there are a ton of baby animals right now. The cutest was a two week old giraffe. He was so small and wobbly and super fun to watch. I'm trying to get Brian to go back because some baby tigers were just born that I want to see. We'll see....I might be going with my mom instead. We also visited the Dinosaur museum. It was a really hot day so it was nice to be somewhere air conditioned! Brian and I had fun and Austen slept the whole time. It was funny because he stayed awake the whole ride in the car to and from the museum, but the second we got inside he was out. Next week I think it's going to be the aquarium....stay tuned for pics.

Austen's still really into his feet as you can see.Proof we visited the dino museum

Here's Austen enjoying the walk around the museum

I had to throw in this pic! I just took it 3 minutes ago, so this is what I'm looking at while blogging. (He was asleep when I started, but he just woke up in a really good mood. That means I get to finish this post!)

Oh and I can't forget to include the biggest adventure of the week, perhaps the biggest adventure since Austen was born.....Brian went skydiving!!! I can not believe he did it, but he was dead set on going, so here's the evidence. (I was wondering if this was maybe a midlife crisis?? After he told me yesterday he wants to cage dive with great white sharks, I'm pretty positive about the midlife crisis thing.)

7 Months Old

Hopefully you're as shocked about this as I am! I know I always say this, but I really can't believe he's that old. Maybe time goes by so fast because my little rascal is keeping me very busy!? Just a theory....Anyway, he's been up to a lot of new stuff this month. He loves rolling around to get into stuff and he still isn't a fan of being restrained. He thinks there is too much to do to be okay with sitting still. He thinks Sophie is the funniest thing on the planet. He works so hard to roll over to wherever she is and as soon as he gets there she'll get up and go somewhere else. He is her number one fan, but unfortunately the feeling's not mutual. She tolerates him, but it only took her losing a few clumps of hair to realize she didn't want him getting too close. Sometimes at night Sophie gets crazy and runs all over the house really fast and Austen thinks that's hilarious!!! He giggles at her for as long as she'll do it. I can't even get him to laugh that hard at me!

Austen's also started eating baby food in addition to his rice cereal. His favorite is the sweet potatoes and the squash, but he absolutely hates peas and peaches. He is up on all fours and rocking, so I'm pretty sure crawling is next. I know I've been saying he's close to crawling for a while, but now he's really close. He really doesn't even need to crawl because he has devised a pretty effective method for getting around. He rolls, pivets, and scoots so he can get pretty much everywhere doing that.

Here's a pic of him on all fours.

In an earlier post I mentioned that Austen hangs himself upside down out of his boucy chair, well I finally got a piture of it...

Yes his head is touching the ground!




Here's a pic of his first taste of baby food. He wasn't quite sure if he should swallow it, but once he did he realized it wasn't too bad.

He's been rolling all over for a while now, but recently he has become more adventurous. The other day I heard a frantic sounding cry and I couldn't see him from where I was (I was in the kitchen which is connected to the fam room) so I got worried. I ran in and found him stuck between the couch and the ottoman. I know I should have helped him, but he was making the funniest faces while he was trying to get out. I grabbed my camera instead. I got about 10 pictures all with a different face.....here's a couple of my favorites.

If you're laughing, that's just a taste of what I get to experience everyday. I feel like I can never get everything done because I just want to sit on the floor and play with him. I am so blessed to have my sweet little entertainer with me all day. I love him so much!!! (And it's ok if I don't get around to cooking or cleaning because I have also been blessed with an amazing partner that cleans and doesn't mind takeout!)

Cute Pics

I don't have any great stories for this post, or even any not so great stories for that matter, but I DO have some recent, cute pictures of the little man.

During playtime I lay him down on a blanket in the family room with toys so he can roll around and play. He has recently devolped a new game that he loves to play......He grabs a side of his blanket and rolls himself up into a little baby burrito. He thinks it's super funny and so do I because all I can see when he's done is his lttle legs kicking out the end of the blanket. Here's some pics of his new favorite game. Here he is with a new toy.

He has learned to sit up by himself in his bouncy chair which is totally cute, but not good for me because he can push himself over the front. I used to lay him in this chair while I showered, but now I can't....time to think of something new to restrain him, which is becoming harder and harder these days!

And finally.....this is just a really cute smile! (Don't mind the blurry hand!)

There's More Where That Came From...

Alright, either I'm really vein, or just proud of my super cute family. I'd like to think it's the latter, but regardless here's some more pictures from family pic day.

This one's Brian's fav

And one of my favorites.....how can I pick just one, really?

How cute...look at those squishy legs!

This is right up there as my favorite too!