This little man brings so much joy into our lives! Austin has been with us for a whole year and a half, and in commemoration of this milestone he went off and got his very first scraped knee today. First day of the season wearing shorts and he's already tearing up those knees. His personality is really starting to shine now that he's firmly in the toddler stage, and I love it.
Some tidbits about Austin at 18 months:
- He is rather attached to his white blanket with elephants on it, as well as his black lab puppy. He always goes to bed with one tucked in each of his arms, and gives them both many snuggles.
- Speaking of snuggles, he's STILL quite the snuggler. Honestly, I keep expecting his love for snuggling to end any day, but at the same time... well... he really, REALLY likes snuggling.
- I say this in every post, but that's because it's true: he has the BEST laugh. It's jolly and rich and loud. I wish I could bottle that laughter up and listen to it always.
- He likes cats and dogs, but seems to favor cats. He gets hyper and screechy and bouncy any time he's near one. If I could figure out where to keep a litter box, then I'd go out to buy a cat right this very instant because both kids would love it.
- He shadows his sister all over the house.
- He adores bubbles, balls, and cars. Oh, and playing with our 6-foot tunnel.
- If he could be outside all the time, he would be.
- He says a variety of words. Off the top of my head, some of the most frequently-spoken in his vocabulary are: dad, momma, yeah, no, bubble, doggie, kitty, "Bunkie" (approximately how he pronounces "blanket"), belly, spoon, and shoe. He says other words too, but not as often. I still can't figure out what his word for Nicole is, although I've heard him call her "sis" on occasion. Oh, and his favorite animal sound to make is "baa" for a sheep.
- He loves identifying where his nose and belly are. I've tried to get him to identify other body parts, but he gets so dang excited about his belly (and having his belly tickled) that he can't focus on learning anything else!
- He's very observant, and quite the problem solver. He can already sort blocks through the different-shaped holes in his shapes container, he has a healthy understanding of vocabulary (I often ask him to identify things in books we read i.e. "Where's the duck?" and he can identify a wide variety), and he mimics behaviors very well.
- He loves to help me load the dishwasher, especially silverware. He enjoys helping with laundry too.
- He has been going to nursery at church for several weeks already, and it's been his first experience with being left in a childcare-style environment, aside from the one time I took him to Child Watch at the gym. (It didn't last long... Nicole was in hysterics and I had to leave Barre after only 15 minutes of class. We haven't gone back since, sadly. She's still in that phase, I think.) Overall, he's adjusted very quickly. He loves nursery, and yesterday he didn't even want to leave initially because he was having too much fun.
- He's not as book-obsessed as his older sister (typical with younger siblings, right?) but he still has a selection of favorites. I'd say that "The Farm Book" is probably his top favorite.
- You guys. This kid loves food. He's willing to give any new things I make for dinner a try, and often out-eats his big sister. Some favorite foods are: berries, grapes, peaches, creamy soups (especially homemade tomato), sandwiches of any variety, pasta of any variety, crackers of any variety, yogurt, oatmeal, vegetable/fruit food pouches, refried beans, avocado, anything sweet, and bananas.
- Regarding bananas--he's finally calmed down on his banana obsession (he used to eat at least 1 per day) but still likes having them fairly often. I used to joke to Doug that he must be a member of the Yiga Clan. (Just a little nerdy humor for ya'll, for those who get it.)
- He loves baths.
- He hates having his diaper changed. I usually have to distract him by asking him to open up the clean diaper for me, handing him a lotion bottle, or asking him where his nose is. If none of those work, then it's a squirmy mom-vs-toddler battle, and then I have to snuggle him until he's not furious anymore.
- He loves to sleep. He sometimes walks up the stairs to his room on his own when I tell him it's time to get ready for bed, or says "Yeah" in a drowsy voice when I ask him if he wants to take a nap. He gets 12-13 hours straight at night and gets a good 2-2.5 hour nap in the early afternoon.
- The dimple on his left cheek is still going strong.
- He loves to dance and sing.
- He's always SO excited when daddy comes home from work!
- He consistently makes the cutest little face with puckered eyebrows when he says "no" to something (and I captured that face in the following picture).
- He has the funniest walk/run: he keeps one arm kind of held up by his side and lets the other arm swing back-and-forth wildly as he moves. Aaaah, I love it.
- He enjoys brushing his own teeth, but doesn't like when we follow up afterwards.
- He's thoughtful and considerate, even at this young age. He brings things to Nicole that he knows she likes. He gives out the sweetest hugs. He asks for napkins at the dinner table so he can politely wipe his hands/face while he eats. If he sees trash lying around (a used napkin, food on the ground, a wrapper, etc) he immediately snatches it up and puts it in the trash. If someone forgets to clear their dishes, he clears them himself. (Er... tries to. He can't reach the sink yet.) He tries so hard to do what's right, and gets very sad if he has to be scolded.
Oh man. This kid. He's a cheerful little ball of light, and we love him oh, so much.
Also... check out that robust toddler belly in the next picture. Heart-eyes for days! (Although, he DID gorge himself at a buffet right before the picture was taken, so that probably added to his pooch a bit.)
^^^^I can hear his laughter in my mind when I look at this picture, I love it!
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