Bathtub Full of Toys

Did you know one of the funniest things on earth is when Big Brother fills your entire bath tub with ALL of the bath toys?  According to Austin, it's pretty awesome.

Cooper, April 2009, seven months

Austin, June 2012, eight months

Check out this similar post of Cooper when he was only seven months old!

My Little Gardeners

After a long walk/run for Mama, lots of swinging, some play time in the pool, and chasing Cooper around the backyard with the water hose, the boys settled in the grass to help me with some gardening.  Oh, and who says you have to wear clothes to garden?

Cooper was so sweet and protective of Austin, watching out to make sure he didn't put anything in his mouth that was dangerous.  I kept hearing him say, "No, no Austin Buddy.  That's dangerous.  That's only for big boys.  You have to be careful on construction sites."  Makes my heart smile.

Austin: 7 Months

How are we at seven months already?!

At seven months, so far, Austin:

• Loves, loves, loves, loves solid food!  This little guy can eat!
• Sleeping?  We're still working on long stretches on night.  Needless to say, I'm tired of still only "napping" at night.
• Just figured out how to clap, and is so proud of himself!
• Every couple of days, he will make a new noise.  Sometimes it's a grunt; sometimes it's a growl; sometimes it's a gurgle.  He'll make the noise over and over for several days before moving on to a new noise.  Whatever the sound, I think he likes them because they tickle his throat, and I love to hear them.
• He is full of babbles and chatter!  And makes the cutest faces as he gets louder and louder.
• Started going from laying down to sitting up a few weeks ago.
• A professional wiggler when it comes to getting his diaper changed.  I have to pull out every distraction I can think of to keep him still and even that only lasts about 3 seconds.  Needless to say, I've had to learn how to put a diaper on him while he lays on his tummy.
• Loves his blankie.  I've noticed on the monitor several times when he's sleeping or falling asleep and scoots his hands around his crib looking for his blankie.  The second he finds it, he tucks it under his arm and settles in to sleep.  
• He's sweet, cuddly, content, easy going, and starting to show signs of interest and intrigue in everyday items (bowls, spoons, cups).

Also at seven months, Austin loves to show off the biggest, best, happiest, squishy face smile I've ever seen.  He does this all day long, everywhere we go.  When people say hello to him while we're out, his sweet little face transforms into this smile and he buries his head into my shoulder.  So stinkin cute.

05.18.2012

Teeth, Teeth, and More Teeth

Apparently Austin doesn't like to waste any time cutting teeth.  He's cutting THREE on the top right now.  Luckily he hasn't been too miserable.  He chews on his thumb a lot and is drooling a moderate amount, but really, he hasn't been too fussy, which is nice.

And, honestly, when he smiles like this at me all day long, you'd never know a single thing was bothering him.

Does this smile melt you like it melts me?

Good Morning!

I can never get enough of this sweet face happily greeting me each and every morning.

Folks, We Have a Crawler

Yep, that's right.  My little Austin Boo is crawling! He's been making strides all week, working a little harder and harder each day to make forward movement. But today was officially the first day that I put Austin down in one spot in the playroom, walked into kitchen, and returned to Austin on the complete opposite side of where I left him.  And what did he crawl toward?  Drake's orange ball.  It seems to be his absolute favorite toy these days.  But, when Austin dropped the ball, Drake went to fetch it up, and didn't give it back, resulting in big tears from little Austin.  And I thought I would have to referee between Austin and Cooper.

Cooper has been so excited and encouraging of Austin, giving him a "fireman badge" each time Austin crawls.  I took a picture of Austin with all of his fireman badges.  I lost count, but he earned at least eight from Fireman Cooper.

So proud of earning all of his fireman badges!  Can you see them?  They are all over his tummy.  ;)

Getting into crawling position...

And ready!  Yep, he kind of crawls like a crab.  (And sorry these are blurry.  My favorite lens is having issues.)

Before he fully started crawling forward, he would crawl backward and get a little stuck.  I would find him under chairs, under the kitchen table, or in the corner behind a door.

And he usually had this look on his face.

Not sure if I'm ready for this crawling stage, but there's no turning back now!

05.31.2012

A Day with Thomas the Train

We heard Thomas the Train was coming to town and thought it would be a fun outing for Coop.  He had a great time and loved seeing Thomas up close.  It's funny, though.  He's never actually seen a Thomas cartoon on TV; he's only read books about Thomas and all his friends.  But, he was still excited to see Thomas and look at all of the train goodies!

"All da board!!"

04.15.2012