Happy Halloween!

Here are some pictures from Austin's first real Halloween. As a 3-month old and a 1-year old, Halloween was not very fun for him, or for us really. But this year was great. We went dancing at Baby Loves Disco last week, which was crazy!! I loved it. Austin had a great time too. Tonight we went trick or treating at Mill Creek Town Center. I knew he would love it because he really enjoys collecting things in containers. He was so cute going up to each person to get candy. He can't say "Thank you" yet; he still signs it and when he signs it, it looks like he's waving. So a lot of people said "Bye!" after he signed Thank You to them. What was even funnier was that Austin expects to hear "You're Welcome" after he signs Thank You, so if someone didn't say "You're Welcome", he just stood there staring at them, doing his little wave sign until I shuffled him away and said "You're Welcome" for them. He's so polite.

BOO

I was reading Austin a Monsters Inc. book tonight and he was reading along. As I've mentioned before he's a great reader. He was saying each letter in the title: "MONSTERS INC" and this specific book was called "BOO", which he spelled "B, O, More O." He's so cute.

Red Robin & Agri-tourism

Went to Red Robin tonight and it was totally fun. That was a total surprise to me. Austin loved it and clapped along with all of the birthday singing. I think it may have been the first meal out where he didn't fuss once.
We also went to the pumpkin patch today with our playgroup, or as I prefer to say 'We experienced Agri-tourism'. Much more fun than last year, when Austin couldn't walk and it was much colder. We had a great time and my hot apple cider was just perfect.

Catching Up

It's been a while since I last wrote. I don't know where to start. As usual, I'd like to share a funny Austin story. Tonight he was having a bit of a difficult time due to a big day of preschool and other Daddy time, and basically no nap. When it was time for bed he started crying. As a result, his nose started running and of course tears were running down his cheeks. He got all upset, demanding "Nose!" so I would wipe his nose and "Eye!" so I would wipe his eyes. But what was funny was that his nose and eyes running would get him even more upset and cause more tears and it was a vicious cycle for him. Very comical to me though. Then he just wanted to cuddle, which was very sweet. It's been a long time since I just rocked him at bedtime.



A couple weeks ago we took a 4-night Celebrity cruise up to Canada and back. Brian & I are big cruisers, having been on about 8 since we got married. B & I always agree on the big issues, vacations included. We wanted to hold off on cruising until Austin was around 5 so he could enjoy it more and take advantage of the ship's kid programs, but we couldn't wait any longer. Our friends Alcena & Jonathan came too with their 14 month old daughter, Lillian. Despite The Most Incompetant Travel Agent in The World, we managed to get ocean view cabins side by side. So each night two of us were able to go out at a time, while two people stayed back and babysat and either hung out together in the hallway or got caught up on sleep. Austin had a great time. And for us, it was nice to be on a ship again, although it was difficult to get any sleep. We all three slept in the same bed, most of the time in a H: B & I on the edges of the bed and Austin sprawled out across the bed hitting and kicking us all night. It was all very exhausting. There was even a day when most of us were seasick, a first for me and totally unexpected. I mean it's a cruise ship; more like a floating city than a boat! Most of all, it was nice to do something different with Austin and also really nice to hang out with friends, especially while the kids are 1 and 2. Very special. In this picture, Lillian was practicing walking and also cracking Austin up to the point where he'd bury his face in his hands and exclaim "Baby!" (that's what he calls her since he can't say Lillian.)


The pictures below are of HugFest 2008, a playgroup at my house a couple weeks ago where all the kids starting hugging and kissing. They're so sweet.

ABC's and Dirty Knees

Last week Austin had a bout of Roseola, which I had never heard of, but resulted in a fever and blotches all over his body. A little scary, but we took him to the doctor right away and it was really nothing to worry about. His sleeping was a little off track and he was rather cranky, but now that it's over he's back to normal and super fun again. We are trying to pack in the fun during the last few weekends of summer. Over the past week we've been to the Evergreen State Fair (rather smelly and overrated), blueberry picking (one of Austin's favorite pastimes) and to the "beach" today (Lake Washington.) We had a great time at the beach; Austin loved tossing rocks into the waves. He didn't, however, love getting dirty. As many already know, Austin has a major preoccupation with being dirty. Many toddlers do, but I'm starting to suspect he's a bit more intense about it than most. He could not relax at the beach because the rocks were dirty and his hands were getting dirty. Then Brian showed him how to rinse off his hands in the water, but in getting close to the water his shoes and pants got a little wet/dirty. He was not happy about that at all. I took off his shoes and he about flipped out because he didn't want his feet to touch the ground and/or the water. It was all very OCD and I hope he grows out of it.
In developmental news, I've recently learned he can say his ABC's, which is amazing to me because I had no idea he could say nearly as many letters as he can. He doesn't know them by heart, we have to prompt him. And some letters he can't say so he says "da" for those, but he tries to say every letter. Especially cute to me is his pronounciation of L ("elf") and I, M, & N because I've never heard him make those sounds before at all. What really impresses me though is that he recognizes the letters so when we're reading books, etc. he picks out specific letters and says them, leading me to burst with pride at his "reading" skills.

Something About Me (for a change)

I've spent the past two weekends and a couple of weekdays out in the world having fun, without my child. I've put the guilt aside and done it. And it's been awesome! I am so happy to have found a little piece of myself that has been dormant. Nothing to feel guilty about anyway, because Mommy is happier and able to feel more balanced.
Last Friday night I went out with a couple coworkers and had a crazy time. Spend time at 4 different restaurants and bars including Kells and the Alibi Room. Hungover for two days. It feels good to be bad again.
Before that, Brian and I went "away" to the Willows Lodge in Woodinville in celebration of our 10 year anniversary. We dined out several times, spent some time lounging in the hotel bar, saw Dark Knight, and SLEPT IN! The kind of sleeping in where you wake up and go back to sleep a few times. It was so great. I don't think I've truly slept in for almost 3 years now. True, we took a childless vacation together in Italy, but we did not sleep in once. It was a hectic, unrelaxing vaca. Not a bad vaca, but not relaxing like this was.
The weekend before that, I went to a show with friends at Marymoor Park featuring Brandi Carlile. It was so great and I didn't realize it prior, but it was the first time since we had kids that my friend Alcena & I have hung out together without the kids. Not cool - too long! It was a great night, topped off by unexpected back stage passes and an invite by Brandi to join the after party. The connection there is that her bandmates are friends of mine that I haven't seen in two years. It was really great to see them and like I said, I felt like I reclaimed a piece of me I didn't even realize was missing.
Next stop: karaoke with coworkers in a couple weeks!

"Catch"

I don't know many (any?) lullabys. I don't know many lyrics to songs in general. When Austin was a newborn I instinctively sang him Cure songs because I knew the lyrics. From the time he was just a few days old I would sing him "Catch" by the Cure. It is the perfect little lullaby. I sang him that song every single night until a few month ago when he started cutting me off and pointing to his crib. At first I thought it was great that he wanted to sleep, until I realized he was serious; he didn't want me singing to him anymore. How sad is that? He would even start crying when I attempted to sing it. So imagine my delight when I decided to try it again after several months and he loved it. I was changing him into his jammies and I started singing it and he started smiling and kept saying "Mom." If I stopped he'd say "More?" It was so great.
When he was 7 or 8 months old, I played him the actual song for the first time and as soon as he heard it he froze in his tracks. He looked at me and threw his arms around me. It was our song and it invoked a special feeling in him. So sweet.
He said his first four word sentence yesterday. When offered more fish sticks by Grandma, he told her "No fish, more tortillas" (which he pronounces deedledeedledee.)