Old friends and new

This week Austin has been spending lots of time with friends- old and new! On Tuesday we went to the park with our friends from The Little Gym (Andrew and his mommy, Kim)! The boys are so cute together & I love that they are the exact same age! Kim & I didn't know one another at the time- but we were in labor at the same time, same hospital, same doctor! Recently we've been going to the playground in our neighborhood- the boys love climbing, running, playing with rocks, etc. Austin's favorite things to do are:

*Climbing up and down the stairs

*Sliding

*Walking on the concrete wall (which is great for practicing balance)

Something new they discovered this week was the bike rack- they just walked in & out between the rails... following each other. I don't know why it was so cute, but it really was!

We were also able to spend time with a new friends this week (Sydney & her mommy, Meredith.) Austin & Sydney are in bible class together at church! They came over to our house for a play date on Wednesday, and the kids played while the mommies chatted! Usually when Austin and his friends "play together", they just do their own thing side by side. But I noticed Austin and Sydney actually played together- chasing, giggling, etc. Sydney also LOVED our cats- which was quite entertaining! This morning we met Sydney & Meredith at Let's Jump (the bounce house place we go to here in town.) I mentioned in his 21 month post about how he loves to climb up the slide and go down himself... which totally scares me- so here is the proof! Sorry the pics are not great, but the place doesn't have very good lighting. Sadly Austin has been quite grumpy the last few days, so we didn't stay as long as expected.

Climbing up the stairs- that is HIGH

Sliding down- he has NO fear

In other news, we are going to visit 2 preschools this coming week. On Monday we are visiting a 1 day preschool in hopes that we can start there fairly soon! On Tuesday we are visiting the 2 day preschool that I'm thinking he will attend in the fall! Fingers crossed that both visits go well!

Also, yesterday I decided it was time to set up an evaluation for Austin with ECI (early childhood intervention). It's a state funding program, and I'm hoping he will qualify for some assistance due to his lack of talking & a few other issues related to communication and concentration. We are both at a point of extreme frustration (him.. because he cannot communicate with me, and me... because I have no idea what he wants.) We've started working on learning sign language, but at this point I feel like we both need some guidance from a professional. I have a friend whose daughter is Austin's age & has some similar problems- and ECI has made a huge difference for them. It's been nice to have someone to talk to about it & give me reassurance about the situation. Anyway, I will keep you posted on the progress. As with most state run programs, ECI takes their time doing everything- so it could take a while. But we have the ball rolling!

A beautiful Sunday= A trip to the park

Today ended up being a beautiful day (despite the Cowboys loss in the second round of the playoffs.) After Austin's nap, we loaded him up in his new wagon (that my parents got him for Christmas!) We walked to the park in our neighborhood & Austin played for a while and ate a quick snack before heading back! He wasn't in the best of moods, but we still got a few good shots!

Grumpy

Chillin'

He kept turning around to make sure I was still following them

Heading home

The weather looks fantastic for the week- in the high 60s and 70s! So I'm guessing we'll be out enjoying it all week long & I'll try to get more good pictures!

The Little Gym

Today was Austin's last class for the winter semester at The Little Gym! Shane was able to make it to the class & see his little guy in action (and take pics!) They had a little ceremony at the end where they got metals- it was really cute. Austin wasn't a fan of the ceremony, but he loves the metal! Looking forward to another semester of fun starting next week!! Some of the pics are a bit blurry- very bright natural lighting.

Austin is not good about participating in the group activities during the beginning- he prefers to explore the gym by himself. His teacher says to let them do their own thing and not force them into participating- you know, exerting their independence! So he, and several other kiddos, do just that! Notice in the pics below that he is curious about the group activities, but just too stubborn to come join in on the fun! :)

Walking on the balance beam- he's really good!

Hanging like a monkey

Austin's buddy Andrew- they share the same birthday! Such a cutie- check out that WILD hair!

Andrew was very proud of himself, if you couldn't tell!

Austin was not a fan of the group attention at the ceremony...

Loving bubbles~

Good news and bad

I always prefer to start with the bad news, so here goes~

*The Longhorns lost the national championship game on Thursday night. It was a devastating defeat when Colt McCoy got hurt on the 5th snap of the ballgame. They still put up a good fight, and I was so proud of our freshman quarterback (Gilbert) who was pretty much thrown to the wolves with that Alabama defense. We came within 3 points of winning, but then lost it with a few turnovers in the last few minutes. It was so sad for me, not just because we lost, but because I didn't want the season to end like that for Colt. He is an amazing guy- a true competitor that gives all the glory to God. What a wonderful example to our children! Anyway, I had a tough time getting over the loss, but an even worse time dealing with the nasty comments that people were writing on facebook about the game. What is the point? To kick someone when they are already down? And, as a friend of mine said, I wish people would remember that they are talking about someone's child when they say awful things like that. Anyway, I'm sad college football is over too- August is too far off for this fanatic!!

*The preschool that I was trying to get Austin into for a 1 day class didn't work out. The opening did not become available! I tried another school, but they do not have a 1 day program- as most around here don't. My problem is that I do not want to drive more than 35 or so minutes to take/pick him up- so that limits me a bit. Plus, so many of the programs already have full enrollment. So we might be waiting until the fall after all. Oh well- I'm all set with everything he needs! And we'll be starting a new semester of The Little Gym next week!

And the good news...

*The Cowboys won their first game of the playoffs... and it wasn't even close! Let's hope they can keep it up!! Here's a picture of our little fan~ giving attitude.

*Austin was promoted out of the nursery and into the toddler hall at church! When we took him for the first time last night, he started getting upset when we walked down the toddler hall. How he even sensed it is crazy to me! As Shane passed him off to his new teacher, he started crying.. but we never got paged. When I went to pick him up, he was crying AGAIN. But she said he did wonderful during class, and just got upset when all of the other kids left and he was the last to get picked up. Poor guy thought we'd left him, I guess. We were talking to some friends that were visiting our church, and I waiting maybe 7 minutes before getting him- guess I need to be on the ball next week! Can't believe he's in a big boy class now!

These pics have nothing to do with his new class at church- but just thought they were cute.

Laughing

*Austin has 2 new best friends- allow me to introduce..

Max

and Jack

He will not leave these poor guys alone. If Jack is on the couch, Austin gets right in his face or climbs up there and starts touching him. If Max is sitting in the chair, Austin tries to squeeze in with him. If either of them is walking around, Austin chases them. It's actually quite funny to watch. And it tires them ALL out!!

Seeing how close he can get to Jack. Can you see the annoyance on his face? :)

This is how Max normally lays in the chair (notice his paw over the edge- so cute)

And this is the uncomfortable position he is moved into when Austin tries to sit with him

*One last good note, Austin got a haircut today! It looks so much better! No pics yet, but hopefully mid week! Check back!

Resolutions

So one of my resolutions this year is to blog more often. I know that I will one day look back and regret having not posted more, so I'm going to make an effort to post multiple times each week- so be checking back frequently!

Now I'm the first to admit that I've been horrible in the last 3 months or so with blogging, but have people just given up on me and quit checking OR is nobody making comments? If you are reading this post/looking at these picture- you BETTER leave a comment. I'm actually considering making my blog private... so I'd like to know who all is reading!

A few things we've been up to this week:

*Austin was sick all weekend & at the beginning of the week, but thankfully the fever ceased & we didn't end up having to go to the doctor- whoo hoo! So we've been hanging around the house A LOT.

Austin loves playing with our shoes- carrying them around mostly, but also putting them on.

*Austin & I went to Target yesterday & I got SUCKED into the $1 section (stickers, place mats, etc) & also into the 30% off toy isle. Like this child needs more toys? I got him 3 things (2 of them I'll be saving for his birthday)- but the one we opened is this Elmo microwave. I know it's not the best example... a microwave, but oh well. He LOVES ours, so I thought I'd get him his own (gets heavy lifting this kid up to play with ours.) Anyway, it came with food, it talks, has buttons and a light inside, even spins around when you have it "on." So thanks to Paw Paw & Maw Maw for the toys- I used Austin's Christmas money to buy them!

Fixing mommy some lunch

*Before Christmas, I thought we were almost rid of the paci. He only wanted it during nap time and bedtime... but that changed over the holidays and with him being sick. It's a constant battle right now, but we're slowly trying to get back to where we were.

The only picture I could get today without his paci- and he wasn't happy about it. Tears ensued afterwards.

*We decided that Austin needs to start a 1 day/week preschool or MDO program. Not only for the social and educational aspect, but I think it will help him to transition into school a little better. I was worried about how he would do starting 2 days/week this fall. So we are going to visit the school at our church tomorrow, and I'm planning on getting him started next week. I already ordered his personalized nap mat, got him a lunch box, and started labeling everything he will be taking! I'll be anxious to see how he does- especially during nap time (as he has never slept anywhere other than his crib or the car seat.)

*I've been inspired by The Biggest Loser to finally rid myself of the baby weight & get into shape. So I've started carefully watching what I eat, snacking less (anyone have any healthy snack ideas?), and going to the gym more. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I'll leave you with a few pics of my sweet boy from this morning- please ignore his long hair, he needs a haircut. Never thought I'd be saying that.