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Is Mama having a Jessica Simpson moment? (Notice the package of tuna on the floor. Austen likes to play with it.)

Whenever we go to Menlo Park Mall, Austen never misses her chance to stomp the monkeys. It’s a game projected on the floor that responds to foot steps. “Mean monkeys” move around and Austen jumps on ’em.

Auntie Janets stayed home to watch Austen while Dada took Mama to the hospital. Austen did amazingly well, only complaining at first. She ate and watched videos and read books with Auntie Janet. Upon returning from the hospital, Mama and Dada found Austen crawling onto Auntie Janets lap to read a book.

President’s Day, everyone went to Skylark Diner for brunch. Austen crawled around the booth and ate fruit. She also started calling Mama “Mommy!”

Later, in the hospital again, Mommy was comforted by the sticky lollipop marks on her pillow which Austen had left during a visit.

Mommy, Daddy and friends played Texas Holdem’ and Auntie Janet did scrapbooking. Auntie Heather came to socialize and dance with the babies.

At the after-party, the kids were jamming it up.

Getting a Hug

Austen likes to be in the center of it all … with Kiera.

Austen was tentative about stepping into the snow but she did do one successful downhill run with Mommy on her dollar-store sled (not pictured).

Kicking a Clump of Snow

First Austen and Mama drove an hour (at 15 MPH) to My Gym in Westfield only to find it closed. Then Austen got fussy on the way home. Mama took her out in the snow for a change of scene but she fell face first. By then she was hysterical.

A bottle of milk by the fire calmed everyone down.

Better luck next snowfall.

While Dada was at work, Mama and Austen ventured out in the snow and went to Jack Cooper’s Celebrity Deli for French onion soup. Austen went crazy for the home-made pickles and ate a whole cumcumber-sized piece.

For dinner, Mama, Dada and Austen went out for hibachi at Benihana in Edison. Austen scared away some of the other guests at the table by fussing as she settled into her high chair, but soon the fun began. Austen loved the fried rice and ate an entire slice of lemon, including the peel.

Why? We don’t know.

Mama loved her chateaubriand. Dada was impressed by how well Austen behaved as the chef cooked the meal in front of us.

Mama received a wonderful book created by Austen and Dada entitled Who Loves Mama. It has flaps like Austen’s favorite book Where Is Baby’s Mommy? by Karen Katz.

Mama also received a new scrapbooking lettering machine. Dada got a bunch of gifts: Raising Arizona DVD, The Bad Baby Book, new Cranium game, a xoxo magnet puzzle, and heart boxers.

Austen got a Leap Frop magnetic letter puzzle.

Dancing with her MP3 bear — Thanks Uncle Tod and Aunt Holly!

Turning up the volume on her MP3 bear.

Austen’s early love of music doesn’t qualify her as a prodigy, but she’s certainly showing a predisposition to follow in Grandma Judi’s footsteps — although perhaps with vocal instead of instrumental music. Austen dances to almost any music, even elevator music or bad electronic stuff coming from her toys, and she does so all day long. Her favorite is repetitive music with a strong beat (e.g., Sexyback by Justin Timberlake) and live vocal music. In the car, if she gets fussy, singing or playing Music Together CDs always seems to calm her down … even better than toys or a snack.

Moreover, Austen seems to have some natural talent. She sings the RIGHT NOTES when humming the clean up song (“Clean up! Clean up! Everybody, everywhere. Clean up! Clean up! Everybody do your share.”) This may not seem like much, but Dada can’t do it, and he’s been listening to music for over thirty years while Austen is just learning to speak and control her vocal cords. When Austen sees Mommy throwing something into the trash, she breaks into song. “Eeeennn up! Eeeennn up!”

Animals are another of Austen’s strong early preferences. Her favorite toys and videos feature animals. Her most frequent vocalizations are animal sounds. Just spotting a bird or a squirrel sends her into a tizzy. She shouts with glee when a kitty comes nearby.

“Quack! Quack!”

Each day Mommy is impressed by Austen’s understanding of new commands and expressions. She doesn’t speak in long phrases (except “Oooh, what’s that?” and “Ello, who’s this?”) but her comprehension of English sentences has increased remarkably. She understands much of what is being said to her.

Ask her where her socks are and she’ll open the dresser drawer.

Ask her where the sheep is and she’ll point to the sheep piece of a puzzle.

Tell her to clean up and she’ll carry an object to the trash can.

Tell her to tickle Chacha and she tickles him.

Austen has started saying “No” but not so much that it’s annoying. She’s much more likely to exclaim “Oooo … this!” when she wants something. (But let’s not go into her throwing food and hitting when she gets excited.)

This month Austen’s shown signs of her first ventures into imaginative play. She moves her little plastic animals around and chatters. Also, she pretends to read books out loud. Babbling is interspersed with a correct word every once in a while. “Where’s Mommy? Is she under the table?” is a string of gobbly goop followed by a clearly articulated “No!” She also imitates Mommy and Daddy, doing things like trying on their shoes, wiping the floor, and pretending to put away laundry.

Austen loves to play peekaboo.

Austen still uses a bottle to drink milk before naps and before bedtime (and sometimes in the morning). She uses a sippy cup with a straw to drink water and has been trying a lot of new foods lately.

Books are much more enjoyable now. Austen follows along, looking at the pictures, especially books with flaps, surfaces to touch and animals to emulate. She will regularly bring a book and squat on Mamma or Dada’s lap, insisting that she be read to.

Austen is incredibly strong, runs fast and can climb like a much older child.

First attempt at using chopsticks.

Quick learner!

Hanging With Friends at a Baby Shower