Austen often experiences a panicky shyness when she first meets adults, especially when they talk to her out of the blue. (In this sense she’s like her mom.) But then when she gets to know people, particularly her adult teachers, she’s excited by them, so thrilled at the prospect of seeing them that mommy can get her moving by reminding her who’s she’s going to see at class. (In this sense, she’s more like Grandma Judi, the people person.)
The initial shyness period can be painful and uncomfortable — sometimes the person thinks Austen doesn’t understand what they’re saying or doesn’t like them for some reason. Mommy tries to be the middle man but Austen often withdraws to herself and refuses to engage. This “warming up” period is followed by the wild and crazy period, when Austen is animated and a really exciting little person to have around. When she talks, her feelings are so sincere and joyful. Her laughter is contagious. She loves to remind people of things: “Remember! Remember when the scary monster was at the window. Boo!” Or she talks about something she’s recently seen or done. “We saw Dean and Timmy and … and we played on the merry go round and …” It’s very cute when she talks about Gage, laughing at the things he can do and making pronouncements about the things he’s not allowed to do, such as eat apples or play with “Big Girl” toys.
Austen’s always exciting and feisty.