Austen & Gage

Austen loved the Ball Pit best.

Cousins playing…

Getting cheeky-cheeky from Emma

more cousins playing…

having fun on the swing with the birthday girl…

fun to be had everywhere…

Austen at the Colonial Inn, with Colonial-sized room and crib. She enjoys turning on TVs and switching the channel to cartoons — must take after Dada.

At dinner with Cousin Morgan; the Andersons, Morgan’s maternal grandparents, Morgan’s great grandfather, Mr. Hunt; Grandpa Earl; Uncle Tod; Aunt Holly; Mommy and Daddy. Whew! Quite a large dinner party at the Colonial Inn.

Austen’s famous big smile

He stayed over last night and, as before, Austen seems quite taken with him, as are the cats, who like to jump on him. He’s very popular in this house.

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some free time after dinner while Austen sat with her grandpa. She’s a squirmy little girl.

Mommy was terrified of trying to get Austen to brush her teeth, worrying it would become a big power struggle. She consulted fellow moms and bought special teeth brushing paraphernalia including an Elmo toothbrush.

When first handed the brush, Austen tried brushing her hair with it — the toothpaste is still in her hair 48 hours later. But after Mommy demonstrated using her own toothbrush and nudged Austen’s toothbrush inside her mouth, Austen quickly got the hang of it, seeming to enjoy swishing the bristled end against her gums and sprouting teeth. This morning Austen complained when Mommy took the toothbrush away after fifteen minutes.

Austen requested purple flowers especially for Grandma Judi. Grandpa Earl brought the flowers up to New Jersey from Maryland where they had been on display at Emory Church.

Some of Austen’s most frequently used words and expressions:

“Socks”
“Shoes”
“Boo!”
“Dis?”
“Dis Dat?”: What’s that?
“What’s that?”
“Cat”
“Dada”
“Mmmaa”: Mama
“Gaga: Mommy
“Duck”
“Dog”
“Mooo”
“Woof woof”
“Quack quak”
“Eeeeee!”: I want that!
“Hi!”
“Bye!”
“Uh oh!”
“Ooooo!”: Wow, look at that!
“Ball”
“Thank you” (not very clear)
“Who’s this?” (answering a phone; not very clear)
“Happy”
“Up … Down”
“That”: when Mommy is singing “…That’s Elmo’s world”
“Eyes”: when Mommy is singing “…Eyes and ears and mouth and nose”

In the evening, Austen went to dinner with Auntie Heather, Zack, Beerinder, Mommy and Daddy at Metuchen Inn. She ran around for half the meal but the waiters didn’t seem to mind. An advantage to New Jersey over New York City.

Click here.

Today, Austen said “What’s that?” clearly several times. Once, Mama explained that it was a picture of a panda and gave Austen her panda bear. Another time, Mama told Austen that she was pointing at a banana.

When Elmo came on Sesame Street, Austen ran to get her Elmo doll. Mommy was very happy because she ordered it special online.

Interestingly, the panda bear came all the way from Great Britain; Dada ordered it special because Mama’s favorite stuffed animal when she was little was a panda bear.