Austen & Gage

Gage’s scared look when Austen comes close (her enthusiasm can get a little rough sometimes) is being somewhat displaced by long stares of fascination. He’s watching people more and more and now Austen’s wild exuberance and child-sized face are enticing his interest.

With his cousins at Easter, Gage was a bit overwhelmed and got overtired. It was curious to see six-year-old cousin Emma do the same thing Austen does: go right into Gage’s face and gleefully squeak baby talk. Cousin Erin was more mellow, which might suit Gage’s gentler disposition. We’ll see. Everyone talks of the boys paling around but in my experience you can’t make assumptions based on gender.

L.L.F.R.

Austen, always the independent spirit, wants complete privacy when using the potty. She closes the door and even locks it sometimes. Mommy has noticed that this is not the norm for kids her age, who usually like some assistancee.

Recently, Austen started using the word “stupid.” Mama & Dada quickly discouraged use of this word and it stuck. Accidentally say “stupid” in any conversation within Austen’s earshot and you’ll quickly get a firm reminder of your violation in a dissapproving tone, eliciting an immediate apology by the offender. Fortunately(?), this is the only word on the mini-FCC’s list at this time.

Mama has to keep her eyes and ears open and monitor two little video screens now. One for Austen and one for Gage. It’s the best way to determine who’s sleeping soundly and who needs some attention. When Austen is upset about being in her room Mommy can keep track of what she’s saying and whether she’s calmed down enough to talk out the problem.

Two supervisors and one worker.

Austen enjoyed staying at the hotel during our visit to see her cousins for Easter.

The room had two queen sized beds as we requested and we brought a pack-n-play for Gage but Austen decided she wanted to sleep in it so Gage got the queen-sized bed instead…go figure.

Gage relaxes and gets some cuddle time with Auntie Janet.

Austen enjoyed her extended visit with Cousins Emma, Erin & Adam…running, egg-hunting, hiding, egg-decorating, reading & playing in general.

More pics

Austen has several future grooms already planning weddings. We won’t say who to protect their identities. Let’s just say Mama suggests some ancient Roman ruins on the Amalfi Coast as a nice setting.

I guess this is what happens when you spend all your time chasing boys around in circles, up and down hallways, in and out of stores, around coffee tables, up stairs, …