Austin meets the Easter Bunny

This past weekend we took Austin to meet the Easter Bunny. He did look at him a little confused but never fussed or cared. He was such a good boy after a long day.

Austin Conquers the Stairs!

Last night, Austin learned how to crawl up our stairs. He has been pulling himself up on them but, until last night, has not figured out exactly how to go up. We were all in the living room and he crawled over, pulled himself up, and crawled up the first 2 stairs. Right now he can get himself up on the landing and that is it. All the way up the stairs is too much work for him right now. I am sure it won't be long before he is crawling up them with no trouble. He loves to crawl over everything now. John was laying on the floor and he was trying to crawl over him like it was the stairs. I love when he learns new things because he gets so excited about it and does it over and over again until he masters it.

He has completely mastered pulling himself up on everything. His favorite toy right now is an Elmo table that plays music and sings songs. He loves to stand at it for a very long time just pressing the buttons. Austin is getting so much fun and will now crawl to you when you call him. I can call him from the kitchen and tell him to come and eat and he will speed crawl into the kitchen. He loves to wave and will wave hi to his daddy over and over again. He is also starting to play shy and will put his head to the side or on my shoulder.

Austin has basically moved on from baby food, although he still prefers it. I still buy it for when he is at the babysitter's and we are out just because it is easier. He still does not like to sit and feed himself. He gets bored very fast and would rather play than eat. Right now he usually gets oatmeal with fruit or pancakes for breakfast. We found out he does not like french toast sticks. For lunch, he will usually eat a jar of stage-3 food, pasta with butter and parmesan cheese, or green beans. He does not like carrots or peas. At dinner he will usually eat whatever we are eating. He loves pasta like noodles with butter or mac and cheese, also pizza is one of his new favorites, cheese crumbles, or anything mommy puts on his tray. Food right now is not his priority and usually he likes to eat and run. Last night I was eating a bowl of noodles and he would come up, grab a handful and be on his way.

Austin is also showing signs is getting rid of his daytime bottles. He only has 3 bottles a day and he uses his sippy cup so much now I think he would be ok without his afternoon bottle. In about 4 months he will be ready to get rid of formula and switch to milk. I hope by then to have him only on a night time bottle, if any at all.

Austin learns to stand!

I know I have been posting a lot of updates lately but, it seems that each day Austin is learning or experiencing something new. It is so exciting seeing him discover new things even though most of the things he wants, he is not supposed to have. He has now learned how to get out of trouble. When you say no to him, he looks at you and gives you the biggest and cutest smile possible. It is very hard to scold him when he looks at you with those big blue eyes and huge smile.

Last night Austin learned to pull himself up to a standing position. I am so excited about his new talent. We put him down to bed at about 8:30pm. Since Austin has been sick, he has been refusing to go to bed until about 10:00pm. John noticed on the monitor that he was standing in his crib, but, he sat himself down right away. A few minutes later, I went into the room to lay him down again and when I walked in he was standing there will a very proud smile on his face. Of course we made a huge deal about it and got the camera out and had a mini photo shoot. We have been practicing standing on his own and he has gotten really good at balancing himself for a few minutes. I am sure walking is not far away -- which is good because our little man now weighs about 19.5 lbs and is getting hard to carry around!

Health Update!

I am happy to announce that the antibiotics seem to be working and Austin is starting to show signs of feeling much better. On Friday, I stayed home with him and he was crawling all over the place. I think that he was so happy that he was feeling better that he didn't want to slow down. I had to calm him down every hour or so and he would pass out in my arms from being so tired. He didn't understand that even though he felt better, he was still sick and had to slow down. On Saturday, John and I took Austin to a Gymboree class and he loved it. He got to crawl all over the place and go in and out of tunnels. We were very surprised that he was not afraid to go in them. He also had fun singing and dancing. Austin was not a fan of the parachute though, but, I am sure with time he will get used to it. I am taking him to another class tonight and hopefully this is something we will be able to do weekly. Austin's appetite isn't all the way back yet. But, he has only thrown up twice in a the last couple of days which is a huge improvement.

Some other updates on Austin: he is now sleeping on his stomach. The minute we lay him down in his crib he rolls over and starts crawling around. He will usually play for about 30 minutes and then pass out on his stomach. It is very cute to see him laying on his stomach with his butt up in the air. I am glad that he has no problem sleeping on his stomach otherwise I would be in there all night turning him over. Austin has also decided that he is now going to go to bed at 9-10:00pm instead of 7:30. I am not sure if this is a phase or not but, I sure hope so.

Austin is now eating a lot of solid food. For breakfast we have been giving him french toast sticks which he is starting to like a lot. Its nice being able to hand him one and he can feed himself. He likes holding stuff in his hands and gets very mad if you try to take them away. On Saturday, we had a birthday party and we gave Austin a whole piece of bread to keep him happy. We were very surprised when ate the whole thing without a problem. That night I think he ate about 3 pieces of bread.

John is almost done with his student teaching and I could not be happier. We are counting down the days. I recently have changed positions at work. Although this position change came with a large pay cut, the stress that I have had from my old position was not worth it. John and I decided that I would be much happier back in the office then I was being a teacher and having to deal with all that drama. So happiness does come with a price but, for my family and me its worth it.

Prayers for Austin

Austin had his doctors appointment today and unfortunately we found out that he has pneumonia. The doctor said that is has not reached the serious point but that it needs to be watched carefully. She gave Austin a prescription for an antibiotic which is supposed to speed up the process of clearing it up. He is still throwing up which makes me nervous that he will get dehydrated so please pray for Austin and for us that we are doing the right things to get our sweet little baby better. Right now he is so miserable and has no voice from crying. 

Sick Baby

Austin has been a very sick little guy for the past few days. It all began on Sunday when he woke up in the middle of the night burning up with a fever of 102.6. We stripped him down and gave him medicine and it seemed to help a little. On Monday he was still very warm and the fever never seemed to come down much no matter how much medicine we gave him. I had to come home from work early and try to get him to drink something since he wasn't really eating or drinking anything. Finally on Monday night his fever seemed to come down and he seemed to be getting a little bit better. He was still very clingy and didn't want to eat much but at least the fever was back to normal. On Tuesday he went off to Aunt Anne's and was ok all day, no fever and an ok appetite. When we got home on Tuesday I fed him some fruit for dinner and when John was holding him, he started throwing up. We thought maybe it just didn't agree with him because he had been ok all day. The rest of the evening was fine. He went to bed at the normal time, not taking much of his bottle but I figured he was just tired. At at 2 a.m. I heard him coughing and it didn't seem to stop so I went into his room and he was just sitting there coughing and crying. The coughing sounded like it hurt. So I scooped him up and decided he could sleep with us. Well from then on he was coughing so much that he threw up 3 more times. Between pajama changed and changing the sheets on our bed, the three of us were exhausted. We finally all got to sleep at about 4:30. I decided that I was going to stay home with Austin and call the doctors to see if I could get him in. The poor little guy was so tired he sleep until a little after 9 a.m. I called the doctor and unfortunately they could not get him in until today. I spent the day doing whatever I could to make Austin feel a little better. He would play for a few minutes and then it was back in my arms crying and rubbing his eyes. Most of the time he would just pass out in my arms from being so tired. Hopefully today the doctor can help, even if its relieving the cough at night so he can sleep.

On the upside... We think the fever was from teething because he cut his two upper teeth at the same exact time so now he has 4 teeth. Along with that he now has a runny nose so that is making really hard for him to breathe with the cough and stuffy nose. Our poor little guy. Its bad enough having to go through teething but now being sick on top of that.

On the Move

Austin officially learned to crawl last night. John and I were so excited. Austin on the other hand was not and thought that this crawling stuff took a little too much work. Although he figured it out, he still prefers to push himself backwards. When he really wants something (usually something he is not supposed to have) he will go forward without a problem.

Kiss me I'm Irish

Austin can not wait to celebrate his first St. Patricks Day! Our little Irish baby looks so cute!

7 months old and growing!

Austin is now 7 months old and as I look back at pictures of the day he was born I cannot believe it is the same child and that it only has been 7 months. Its amazing how a child can change that much in such a small amount of time. Each new stage Austin encounters, I find new adventures and new challenges being a parent. Right now Austin is VERY VERY active. He wants to crawl so badly and gets very frustrated that he cannot get where he wants to go. He can get himself around and can go backwards very well but that does not make him happy. We suspect that it will be any day now that he figures out how to get going. That will be our biggest challenge because Austin is the kid that wants to get into everything and although he knows the word "no" very well, most of the time he choses to ignore it. All I can think about is the long nights of having to make sure every little thing is off the floor and put away. Austin also has gotten his bottom 2 teeth and I think that more are on the way. It is very sweet to see his big smile with his two little teeth sticking up. On the downside, he bites and the other night he was on the floor and bit my toe. He doesn't really know that those little teeth are sharp as knives! Austin has also started eating "real" food. For a child that can not crawl, if you have anything that even looks like food, he can make it across the room in a heartbeat. We call him our little birdy because he sits there with his little mouth open waiting for something to be put in it. I have noticed, with me at least, he is not picky at all. He will eat anything that I have. I even gave him some of my broccoli last night and he kept wanting more. I am glad that he is not picky and I have really tried hard to expose him to many foods so he won't be a picky eater. The food issue is a problem though when we are eating something he can not have. Again, he knows the word "no" but wants nothing to do with it. He will scream and whine until you put the food away. Also eating out now is hard because he is not big into sharing and does not feel that you should get any of the food. I do have fun letting him try new foods, last night he got to taste a slurpee, which he did not like because it was cold but that did not stop him from coming back for more and more.

Austin has had a terrible cold ever since we came home from Frankenmuth. He has been very stuffy and has a runny nose and an awful cough. The nose seems to have dried up a little bit but the cough is still there and sounds very painful. He has an appointment next week for his flu shot so we will have the doctor take a look at him then. During this cold he has been so stuffy that he has been waking up screaming and hard to console, so he had to sleep with me a few nights. Although I love cuddling with Austin, sharing a bed with him is another thing. When Austin sleeps with me he has to have his face right in mine and has to be as close to me as possible. He likes to put his little arm around me and rub my arm to make sure I don't go anywhere. Yes it is very sweet but add a little baby snoring, breathing, and coughing in your face all night, and it equals a long night with little sleep for me.

John's student teaching is about 1/2 way done. I am so excited. John has to leave so early in the morning that he usually sees Austin for a few minutes, and that leaves me to getting him and myself ready and out the door by 7am so we can get him to the babysitter's or school and me to work on time. Between my stuff for work and Austin's stuff for the day, it looks like we are going on a week-long vacation every morning when we come out of the house. I can't wait until John can take over with taking him in the morning. In the evening, it is the same thing because John has to work late so I have to pick him up. Our favorite time of the day is when John gets home and I can hand over Austin and take a deep breath. Graduation day for John can not come soon enough!

As for me, work has been very trying lately and I often question why I am even there. If John was not student teaching, I most likely would have walked out by now. I have been praying a lot because I love what I do but the business itself has become unbearable to work for. The administration is selfish and unsupportive of their staff. Each day I push through and remind myself it's a job and I should be thankful because so many people are without. It's just hard because it is so draining that I feel it takes away from Austin. Hopefully next year we might be in the position for me to stay home or work will get better.

Splash Village

This past weekend we took our first official family vacation. John, Austin, and I headed to Frankenmuth for the night. We stayed at Zenders Splash Village which has an indoor water park. We thought Austin would love the pool because he loves playing in the bath... boy, were we wrong. The minute his toes touched the water he screamed like we never heard him scream before. I tried to take him the lazy river and he held on in a frantic panic like I was about to let go. Everytime I dipped a little lower into the water he would scream his head off. After trying the big water park we thought it might be better to go to the little pool. Austin still hated it but, he didn't scream as long as we were holding on to him tight. His only defense was to fall asleep in hopes we would take him out of the water so, thats what he did. He was holding on to John for dear life and fell asleep in the water. We finally did take him out and he held on to me so tight, as we wrapped him in a few towels, and fell right back asleep. We are hoping he will get used to it at some point. Austin loved staying at the hotel and with is new tooth was excited to try tons of people food. Mommy barely could eat because Austin would not let anyone take a bite before they put food in his mouth. We did bring the pack-n-play but Austin decided that sleeping with Mommy in the big bed was much better. So, Daddy had to sleep on the other bed all alone which I am sure he did not mind. We did discover that traveling with an infant is much different and when they go to sleep there is not much to do so, it was off to bed for us at 8:30pm (which is not a bad thing when Austin has a wake time of 6:00am, vacation or no vacation).
Austin also added a new addition to his mouth yesterday and cut his second lower tooth. He is very excited and will bite on everything to test them out.