On the Farm

One of Augie's little buddies is fortunate enough to live on a large piece of property just outside of town. Luckily for us, his parents love sharing their space with friends. Better yet, they happen to be gifted with great party throwing abilities. So it goes without saying, when the invitation for a special second birthday party arrived in the mail, we didn't hesitate to rsvp. True to form, it did not disappoint. There was a farm baby petting zoo, pony rides, homemade cupcakes, an ice cream bar, and of course pool complete with waterfalls for jumping over. A good time was definitely had by all. 

of course our gift needed to fit the theme!

Super Friend

We are big fans of Sesame Street around this house. It comes on at 7 in the morning here in Austin. It's as crucial of an element for a successful morning wake up routine as our giant cups of delectably dark coffee. Yes we love Elmo, but Super Grover is really growing in the ranks lately. I'm not going to argue, he's always been one of my favorites. So as a reward for completing his swim class this summer, August received a talking Super Grover. You can judge for yourself whether it was a hit.

Bounce

Summertime around here can be miserably hot. We do our best to spend as much time outdoors as possible, but we're usually pretty limited to the early mornings and late evenings. That small of a window doesn't allow for too much of an energy burn for the younger crowd. Sometimes we can get creative indoors, but for the most part, our time spent inside can get a bit stale. For August, he just decided to take the opportunity to perfect his couch bouncing routine. Our poor, poor couch.

Well, Hi!

Well that was a completely unintentional  half-summer break we took here on the blog. I'm sorry for the extended absence, and impressed with anyone who managed to stick around long enough for this fascinating update. I could bore you with all of the details from the second half of our summer, or I could force you to stare at a plethora of photos. I choose the latter. Of course some events deserve their own posts, and I will do my best to catch up on those shortly so that we can get back on track in the next week or so.
 But I will say that we ended up thoroughly enjoying our summer, despite the searing heat. There were a few, great celebrations and barbecues with some old friends that we haven't spent much time with since August came around, there was lots of dangerously delicious home cooking, countless hours in the water, a few play dates with friends,and loads of general playing, discovering, reading, swinging, snuggling, and potty training. Really, I can't complain one bit!

Still Here

Sorry to you two faithful readers for the unintentional blogging break. I promise we're still here, we're just busy living life at the moment. In my new-found unemployment I have dreamed up a few projects that are currently in full swing. The most significant current undertaking being that of painting, re-arranging, de-cluttering, and organizing the downstairs.
The other biggest time consumer is chasing the little monster around. Two and a half is seriously no joke! I can not take my eye off of Mr. Independent for even a split second. I'm thankful for such a smart, healthy, inquisitive little guy, but he.wears.me.out. Thank goodness pre-school starts back up in full swing in two weeks!!!

perhaps I should add 'window cleaning' to my list of tasks

Little Fish

Augie and I just wrapped up his second week of swim lessons. Unlike the previous two summers where we took classes through the city, this year we decided to get a little more serious about our goals. I couldn't be happier with the outcome! Our little water lover is actually jumping in, moving across the pool, and holding his breath for long periods of time, all on his own. When he's a little older, and his motor skills a bit more developed, and can figure out how to coordinate his windmill arms, and raising his head to breathe, I don't think anyone will be able to catch him...or keep him out of the pool.

Two and a Half!

Our little monster is officially two and a half today! And as if to appropriately ring in the day, he is currently acting every bit his age. From his curiosity about every sound and sight we walk by, to testing his ever-growing independence, expressing his opinion on every topic, to turning around and giving the biggest, sweetest 'hug and a kiss' you'll ever receive. He can most certainly be a two-year old handful at times, but we can very confidently say that we are still loving every second with this silly little charmer. We can't imagine life without him!

Since I haven't done a written update in about two years, here's a run-down for the record:

phrases:

'We HOME' as we drive up to our place and as we walk in the door.

'Pun on iyee and fafee' ('come on Lilly & Daphne') to get the girls attention

'What dat?' as he cups his hand over his ear to get a better listen of something.

'bess you' for anyone who sneezes in his vicinity.

'good mohnin' to everyone and everything we pass on our morning walk

'no, mine' to anything and everything he encounters...

entertainment:

'read gooks' - wants to read, and be read to, all day everyday.

'pay-doh' - playdoh though he doesn't quite know how to create things yet

'paygounds' - obsessed with all things that allow him to swing, slide, and climb

'swim with Papa' 

'cook eggs' - cooking anything in the kitchen

'bounce' - jumping on or off of anything

'dowa, boots, iego go' - Dora, Boots, and Go Diego Go

'mi-ee mous'- Mickey Mouse

'E steet' - Sesame street

'Goge'- Curious George

'call Emmie, Noah, Miwo, Momo, Daddy' - face timing with his cousins and his grandparents

random bits of everything else:

He can quite handily identify every letter of the alphabet, and spells out almost every word he encounters. He can easily identify all of the numbers 1-10, but takes some prompting to not count 'one, two, six, hammer, six' when verbally counting from memory. Pretty much knows all of his colors but sometimes gets a little confused with pink, purple, and orange. Is still all about animals and can identify a crazy assortment of wild creatures...he even helps Kevin and me to differentiate between all of the big, wild cats. As I mentioned, he is a crazy jumper, has been doing the two foot jump for quite a while now, and has been practicing his long-jump of late...kid has skills. We've been taking swim lessons the past two weeks, and he is very quickly becoming quite the confident under-water swimmer. When we are consistent with our practice, potty training at home is going very well, but we've yet to try venturing very far the house without a diaper. He loves his pre-school, and asks almost daily if we are going to 'chools' today. Begs for the ipad every minute of every day, so we really have to limit his time on it now. And since the Olympics have started, he enjoys watching the gymnastics,swimming, and diving, and enthusiastically attempts to re-enact their routines and moves. 

Of course there's so much of the ins and outs of daily toddler life that would take too long to write down here. But the moral of the story is that he continues to amaze us and makes us proud every single day. We've loved every phase thus far, and can't wait to see what he is capable of in the future.