Austen Famous Rodey

After weeks of preparation by Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Rin, everyone came to the new house in New Jersey for a Christmas celebration. The dining table had to be expanded to fit twelve (plus three babies) and Mommy scrounged to find every Christmas decoration she’d ever accumulated over the years. Mommy and Daddy decorated a tree, cooked tons of Indian food (Aloo Pronti, Chicken Tikka, Basmati Rice), and even rush ordered suede furniture for the living room.

One little …


two little …


three little …


four little cousins sitting on the new chair.


Here are the guests listed in order of arrival (not that we’re implying anyone was several hours late): Lucinda, Davinder, Austen, Uncle Beerinder, Uncle Tod, Aunt Holly, Morgan, Grandpa Earl, Uncle Mark, Aunt Jen, Emma, Erin, Great Aunt Janet, Great Aunt Heather and Zack. Opening gifts took a while. Little hands move slowly.





Cousin Erin got a big box of baby toys from Aunt Lucinda, Uncle Davinder and Austen – plus a new playmat/tunnel.

Emma showed off the bike she got from Santa, who ran out of pink bikes with horses.

Grandpa Earl got a sweatshirt from Austen that read: “Four Granddaughters? I reckon.”


Daddy made mosaics of all the kids. See the blog entry entitled Mosaics - Christmas 2005.

Aunt Janet finally completed Mommy’s 2004 Christmas gift: homemade mittens and scarf made with wool from Wales.

Mommy got a Coach purse to match her shoes and a clock radio hookup for her IPOD – not to mention a beautiful letter from Daddy which Mommy will be putting in Austen’s baby book.

Daddy received a basketball game and pants by Kenneth Cole. He seemed to prefer the former and disappeared into the basement for the half the evening … but I digress.


Everyone watched as Austen’s face lit up when she first sat in her exersaucer. (This photo is from a few days later; Austen is wearing a Christmas gift from Auntie Heather.)


Some assembly was required.

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Here, Austen enjoys a fun bubble session during her first overnight stay at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Gymboree bubbles are the best! They stay floating for a long time and don't pop when they land. She also got to see Uncle Beerinder's two cockatiels although she wasn't too interested in them yet (I guess they're not colorful enough).

Austen also received her ornate, gold bracelets from Grandma. Gold bracelets for a 3 month old, you ask? Of course, what else?!

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Mommy loves this entry.

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Austen was fashionable for her first trip to the Famous Farm. There she met Ann, Mike, Jeffrey and Jonathan Becker; Susan, Jeff and Grace Underwood; Kristine, Jo Anna and Don Harvey, Chris, Julie, Chase and Liza Harvey; Janet, Mark, Jason and Katelyn Wettig. She also got to see Mommy’s Aunt Margaret, Uncle James, Aunt Gloria, and Uncle John once again – they had come to visit her in New Jersey right after she was born.





James made chairs for all the little ones:

Austen went to see Santa at Mommy’s old stomping ground, Harford Mall. It took only four shots and less than 3 minutes to get her to do the “Big smile!” Grandpa Earl took the photo to the Famous Family Christmas get-together and showed it off.



Austen had a great time at the mall. She was very amused looking around at all the stores, colorful displays, bright lights, changing environment and weather. She also sat perfectly content with Daddy while he ate an ice cream sundae at Friendly’s. When she got a little tired and started to fuss, she was easily calmed by the rocking motion of her stroller. The 5 hour excursion was a total success, including our short visit with Great Aunt Janet.

Austen started her third month sleeping in the snuggle nest in Mommy and Daddy’s bed, but when Mommy and Daddy got sick (thanks Mark) they wanted to keep Austen as far away as possible, so they decided to put her in a basinet located next to their bed – it doubles as a changing table. Austen has adjusted well to sleeping in it. Daddy is proud of her but doesn’t think Austen even notices that she’s sleeping elsewhere. The only downside is that Daddy doesn’t get to semi-cuddle with Austen during the night.



Notwithstanding her loud crying spells (that usually last less than five minutes), Austen smiles and laughs a lot, particularly when people approach her with words or a smile. Often she even initiates the smiling. So far she’s not shy like Mommy was as a child. She’s a high intensity baby with emotions that span the entire spectrum. Austen also giggles with a wide-mouth smile. This is a tricky situation however since she often smiles at Daddy during the middle-of-the-night feedings, tricking Daddy into playing, talking, and laughing with her, which is not conducive to going back to sleep. She’s a tricky little booger.



Austen is already a coach potato. Just the other day she was fixated by Ricky Martin on the Oprah show. It’s probably the lights and colors she’s interested in. She loves to look up at the flashing lights dangling from her play gym.

Toys are starting to play a roll in her life. She notices them and reaches for them, especially the rings on her play mat.





Austen just started her first baby class, a birth-to-six-months play group at Gymboree. They sing songs, stare at bubbles and do baby massages. Most of the other kids are older than Austen, but she usually manages to last the entire class (note: entire class = 30 minutes).

Swaddling is still a part of Austen’s daily life. She has trouble sleeping or napping without being swaddled. When she starts to fuss, Mommy announces, “You’re getting swaddled now!” and rocks her to sleep.

And you thought only Morgan dressed like a boy. Here’s Austen as an English dandy from the Regency Period (Read: Jane Austen’s times). The flagrant colors seem suitable to the likes of salacious Mr. Wickham.

In the book Holly gave us, The No-Cry Sleep Solution, a mother talks about her daughter Austen.

Austen has started pulling up on her swaddle blanket, sometimes chewing on it and sometimes even managing to pull it up over her face. Mommy is worried about this development so she bought a blankie toy for Austen to nibble on.

Everyone in casa de Rodey is sick! Fortunately, Austen is doing well and we have Grandma and Grandpa to take care of her (and Mommy & Daddy).

Should we sue the proprietor (Tod) or the infectious agent (Mark)?