Austen Famous Rodey

Metallic blue Acura MDX with DVD and Navigation System.

Here she is hugging both Pooh and Elmo at the same time.


Here she is almost settling down to sleep. She now has stuffed animals in her crib because she's over one year old.


Here she is sleeping.

Today at Wegman's Cafe, Mommy helped Austen eat rice with a fork. Austen became fascinated, trying very hard to copy Mommy's technique. Mommy and Daddy have learned that it's impossible to teach Austen something unless she herself decides that she wants to learn it. They just wait for her to signal that she's ready.

Timmy, Riley, Dean (standing), Ryan, Austen and Aaron on a playdate at the "animal haven" in Merrill Park.

Austen is worried that these lyrics apply to some of those closest to her:


They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking
I'm so White N' nerdy

Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!
I wanna roll with-
The gangsters
But so far they all think
I'm too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Really really white n' nerdy

First in my class here at M.I.T.
Jock skills I'm a champion of D&D
MC Escher that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin to the contrary
You'll find they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Stephen Hawking's in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
I got people begging for my top 8 spaces
Yo I know Pi a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I'm a whiz at minesweeper I can play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you're gonna stay amazed
my fingers movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze
There's no killer app I haven't run
At Pascal, well, I'm number one
I do vector calculus just for fun
I ain't got a gat but I gotta soldering gun
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I can sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I'm fluent in Java Script as well as Klingon

They see me roll on, my Segway!
I know in my heart they think I'm
white n' nerdy!
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy
I'd like to roll with-
The gangsters
Although it's apparent I'm too
White n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
How'd I get so white n' nerdy?

I've been browsing, inspectin'
X-men comics you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket I must protect 'em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized the Holy Grail
Really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code who do they call?
I do HTML do for them all
Even make a homepage for my dog!
Yo I got myself a fanny pack
they were having a sale at the GAP
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
POP POP! Hope no one sees me get freaky!

I'm nerdy in the extreme and whiter than sour cream
I was in AV club and Glee club and even the chess team!
Only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?
I spend every weekend at the Renaissance Faire
Got my name on my underwear!

They see me strollin'
They laughin'
And rollin' their eyes 'cause
I'm so white n' nerdy
Just because I'm white n' nerdy
Just because I'm white n' nerdy
All because I'm white n' nerdy
Holy cow I'm white n' nerdy
I wanna bowl with-
the gangsters
but oh well it's obvious I'm
white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!

Check out the video.

Austen sings along to the show, which she often watches in the morning or while eating -- blame that on Daddy, not Auntie Holly. She has a Po doll and says "Po" clearly when she and Mommy sing the Teletubbies' theme song.

Sometimes she throws a mini fit when she doesn't get her way, which Mommy and Daddy try to ignore. Distracting her often helps the situation. Mommy carries the Elmo phone for distraction emergencies.

Dear Austen,

Before becoming Mommy, I always thought that diapers would be one of my least favorite parts. And, it's true that poopie diapers can be nasty. But the funny thing is that when Daddy and I discover one, there's often a lot of goofy smiles and laughter. "Uh, oh, it's poopies!" "Oh, no! Not the poopies!"

We're wacky sometimes.

Love,
Mommy

Austen is attempting new words everyday. Yesterday, it was "That's" and "Elmo's" while Mommy and Daddy were singing Elmo's theme song. Today it was "Whoozit" when Mommy was talking to Austen about her Whoozit toy.

Austen went to Queens to visit with Grandma, Grandpa and Chacha while Mommy and Daddy went car shopping. She had a wonderful time with them, as always, but it still shocks Mommy and Daddy how much she prefers Grandpa to everyone else. She squirms to get away from Mommy when her eye catches Grandpa. "She makes a bee line to Grandpa," explains Chacha.

Mommy and Daddy have been remiss and need to take more photos of Austen and Grandpa Rodey.

Austen and Mommy hosted a "Sound of Music" viewing party. They set the DVD to sing-along mode and tested the family room's acoustics. There were snacks and toddlers roaming everywhere -- Scout being a popular item of pursuit. Believe it or not, Austen is not the only little one who's fascinated by Mommy's singing. :)

Today, Sandhia got Austen to eat some garden vegetable baby food with a spoon. Maybe her aversion to pureed baby food is a result of her determination to be independent and feed herself.

At Austen's First Birthday Party ("The Big Family Party") on September 16th

Austen and Mommy went to Westfield for a trial My Gym class. First, they stopped for lunch at Tinga (great burritos!) with Kelly and Riley, then they went to class, which was similar to Gymboree but with more grown-up equipment. At the end of class, there was a special "separate play" time when the kids were supposed to “try their best” to play far away from their mommies. This was not a struggle for Austen. She wanted the whole class to be separate play. Whenever mommy tried to steer her toward a new apparatus, she balked. She likes to make her own play choices. The independent streak is strong in Austen's family.

Westfield has great stores. Mommy found two things she insists on buying for Austen ASAP. A Nirvana tee with cashmere sleeves and a giant yellow-ducky stuffed animal. Daddy?

Two just about killed Mommy and Daddy. Too much work. Next year we're spreading them out.

Forty of Austen's closest family and family friends came for lunch and cake to celebrate her first birthday.









The food was special: catered sandwiches that received many compliments, three special ice cream cakes, delicious mini pastries, a cheese platter, tossed salad, crudités and fruit.

Austen hosted a tea for her little friends, featuring carrot cupcakes and heart-shaped tea sandwiches. Dean, Aaron, Ryan, Mia, Riley, Malina, Jack, Cousin Emma, Cousin Erin and their mommies were in attendence. There was lots of rambunctous and chaotic fun ... kids running from room to room ... and plastic teacups everywhere. Mommy and Grandma Rodey enjoyed themsevles immensely.

During her birthday week, Austen got to play with Cousin Emma. Emma started running around calling Austen's name over and over again -- then Uncle Davinder started running around repeating "Emma!" over and over again. Mommy was impressed to see Emma and Austen taking turns throwing and retrieving a ball: one would throw and the other retrieve.


Austen also played with Cousin Erin.


The party aftermath

Hopefully, Austen will play with Cousin Morgan at her birthday party in Massachusetts in December.

and she greeted him with a big hug.*




* Actually, he had business in Edison but don't tell Austen.

Austen started Gymboree Level IV, which is officially for 16- to 20-month-olds, even though she's only just turned 12 months.

As a dancing girl, even if she hears only Mommy's singing or elevator music, Austen's into the groove. She shakes her butt, waves her hands and even does some head banging moves. Almost any type of music with a beat gets her going although rap and hip-hop seem to be her current favorites.

Austen can an crawl up stairs with no problem but doesn't like the backward downstairs crawl. She prefers holding onto someone's hand or the rails and "walking" down the stairs like a big girl. She tries the same method when walking off the curb except without any external support; her success rate is about 50%.

Austen likes putting circles, squares and triangles into shape sorters. She repeats the entry and exit of each piece over and over.

Austen can push buttons on her toys and shows a preference for certain buttons over others; perhaps she likes the sounds better. She opens and closes doors and flips switches showing excellent small motor skills.

Her walk speeds up into running as she moves from room to room and back again, never seeming to tiring of retracing the same steps, as long as she has new objects in her hands to carry back and forth. Her toys never stay organized for long because she carries the pieces throughout the house.

Austen wants to do what Mommy does. Mommy has to be sneaky and not let Austen see her open certain containers and drawers because if Austen sees it she'll immediately want to try the drawer herself.

When we get home from a three or four hour excursion and Mommy tells Austen "It's seepy time," Austen doesn't resist, she almost looks relieved and happily goes into her swing with a six or eight ounce bottle of formula.

When doing something she knows she is not supposed to, she'll look at Mommy or Daddy to see if it's still a forbidden act. When startled by a "no," she sometimes runs around in circles or even runs in place before she shifts into gear and takes off.

Austen can make just about any sound humanly possible and she combines them all in a complicated fashion, speaking in strings of sounds that almost sound like an exotic foreign language. When she's excited about something, like playtime and tickles with Mommy and Daddy, she'll start talking as if she has something very important to share. Mommy and Daddy nod and agree with her, while Daddy speculates on what she's trying to say, usually responding with his trademark wacky comments.

Although she's been a fan of Elmo's for a while, when she hears the intro music playing to Elmo's World, she gets excited and sings along. When Mommy and Daddy sing the lyrics, she recites one of the words just before Mommy and Daddy do.


At the Baby Tea Party celebrating Austen's 1st Birthday on September 12th

Mommy and Daddy woke Austen up this morning with a giant Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday balloon -- she loves Pooh and balloons -- and danced for her while singing "Happy Birthday to you ..." She looked quite overcome.







In the afternoon, the whole family drove to New Brunswick where Austen was born. We'd planned to eat at Catherine Lombardi Restaurant, reportedly one of the best in New Jersey, but found that restaurants in New Brunswick are only open for dinner on Sunday, so we ate lunch at an Indian buffet. Austen enjoyed the spicy chicken.

Afterward we went to St. Peter's University Hospital where Austen was born. The nurses and staff were warm and welcoming as we remembered. Daddy told Mommy and Austen the store of Austen's birth -- neither remember that day. Too many drugs.

Austen,

It's hard to believe there was a time we weren't sure you would make it. After a difficult pregnancy, emotionally and physically, came a perfectly healthy baby. Your nine out of ten on the apgar scale was a sign of things to come. Nothing gets you down for long, not a trip-n-fall or even the chicken pox. You're always quickly up and running, and smiling, again.

And at one year, you're so much more than a vision of health. Smart as the dickens. Strong and energetic. Observant and engaged with the people around you. It's clear what a beautiful future you'll have. But don't forget, you must do something special with that lung power of yours: a woodwind instrumentalist or opera singer are two possibilities. And if you want to be a rock star instead, we don't mind.

Your smiles are contagious and make it easy to care for you. The fussies never last long. You're built for play and fun. Mommy thinks you get your open, gregarious personality from Grandma Judi -- and your laughing for no reason at all from Daddy.

Mommy must've passed on her love of fuzzies. Although you're not able to catch the kitties, you give it your best effort every time. Continue to apply this go-get-'em attitude in all that you do. And remember, after you've become a great athlete in volleyball, soccer, tennis or whatever, be sure to let Daddy win once in a while.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Austen, Mommy & Daddy went to a picnic hosted by Daddy's coworker. With plenty of food, drinks and fun to be had, there were no work related discussions (well, maybe just a little).

Within 5 minutes of arriving, George (Tom's grandson) recruited Daddy to play in a 2-hand touch game of football. 2 adults vs. 2 kids (under 10 yrs old). Needless to say, it was a slaughter (in favor of the adults, of course!).








Austen plays in the water-filled container with Iris, a retired school teacher who was very friendly and apparently still loved babies.


So much ground to cover for one little baby.


Austen joins in on the fun, never intimidated by older kids. She likes them, often walking up and "talking" to them.

Mommy's been putting it off for weeks, but it's time to crack open her book on the Toddler Years. "The Baby" is definitely now "The Toddler." Today, Austen went to a picnic and ran around on the grass, no assistance required. Mommy and Daddy got to play football and baseball while Austen acted as an obstacle on the field.

After lunching with the rest of the guests, Austen practiced climbing up and down the deck steps alongside an 18-month-old boy. She also played in a basin of water and was a social, smiley little girl, unless someone tried to pick her up. Her independent spirit and shyness don't allow for that right now.