Austen and Mama love to go out to play dates and parties (and to host them) like regular social butterflies. Mama gets to vent about child raising stuff and Austen gets to snack and run around and check out new toys and interact with friends.
Austen continues to learn at an exponential rate. It seems just repeating a new word or song a few times is enough for her to recant it on her own, although not perfectly. She uses so many sentences that we've lost track. And they're often creative and original. After placing an oversized ball in her basketball hoop, she says, "It's stuck." When driving over the Manhattan Bridge on our way to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Austen pointed to ships and said, "Ships are in the water." Also, she pointed to a dolphin toy and said, "Hi, dolphin," even though she'd never see a dolphin before, only pictures of dolphins. She often says hi to her friends and uses their names.
Austen surprises Mama and Dada regularly with her memory. Examples include:
-singing "Row, row, row your boat"
-singing "Twinkle, Twinkle little star"
-singing "Bah Bah Black Sheep"
-repeating lines from her favorite books such as "Goodnight Moon"
-counting from 1 through 10 with ease
-singing the ABC song (although she only hits a handful of letters)
Austen also shakes hands. While shaking, she'll look at you and say "Hello!" in her own pronunciation (sounds like Heh-whoa).
It's fun to read to Austen now. She's an enthusiastic listener and points to pictures and exclaims, "Oooh, a bird!" Her interest is contagious. If you ask her "Who's that?" she'll answer correctly (e.g. "Ernie!"). She also tells you that he's holding a rubber ducky.
Austen can now play by herself or amongst the other kids at parties without constant supervision by Mamma and Dada. This helps them all enjoy get-togethers more. Mama and Dada just check on her often and feed her.
Austen drinks lots of water and a little chocolate milk. She loves all forms of chocolate: milk, cookies, brownies, Godiva dark.
As for potty training, Austen talks about going potty and knows where Austen's potty is but gives a definite "No!" when asked if she wants to use her potty.
Austen now misses people she hasn't seen for a while, including her cousins, her grandparents, Chacha and Dada.
Sleeping is less of an issue for Austen. She naps and sleeps through many nights in her crib.
As for a Mommy update, Mama now realizes she was depressed when Austen was a newborn. She missed her own mom terribly and wanted to talk to her about stuff everyday. When Mama sees her friends with newborns she feels sorry for them, which she knows is totally bizarre and is something she never felt before motherhood. It must be because of how difficult things were for her during Austen's first few months (before Mama was able to get out of the house, start activities and meet other moms). Mama realizes that, all things being said, she prefers toddlers to infants because they give feedback.
Austen still loves her bottle. Aaron is the closest she has to a little boyfriend; she mostly likes older boys, around five or so. :)
Yelling with her sparkly shoes on.
Austen love hanging out at home with Grandma Mindy, Grandpa and Chacha.
Grandma Mindy somehow manages to get barrettes in Austen's hair while cooking a bunch of Indian food, although the battettes only last a short time until Austen pulls them out.
