Hello everyone! Long time, no see! It's time to catch up. I have been neglectful of the blog and apologize profusely (especially to my grandma for whom this blog is a sole source of pictures of her great-grandson!).
This entry has no pictures, but will catch you up on the goings on in the Carr family. Pictures shall be posted in the next entry (aka when I am at home with access to the pictures!).
So the last post was from Austin's birthday. Geez. That feels like a lifetime ago. Summer was good in the Carr house. We went on several day trips to the beach - which Austin loves and we also went on several trips out of town. Austin began walking in mid-June, at about 14.5 months. Shortly after, he began running and has been on the move ever since! We have been very fortunate. There have been no major falls in our house (knock on wood) and no injuries. Before he started walking, he said a few words, but after he really began walking, the vocabulary took off. He now says a bunch of words. Daddy and Aunt Jess estimate the word count at 50-60. Some are clearer than others, but they all have specific meaning. As an amusing aside, if you are around my child, and hear him gleefully say "Boobies!", he is not referring to any anatomical part - rather he has seen or heard a bird. I promise. He loves to make animal noises too. Lion noises were his favorite for a while but the current favorite is a rooster, which he indicates with "Cock-a-doo". It is truly adorable. It has been amazing to watch him developing speech and it is so much fun to communicate with him. He even has a couple of two word phrases, including "shoes off" and "shoes on".
In July, Austin was the ring bearer for my cousin Carlie's wedding in Jacksonville. I use the term ring bearer rather loosely, because it entailed Carlie's friend Mikey carrying my crying child up the aisle. He wasn't walking very far on his own at that point, so we opted that he be carried down the aisle. He was feeling shy and somewhat freaked out by the whole event which resulted in the crying. There wasn't sobbing or anything, just tears running down his cheeks as he looked woefully for mommy and daddy. Daddy came in and saved the day by whisking Austin out to the foyer for juice as soon as he was finished walking down the aisle. He was super super cute in his tux though!
In August we went to Sanibel Island for a long weekend to celebrate Nathan's 30th birthday. It was a very relaxing weekend. Austin wasn't much in the mood for the beach, but we had fun taking walks and he enjoyed riding in the wagon. We got an unconventional wagon - it is a lawn cart from home depot! But we love it! It is bigger than a regular wagon and will hold up to 700 lbs, so we should be able to use it forever! No, I am not saying that Austin will be riding in the wagon when he's twelve, just that it will be put to other uses once he's finished with it. It's been to the beach and all throughout the neighborhood.
In September we took our first real family vacation. We spent a week in Yellowstone. It was FANTASTIC. We had such a great time. Nathan and I both prefer to get away from it all on vacation rather than doing the whole amusement park/resort/lots of activity thing, so this trip was perfect for us. We flew into Jackson Hole, Wyoming and then drove up into Yellowstone, staying a couple of nights in three of the different resort areas in the park. The term resort in Yellowstone is a bit of a misnomer. None of the hotels have televisions and most don't even have a phone. They are rustic. We spent our days relaxing and spending time together as a family. The wildlife and scenery was just amazing. We saw elk, chipmunks, buffalo and even a black bear. One day we were driving along and traffic came to a stop. Next thing we knew, there was a buffalo walking down the middle of the road. He passed within feet of our car!! How cool is that?!? The whole trip was amazing. I'd worried for weeks about how Austin would do on the planes, being out of his normal routine, and all sleeping together in the same room, but he was terrific. He was so easy going. I think the best part of the trip was just getting to spend lots of time together without the cellphones, blackberry, tv, etc. I hope that we can take another trip again next year.
A week after returning from Yellowstone, we were on the road again for a trip to Indiana for my cousin Stacie's wedding. Austin's Aunt Jess lives in Indiana right now, so we started the weekend in Bloomington visiting Jess and then traveled up to Auburn for the wedding. It was a busy but great weekend. Once again, our little traveler was happy and the trip went well.
October was an exhausting month. We spent three weekends in Jacksonville visiting with Nana (Nathan's grandmother), who was very ill. She was in a hospital for each of our visits, so Austin wasn't able to go in to visit, but on Halloween, we convinced Nana to come out and see Austin. She was only outside for a couple of minutes, but we will treasure that short visit forever. Nathan and I saw Nana for the last time on November 1. She passed away on November 7 and we will miss her dearly. Despite the reason for the trip to Jacksonville, we managed to have a fun Halloween. The weekend prior to Halloween, we went to a pumpkin patch near Mimi and Grandpa's (aka BePa. Austin can't really say grandpa, so he calls grandpa BePa) house. It was fun to see all the "Pumpkees". Austin had a good time. Then on Halloween, we dressed Austin up and went trick-or-treating at a few houses. Austin was a bumblebee and was a adorable. He would talk about all the pumpkees as he and Daddy walked up to the door and then once the door opened, he just stared at the people, not saying a word. As soon as the door closed, he started talking again. It was pretty funny. We weren't able to get a "trick-or-treat" out of him, but we've started working on "Ho ho ho" and "Merry Christmas" and they are promising to be much more successful. :-)
Austin has a task that he loves to do at home - feeding the dog. He is really proud of himself each night when we feed the dog together. He runs around shouting "bowl! bowl!" and then brings the bowl to the pantry for food. He helps to dump the scoop of dog food in the bowl, and then he carries (with our help) the bowl over to the stand where Daja eats and says "okay!". It is hilarious to watch. Wonder what else he can do???
Austin had his 18 month checkup last week. He weighed in at 24 lbs and measured 34 inches. Doctor Weiss says this is 25th percentile on weight and 90th percentile on height. It also explains why I cannot find clothes to appropriately fit my child! By the time I get them long enough, they are huge in the waist. Hopefully one day he will have clothes that fit! He is a healthy little boy who is full of curiosity and energy. I am incredibly thankful for our healthy, happy little boy. He brings so much happiness and laughter to our home and we couldn't ask for anything more.
