AUSTIN.

I had to post some pictures of Austin in his every day antics so you could see what an eventful life we have. This child NEVER sits still and is the kind of kid that if you are not watching him every second, you will have big messes to clean up. He loves to get into things and climb and scream and run and sneak out the doors and eat all sorts of imaginable 'things' (but not good things like vegetables and fruit of course).
The other day I came in and he was sitting on the cupboard with a big bowl of watermelon pieces. He'd pick up two at a time and squish the juice out of them and then throw the pieces as far as he could in all directions. He laughed after every throw. Jeff and I were so surprised at the gigantic mess all we could do was get the video camera out and film him. What made it even funnier was he had a watermelon seed smack in the middle of his forehead (just like an East Indian person would sport) and had no idea. Yeah, that mess took quite a while to clean up and included taking out all the bar stools to hose them off, mopping the floor multiple times, wiping down the front of the cabinets, fridge and stove.

He particularly loves to eat chapstick and markers--black is his favorite color although his not too particular. He likes to bite the tops off and spit them on the floor. Thankfully, I stocked up when WalMart had their back-to-school special. I actually had to eat some chapstick the other day just to see what he finds so appealing about it. (Still rather mystified.) I'm guessing he has a pretty well lubricated intestinal tract though. Is that a good thing?

Lately he is big into 'hats' --of whatever sort. He had the little garbage can on his head the other day and was walking around the house bumping into the walls and everything else in his way. He thought it was great fun!

He's such a fun addition to our family. I often think about how boring my life would be without him.