Mr. Chatterbox

Last month at Austin's 18-month appointment our pediatrician told us that Austin should be saying 10-15 words.  I chuckled and told her he was well past 30 words. 

Instead of a baby book I have kept a calendar in Austin's room so I can write things down quickly as he does something new.  I document a knew word nearly every day. 

Here's a handful of words that Austin says these days (pronunciation is obviously not perfect, but these are words he says regularily and on his own - not just repeating what we say):

this; no; uh-oh; up; down; go; moo; maa; baa; dada; mama; papa; Kaka (Uncle Kelsey's nickname coined by Taylor many years ago); ouch; all done; keys; more; shoes; ball; ashes, ashes; apple; crash; hat; cat; dog; sheep; duck; quack; yee-haw; choo choo; car; cup; goose; gone; gosh; juice; chip; turtle; sun; zip; apples all gone; Cooper; egg; poop; stuck; purse; spit; push; I want this (I this); I go in there (I goin nare); fish; flower; baby; sad; stairs; wash; nose; foot; hands; eyes; whale; heavy; people; kick; chimes; I dance; Jesus; truck; tractor; drums (booms); trash; clothes; cookies; cracker; hot; bath; bubble; water; off; book; socks; mix; pants; star.....

Just to name a few I've remembered to write down!  It's been fun to see what new things he does and says everyday.  He is such a little boy!

5 years ago...

Jeff and I met 5 years ago today on Stadium Terrace's sand volleyball court. It didn't take long to realize that each of us actually knew how to play volleyball. We said hello on opposite sides of the net and sized each other up. He hit the ball hard and I returned it - something he wasn't used to. After the match he casually asked which apartment my roommate and I were in - 28. Having this information gave him my phone number without actually asking for it... what a smart guy.

He called me a couple days later to play ultimate frisbee but I was at work, so my roommate, Kimee, and I invited him and his roommates over to help us make cookies for a party we were throwing that weekend. He was the only one that showed.

We had our party and I think Jeff was one of the last to part ways. A couple days after that we went on our first date - Hiking the Y.

First picture of us together, atop the conquered Y Mountain.

My Etsy Shop

Sometimes life as a stay-at-home mom gets a little mundane.  Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy being with my sweet boy everyday, but sometimes I've just gotta do something a little different to keep my sanity. 

When I have a moment I've been making baby blankets, headbands and hair clips.  Last month I decided to try my hand at opening my own Etsy shop.  If you scroll down to the bottom right of our blog there are a few items I have for sale in my shop.  If you click any of the pictures it will take you to etsy and you can see all the goodies I've been making!

Check it out!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BabesBlanketsnCrafts

"Smile So Big!"

If you tell Austin to "Smile So Big" this is what you'll get... every time.

Making cookies with Mommy... Not quite the same cheeser face, but too cute not to include.

What a sweetie he is!

Picture Update - last few months

I have had great blogging intentions during the last 3 months but have found it difficult to sit down and take the time to do them... 

I will just post a handful of miscellaneous pictures from the last few months... Austin has just been getting cuter with every day and he's learning so much all the time.  Hopefully I'll get some funny videos up soon too

Austin proudly showing that he knows where his head is.  He knows all of his basic body parts... now its time to work on the inbetween spaces - cheeks, forhead, elbow...

Two of my brothers (Kelsey and Cameron), Jeff and myself went to the BYU v. CSU basketball game in Fort Collins.  Kelsey was the only unaffiliate and cheered/booed for both teams.  Cameron's face is due to the Rams loss.  (He really didn't care too much... I think this was the first game he'd been to, and he graduated 2 years ago.)  We had a good time. :)

Bundled up for one of those below zero days we had this winter.

Drinking from a sippy cup never looked so good!

Christmas 2010

 We stayed in Colorado for Christmas this year and spent our time in Johnstown with my family and lot of extended family!

Grandma Loucks reciting "The Night Before Christmas" to Austin on Christmas Eve.

Mom's "Quimby" Tree

Austin waking up and waiting for the go ahead with Uncle 'Kaka' at the top of the stairs Christmas morning!

He started to get the concept of tearing off the wrapping paper, but he didn't like when small pieces would stick to his fingers...

Papa and Austin playing with one of many new toys in Broomfield at Great-grandma/pa Woodis' after Christmas dinner. 

We had to be back at church on Sunday, so we went home Christmas night and opened some of the larger presents we didn't want to pack in the car.

We went back up to Johnstown Sunday evening to have a large family dinner.  I think there were about 25 place settings!  (We had a lot of fun playing Kelsey's Kinect Sports)

My brother Cody's family got into town on Sunday to join in the holiday festivities for a few days.

Jaxon (right) is 5 months older than Austin.  They are pretty close to the same size, and played really well together! 

Visiting Great-granddad Loucks! 

 We spent a day at the park and at Chuck-E-Cheese!

 Taylor is quite the musician and serenaded us frequently on the piano

Austin loved playing with all the 'big boys'

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with too many goodies, lots of family, and more than our fair share of gifts!

Trip to UTAH

Jeff surprised me with an early Christmas gift - a trip to Utah to visit some friends!  He was going to be in Indiana for work that week and decided I might as well go do something fun!  I stayed with Shannon Jenks (my sister-in-law, Jamie's, sister) and her family.  It was so fun to get out and see some of my friends and introduce them to Austin.  Here are a few of the people we were lucky enough to visit:

 Hailey - Freshmen friend extraordinaire!  We met during our first semester at BYU tap dancing. She ended up breaking her foot a few weeks in to the semester and I became her taxi to and from Dr. visits.  After hanging out a few times we realized that we both did the "goat" impression.  It was a true friendship meant to be...  Austin thought she was pretty cool too!

Jamie and Stephanie with August (Stephanie's boy) in the middle.

Both wonderful ladies also met while tap dancing!

Two incredibly handsome, blue-eyed boys!  Austin is only about 6 weeks older than August.

 Though it was only a short lunch-date, we had a great time laughing and catching up!

 Austin and Roslyn

We stopped by the Wilcox's to catch up with their family.  Roslyn was not quite 2 months old when we moved from Provo - she'll be 2 in March!

A necessary visit was made to see Ellen, Jeff's boss for 3 years at the Daily Universe on BYU campus.  She didn't know we were coming so we decided to stop in and surprise her!  We had a great long chat.  Being in that office brought back so many fun memories!

Kimee and I - roomies for 2 years!  I had the pleasure of spending an entire day with Kimee and her 3-month-old boy, Thomas.  We shopped, ate, chatted, reminised and played with our little boys all day long! 

The Moulton Family

I got to see a few other people but unfortunately forgot my camera during those visits... 

Thank you Jeff for the wonderful trip!