The tractor needed a little work before we could get started...
That's better!
Austin, at 19 months, you...
...love to point out stars.
...call every number or letter you see a "two!"
...love to color and every color is "BLUE!"
...enjoy feeding your animals and saying "mmmm" after each one eats.
...are going to bed like such a big boy! You let us know between 8:00 and 8:30 that it's time for a paci and woobie.
...have found a best friend in your Uncle Cee Cee.
...say "two" when you want to be picked up or put on the couch.
...have learned that no one can say no when you sweetly pull on their finger to get them where you want to go.
...pretend not to know what No means.
...have at least 11 teeth.
...have started to wear a few 2T shirts.
...added Owl, whoo-whoo, down (as in get down), in there, bee, buzzz, back (as in put my cup back), mote (remote), hat, more (as in I want more), corn, hay, eye, nose, mouth, ear, flower, blocks, keys, the end, loons (balloons), and many other words to your vocab.
...are getting very good at following directions. Go get mommy the phone...go give Daddy a drink (pretend, of course!)...go get a book...put your cows in the fence, etc.
...are a pill in church.
...are loved more then you'll ever know!
Love you, Buddy!
Grandma Kiefer gave Austin a quick cleaning lesson before we headed home...
On Sunday we went to church, had breakfast, exchanged gifts, watched the Wonder Pet's Valentine's Day special, make Dad pink Krispy Treats, ate chocolate covered strawberries and had special V-day "jump jumps."
Sunday night we headed up to Nana and Pa's to share the love with them and Aunt B and Uncle C.
Happy Valentine's Day!
The first picture was in honor of Grandpa Kiefer's retirement. (I can't believe he didn't have shoes on!!)
The second pic was a special Valentine's Message!
Finally, something worth reading!
That's better!
We proudly hung his first piece of artwork on the fridge...
We try our best to keep all coloring activities in his high chair or at his picnic table, but a lot of times other things end up with little scribbles on them. Thank goodness for Magic Erasers!
Recently, he found out that stepping on the crayons (and breaking them) is just as fun as coloring. I had to do emergency surgery on old Blue a few nights ago. He pulled through and all was right again in the coloring world!
I didn't leave them IN the car, I left them ON the car! The wipes had traveled from Nana's house to ours on the back of the car! I was so happy they didn't fall off! (Ignore the nasty car! The roads are still so yucky from the snow.)
I think we got every book in the house out last weekend. I told him we could have started a small children's library.
He doesn't really like for us to actually read the stories to him. He's content with pointing at the things he knows, and then 
I guess he probably gets his love of books very honestly. Mama's been known to have her nose in a book, or two, over the years!
Here's to hoping this phase never ends! Happy reading, baby!
Austin and Bella had so much fun building towers, playing with Bella's kitchen and climbing in her tent.
"What's for dinner, Bella?" "I don't know, but I must put on my apron first."
Austin really enjoyed the tent/tunnel! Other kid's toys are always so much fun!
All that playing made them so thirty! Time for a tea party with the Madeline tea set we gave Bella for her birthday.
The tea was delicious!
Thanks for having us over, Bella! We hope to see you again real soon!
The best booth was the one selling mini donuts. The only thing we heard on the way home was "more, more more!"
Winter Olympics Feb '10:
