February 2016

Another great month is officially in the books!  I really can't believe how fast February flew by.  I'm not complaining too much because I am so excited for it to warm up finally!  We did a lot of fun things with Austin this month and love how much he is growing and learning!

Austin perfected rocking on his hands and knees and pulling himself up to anything and everything he can reach but he isn't quite crawling yet. He thinks he is so much bigger than he really is so he is very proud of himself anytime he stands up and hangs on to the furniture.  He's still pretty short so it's hard for him to reach most things which means he constantly whines at us until we help him stand up.

 

One of Austin's favorite things to do is watch for cars and people outside and he gets SO excited when he sees Logan's car pull up.

At the beginning of the month we had a few really nice days and we were desperate to get outside so we took Austin for a walk and watched Logan fly his drones.  Drones are one of Austin's favorite toys so he had a great time. He must have been completely wiped out from being outside because he never falls asleep sitting straight up. I was sure he would wake up when we took him out of his stroller but he stayed sound asleep!  We were even able to undress him and sneak a few minutes of cuddle time in before laying him down in his crib.  I couldn't believe it!

 

 

February 8th was a big day for our family!  Austin was officially discharged from all PCH services after attending liver clinic for the last time.  We knew it was coming soon and we haven't worried about his health for a while now but for him to officially receive a clean bill of health was the best feeling in the world!  He must have known we were getting good news because he was HAPPY!

This face of his kills me.  It's him trying to squeal as loud as possible!

 

 

 

One day later, Austin turned 9 months!  Time is flying now that he is healthy and we are loving each new stage he enters.  In case you're wondering...no, Austin still doesn't have any teeth!  I'm not super surprised because that seems to run in my family.  In a way, Austin's teeth coming in slow could actually be a big blessing.  We were told early on that if his teeth formed early, there was a greater chance they would be yellow or green from his jaundice so I'm hoping they didn't form until after his liver issues were resolved.  We'll see!

 

 

Austin loves playing on the kitchen floor with bowls and spatulas while we make and clean up dinner.  I used to feel like it was too dirty but now I just love that it keeps him busy!

Our little heart breaker had his first Valentine's party this year with our ward "Mommy and Me" Group. It was a lot of fun seeing all the cute kids in their pink and red showing off their boxes.  We didn't make one this year but maybe next!

 

 

Austin's face kills me in this picture!  Haha...he was sooo mad I had set him down for another picture.

Logan and I celebrated Valentine's Day a couple days early by keeping it low-key and ordering our favorite food from The Dodo and bringing it home.  We have just as much fun right now staying home with Austin as we do going out so it was a fun night.

Super pretty flowers from Logan

My family finally found time in February to celebrate the January and February birthdays.  We always have a lot of fun together and of course loved our dinner at Asian Star (a regular for us!).  

A couple weeks ago Austin started swimming lessons and he loves it!  I was worried how it would go over because they are right during his morning nap but that doesn't seem to bother him too much.  He had never been swimming before so Logan and I decided to take him for the first time the day before his class started to see how he did and he had a blast!  I thought it would be a good idea to take him down the tube slide but I didn't realize there isn't an opening until the very end so I was never able to hold him up which meant we both got a face full of water :| Whoops!  Thankfully he calmed down really fast.

 

 

I thought the swim class would be a cute little splash party so the babies could get used to the water but I was definitely wrong!  They teach us water safety, how to teach our babies to get in and out of the water properly, how to float on their tummy and back (with assistance, of course) and we've even put them under the water. During the first class, Austin had fun but was a bit apprehensive.  He liked certain things and really disliked others. When we went back for the second time, however, he was having the time of his life!  People were asking if he had taken the class before because he was having so much fun.  He was squealing and splashing the entire time and couldn't get enough of it.  I hope it continues this well!

Anxiously waiting his turn!  Those eyes though :)

Getting instructions before we get in the pool.  Austin is still working on being patient ;)

Teaching him to wait until I tell him it's "safe to get in the water".

"Walking the wall"
If you look at the little girl to the left you can see her mom showing her the proper way to get in the pool.  It's fascinating how much they actually pick up on at such a young age!

 

 

There's that screaming face again! Haha!

A few days after his first swimming lesson, Austin started coming down with something.  I was having that battle of whether or not to keep him at home and let him fight it on his own or take him to the doctor to make sure it wasn't his ears but exposing him to all those germs.  After a day or so my "mommy's intuition" gave me a clue he needed to go in.  Sure enough, he had a nasty double ear infection.  His ears were filled with pus and everything :( Thankfully he never got a fever this time around but he has had a pretty nasty cold ever since so we've been trying to keep him in for the most part.  I was told by a mom at swimming lessons that chlorinated water has a bacteria in it that is much harder on a baby's ears than regular bath water so that could have easily been how he got it. Considering we went two days in a row, I'm sure that's what happened.  I started using little ear plugs the second time around and they seemed to work real well.

Playing the piano is one of Austin's favorite activities lately!  I was able to snap this happy picture of him not too long ago :) Our dear family friends are all musically gifted so we hope he takes after them!

Toward the end of the month it finally started warming up so we have been going outside a lot more lately even if it's just to sit on a blanket in the back yard.  Austin loves eating sticks, "chatting" with my grandpa, and watching Logan's drones fly around.  I know we are going to have tons of fun this Spring/Summer!

 

Helping dad get the drone ready!

 

Today is "Rare Disease Day" which is a special thing in our family.  Both of our boys were born with rare diseases, SCID and Rh Disease.  There are many incredible people in our lives now because of what our boys have fought through and we are so grateful for each one of them.  If not for these difficult roads we've traveled, we never would have met most of these friends!  We sure love our rare boys!

 
 
 

And that's a wrap for this month!  We are thrilled it's March because we are eagerly anticipating SPRING!