May

Austin loves to wave at people and say "hi". He does it in the car to the cars beside us, he does it strolling through the grocery store. It's the cutest thing and apparently my kid is very social! He has adjusted to his new school amazingly, and was feeling at home within a few days. I think the transition was much harder for me (as it was last time) but knowing that I was doing the best thing for my child made it worthwhile. He absolutely loves it now and gets excited to go to school, rather than fighting me getting in and out of his carseat like he did the last week at his old school (it's like he was trying to tell me how unhappy he was). He tries to say "I love you" and when you ask if he's sleepy and he is, he nods yes and will sometimes walk to his room and point at his crib. When you ask if he's hungry, he nods yes and walks to his highchair. When he's done, he tries to push his tray away. He got his 5th tooth, on the top left side. He has started leaning over and dipping his face in the water in his bath every night, which is the weirdest thing but so cute at the same time! I have no idea where he learned it or where it came from because it was completely out of the blue when he did it the first time. He comes up just giggling, with water dripping down his face. I laugh with him and say "Do it again" and he does it again, giggling and dripping. It's hilarious! He started wagging his finger and saying "No No", which I guess he learned at daycare. He did it to a little boy at a birthday party that kept trying to pull him down by his jacket hood. He would turn around and shake his finger and say "No No!" I couldn't help but laugh! His favorite words now are "Whoa" and "Wow". He either yells them or whispers, which is so freakin cute. For some reason, he has whispered all his life. When you ask what a tiger says, he whispers his "roar", something everyone seems to get the biggest kick out of (I mean, it is the cutest thing ever..). I don't know why, but whispering is just something he's always done! He loves to press the garage door button to either open or close the garage. That always makes him yell "Whoa!!". He loves bubbles and hearing him say it is adorable. He loves to play outside, which can be annoying at times because he doesn't seem to get near as hot as we do! He stands at the back door and says "side", for outside. He has gotten extremely attached to me though, which is trying and exhausting for me. I want to hold him but I know I can't hold him all the time or every time he wants me to. He breaks into these random tantrums where he just screams for no apparent reason. He can get frustrated very easily, which sets him off into those tantrums. We're working through it but the last two weeks or so have been tough. He loves to give hugs and kisses, and always takes his paci (which he calls “gaga”) out to give you a kiss. He loves to kiss Lola and he loves to kiss your boo boo's (or his own). He gives the greatest, tightest bear hugs that a 17 month old can possibly give. He loves to play chase and he loves testing you and testing his boundaries. He is so loving and so sweet, and overall he's just a very happy baby. He's working on tooth #6, which has caused him to be a little irritable at times and even caused him to bite at school (and yes, I completely freaked out). I was worried that he had picked up the behavior from his old school, considering it was all he saw for four months straight, but it seemed to be an isolated incidence and I was reassured by his teacher not to worry and that they were working on it with him (something his old school never bothered to do). He's about to hit 17 months old. I can't believe how much he has grown and how much he has accomplished. He is such a joy to be around and so much fun.