What's Austen Saying?

It's true what some say - as your kids grow, life with them just keeps getting better and better.

Yes, Austen keeps us on our toes but we delight in hearing him formulate sentences, which each day seem more complex than the day before. But the real joy is in hearing some of the things that he has to say.

Here are a few of his recent conversations with us:

- "No go to work, daddy. Go to the pool!" (This was said one morning as we were getting ready to go to work and Austen to 'school.' Can you tell he loves the pool/beach?)

- "Mommy, I wake up!" (Often my alarm clock, Austen usually shouts this from his room anywhere between 6-6:45am every morning. His legs aren't broken and he doesn't sleep in a crib anymore so it's beyond me why he doesn't just come in our room to tell me this instead of making me get out of bed to come get him to go to the bathroom.)

- "Not sorry!" (Who knew a 2 1/2 year-old really understood what it meant not to be ready to apologize. This what Austen says after he's hit poor Adler or just before he gets sent to timeout!)

- "Play with me!" (Austen's dad spoils him by building cool sandcastles at the beach or using books as bridges when he plays cars with Austen in his room. So Tom doesn't get much of a chance to read a magazine at the beach or to rest right when he comes home from work.)

- "Bye mommy!" (Usually he says this as he's shoving me out the door of his room when his cousins/godmother are over to babysit. They apparently are way more fun than me so he's all too happy to see me go. I guess I should be happy he's not like I was as a kid - crying myself sick when my parents would leave me with a babysitter.)

I hope these words straight from Austen's mouth bring a smile or two to your face like they did mine.