One Month and 32 Months

Time flies and it's already been a month with Austin in our lives.  I figure that this would be a good chance to do some updates on both of my special boys because they grow so fast.  We'll see if I can keep this up monthly...

I'll start with Austin.  He is my little chunky, snuggly sweet man.  We don't have another well check for another month but he seems to be growing fast and fattening up, as he should be with the amount he likes to eat.  It couldn't be more night and day between him and newborn Cash in the eating department.  Where I would have to set a timer to remind myself to feed Cash every 2.5 hours, Austin will basically demand more food every hour or two throughout the day and then every three to four hours at night.  We've had a few challenges with breastfeeding - namely that he was so hungry that he would drink too fast and choke himself which makes him mad - but we've come up with some solutions for it and things are going better.  He's sleeping relatively well in the Rock N' Play sleeper and most nights I'll feed him two times and easily put him back down to sleep without any coaxing needed.  He's starting to wake up a bit more during the day and I think we've seen his first smiles.  He's a special little guy and I can't wait to see what the next few months bring.

Big brother Cash is only a few months away from three and he really is such a big boy.  He's using his words well and is starting to learn and remember his manners.  He can pretty much dress himself (and usually wants to) and has a strong opinion about what to wear.  He has his own style which usually involves some form of sweatpants, his cowboy boots, a t-shirt and, most importantly, one Elmo and one Cookie Monster sock.  He likes to run around on the playground, watch shows and movies (namely Toy Story and Cars), and talk about his school friends.  He also loves his little brother and is being very kind and caring towards him though we do have to remind him to be gentle every once in a awhile.  We've had the typical two year old challenges lately - he's a little guy who knows what he wants and when he wants it and is also very adept at saying "No!" and the artful concept of stalling, especially at meals and bedtimes - but we've found that by giving him choices and standing firm when there is no choice involved that we can usually get past the tantrums without too much incident.  Emphasis on usually...