What I love about Austin

I feel like I haven't blogged much about Austin lately. Every day he does something that makes me laugh or realize how big he's really getting. Here are some of the highlights:

Allergist appointment: Austin went last week to the allergist to have his allergies re-evaluated and discuss the possibility of him having asthma. The doctor determined from his physical examination that Austin does in fact have allergies and asthma. We are in the process of determining the severity of his asthma and experimenting with some medications for his allergies. He is taking Nasonex along with another medication at night before bedtime and Zyrtec (an antihistamine) each morning. The doctor thinks that Austin wakes each night at or around 3:00 a.m. as this is the peak time for nasal congestion. I haven't noticed a significant change so far, but hopefully it will help him in the long run. He goes back to see the allergist on December 11th.

He takes his medicine like a champ. (Especially when you tell him it tastes like gum!)

Potty training: He's almost there, thanks in part to Sponge Bob Squarepants. I really didn't want it to get to that point, but bribing him with Krabby Patties has helped with getting him to go poop on the potty. If he goes poop in the potty and not in his underwear, he gets three "Sponge Bob Candies". Some days are better than others but he hasn't pooped in his underwear in a long time. His biggest hurdle to overcome at this stage in the game is taking time to go potty when he's busy playing. The accidents are happening less often and hopefully one day it will all come together.



Just some random things I love about Austin at this age:

• He's becoming so independent. I love to watch him play by himself.
• I love the way he talks to his sister. He always speaks to her in a high pitched voice when he says something nice. For example, he likes to say, "Hey there baby girl". And when she's doing something she's not suppose to it sounds like, "No no sweetie, we don't play with ..."
• He's so polite and has good manners. If I had to say one thing we've done right in raising Austin, I'd be confident in saying we've raised him to be polite and have good manners. He says please and thank you for almost everything. Every once in a while he needs to be reminded, but he usually says it on his own automatically.
• He is really starting to get into sports. He is constantly kicking around a soccer ball, shooting a basketball at his hoop and asking us to play baseball with him. And I must say he can hit a baseball when we pitch it to him like a champ. I can't wait for another couple of years so he can start playing organized sports.
• He's so smart and absorbs everything. And I mean everything!
  

We love Texas weather. Where else can you get ice cream from the ice cream man in November? Especially Spiderman ice cream!

I can't believe he's going to be four years old in a couple of months. I realized today when he buckled his own seat belt in the car that he's not a "toddler" any more. He's a little boy, and he's growing up way too fast...