Austin is 8.5 and loving life. I am using his baptism pictures for his main pictures of this post, even though they aren't his newest photos, and he has actually grown a lot since them. But they were taken after his birthday last year and I just love them so much I want to make sure they get a spot! I love them and I love him.
Stats: 49" (getting close to 50"!)
Some things about Austin at this age:
-He is either SUPER motivated to get something done and will do it well, will do it quickly, and will do it cheerfully without needing to be asked to refocus. OR he will NOT do it. Like, there is nothing you can do, say, bribe, threaten, or force to make him do what you want him to do. This can be something as simple as moving to a different cushion on the couch so a sibling can have more space, or doing his entire list of chores/responsibilities/homeschool over the course of several hours. Thankfully, he tends to stay on the motivated, cheerful side, but we are definitely learning how to navigate his unmotivated self.
-He is our best ADJ (after dinner jobs) helper. He clears all the food off the table, puts it in tupperware containers, and puts it in the fridge. He does this almost every night without complaint. He is the most regular and most cheerful adj-er. He's also really really good at it.
-He is doing really well in school - he is just starting to enjoy reading and that has been really fun to watch. He still loves math. He's working so hard on his speech/articulation. He's learning and growing and I'm just so proud of him.
-He loves Pokemon. Man. I don't really understand Pokemon, but he loves them. Thankfully Caleb and Lydia are both pretty into it, too- so they can talk and play together.
-We go to Sue's house each Thursday afternoon and Austin always runs in, gives her a hug, and settles himself on her chair in the corner. He chats with her a bit, but mostly just enjoys watching whatever she's watching on TV. Sometimes they watch shows about veterinarians who treat random problems with pets or farm animals. Sometimes they watch a movie from her collection. But you can most often find him settled right there hanging out with Grandma.
-He has been taking piano lessons this year and although he started strong, he was struggling pretty significantly with practicing. We decided to wake up early together and have consistently been practicing the piano together at 7:30 am for a while now. It's been so good for us to have that time together, when I can focus on him, when he is fresh, and when the house is quiet. He had his first Christmas recital and did such a great job. I'm really proud of him.
-He had a beautiful baptism day and it made my heart so happy to see him making this next step with such joy and enthusiasm.
Pictures from the past six months. (In no particular order because my computer downloaded them funny and I can't figure out how to load them chronologically.)
We love you Austin!
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