The Dyer Family: 2011

Austyn is getting so big and changing so much these days! She cut 3 new teeth this last week (for a grand total of 6), she is an expert walker and starting to climb (yikes), and she has quite the vocabulary for a 14 month old! Along with the walking has come numerous bumps, bruises, fat lips, and even some blood. Matt is having a hard time with this aspect of toddlerhood...I'm hoping he gets used to it soon because this is just the beginning of all the owies, right?!

This summer has flown by for our family. We spent some time in Crescent Bar and San Diego and are hanging out at home for the remainder of our break. We feel so lucky to have this time to spend together as a family...I am NOT looking forward to the start of the school year! Here are some pics of our summer so far...

The Whole Fam in SeaWorld

Swim Time

Some Tanning time

Turtle...one of Austyn's new words...

Breakfast on the Beach

Austyn LOVED meeting Grover and Elmo at SeaWorld

Best Buds...Lacey and Austyn

Scary Face!

Playin in the yard

Austyn's first hair cut!

She was such a good girl the whole time

Before the hair cut...a little wild and crazy looking

Mommy and Austyn on the 4th of July

Another 2 months has come and gone, and with it Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and quite a few Austyn milestones!

Austyn has been growing and changing so quickly. I feel like every day she does something new. She's a little behind the eight ball when it comes to teething (and I'm okay with that). She still has a full blown gummy smile...not even the hint of a tooth. Apparently, Matt didn't get any teeth until 11 months, so I guess that could be where we are heading. Unfortunately, Austyn is under the impression that she doesn't need to take bottles any more...all she wants is her cereal and baby food. Every day is a fight to get an adequate amount of milk down her. She averages far fewer ounces in 24 hours than the typical 8 month old, but she is still growing and her doctor seems confident that she is doing just fine!

Austyn is sitting up really well, rolling over (she took a LONG time to develop this skill), and talking up a storm. She started becoming much more vocal mid December during our trip to Disneyland and now she always seems to have something to tell us! Her favorite story to tell is "Ah Dadadada" and "Nananana." Daddy is reveling in the fact that she is sounding out "Dada" frequently and rarely utters a "Mama." Whatever. :)

The holidays were so exciting this year. We started out Christmas break with a VERY wet trip to Disneyland. My parents bought into the Disney Vacation Club and are now proud timeshare owners at Disney's Grand Californian. Our condo was AMAZING with 2 giant bedrooms, 3 FULL bathrooms, a big kitchen and living room. It was wonderful to be so close to the parks and downtown Disney. We are all ready to go back soon! Wet as it was, we were troopers. We bundled up in our rain gear, put the plastic cover over the stroller, and hopped from ride to ride every day. Austyn was so well behaved. She loved her new stroller and was content for hours! She even got to ride a few rides herself, including Toy Story, Pirates of the Carribbean, and Small World.

We got home from Caliornia the 21st and before we knew it, we were celebrating Austyn's first Christmas. She went to church for Christmas Eve and got spoiled rotten by the family on Christmas day. It took me a week to figure out where all of her new toys would be stored!

We welcomed 2011 by celebrating with the Muehlenbruchs, Fosnicks, Schakels, and the Bellerives. With 9 little kiddos who need their sleep, we decided to celebrate with the east coast at 9pm. I don't think I would have made it to midnight if I tried! We ate a lot, laughed even more, and had a wonderful time. Matt and I are so blessed to have such an amazing group of friends.

We are enjoying every second with Austyn and looking forward to the next 4 months before her first birthday!

She was SO good on both our flights!