What has Austin been up to?

This post is all about Austin, so get ready for some cute pictures and a funny story at the end.

Austin has taken an interest in putting his own shoes on, which is a great accomplishment for him. He can put his velcro shoes on all by himself now. Way to go, Austin!

I took Austin for his 3 year checkup this week, and he measured up very well in the 25 percentile, which is actually the biggest percentage he has ever had. I thought for sure that he would have fallen off the charts, but apparently 28 pounds and 3 feet tall isn't so unusual for a three year old after all.
Austin absolutely loves to read books. He not only listens to us read them, but he also can "read" them for himself. He has parts of each story memorized, and it is amazing how he knows specific words that go along with each page of the stories. His favorite series is a set of Pooh books I got at a yard sale when he was an infant, and he also loves to read Dr. Seuss books. I prefer the Dr. Seuss ones myself over the Pooh stories because they have a sing-song quality to them that makes them more enjoyable to read. (When you read to a child the same books over and over, it is nice if they are actually good books.)

I thought this was a neat picture since it demonstrates very well the priority that books have in our home. Not only are the walls lined with Joseph's books but the floor is lined with Austin's books.

Ok, now here is the funniest thing our child has been up to lately: He has started taking his diaper off at naptime and bedtime after he soils it and brings it to us (or stands at his door and calls for us to come to him). This morning I found him literally butt naked stretching in his new toddler bed with his diaper folded up at the foot of it. He had removed it at some point in the night and slept naked for the rest of it. Of course, I had some wet bedclothes to wash this morning, but it gave me quite a laugh. He did this yesterday with a dirty diaper and this evening with a wet one. I think this is progress in the potty training arena, but it sure makes things interesting around here!