Our baby is 2 today! Ashton is such a fun and mellow little boy. Very little bothers him and he's an observer by nature. He's a boy of few words, just like his brother was at this age. He loves to play just like his brother and by his side. He idolizes Aiden for sure. It's amazing how young that starts among siblings.Ashton loves Reagle and always has time to stop what he's doing to give him a big squeeze around the neck. He likes to make new friends and is just starting to play with kids by interacting with them, rather than side by side.
He's much less emotional at this age than Aiden was. He doesn't cry when he's tired or hungry, he just gets quiet or says "eat." It's fairly easy to figure out what he wants and needs from us. His favorite shows are Caillou and Curious George and he loves to listen to Kids Music in the car. We're so anxious to see what the 2's bring. So far, so good!
Ashton is almost off and running so it was time to get him his first real pair of shoes (at my favorite kid's shoe store - the Stride Rite outlet). To most, this seems like an ordinary picture in front of a shoe store, but to me, it's a memory. Ron took the same picture of me when we got Aiden his first pair of shoes. We are now entering what I consider to be the most physical stage of parenthood, which is when the child is 18-36 months old. It's pretty much constant running, chasing, falling down (kissing lots of boo boos) and physical exhaustion (me not him!). Until he's 3, I know I'll feel like I'm in a sprint which is actually a pretty accurate of this stage.
Today was the first day of my parenting class with our local Parenting Program. I participated in this program with Aiden when he was Ashton's age and I'm so excited to do it again with Ashton! It's a such a fun, loving and supportive environment.Every day we talk about different parenting topics. Today we learned about the different development that is happening at this age and what it all means. The kids had free play, snack time, music time, and outside play. This is the first time Ashton has been around so many kids his age at one time and he loved it! He was shy for about the first 3 minutes and then he was all over the place checking everything out. I'm taking the class with my friend Marguerite and her 15 month old daughter Jodianne. We met 2 years ago when we took the 2 year old class with our big boys. When I participated in this program with Aiden, the amount of advice and guidance I received in those 3 years was amazing. I learned so much! I'm anticipating a great few years with Ashton.
Can you believe he's the only boy in the class?! I couldn't! He's got his pick of the litter! 11 girls and Ashton. Such a stud.
We had a little birthday party for Ashton on Sunday, June 14th. He had a lot of fun and so did we! Ashton and Grandma. Cake time! Love for Papa. Ashton with Nana & Baba. Ashton with Grandma & Papa
Ashton is 1 year old. Wow! Doesn't it seem like kids age much faster than adults do!?
This month:
He started playing Peek-a-boo. His cousin Adena taught him how to do this when we visited them last month.
He had his last bottle a week ago. He drinks everything from a sippy cup now. He's on whole milk too. No more mixing formula, yeah!
He's cruising around and does well when he's holding onto something. It doesn't seem like he's that close to walking though, which is fine with me!
June 17, 2008: 8 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long June 17, 2009: 20 pounds 12 ounces and 32 inches long! He's in the 25th% for weight and 97th% for height. Just based on the percentiles, you would think that this kid doesn't eat, but that's hardly the case. He's not finicky at all and eats anything I offer him. He's just a long and lean little boy!
In 30 short days our baby will become a toddler. Little Ash has had a month full of exploring. He's always on the go crawling around.He loves to explore the backyard. He will sit at the door and bang on the window to let us know he wants to go outside. He loves to crawl around and get dirty.
I started an alphabet book for Ashton. Once I take all the photos, I'll have it made into an actual book he can look through. I saw this idea on another blog and stole it...because it's just so darn cute! Check out the link on the right side of my blog.
He's starting to cruise around furniture.
He loves to climb up the stairs and has pretty good balance.
I weaned him from nursing this month and as a result he started sleeping through the night! He sleeps 11-12 hours a night. Which makes for a happy (and rested) mommy!
I'm weaning him from the bottle too. My goal is to have him completely off it at 12 months. Right now he has all his formula in a sippy cup except for 1 bottle a day. He's doing great with it and doesn't seem to miss the bottle at all. The pacifier won't be as easy...he's really attached to it!
He continues to be a great eater and does not have a discriminating pallet. He shoves veggies into his mouth as quickly as he can!
He got his 2nd haircut on Saturday. He sits so well in the chair. Doesn't cry or fuss, just sits patiently.
He got another tooth this month. He now has 2 on top and 3 on the bottom.
Sure would be nice if this picture was in focus but he's such a wiggle worm with these pictures now that it makes it quite a challenge!
