Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Ashton the entertainer!

Ashton at 2015 CCM Primary Program
Today was Ashton's pre-school holiday program at school.  In traditional Ashton fashion he was contrary to what was expected of him and  did not sing.  He pretended to yawn muliple times covering up his mouth, coughed and sneezed multiple times into his elbow, took off his snowman hat, sat and laid down on ground.  Truly the entertainer!  He had forewarned me that he would not be singing, so I knew not to get my hopes up!  But he was delighted we were there!  When his class first walked in, he was the only kid to run out of line into the audience to hug his daddy!

He also is picking up a few choice words...today I swore I heard him say Damn it!  When I asked him to repeat himself he said he said, Bam it!  Also he has been using "What the heck?"  Time to clean up our language usage!

We got our new camper today!  And boy oh boy is Ashton excited!!!!

Friday, December 4, 2015

Pre-meditated nightmares

Ashton loves to sleep in our bed and in our room.  We've tried very hard to break him of this habit, including rewards to Chucky Cheese for so many successful sleeps in his room.  Last night took the cake.  He told me he was going to wake up in the middle of the night and come into our room because he WOULD be having a nightmare!  Furthermore, while we were still putting him to bed and he was still awake, he was complaining that he was having an active nightmare as we spoke!  That boy will try anything to get his way sometimes!

Another cute thing he did recently was go to whisper in my ear something so that his sister Lily wouldn't hear it.  Just to be sure, he asked, "Mommy if I whisper something in your ear, will Lily not be able to hear it on the other side (ear)?  LOL!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

November news

Magical Fall Hike
Ashton seems to be doing well in his new school.  He no longer gets up in cries and hides in the morning  His teacher reports that he has adjusted extremely well.  The only thing she mentioned that she is working with him on is choosing friends for work time vs. play time.  He went through a phase where he kept saying he was having "nightmares" so he could sleep in our room.  We recently did a reward system to get him to sleep in his room and that seemed to work.  Although last night he woke up in middle of the night and wanted Daddy to stay in his room and cuddle him back to sleep.  He also has really cut back on his naps....bummer...I really miss those especially on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  He continues to love anything with wheels and constantly talking about saving up his money for a tractor or four-wheeler.  I am hoping to get him a ride on a four-wheeler over the Christmas Holiday break.  We've been on lots of little hikes this fall and he really enjoys it! He and Lily are so creative in their thought and play as they wonder the woods together.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Fall Fun

Well we have definitely had a fun filled October!  Tonight we have the grand finale of Halloween trick-or-treating in Pop's neighborhood.  Ashton originally wanted to be a black cat for Halloween.  He's not a big costume guy so I didn't want to spend to much time and energy on a costume I knew he probably wouldn't ever wear!  So we took at black beanie cap and I let him paint a cat face on it.  I think he wore it once for the recreation and parks trick-or-treat!  The last few days of dressing up he has been wearing his fireman jacket and hat (an old standby).




Also Ashton started his new school.  He appears to like it overall.  Every once in a while he complains that he "hates" school, but I think overall this was a good change for him!  I really hope he begins to "love" school otherwise it's going to be a long road!!!!



Lastly, his love affair with basketball was short lived.  He really enjoyed the first few classes, but after a while he lost interest.  We will try again in the winter with some friends with a new venue/instructor.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Changes are coming

Changes are coming for Ashton next week.  This week we received a phone call from Lily's school the Carroll Creek Montessori School that Ashton's number had come up in the lottery and they had a Pre-K4 opening for him.

Originally we thought we wait til next year for him to go to Lily's school, but the principal said they only had one opening in kindergarten last year, so it may or may not be possible.  So considering that he still wasn't having a thriving attitude at his school in Mt. Airy, he will get to go with Lily in the mornings to school, it is a half-day program, it is free, and his friend Chase goes there, we deciding to bite the bullet and go for it.  So he will start on Monday.  Gosh I hope he likes it!  Otherwise he is going to be miserable the rest of the school year!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Can you say STUBBORN!!!!

Can you say STUBBORN!  This describes Ashton to a tee!  He if he wants to do something....wonderful, but if he doesn't want to do anything, watch out. HE WILL NOT DO IT!  I does not matter how much you bribe or consequence!

Take for example swim lessons.  First, keep in mind, Ashton LOVES the water!  Last spring we signed up to take swim lessons at Frederick High School with Lily's former swim coach.  He sat on he side and cried the entire time.  We decided to wait until Fall.  Well fast forward to now, the first class he sat on the side, got in one time, and swam one lap with Ms. Diane.  The 2nd lesson he sat on the side and refused to get in.  I even bribed him with chocolate and lollipops.  Daddy told him he was going to take away his lovey pokey.  He did not care, he was not swimming.  We decided to try one more time this week....major fail!  Not only did he refuse to swim, he went into the locker room and changed his clothes so he wouldn't have to swim.  Little booger.  Oh well, we'll try again another time.

The good thing is he did ask to play basketball and he actually is enjoying it!

Pre-School continues to be an adjustment.  He still doesn't like to go.  He doesn't like nap time which is a two hour block.  A friend of mine suggested we do no cry bags, and that has seemed to work.  In the beginning he received a no cry bag with a prize every time he did not cry when I left.  Now he is working on not crying for several days in a row!

Despite not seeming to like to preschool the pictures the preschool send us show us otherwise!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Ashton's first day of Pre-K

Well it's offical....we have a Pre-K er in the house!  Today Ashton went to Pre-K at the Goddard School in Mt. Airy.  He got up, got dressed and was ready to go.  He wanted to wear his red shirt, even though it was a pajama shirt because red means stop painting.  He picked out a different shirt to wear for painting. 


He is in the Dolphin room and his teacher's name is Ms. Alyssa.  He was a little apprehensive when we first went into the room, grabbing my hand tightly, but he quickly became engaged in some car building set and I snuck out of the room without a scene.

I picked him up early eager to hear about his first day.  He showed me his painting and said to me, ""mommy I don't want to go back there, it was a long day."  Shortly after getting on to the highway he feel asleep in his car seat!



Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Bringing out the big guns yet again!

I really dislike writing the difficult parts of parenting our children, but Ashton continues to show how willful he can be.  The last few weeks have just been exhausting.  He has been challenging and downright defiant.  Daddy and I have had enough.  On Saturday when I put him in time out, he got angry and in defiance peed all over his room.  Needless to say he had to clean it up!  Sunday while in his room for nap/quiet time, he threw his toys and books all over the place.  Needless to say we removed everything from his room.  He is having to earn back his toys and his lovey pokey by showing good listening behaviors.  So far he has done okay, but I am not 100% sure he realizes we mean business!  Here's to praying this is just a phase!

In other news, Daddy came down to the beach with us for a day and I snapped this pic!  Definitely one of my all time favorites!


Friday, August 14, 2015

Population One and Traviesos X 2= Trouble!

So the theme of this summer is Population One.  Ashton only thinks about himself and what his needs are!  It's driving us crazy!  We certainly hope this developmental stage will pass quickly!  It's a good thing he is really cute!

This summer Ashton has spent a little time with half sister Ariana.  First, Stacey and George watched Ashton and Lily overnight while Olav and I went to a Billy Joel Concert together.  Then we just came back from a week long beach trip with the Best and Helmick families.  Normally Ashton avoids Ariana, refuses to play with her, or states that he doesn't like her, but sometimes when the two of them get alone together...talk about TROUBLE X 2!!!!  So apparently when Stacey was watching them, Ashton and Ariana got into several things.  The thing I remember Stacey telling me most vividly was that the two of them found the lighter fluid for the fire, and had fun squirting it all over the wood deck.  There was something else they got into as well, but I can't remember what it was!  Then today Olav reported that while they where at the beach Asthon and Ariana got into the tube of white sunscreen and proceeded to empty the bottle on to the rug and smear it on the bedroom windows.  Oh little traviesos!  Only that Spanish word truly captures the essence of them alone and together!


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Summer adventures

Ashton's summer has kicked off with a bang!  To begin with we headed down south to the smoky mountains for Grandma Ginger's 75th birthday celebration/family reunion.  For the most part Ashton traveled well all things considered.  One of our favorite quotes from the trip  was "Lily are you sick yet?" 

Both our kids have a long history of being car sick, so of course it was only natural for Ashton to ask if Lily was sick YET? Thankfully no one threw up on this trip.  Ashton waited until we got home and then threw up in my car yet again!

While on our trip we visited the Natural Bridge and Johnson City Children's Museum.  Ashton played with his cousin Collin, shot an airsoft pistol, played mini lawn golf, and enjoyed the slip and slide.

Natural Bridge


Last week Ashton went to his first official "camp".  He did a Monday, Wednesday, Friday gymnastics camp.  He seemed to really enjoy it!  He also went to Vacation Bible School at the Frederick Church of the Brethren.  I can't believe on the last day he stood on stage in front of everyone and sang the VBS songs with their hand movements! 

Gymnastics Camp 2015

He has also made some swimming progress this summer!  Developing more and more confidence.  He also is very confident on his bike!  I think he is totally ready to lose the training wheels!

Today, we took him to a Monster Truck Jam.  He really enjoyed it once he got over his initial fear.  A fun new experience for the whole family!

Monster Truck Show

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Our crazy klepto crossdressing little guy

Never thought I'd put those words together in a sentence!  Well our little guy is full of surprises now days!  First, he has sticky fingers!   A few weeks ago he was complaining that this private area was itching.  It appears as if he was itching and clutching himself.  Later come to find out he had smuggled in his shirt one of daddy's drill bits from the counter.

 Also he loves to play dress up with Lily, hence the beautiful unicorn costume.  Last week we found that he had smuggled Lily's dress up clothes into bed for hiding.  Today while playing in his room, he came out with a like Cinderella dress up dress.  Apparently after making some phone calls, he sticky fingered it from Ms. Helen's house.  Oh dear!  Trying not to make a big deal out of all of this...but you gotta wonder?  I guess time will tell.


He also continues to be a little pistol!  Recently he decide to put back the letters family that he had taken down a while a go, back up.  I totally love our fimlay!
 

We went camping a few weeks ago with our fellow Guatemalan adoptive families.  As usual we took our family photographs and as usual Ashton smiled for the camera!  NOT!  He was soooo done!

 
Lastly, Ashton has been complaining that his bottom has been itching.  So in his daycare backpack we packed some Preparation-H cream.  Last night he decided that Preparation-H cream is great for cleaning his toy cars with.  LOL! 
 
They say boys are easier, but sometimes I am not sure!!!!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Strong Willed

God must have a funny sense of humor.  Ashton lately has been a little pistol.  He's been a pistol at home and a pistol at daycare.  Trying to figure out how to tame his will without breaking his spirit!

Originally I wasn't going to sign him up for preschool in the fall, but with his behavior lately we were thinking he could benefit from a little more structure.  So effective September 1st, Ashton will be going to the Goddard School for preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Mama felt a little emotional when I signed him up.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Better late than never!

April was a whirlwind.  We celebrated Easter with my sister and her family and celebrated Ashton and Lily's birthday parties.  Here are a few pics from the events!




Living with Ashton their is never a dull moment!  He says the funniest things!

Last week, I spent some time with Lily doing her nails in the bathroom.  After I was done with her, he asked if we could have some boy time
.  Of course I replied...what would you like to to do?  Of course I was expecting him to say let's go play outside or something of that sort....but no...he asked me to paint his nails like Lily!  LOL!  I think daddy was going to have a heart attack!  But he wanted them power red...so all is good in the world!



Having a big sister he is heavily influenced by the things he sees and hears.  Last Sunday we were getting ready for church and Lily wanted to wear her brand new sparkly red high heels.  Of course Ashton asked where were his high heels?  I knew I would have to draw the line, as daddy would kill me if I let him wear heels to church....so I told him that he had some other cool new shoes to wear!

It's so funny to see how he is trying to make sense of his world.  The other day his daycare provider , Ms. Helen asked him how he knows a boy from a girl.  Of course she did not get the expected answer!  Instead he replied, girls have black hair (like Lily and Corrine--his best friend at Ms. Helen's) and boys have blond hair like me)  LOL!

Lastly, I love how Ashton pics up vocabulary!  Like I've mentioned before ridiculous is one of his favorite words.  Mommy isn't that ridiculous!  Yesterday he was trying to say the word weapon....but he kept saying Whoopin!  He's running around with his "whoopin".  Love this kid!


Sunday, March 22, 2015

And to think we were concerned...

So I have to laugh to myself sometimes when I think back to how the pediatrician was concerned with Ashton's speech-language development.  Ashton talks non-stop and his vocabulary is amazing.  He might not always understand everything he is repeating, but he definitely has  picked up some complex words.

"Daddy are you going to see a client?"

"Isn't that ridiculous mommy?"

"Can I supervise you?"

I'm sure there is much more I can't think of right now!

A funny from the week:

Occasionally I have to take the kids with me to this orthopedic shoe repair store.  Lately the kids have been there a lot.  Every time we go, I take in my left tennis shoe, because that is the shoe that requires the heel lift.  Last time we went, Ashton said, "mommy this is the store where you can only get one shoe."  LOL!!!!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Finally channeled his inner sledder!


Ready, set, blaze...

 
 
Well finally Ashton has embraced sledding! Up unitl today he has been a, very reluctant sledder, but today he couldn't get enough! 

Lastly I forgot to mention that Ashton loves his letters.  He loves to write them, sound them out, say whose name begins with what....very cool.  Maybe we will have an early reader.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Download on the lil dude!

Lil dude's current favorite color is red. 

A few weeks ago I was cleaning out some photographs and I Ashton must of found a wallet size picture of his half-sister Arianna....he picked it up...turned it over on his arm....and asked me "is this an Arianna tattoo".  LOL  So cute!

Ashton continues with his I don't like you, I don't want to be your friend routine.  Frequently when he is mad at someone...he states he doesn't like Corrine (his best friend from daycare)....it's like she's his scapegoat.

Also we think Ashton wants to give basketball a try.  We are going to sign him up for a little clinic this spring.

Can't believe the little man is going to be 4 soon!  Time really flies!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

What to write?

What to write?  Sometimes life is splendidly mundane and things don't stand out as much.  Ashton continues to be our Loveable Lil Booger.  He is active, cute,  very articulate (the things he says are amazing), a huge eater (fortunately he likes healthy foods like carrots and blueberries), shy at times, loves heavy machinery and atv's especially backhoes, skid loaders and cranes (at times he can even identify the brand!), likes to be called Diego and Ryder, loves to have books read to him at night, frequently gets angry and tells people he doesn't like them, doesn't want to play with them or doesn't want to their friend, adores his sister most days, tortures the dog, loves his pokey, loves to play in the rain and snow, but hates to be dirty or wet (lol) he loves going to Ms. Helen's and playing with his friends Theo, Luci, and Corrinne and I'm sure the list could go on and on!  I am so thankful for his precious little life!