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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!