Also, we received Ashton's report card yesterday and he made the honor roll for the 1st quarter. He got A's and B's with only one C! Needless to say, we are super proud of him.
It's funny, during Covid Ashton, said he was going to grow out his hair and I wasn't sure about it, but once it got to "skater" length it looked super cute and I loved it. So needless to say I was super sad when he decided to cut it last week!
Thankfully last weekend we were able to squeeze in a visit to Gaver Tree Farm for their fall festival. We took his friend Chase. I'll be sad when these days are gone.
Olav and I went away for a weekend during October and Ashton stayed with our friends and their son Matthew. They reported that he had a fantastic weekend and absolutely had no issues. So proud of our boy! He is maturing!
Ashton did extremely well in school this quarter, I believe earning all A's and B's. He might have scored a C in one class, but we won't know for sure until we see his report card. Needless to say, we are super proud of him!
A funny quote Ashton said the other day, which cracked me up was, "When I have a wife, she has to love waffles (his dog) and be able to cook because I can't cook." So stinking cute.
Ashton has had a super September. He seems to be doing very well in middle school. So far his grades are decent. We haven't had a single phone call home. He seems happy and well-adjusted. He has much more compliant at home and much less argumentative. So proud of him! I hope all these changes stick around for the long term!!! Fingers and toes crossed!
It is with great sadness that Ashton's first dog love Austin the beagle left the earth on Friday August 26th around 7:20 pm. Ashton was an awesome helper at the vet, helping and supporting me as we got the business side of the process taken care of. I was so proud of how brave he was in the midst of such sadness.
Last week Ashton began his new adventure at New Market Middle School. He has been super excited about the change! I am excited for him. I hope he makes lots of new friends and enjoys having many different teachers and being able to move more often from class to class.
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I've also noticed in his backpack some of his first week of school get-to-know-you/self-concept/identity papers that have come home. This one cracked me up. He does have a lot of brothers and sisters so that is so awesome that he takes ownership of that, but he said he has 13 siblings-10 sisters and 3 brothers. As of today, he has 11 siblings-6 brothers and 5 sisters!
I also must say how impressed I am with Ashton's building skills. Once again without any help from Olav or me, he put together his IKEA bookshelf and put together the new module dresser I bought him. He really is amazing! I really do wonder how he will put these skills to good use in the future.
Hard to believe it's already August and I posted nothing for July. Ashton has had a great summer camp experience at Camp Monocacy at Walkersville Recreation Center. We are so grateful that he had such a wonderful experience. Two weeks of July was dedicated to ABA therapy at Kennedy Kreiger Institute. Ashton was a good sport as the the therapist trained us how to create more structure and support for Ashton at home. While we are still working out the kinks, things definitely have improved overall.
Hard to believe that in a week and half Ashton will be going into middle school!
So proud of Ashton he attended sleep-away camp for 6 days even though his buddy Nathan ended up having to cancel due to a broken foot. He appeared to have a good time and we got lots of positive feedback from his counselors and fellow campers. When we picked him up the counselors couldn't stop raving about how creative Ashton was and how he came alive when they did artistic and crafty activities. Also one of the benefits of summer camp is that other people who love Jesus are pouring into Ashton. I found this written in his bible.
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