This boy!

This boy loves to make forts out of anything!!!  One day it might be all the rolls of toilet paper from Costco, the next day it's some other unique creation using whatever he can find!

This boy loves to climb.  He will climb anything.  Poles in buildings, trees, furniture, ladders, cars etc.  If it can be scaled, Ashton will try to scale it!

This boy loves his you tube.  He loves to watch you tube videos, andmake you tube videos.  Hours and hours of watching people do silly things.

This boy loves his dog.  Although sometimes he tortures Austin, his heart is truly for his dog.  It won't surprise me one day if he has his own dog to take camping and hiking.

The boy loves his friends.  He ALWAYS wants to have a friend over!!!!!

He started on a new medicine regime and Olav and I are early optimistic that he seems to be less volitaile and a little happier.

Next weekend is his last weekend of basketball with Upward and it's been really fun to watch him improve! He is really good a defense!

Like flipping a switch

Ashton has been experiencing a lot of anger, anxiety and sadness lately.  We finally were able to visit the psychiatry clinic at Kennedy Krieger.  They have been very thorough.  We are going to try a few things in hopes that he begins to feel a little better and not so volatile.

Ashton got to try out his new snow board that he got for Christmas  He was a total natural. I was super impressed!

He has really begun to shine in basketball!  It's nice to see him come out of his shell.  Last weekend he took a couple shots and I think a couple went in!

Yesterday he tried a pogo stick for the first time.  Again total natural!

And baby makes 9!

Ashton's 9th sibling was born on Friday Dec. 21st at 11:09 a.m.  Noelle Charlotte.  6lbs 7 oz 18 3/4 inches long. She's in the NICU right now to have a little help breathing, as she inhaled some fluid on the way out and it got in her lungs, but she seems to be doing well.

So now Ashton has:

Lily Gjerde
Stian Gjerde Jones
Fredrik Gjerde Jones
Aiden Lane
Ethan Lane
Annabelle Sines
Arianna Best
Paisley LaRuffo
Noelle LaRuffo


That's a lot of siblings!

Beat the toaster

I've never been one for rituals or traditions, but Ashton and I have a little tradition this year that I have really enjoyed!  Most days when we drive to school between 7:30-8:00, on the radio station 91.9 WTGS, a call in game called Beat the Toaster comes on.  The objective is to name 5 things of the topic in 10 seconds (or before the toaster dings).  Usually the topics are things such as things you put on a Christmas tree, types of cars etc...We love playing this game together in the car!!!  Ashton is always asking put on 91.9 mom!

Love this boy!

Love this little guy!  Sometimes I wish I could keep him small forever!  Even though he can be moody, he is a love bug at heart.  He looks for any excuse to sleep with us at least several times a week.  He is so creative.  He can take any type of material and turn into something.  He loves to run, jump, climb, flip, and hang.  He loves to do his own version of Parkour, hang on the money bars, jump from tables to furniture, and even climb the walls!  Today we had an usual fall snow!  We enjoyed playing outside for a short time!

November 15, 2018

My monkey boy

Fall Fun

We had a fun filled October.  Lot's of fun camping trips with friends, pumpkin patch, and Halloween fun.

Pumpkin Patch with Garrett, Arianna, Michael, and Chloe

Beginning the disection

The finished product

Halloween with Ms. Hancock's 2nd grade class

Trick or Treating with our friends, Keagan, Garrett, and Michael

Steve from Minecraft

Always climbing the walls both literally and figuratively!

A first time for everything

First, let me say that Ashton has improved greatly since the summer.  He still has his moments, but they seems to have decreased in frequency.  We believe it has to do with a new medication we added to his ADHD repertoire called Intuiv, which can't be crushed up, but swallowed whole.  Ashton embraced swallowing a pill with little drama.  It took him a few tries, but he finally got it.  Hopefully this will make managing his ADHD in the future a little easier.  Of course I also pray that he will not use his newly learned skill for bad things either as he grows up!

His teacher reports that overall he is doing well in school and she enjoys having him in her class.  He seems quite happy, which makes a mama's heart happy too!

Ashton will be starting Parkour classes next week.  He's been asking for months!  I hope he likes it!