My pirate-cowboy turned THREE!

I'm a pink color.

Tonight, Ashton had all his crayons spread out on my bed with a cute little coloring book he got for Halloween. He started picking up his crayons and telling me which colors they were...

Blue: "Racecar color"

White: "Ghost color"

Green: "Monster color"

Brown: "Dirt color"
Pink: "Girl color"

Red: "Red color"

"Color Ashton, Mom"

It's just another normal day.

Two really is terrible...

This is the kind of stuff my two year old does when I turn my back...

...and if I leave the room, he thinks even BIGGER.


You'd think I'd learn my lesson. :)

Oh, Poop. :)

I remember watching an episode of Jon and Kate plus 8, back when it was "Jon and Kate + 8", I was pregnant with Ashton and watching it on a night when Andrew was gone, since he, lets be honest, hated that show. ♥ It was the episode where Kate was taking pictures of all her kids next to their potty chairs after their first, shall I say, MAJOR use. :)

I seriously thought, even I, who take pictures of ALL things, would never do that, but if I did... :) I would especially never let anyone see it...

Well, today, I was put to the test and pulling out the camera was like, the first thing I thought to do. :)

Needless to say, I am very proud mother.

We bought this potty chair today and Ashton figured out how to use it, literally within minutes of being home! How could I not expose his major accomplishment to the world? :)

Lots of huge hugs and high fives were given and of course a handful of tasteful photographs were taken. :)

Such a milestone.

I hope you all can understand.

He'd slay a dragon...

A frightening sight...

My life has had some scary moments...I've seen horror movies, walked through haunted houses, heard creepy noises in the closet, I have personal ghost stories and nightmarish dreams, ---there was even a suicidal man screaming and swearing in my backyard last week (ya...cRaZy), but NOTHING is as horrifying as seeing your perfect little boy's face oozing in blood.

Poor kid slipped, fell and busted up his mouth and nose. :(

At first, I couldn't tell where the blood was coming from... but once we calmed down we were able to clean it up and figure it out (and after making sure he wouldn't die :), he finally fell asleep and I was able to stare at him and recognize the ridiculous amount of love I have for him...

...I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him.

I am sooooo glad that he's okay-- until the next scary thing happens...

A Child's Prayer...

Lately, we've been really good at reading our scriptures and having daily prayers together as a family, so Ashton has has learned alot of important and adorable things...

He has learned how to fold his arms, close his eyes and say "Amen"! He loves when it's his turn to say the prayer which usually consists of saying every ones name.

He's recognizes pictures of Jesus. Even pictures he's never seen before and he LOVES to get his own scripture book out to read when Andrew and I read ours.

It's adorable and I've been soooo happy about it. He just learned on his own how to be amazing.

Isn't he basically the best child ever? Yes. The answer is yes. :)

His 1st Sentence...

"No, I don't want to, mommy".

-Ashton

Twice as nice...

Waking up everyday at the crack of sunlight, he immediately jumps out of bed and asks for soda... He loves Eggo waffles for breakfast and cheez-whiz for everyother meal.

He hates wearing pants, but loves wearing shoes and socks.

Some new words this week are: Alpaca, arm, Coral, broken, Santa and why?

He loves to be outside.

He loves helping Grandpa in his garden.

He falls asleep with a leg tickle and a verse or two of our special song.

The best part of his day is going "bye-bye" in the car with his daddy.

He loves pirates, carousels, guitars, trucks and balls.

He NEVER leaves home without a stuffed animal, preferably a tiger.

Affectionately known as "doot", "bunny", "buddy", "honey", "dootch", or "bubba",

he's our Ashton...

...and yesterday he turned two years old!

Happy 2nd birthday, Ashton!!!
He blew out 1 of his two birthday candles and he was thrilled to open his gifts! Squeals and jumps made it very clear that he loved all of his presents.
Of course my favorite gift was from his Grandma (Andrew's mom and artist extraordinaire)...

She picks a favorite photograph of each grandchild and draws their portrait for their birthdays!! Amazing, huh?!? :)


It was fun celebrating the birth of my adorable little boy...
I wish he could stay small forever.
BUT, since he can't, I just hope that the two's aren't too terrible!

My Little Nerd

All in a row...

Creative genius or just plain madness?

Lost and Found

Things Missing:
The t.v. remote, the camera's battery charger, a few dvds, some toy cars and a sippy cup.

Things found:

a few dvds, some money, a reusable gift bag, a sock or two...
I keep finding random things in the trashcan and dishwasher, so i guess I'll just keep looking until everything shows up!

Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Ashton hasn't slept in his crib once in his entire life! He has a beautiful crib with bedding picked out just for him. Wasted. He has hated the whole thing ever since the first time he met it.
Instead he has become spoiled and comfortable sleeping right in the middle of Andrew and I.
I am finally ready to kick the little pipsqueak out!

I decided to skip the crib and go straight to a toddler bed.
For now, I'm just using his crib mattress. I made a big deal about it being his own bed and acted like it was the best thing ever! He humored me. He played, climbed, jumped, sat and pointed at his little mattress over and over again. I thought, WOW this could actually work!


Then the night came... I read him a story and laid with him on the little bed. I tickled his leg and sang to him. I did all of this over and over again, for hours and hours. The little bed became TOO MUCH FUN. He only wanted to play! Ahhhhhhhhhh!

BUT.....
4 hours later and a move of the mattress into our room and finally, he fell asleep in his bed.
Yes, he climbed into bed with us three hours later, but it was a start and hopefully, we'll have better luck next time....

Snip-snip

It turns out he looks cute no matter what...

He's Speaking my Language

Our little guy has been "talking". Here are the few words Ashton is able to say...

1. Momma
2. Da-da
3. Doggie
4. Thank you

(it sounds more like "tanch oooooo", he only says it when we give him things, so. ..It COUNTS)
5. Ball

6. Hi

7. Uh-oh

I think he's learned all the important words.

It's in his kiss...

I have the cutest little boy.
Last night I was laying next to Ashton trying to get him to sleep, but he was being so cute and playful that I decided to give in and "play". I blowed on his tummy and tickled the helpless child as he laughed and laughed... and then he did the cutest thing ever...
He pulled my face close and gave me sweet, soft and WET little kisses. aww... It was pricless.
He did it about 5 times. Once or twice with a little lick in between, which made me laugh, instead of grossing me out like it probably is you. :)
I have been waiting for him to be able to give kisses.
It was one of my favorite things. ever.

That's Sick!

Ashton had his first trip to the hospital this week. Poor baby, he got really sick for the first time ever. It was sad, and I felt so useless. I thought we could get through it normally, but his vomiting became to frequent. After three trips to see his doctor he ended up being admitted to San Antonio Community Hospital so he could be hydrated.
Of course he needed an IV. They tried way too many times to get one in his hands or arms and it was horrible watching them poke over and over again! All of his veins were blowing and I finally asked them to just put in in his foot (since that always worked for me), they finally did and we had success!

Once that IV was in for a few hours he started to feel better and became himself again. They wanted him to spend the night anyway, which was awful and we have never been so miserable. It was hard keeping our now healthy and active child off his foot and entertained while we were stuck in a boring, uncomfortable hospital room. We have never been so happy to come home!

Wonderful ONE

Ashton is turning One in a few days and the party has begun!

My BIG Boy!

Ashton got a new car seat this weekend. He needed it very badly! He outgrew his first one awhile ago (way too fast). Now, he gets to face forward with the rest of the family. I get to look back through my mirrors and see his little face or reach back with my arm to grab his chubby legs... and he gets to look straight at me when he's crying his eyes out and can't understand why I won't get him. Yikes...I'm not sure this facing forward thing is such a good idea, but I guess it has to happen.... So, in cuter news, Ashton had his first Popsicle, yesterday, and it was very, Very good.