Aruuuuba!

We have just taken our first official family vacation, planes and suitcases and everything. How did it go? Awesome! Myself, Jason, Ashton and our condo had a fantastic time. We had a nightmare travel day on the way back, complete with delays, plane electrical issues, missed connections, etc. but Ashton was a little star. Sleepwise, there were a few nights he was up at 3 am crying. When I checked on him, I was shocked to discover he had put on his swim trunks and was standing in his crib clutching his floatie and snorkel, all ready for the beach. I had to tell him it wasn't quite the time. Those were tough nights but overall, we couldn't have asked for a better week. Ahhh, Aruba. Land of white beaches, warm water, sparkling sunshine and...pointing. What? Yes. Ashton didn't even know what to do with himself there was so much pointing going on. He started off with a kind of half-point:

And then quickly graduated to ocean points, in-your-face points, and my favorite, the on-the-balcony-and-behind-the-back point. Collect them all!

At one point (no pun intended), I joked that I hoped the dark spot in the water he seemed to be indicating was not a shark. Ha ha. Um but then I didn't swim at that particular snorkel spot. I am a firm believer that children can teach us a thing or two and perhaps danger in the ocean is one of them.

There was of course lots of fun in Aruba besides pointing. Because we had such a big group, we all did our own thing during the day at times and then met up at the lazy river at 4 pm for floating and cocktails. After that, showers, big dinners every night in our villa or out on the town, and then the beach bar or the casinos! I admit we got into quite the vacation routine, complete with Jason's eggs every morning. There was an afternoon cruise/snorkel trip, shopping, pool time, beach time, tuna sandwiches, frozen drinks with way too many calories...heaven. Thanks so so much to Poppy (my dad) and Mema for making the trip happen and getting us all together. I have far too many pictures (ahem, 580 to be exact) to post them all here, but my dad always says that if you come away from a vacation with just one or two good ones that's all you need. So, in the interest of moderation, these are my family favorites:

Aruba Ariba! Now it's on to the next...trading the sun and sand for turkey and stuffing - off to make my Thanksgiving list and hit the hay. Good night!

It snowed this week. Which means...

Time for a vacation. Yes, that's right. The Nill family is getting on an airplane and taking things tropical. We are headed to Aruba with quite the crew: Poppy and Mema, Amy/Jason/Brody/Mckenna, and Kari and Ben. We made the exact same trip 5 years ago when Jason and I had first started dating:

Ahhhh to be young and in love.  The beach, the pool, the lazy river, sunshine and cool breeze were pretty unbelievable. And now we are going back - woo! Except it has taken me weeks to pack this time around. I have googled just about everything in a desperate search for survival tips on air travel with a toddler. I made Jason buy an iPad. I have just finished wrapping lots of teeny tiny gifts for Ashton to open on the plane. I stole a stack of post-it's from work (apparently popular with small children), got stickers and new snacks and assembled what I like to call the "Heavens to Betsy, please Ashton be interested in something in this bag for more than 8 seconds" kit. If that doesn't work, I have downloaded lots of music videos and fun clips on the iPad as the last line of defense. He even has his own headphones.

You're thinking, "Kristen, you said it took you so long to pack. What do you have to bring?" The answer is quite simple: everything. Our entire condo, plus the carseat from the car. The thought of forgetting something is so unspeakably horrifying that I have no other choice. This has made my list quite long as you can imagine. Or short, depending on how you look at it.

So our taxi picks us up at 4 AM and we will have with us two adults, one toddler, and an entire condo. We are leaving the walls and the floor because our realtor scheduled two showings this weekend and we have to have something to sell.

I did say 4 AM, as in 6.5 hours from now. Better finish packing!

15 months

15 months and all sorts of things going on! Good thing Ashton is not a girl from Latin America. I would have wanted to throw some kind of Quinceañera and after his first birthday a few months ago, I've got no shake left in my maracas when it comes to parties like that. If you know what I mean.  Anyhoo, can't remember if I updated you on this, but the offer on our condo fell through because of issues that came up in the home inspection. So there's no new news on that front: we still live here. Ashton doesn't seem affected by this at all and he's been keeping his 15 month self pretty damn busy. Here are the latest stats:

Weight: 26.44 pounds (91st percentile)
Height: 33.25 inches (98th percentile- I'm not sure I buy this. 33.25 inches would mean he grew almost 3 inches in two months. Their "measuring system" consists of laying a thrashing toddler down on a bed with crinkle paper and marking above his head and below his foot and counting the inches in between. Scientific? Your call.)

Head circumference: 18.75 inches (73rd percentile and somewhat of a relief - he's been hanging out in the 30th for his whole life. This figure suggests he is now better proportioned considering the monster numbers he's putting up in other categories.)

Diapers: Size 5 daytimes, size 6 overnights

Clothes: 18-24 months, some 2T

Shoes: 5.5W

Teeth: 4 on the top, 2 on the bottom, and lots more on the way

Occupation: Sorter. If our house was a Sorting Factory, Ashton would be "Top Sorter". He loves to group things, stack things, put things in cups and then pull them out and then put them back in again.

Vocabulary: He has moved away from syllables that just start with the letter D and now has B's and a host of other sounds noises. As Jason has recently discovered, Ashton's favorite word seems to be "doctor". Whatever he is doing, if you say it, he takes time out of his busy Sorting Schedule and tries to repeat the sounds. You could say "banana", "mediterranean", "Yahtzee" or any other fun word but the minute you say "doctor", I swear he lights up, starts babbling, and looks around for a stethoscope.

Alarming new trend: Peeing in the bathtub. Luckily, this trend is so consistent that I learned about it quickly and within seconds of dropping him in, I have my plastic cup ready to catch it. If you have just filled up a whole bathtub, intending to pour the water over your child's head to wash his hair, you know it's a virtual certainty that the pee-water will get in his eyes and mouth. Ask yourself: how do you carry on with a tubby after you know he's relieved himself in it? Like, a LOT? (Rhetorical question.)

Favorite Food: Ketchup. And in this house, it might as well be oxygen because there's no survival without it. I'd like to say it's used sparingly but sometimes, Heinz's High Fructose Corn Syrup mixed with Red #5 and Natural Tomato Flavors is the only thing you can possibly put on peas to make them more attractive. Sue me.

Favorite Stories: Right now he's into a little series on Pooh and the four seasons. Stand by for a book review.

Biggest Hardship: the baby gate that blocks off the living room and dining room. These rooms are for adults: sharp edges, lots of plants. But if that gate is inadvertently left open, Ashton rushes forth so fast you'd think he'd just been granted access to the promised land. The gate is clear plastic and he has spent so much time with his nose pressed against it, gazing into the forbidden territory and pondering its certain treasures. I think when he is finally old enough, I am going to dissemble the gate and give him a commemorative piece like it was his very own Berlin Wall.

Hobbies: dancing. Perhaps it's more accurate to say "knee bends with a touch of head bobbing". This often occurs whether or not there is music.

Other numbers: 20 (ounces of milk per day), 2 (naps), 43 (times we've read Each Peach Pear Plum), 3 (pacifiers lost) and countless pictures, here about .001% of them. Happy 15 months!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! This blog has documented so many firsts and yet...yesterday was not one of them. We are on to seconds! Ashton's second Halloween and we had so much fun. I finished work a little early so we could head up to Cushing Square to hit all the local businesses that have candy out for the kiddies.

Ready to go!

We got up there and it was touch and go for the first few minutes. Ashton was a little grumpy about being in a costume.

But then he met his first witch, scored a balloon, and we were off and running!

We met up with Chera and Owen, who was a contractor :)

Giraffes really love green pumpkins apparently.

After Cushing Square, we came back home quickly to put the finishing touches on our pumpkins and light em up.

And then we hit the neighborhood!

By the end of the night, the boys were picking pieces of candy out of the baskets, putting them in their pumpkins, and saying Bye bye to the neighbors. They got an "A" in trick or treating! Too bad Ashton can't have any of the candy because of his egg and nut allergies. Luckily, Jason is around to make sure none of it goes to waste.

Happy Halloween!