October Catch-up

Here's the thing about blogs. They only work if you have something to post about, right? And when you are in a routine as deep as ours has been since back-to-school, it's hard to see anything extraordinary enough to document. I thought I might have an entry last week, and a real page turner at that: the last in my PYO series (pumpkins!) but then I was too tired and we didn't go. So I haven't been around much lately but I don't want cobwebs to grow all over this blog now do I. Better write something. I figured a nice list of what has been going on would be, well, nice.

1. Alex turned 7 months yesterday. The update since 6 months is what you would expect: more sitting, more laughing, more smiling, more rolls. He truly plays now and shows a lot of emotions. He is mesmerized by music, and I really don't play it enough. The nights after dinner where I put on a song and Ashton and I dance around - he stares at me like I'm an alien coming down from the mother ship. And then smiles and waves his arms. I wish there was time for me to take him to a little music class. I wish there was time for a lot of things :-/ Anyway, his two bottom teeth have poked through, not so much where I can get a picture but you can definitely feel them. In true baby fashion, he always has something in his mouth (or is trying to get something in there).

He was doing great with sleep, only up once per night (or twice) for a few weeks but then last night he was up 4 times so who the hell knows. Overall, he's still doing great, I'm still pumping at work, and Ashton still calls him "All-yex".

2. Ashton also still has two speeds: zero or a hundred and twenty. Papa sent him a new bike:

Which he loves. So between that, his balance bike, and his scooter, he's hard to catch, but we are outside every day, soaking up the last of the warm weather and daylight.

Preschool is going really well, potty training is NOT. That's another story for another time, but the toilet battles have resulted in

a) smeared poop (sorry, yes it's totally gross)
b) all the toilet paper unrolled into a heap on the floor
c) a toilet that now runs, probably due to Ashton's perpetual flushing (necessary or not)
d) a small fortune spent in potty "prizes", that he gets both when he tries and is successful

Honestly, poop runs my life. Between getting Ashton's into the potty and getting Alex's out in general (recall the prunes), I spend way too much time with it, cleaning it, or encouraging it.

3. Ashton really talks a lot. He uses about a hundred words when ten would do, and he repeats himself over and over if I don't immediately respond.

Ashton: "I want Daaaaaaaddy."
[silence from me]
"I want DAAAAAAADDY!!"
"I wannnnnnnnnnnnt Daaaaaaaaddy."
"Where's Daddy? I wannnnnnt himmmmm."
"I WANT DADDY!!"

Now mind you, there's no reason at all why he wants Jason. He can never tell me why he does, he just DOES. Little scamp. So finally after all this whining, I ask: "Why?"

"I just do."
"But why do you want him?"
"Because I wannnnnt him."
"Is he better than I am?"
"Yeaaaaaah. He is."

Between that and the poop, what more could I want.

He does say funny things though - the other day my phone beeped with a text message. Ashton came running in the room and held it out for me: "Mommy! You've got something!"
"I do?"
"Yeah! Something good! Call them!"

or the time that he came running (always running) and was gesturing wildly, frantically saying "The mop Mommy! Look at the mop in here!" and pointed and pointed and then showed me: a moth. I said "Wow!" and corrected him: "That's a MOTH."
"Moff."
"No, MOTH."
"Ok mommy, yeah! Look at this moff right here!"

4. Now that fall's gorgeous colors are in full swing, I like to take the boys down to walk the fresh pond loop. Ashton scooters and it's just so beautiful:

I'm starting to think about Christmas cards. If you get one from me with a unicorn on it, it's because that was easier to get a picture of than both boys smiling and looking at the camera at the same time.

5. What we have coming up: School picture day is Monday, then Ashton is star of the week, then Halloween, my birthday, and lots of little house projects that will resume now that Jason's work schedule is less busy (notice I didn't say slow, that is absolutely never the case haha). But we are hosting Thanksgiving and that's a good deadline for making over my poor dining room. It is in desperate need of window treatments, paint, a light fixture, decorations...no one likes a dry turkey, so to speak. I haven't done one thing in there since we moved in nearly two years ago *gasp!*. Dining room, it's your turn. Now I just need to tell Jason how much it will cost ;)

Happy Friday!