At the tender age of 9 months and 1 week, Ashton got his first car: a Step 2 Whisper Ride Buggy. It's blue, has a cupholder, and was just delivered to us by the dealership last week ("Diapers.com"). Feeling that he was a bit young (it is recommended for 18 months+), we decided it was a good time to teach him one of life's most frustrating and annoying lessons: that patience is a virtue. So the car arrived, and we made him wait.
And wait.
And then we permitted a test drive in the safety of our dining room.
Today, at 9 months and 2 weeks, he officially got behind the wheel. We did a quick review of systems: Did the horn honk? Check. Seatbelt fastened? Check. Did the steering wheel turn? Check. (Although funnily enough, the wheels themselves didn't follow suit. I guess that's what you get when your car costs less than $70.) The console reported it was a very pleasant day at 72 degrees:
It seems the car also came with gas; the sticker reads about 3/4 of a tank. That's always nice.
After another quick horn test (just because), we set off at a blistering pace of 2.0 miles an hour. Tate decided he would rather go in the opposite direction so that slowed us down a bit in the beginning.
But before long, Ashton was one with the road. The wind was at his back and there was nothing to do but stay straight.
He was such a natural and completely at ease. A little TOO at ease, maybe:
We finally arrived at our far-off destination: the park.
After such a long drive, a whole 2 blocks, Ashton pulled over for a snack.
Then his good friend Owen came and the boys posed with their rides:
After that, time to head home. At this point, thanks to the wind, Ashton's hair was basically sticking straight up.
And that's when I saw it. A mysterious mark on our front fender!
Ashton swears he didn't hit anything. He takes after me ;)
Well we all had a great day today on my first official Mother's Day! My mom was in town for the weekend so spending the day with her, in person, for the first time in many years made it that much more special for me.
So what did we do? Well, Ashton was awake at 6 am and I immediately played the Mother's Day card and made Jason get up. Ha. When I eventually got out of bed, I was greeted by flowers, a very sweet card from Jason, Ashton, and Tate, and the cutest necklace imaginable. I love love LOVE it:
Ashton picked it out all by himself ;) After breakfast on the deck and Ashton's morning nap, we headed up to meet my mom and Pat at Stone Meadow Golf in Lexington. Golf has been my new hobby ever since I realized how cute the clothes are. My mom brought me her old clubs and Pat gave me a little lesson at the driving range. All moms got a free bucket of balls today - bonus! Afterwards, we drove into Lexington Center, got sandwiches and had a picnic on the town green. Here is our family photo.
After that and a quick frozen yogurt, it was time for Mom and Pat to head back up to VT, so we were home by 1:30 or so. Ashton went down for his nap, and I spent a peaceful afternoon at home until it was time to subject him to a "my first official Mother's Day" photo session.
After that, Jason headed off to work (boo) and we packed up and took Tate to the park to hang out before it was time for dinner/bathtime/bedtime. All in all, a beautiful day :)
It's been a little while since I really posted and I have an assortment of stuff to write about. Without further ado...
I have a new nephew!
Jason's sister just had her first baby, Ashton's cousin, a Mr. Owen Anthony Stone, on Monday, May 7. He was a perfect 7 lbs, 14 oz and 20.5 inches long. We headed down to New York on Tuesday and here we are together :)
Seeing Liz in the hospital and Owen's little ankle bracelet and the scrubs and hearing about the delivery definitely brought me back to when Ashton was born. It is absolutely one of the most memorable days of my life and more than once I found myself daydreaming about how wonderful August 3rd was. But let's not get carried away. Yes Owen is cute and all of that but did he make me nostalgic for newborns? Or anywhere near ready for another baby? Um, absolutely not. I was pregnant with Ashton for 9 months and in the last couple of days have finally reached the point where I have been unpregnant (postpartum?) for longer than that. I'll stay just like this, thank you. But in the meantime, I'll get my newborn fix from Owen :) He is so teeny and adorable!! I admit I have a hard time picturing Ashton that little. I'm sure you'll see his picture here again in the future.
A couple more firsts
So when we weren't visiting Owen in the hospital, Ashton had lots of playtime with Grandma and Grandpa, had his first french fry at Sip 'N Soda in Southampton, and said his first real word. Jason looked at him, said "Dada" and, after a beat, Ashton repeated it right back to him. Plain as day, no mistaking it. This would be exciting if it weren't totally infuriating. What about "Mama"? Who does Ashton think he is? I'M the one that he sees all day! Of course Jason cackled away and was all "Good job Ashton!" while I sulked with my arms crossed and a black rain cloud over my head. Humpf. "Dada". What kind of a word is that anyway.
;)
More fake teeth
I admit I laughed harder at this than I have in a long time. Ashton got his first Pastina today (tiny star pasta) and I gave him a spoonful while I was getting his dinner ready. Well, two of the stars got stuck on his upper lip and gave him a top pair of teeth. I couldn't believe how long they stuck - so long that I went down to the car to get my phone (where I had forgotten it), fished the camera out of the office, and took several pictures and a video. SEVERAL minutes later, after I had sufficiently cracked up, I actually had to wipe them off.
In case the still doesn't quite do it, here is the video. Please excuse the drool, he usually has a bib on.
I know I said it already but the pasta stuck there for so long, that's like WHY it was so funny. Anyway.
More 9 month stuff
Just to elaborate on my previous post, we had Ashton's 9 month appointment last Monday. I already bored you with his height and weight, but heck what's one more time: 20 lbs 15 oz and 29 inches. Since my good friend Chera told me that there are companies that turn blogs into keepsake books, I might start including extra material for myself. That way, when I actually get a book made, there will be more substance than Pastina teeth.
Where was I. Oh, nine months.
Foods: He has had all of his fruits, veggies and meats mostly, plus rice, oatmeal, quinoa, pasta and salmon. He continually has a hard time with dairy, he has thrown up cheese and yogurt when I've tried to give it to him so I'm holding off for now. In addition to his purees he gets various finger foods: cheerios, avocado, cucumber sticks, bagel pieces, tofu cubes, peas, banana wedges, etc.
Toys: Right now his go-to are Mardi Gras beads. At his pedi appointment the nurse saw him clutching his purple ones and she goes, "Ohhh party boy! Did someone flash you?" At the time I didn't think anything of it until Jason later told me the story behind them. Am I only the only one that didn't know this?? According to Wikipedia: "During Mardi Gras parades, traditionally, beads have been thrown from floats into the crowd. But later in the evening, they are rewarded by guys to women who lift their shirts to show off their breasts. "Show us your tits!" is the common phrase that begins the "negotiations". It's not unusual to see women wearing lots of Mardi Gras "bling" as the night wears on." For Pete's sake. Well, at least Ashton will be prepared. That's the most we can do as parents right?
Mobile Activity: Still no crawling, but basically everything else. He sits up, scoots on his tummy across the floor, turns in circles on his belly and rolls for miles. He also manages to get around by sticking his butt in the air repeatedly, much like an inchworm. A couple posts ago I put a video up of him in his walker. Ashton loves this thing, our walls do not. He bangs around and explores everywhere. Jason's parents have a long hallway and we each sat on one end and took turns encouraging him to walk to us. It was the cutest to see him awkwardly wheeling himself with a big happy smile on his face. I melted. This walker is so fun, it also has a little snack tray so I put bits of cereal on it and off he goes, flinging it everywhere. He's like Johnny Appleseed but with Cheerios.
Teeth: Still just the two bottom ones.
Diapers: Size 3, but Size 4 in the overnights.
Clothes: Size 12 months for the most part
Favorite book: Besides the touch and feel ones, he listens so intently when I read anything that rhymes i.e. "A goose and a moose together have juice, and a cat and two rats are trying on hats!"Silly stuff but he loves it. Just this month he truly sits and looks at the pages and the pictures while I read. Before he sort of did but would end up trying to grab the book and eat it or lose interest altogether.
Other things of note: His sleeping is so much better the past month. He is usually on his belly and only wakes up once, if at all. I also finally turned his stroller seat out so it's facing the world instead of me when we walk. Not sure what took me so long.
Ashton hit the nine month mark last Thursday but I was waiting until today/his pediatrician appointment to post some stats!
Weight: 1 ounce shy of 21 pounds at 20 pounds, 15 oz (70th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (75th percentile)
Head circumference: 17.5 cm (30th percentile)
We came away with some homework: namely to start brushing his two little teeth and incorporate lunch into our day (right now he gets breakfast and dinner). These are the pictures I took on his 9 month birthday:
Ashton's cousin is due to come into the world literally in like an hour. Jason's sister is in labor so we are heading to New York tomorrow morning for a couple of days. Full post, including pics of my new nephew, when we return!
I am extremely grateful to have a husband that has a somewhat unconventional schedule. It means he is home most mornings and we sit together as a family, play, have coffee, and hang out. Ashton does not crawl yet (which, for the record, I do not worry about - whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, is just fine by me) but we have had some fun "helping" him learn. And by "helping", I mean the establishment of Jason's Crawling School. This is a very exclusive program, extremely expensive, and has a reputation for being extraordinarily successful (don't you think ex- words make things sound sophisticated somehow?). Anyway, Ashton was lucky enough to get into the morning session and in the beginning, did not take things seriously at all.
There's no giggling in crawling! Unacceptable. Jason really cracks the whip and the program is so rigorous and top-secret that cameras usually aren't allowed. I was granted rare access this morning and given permission to post my pictures.
Ashton looked a little nervous before his first interval, like "I don't know if I can do this, Mom".
I had dressed him in his "Super Grover" pajamas (I mean, tell me a situation where a yellow cape doesn't help) and he had a very friendly welcoming committee set up on the other side of the quilt:
A mere three feet away. Surely he could make it. Jason assisted in position set-up:
And off he went!
A few critical seconds later, the REACH! They say that you can spot a Jason's Crawling School graduate by their exceptionally smooth motion through this movement:
Alllllmost there:
Annnnnd, the anticlimax. That's as far as he got. Poor baby was so pooped:
Well, there's always tomorrow. And if not, I hear Jason's Crawling School has a money back guarantee ;)
