Stand up guy

It seems like Ashton is growing at an astronomical rate. Today I honestly tried to think back to what it was like when he was just starting to hold his head up, roll over, etc. and I couldn't even picture it. He now moves around so able-bodied, aware and interested in things, and pulls up on anything within his reach. In the past couple of days he has gotten to his feet and then let go of whatever is supporting him, so for a second or two he is standing all on his own :) It would be totally amazing, if it wasn't completely annoying! I'm exhausted from policing his every move, and his new trick this month is to stand up in his crib. It wreaks havoc on naptime because I put him down, close the door, and thirty seconds later I hear some noises and check the monitor and yep, he has popped right up to check things out. What's outside of his crib is far more interesting than what's inside, obviously. So we play this game- I go back in, lay him down, pat pat pat on his back and give him his paci, and leave. Thirty seconds later, same thing. I know what you want to ask: why don't you just leave him alone? I have started to this week. Before that though, he was pulling up without knowing how to get down, so he cried and cried and it was heartbreakingly cute when I went in to pry his little fingers from the railing and rescue him.


Now, pretty much every morning and after every naptime this is what I am greeted with:

I often leave two or three pacis in his crib so he can find them for himself in the middle of the night. In the morning it's not unusual to find him with one in his mouth and one in each fist. He shuffles around to collect them or something. Hey, whatever floats your boat.


But the standing up is getting out of control. He loves all of our planters, the coffee table, the kitchen stools, the bed frame, everything but the very nice new toys I have been buying him. Tsk tsk, what a cliché. Nonetheless, this is what it's like around here:

Exploring his toy box

(Although I'm not sure what he's looking for- he never finds anything in there as remotely interesting as, well, the remote. Ha ha)

Underneath the dining room table:

Yes, it WOULD be fun to pull all the cans out of the pantry. 

Loving the coffee table

I don't have pictures of all the times I catch him flinging dirt from the plants because I'm usually running for the vacuum cleaner. 

When he does play with "Ashton approved toys" I might as well be living in a casino with all the sounds and lights. They all seem to play Pop Goes the Weasel, and, even more bizarre, Alouette. Alouette is a French song about plucking various parts of a bird. ??? I'll spare you a video, but notice Tate in the background looking utterly bored (and ruining our couch at the same time). 

Notice the playmat. It's new. We pushed aside our living room furniture and got rid of a chair so the dining room stayed after all :)


I am behind on blogging so stay tuned this week for more new posts!