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!