The other day Ashton was watching me put on makeup.
"Why are you doing that?"
"So I look a little beautiful."
"Oh. So your face is shiny? So everyone thinks it's brand new?"
"Haha. Yes."
"Oh. But you're just joking right. It's not really new."
Welcome to SIX everybody! A place where Ashton pretty much knows the truth (aside from Santa/Tooth Fairy/etc.) and doesn't blindly buy in to whatever I tell him. Bribes are usually met with counter offers and he can see through a lot of my strategies. He like, knows things now! And if he doesn't, he is voracious for information and the questions are endless. Kindergarten is going to blow his mind.
This post is divided into sections and here we go.
Age Six, Part 1: Thursday August 3rd
This was Ashton's actual birthday. We did not do much and I had warned him repeatedly that there wouldn't be any gifts until his party on Sunday (mainly because I was still waiting for Amazon to deliver his presents but also, I wasn't sure what Jason's schedule would be so I wanted to keep expectations low). He was shockingly good about it. We went to the pool around 4:30 pm when I got home from work and Jason ended surprising us all there :) So after our swim we went home and had a birthday barbecue, cupcakes, and ran some backyard races. Ashton is actually fast and it surprised me that I had to put some effort into beating him lol. Here are some minimal pictures from August 3.
Age Six, Part 2: Sunday August 6
PIRATE PARRRRRRRRTY!
Ashton is obsessed with treasure and jewels. He has any number of small boxes that he collects things in - stray sequins he finds, buttons, pebbles, bolts, beads, tokens, anything. It did not take me long to decide to throw a pirate themed party for him. Mind you, it was nothing like last year. This one was super small and it was a drop-off! No parents meant no one to impress with decorations ;) We did it in the afternoon so there wasn't a huge food commitment AND I hired a Jack Sparrow lookalike to entertain the kids! (They haven't seen any of the movies but easily recognized that he was a pirate.) It turned out to be a winning combination and I was practically stress-free. I ordered some swords and eye patches, carved a ship out of a watermelon, hung some balloons, and organized a treasure hunt for their favors but that was about it and it was glorious. Captain Jack was worth his weight in gold (no pun intended! HAHA). Not only did he look just like Johnny Depp, he even had the same voice and accent. He gave some swashbuckling lessons, playedSimon Pirate Says, taught them about the code on the high seas, and best of all, they sat down in a circle for a Pirate Q&A and the kids could ask him any question they wanted. "Can you breathe underwater?" "Can you swim faster than a shark?" "Do you have real eyes?" and of course, because they are boys, "Where do you poop on a pirate ship?" They just kept going, it was priceless. [Captain Jack overall made quite the impression - the next night my friend texted me that he was all her kids could talk about and one of them kept pondering over and over, saying "I can't tell if Captain Jack was a real pirate or just dressed up like one. He really seemed like one but why would a pirate be so nice to kids at a party?" LOL]
It was perfect and the boys had a ball. Ashton opened his gifts after everyone left and that was a wrap on turning 6!
Age Six, Part 3: The Good Stuff
This is my favorite part :) Let's start with the stats.
Height: 48 inches/4 feet!
Weight: 50 pounds
Shoe Size: 13
Clothes size: Really depends on the brand, mostly 6 or 7
Teeth lost: 2 (both middle lowers)
Cavities: 1 (AHHHH!!! Apparently it's very common but we need to get it filled nonetheless)
Shots: None, but blood draw for lead
Allergies: Outgrown peanut and tree nuts, still egg and sesame and he has a hard time with dogs too
Currently obsessed with: sharks, dinosaurs and fishing
New skills: he passed the deep end test at the pool at Longfellow so he can go off the diving board now! He's also really good at remotes and maneuvering remote-controlled airplanes, helicopters, cars and trucks (all of which we, uh, have)
Favorite toys: You should see the Lego things he builds. They are amazingly creative. Both Ashton and Alex will sit for hours with a big bin of loose Legos and build, build, build. He also really loves the perler fuse beads and will spend a ton of time creating patterns with those.
Books: Any of the "Who would win" series (i.e. Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark, Lion vs. Tiger, Tarantula vs. Scorpion etc. - they outline the qualities of each, describe how they would fight and then declare a theoretical winner. They are actually educational hahaha)
As a brother: Ashton is so good. If they are running and Alex trips, Ashton doubles back to help him up. If they are both trying to climb something (the fence mainly) and Alex can't quite make it, Ashton will actually push him up from below before going up himself. Ashton helps Alex with puzzles and to open things and shows him how stuff works. They hold hands when they walk around sometimes and are completely BFFs for the most part. All they do is play, for hours.
Coming up: K with Ms. K! That's Kindergarten with Ms. Kuzinevich. Ashton is so ready. One of my favorite things about him is how he soaks up information. You can literally see on his face when he is learning something new. His expression brightens or something, it's hard to explain. But it's there. Like most other kids his age he is a sponge. I can't believe in 2 weeks I will be putting him on the bus to Kindergarten. But that's a whole other post.
Foods: any dry crunchy carb will do. He likes to eat cereal without milk, crackers, granola bars, chips, pretzels etc. He basically eats all day and usually is ok with whatever I serve for dinner. Except peas, he claims they make his tongue itch. Pretty sure that's a lie but it works because like I'm going to give him peas in light of the fact he has other food allergies! What if it's not a lie? Grrrr.
Speech: Not perfect. "W"'s are often used instead of r or l but his actual vocabulary is huge. Some of the adjectives seem to come out of nowhere but pronunciation isn't great. So he'll say (playing doctor): "Yep, your heartbeep [heartbeat] is fine - not cwacked or damaged or anything, total-wy fine."
Other funny -isms:
Watching Jason shave his beard: "Hm. I guess he doesn't need it anymore."
**
"Mommy do you know what a salami is?"
"I do. It's meat that you slice up and eat."
"Mommy, NO. A salami!"
"Well, yes...the kind you put on sandwiches? Right?"
"No it's not! It's a HUGE wave that is so tall it goes over peoples heads and it puts water everywhere even in towns and cities."
"Oh a TSUNAMI."
"I know, yes, a salami."
**
"You know, when something dies like a person or a cow or something, it means they lay down under the grass."
**
And so it is :) HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY ASHTON! We love, love, love you. xoxox
Welcome to SIX everybody! A place where Ashton pretty much knows the truth (aside from Santa/Tooth Fairy/etc.) and doesn't blindly buy in to whatever I tell him. Bribes are usually met with counter offers and he can see through a lot of my strategies. He like, knows things now! And if he doesn't, he is voracious for information and the questions are endless. Kindergarten is going to blow his mind.
This post is divided into sections and here we go.
Age Six, Part 1: Thursday August 3rd
This was Ashton's actual birthday. We did not do much and I had warned him repeatedly that there wouldn't be any gifts until his party on Sunday (mainly because I was still waiting for Amazon to deliver his presents but also, I wasn't sure what Jason's schedule would be so I wanted to keep expectations low). He was shockingly good about it. We went to the pool around 4:30 pm when I got home from work and Jason ended surprising us all there :) So after our swim we went home and had a birthday barbecue, cupcakes, and ran some backyard races. Ashton is actually fast and it surprised me that I had to put some effort into beating him lol. Here are some minimal pictures from August 3.
PIRATE PARRRRRRRRTY!
Ashton is obsessed with treasure and jewels. He has any number of small boxes that he collects things in - stray sequins he finds, buttons, pebbles, bolts, beads, tokens, anything. It did not take me long to decide to throw a pirate themed party for him. Mind you, it was nothing like last year. This one was super small and it was a drop-off! No parents meant no one to impress with decorations ;) We did it in the afternoon so there wasn't a huge food commitment AND I hired a Jack Sparrow lookalike to entertain the kids! (They haven't seen any of the movies but easily recognized that he was a pirate.) It turned out to be a winning combination and I was practically stress-free. I ordered some swords and eye patches, carved a ship out of a watermelon, hung some balloons, and organized a treasure hunt for their favors but that was about it and it was glorious. Captain Jack was worth his weight in gold (no pun intended! HAHA). Not only did he look just like Johnny Depp, he even had the same voice and accent. He gave some swashbuckling lessons, played
It was perfect and the boys had a ball. Ashton opened his gifts after everyone left and that was a wrap on turning 6!
Age Six, Part 3: The Good Stuff
This is my favorite part :) Let's start with the stats.
Height: 48 inches/4 feet!
Weight: 50 pounds
Shoe Size: 13
Clothes size: Really depends on the brand, mostly 6 or 7
Teeth lost: 2 (both middle lowers)
Cavities: 1 (AHHHH!!! Apparently it's very common but we need to get it filled nonetheless)
Shots: None, but blood draw for lead
Allergies: Outgrown peanut and tree nuts, still egg and sesame and he has a hard time with dogs too
Currently obsessed with: sharks, dinosaurs and fishing
New skills: he passed the deep end test at the pool at Longfellow so he can go off the diving board now! He's also really good at remotes and maneuvering remote-controlled airplanes, helicopters, cars and trucks (all of which we, uh, have)
Favorite toys: You should see the Lego things he builds. They are amazingly creative. Both Ashton and Alex will sit for hours with a big bin of loose Legos and build, build, build. He also really loves the perler fuse beads and will spend a ton of time creating patterns with those.
Books: Any of the "Who would win" series (i.e. Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark, Lion vs. Tiger, Tarantula vs. Scorpion etc. - they outline the qualities of each, describe how they would fight and then declare a theoretical winner. They are actually educational hahaha)
As a brother: Ashton is so good. If they are running and Alex trips, Ashton doubles back to help him up. If they are both trying to climb something (the fence mainly) and Alex can't quite make it, Ashton will actually push him up from below before going up himself. Ashton helps Alex with puzzles and to open things and shows him how stuff works. They hold hands when they walk around sometimes and are completely BFFs for the most part. All they do is play, for hours.
Coming up: K with Ms. K! That's Kindergarten with Ms. Kuzinevich. Ashton is so ready. One of my favorite things about him is how he soaks up information. You can literally see on his face when he is learning something new. His expression brightens or something, it's hard to explain. But it's there. Like most other kids his age he is a sponge. I can't believe in 2 weeks I will be putting him on the bus to Kindergarten. But that's a whole other post.
Foods: any dry crunchy carb will do. He likes to eat cereal without milk, crackers, granola bars, chips, pretzels etc. He basically eats all day and usually is ok with whatever I serve for dinner. Except peas, he claims they make his tongue itch. Pretty sure that's a lie but it works because like I'm going to give him peas in light of the fact he has other food allergies! What if it's not a lie? Grrrr.
Speech: Not perfect. "W"'s are often used instead of r or l but his actual vocabulary is huge. Some of the adjectives seem to come out of nowhere but pronunciation isn't great. So he'll say (playing doctor): "Yep, your heartbeep [heartbeat] is fine - not cwacked or damaged or anything, total-wy fine."
Other funny -isms:
Watching Jason shave his beard: "Hm. I guess he doesn't need it anymore."
**
"I love Hershey's kisses!"
"So you mean you love CHOCOLATE!"
"MOM! I like to call it Hershey's kisses."
**
Me: "It's bedtime right? What time is it." (7:50 pm)
Ashton "Well, it's 10:45!"
"Oh really?"
"Yes it is. I get to make up my own numbers."
****
Me: "It's bedtime right? What time is it." (7:50 pm)
Ashton "Well, it's 10:45!"
"Oh really?"
"Yes it is. I get to make up my own numbers."
"Mommy do you know what a salami is?"
"I do. It's meat that you slice up and eat."
"Mommy, NO. A salami!"
"Well, yes...the kind you put on sandwiches? Right?"
"No it's not! It's a HUGE wave that is so tall it goes over peoples heads and it puts water everywhere even in towns and cities."
"Oh a TSUNAMI."
"I know, yes, a salami."
**
"You know, when something dies like a person or a cow or something, it means they lay down under the grass."
**
"Why are you mad mommy?"
"What? I'm not."
"Then why do you have a not fun face?"
I wish I wrote down more. But overall no amount of words could quite capture him. In general, Ashton is busy. He's always talking, building something, collecting something, or imagining something. He's inquisitive, kind, thoughtful and jumps when he's excited and/or waiting for something to happen (Alex has started to do this too by the way). He's just so enthusiastic, about everything, and I am incredibly proud of him. His TK teacher Mrs. Cooney told me at the end of the year, "If I had a classroom full of Ashtons, life would be a dream."And so it is :) HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY ASHTON! We love, love, love you. xoxox
