Due to exciting and fun times in California, this milestone post is about a week late. Not too much has changed in that time so it is still accurate =)
Asher is a year and a half old. So much has changed in the past six months that the halfway mark definitely needs celebrating!
Being Asher's mama has been such a joy. When I think about the things I want to write down here for my own memory's sake, it is hard to sort through it all. So I guess I'll just dive in, list style.
*I don't have many stats on him, as I haven't taken him to the doctor too recently. He is still running a little shorter than most kids his age, and is a solid 25.6 lbs.
*He is sleeping about 11-12 hours a night. He was waking up at 7-7:30, but this week it has been a solid 8:15. Maybe he still isn't adjusted from CA time.
*One nap a day for about 2-2.5 hours.
Favorites
*Food: any and all. Especially cookies, meat, cheese, pickles and blueberries.
*Book: Little Blue Truck books, Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. Ben gets home at night, Ash gives him a big smile and says, "Hi! Books! Read books!" He LOVES when Ben reads to him. Probably because he does fun voices and noises.
*Music: Donut Man, Mary Rice Hopkins, Slugs and Bugs (Album 2), and a worship mix I made up. Also he likes me to sing and play the piano (ok, he likes to "play" the piano too...)
*Toys: crawl-through tunnel, cars, wooden puzzles of trucks and animals, pots and pans.
*Activities: Zoo, Mall-walking, sliding at the park, and above all, WALK! He wants to walk everywhere, and getting him to hold my hand is the newest challenge.
*Words: His vocabulary has exploded the last few months! He has about 60+ words that he uses consistently. But some of his favorites are- "Tchucks" (Trucks). Cars. "Tchain" (train). "Seeyah" (Sierra). Joe. Rose. Papa. Mimi. "Gahma" (Grandma). "-sic" (music). "Sahchat" (Snapchat). "Peas" (Please). "Cooookies" And if you ask him, "Asher, who loves you most of all?" He will give the toothiest grin and say, "Jeeeesussss!"
*Off-limits, but oh-so-tempting: Dog water. Computer power button. Toilet paper. Mommy's night stand drawer. Coffee mugs. Phone.
Challenges (for him and I!)
*Asher is a strong-willed child. He doesn't like being told no. And he will throw tantrums until he forgets why he is mad...but will stay mad on principle. Seriously. It gets to the point where being pouty must be really satisfying to him. Any and all who previously doubted this due to Asher's normally charming nature...well...they doubt no more.
*As previously mentioned, walking and holding an adult's hand. He hates it. And will go limp and fall to the ground, making it difficult to walk or to hold his hand. He doesn't want to be carried either. Finally today we made some progress and he held my hand without going limp or twisting his arm and walked for about 3 minutes.
*Slowly weaning off the Paci. It is another of his favorite words. We have resorted to spelling it. He still gets it for night/nap time, but we are pretty consistently taking it away for awake time. Exceptions include airplane, church sometimes, my one child-care job 2.5 hours a week where the other 5 kids all have them and he would steal theirs otherwise. He isn't always happy about it. He asks for it probably an average of once or twice an hour. But he has been accepting our no more and more without complaining. Especially if his favorite music is offered as a distraction.
Despite these (rather few, and pretty normal) challenges, Asher is still charming, happy and delightful. Anyone who has seen him knows his smile lights up the room, and he offers them with abandon. He has got the cutest sense of humor, is quite ticklish and offers a fist bump and a high five to anyone who will humor him. Although he is easily distracted by any number of moving machines.
He loves babies and can hardly contain his excitement when he actually gets within 2 feet of one. Being outside, surrounded by trucks, cars or trains will keep this kid happy for a long time.
You ask him where something is and he puts his finger to his mouth and says, "hmmm....eh-it-eees" (there it is) in the cutest voice. Half the time he hasn't even found it...he just knows that the phrase generally follows, "where is it?"
He finally will choose me over other people or notice if I'm not in the same room as him. It took over a year of his life for me to be a preferred person. He was always so busy socializing with everyone that he wouldn't notice if I left. And I'll admit, it does make my heart melt to here him say, "Mama! Mama go?" And the way he grins and exclaims exuberantly, "Hi!" when we get him up in the morning or from naps...seriously adorable.
Right now he has one of my shirts around his neck and he is carrying a little bowl saying, "fe-fish" (goldfish) and making little pathetic whiny noises. He is adorable, and he tries my patience, and he delights my heart.
A book my sister-in-law Meg just gave me talks about how the sanctification of parenting is like being put in a rock tumbler. It is no longer the gentle process of junior high sanctification, where we got to sit in a quiet spot like a stone in a gentle brook...water gliding over us and slowly smoothing out rough edges. Oh no. This is like a rock tumbler. Being bounced and shaken together, all the rough edges felt and acknowledged quite clearly...but hopefully with some serious smoothing happening. Parenting reminds me daily of my need for grace. And how the grace I receive from Jesus is sufficient for parenting Asher today.
It is a process. And I'll just say that I'm forever grateful that one of the little rocks in my tumbler is Asher Warren.
Here are some pictures from the past week or so!
At the observatory. He likes the grates in the floor.
Sometimes I look down and see the goofiest things.
One sock off, fingers in his ears and his paci in his mouth all crooked.
He is so observant. He hears and sees airplanes all the time (takes after his Uncle Johnny that way!)
Oh look there's another one!
Don't know what this squinty-eyed smirk was about but it makes me smile.
Throwing rocks in Eaton Canyon. He LOVED it.
"Woooowwww! SPLASSSHH" (direct quote)
Ben took me out for a birthday lunch in CA at a favorite place called Marston's. It was a sweet date, with delicious food and of course good company!
Asher not quite sure how to do piggy back rides with Papa. His motto was basically: hang on for dear life!
Auntie Krissa with Emery and Asher! Em is almost four months younger than Asher, but a bit taller...
Asher reading books in Papa's nice big chair.
(Both of his Papas have nice big chairs...we'll have to get a picture on Papa D's next!)
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