Ash - 20 Months

Combing my hair for pictures

Mom wanted to be in denial about this one.  For some reason the big TWO-OH hit her harder than some of the other ones.  She's already started thinking about how soon I'll be turning two years old.  It's also been busy with Ryker around, so there hasn't been much time for pictures, so you get just pics from just a few scattered days and Superbear pics in pj's.  But to me this was just another month full of learning and growing and fun.  Let me catch you up!

Sweaty head from playing outside in the hot sun

Size:  I'm too tall for basically all my 12 mo pants, though a few of them still fit my waist.  Mom pulled out a bunch of 18 mo pants/shorts and 24 mo onesies (which snap very loosely yet, but fit well through the trunk and give lots of room for my cloth diapers).

Parking my cars in the "garage"

Physical development:  I'm continuing to work on my gross motor skills, climbing onto couches and chairs that are low enough for me.  I'm constantly working on walking and love to walk on uneven surfaces like grass and mulch and landscaping rocks.  I practice stairs every day and can take them slowly while "hanging onto" the wall, but prefer to go faster hanging onto mommy's hand.  My fine motor skills are awesome.  I've had fun with stickers and crayons, and I've been enjoying practicing putting the blocks on my wooden train and especially hitching my car transporter trailer to the big rig.  But one of my very favorite activities is to go outside and play with my digging toys and construction vehicles; I love playing in the dirt!

Digging in the front yard

Verbal development:  I'm starting to learn to recite my numbers 1-10 and my letters from hearing songs.  I am very specific and usually use descriptive words in my sentences.  I have started whining more often and mommy is always telling me she can't understand me.  I am naturally good at "using my words" when I'm unhappy with what someone is doing, so that makes life a little easier for my parents and caregivers.

Other developments: I've finally cut all my canines.  With a whole mouth full of teeth, mommy thinks I look like a big boy.  I'm just glad to finally be able to eat/chew well again, though I'm still chewing on my burp cloth a lot.  You can see my chapped cheek in some pics from where I'd been chewing and drooling constantly.

See my chapped cheek? Glad to have canines

Routines:  We're getting settled into our day-to-day with Ryker and he's getting used to us and our routines, so we're just excited to have a friend to grow and play with.  Mommy got a gym membership when she got her new nanny job, so I've been spending time a few days a week in the kids' area at the gym.  I like playing with the lawn mower and trucks in the toddler area.  Mommy has been working really hard the past week or two to get me to sleep at nap time b/c I hit the point where I was sleeping about once a week and getting pretty cranky by bedtime.  Now I'm sleeping more than 50% of the time with lots of "torture" from mom to lull me to sleep.

Sharing my toys with Ryker

Special events: Well, it's not exactly a "special event", but our basement flooded this week, so we've had big noisy fans drying out all the moisture.  We had the plumber out to visit too, and he drove a cool big purple box truck.  Otherwise it's been a pretty low-key, ordinary busy month with head colds and doctor visits and trying to get settled into a routine with Ryker.

My favorites: We've checked out some books from the library by an author named Linda D. Williams about various construction vehicles, so I've started tacking her name onto everything I say - "Ash is eating breakfast by Linda D. Williams" or "Mommy clean my hands by Linda D. Williams".

I love digging at the "sand park"

Upcoming: This upcoming month is pretty bland with no special company visiting or anything, but at the end of October Aunt Chellie is coming to visit, then in November Lola & Papa come to visit, then in December is Christmas and the Moriarty clan visiting, and January I turn TWO, so I've got plenty of excitement to get ready for.  I'll check in with you again in a month or two.

This is my favorite t-shirt