Well hello again world.  Thought I disappeared did ya?  It’s been such a busy summer.  Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  Excuses excuses…I know.

I’ve been thinking lately how fast time is flying by.  Ashley is 3 short months away from being a two-year old.  Isn’t that crazy?!  I’m afraid she’s going to be all grown up soon and I’m going to forget about her mannerisms and things that she did when she was little.  So I’m going to take a minute here and sum up Ashley in a nutshell at 21 months old.

She loves to be outside.  L-O-V-E-S it!  It doesn’t matter the weather…hot, cold, rainy, humid.  She just likes being outside.  She loves running around barefoot in our backyard.  She chases the boys around and laughs hysterically when they run beside her.  If she’s having a bad day or gets upset about something, we just go sit on the front porch for a minute and it makes her feel better.  There’s something to be said about good ole’ fresh air.  She also loves to go for walks.  In the mornings, we take a walk with the boys while she rides in her stroller.  In the evenings, she pushes her baby doll in the doll stroller and the two three of us walk up the street to the corner.  She waves to cars that pass by and on the walk back, she always decides she wants to carry the baby doll so she carries her and I carry the stroller.

She has the kindest heart of any toddler you will ever meet.  She is genuinely concerned about others feelings and it bothers her to see other kids upset.  She loves animals – especially Toby, Blake and Jimmy . She is always petting them or hugging them. Every night before bed we tell her to tell the boys “night night” and she goes up to each one, bends down (as they are usually laying down) and gives them a hug.  She is [normally] very gentle with them.  Toby holds a special place in her heart.  They are best buds.  She likes to sit with him and/or on him.  He always lets her do it and showers her with lots of kisses.

She is not fond of strangers, and for that, I am grateful.  She is very reserved and suspicious of people she doesn’t know or hasn’t seen in a while.  She prefers for me to hold her if someone she doesn’t know is talking to her.  Unlike most kids that will run up to you or be overly friendly, you have to earn Ashley’s trust.  I hope this is a trait that stays with her as she gets older.  We all know what a scary world we live in.

She loves to sing and dance, especially if it’s to the Laurie Berkner Band.  This is her favorite band.  She has the DVD memorized and knows which song comes next.  We watch it several times a day, at her request.  Thank goodness they are releasing a new DVD soon so we can get a different set of songs stuck in our head!  In fact, we are going to their Baltimore, MD concert in September.  That’s the closest they come to NC, so we are traveling just to see them.  I am so excited!  It will be Ashley’s first concert and my first trip to Baltimore!

She likes to imitate.  She sees Van wipe off the table, so she wipes off the table.  She watches Van shave, and she pretends to shave.  She watches me brush my hair, so she brushes her hair.  She watches me put on make-up, and she pretends to put on make-up.  And so on and so on.  She especially thinks its funny when I dance and sing in the car.  So she imitates me by rocking her head to the music and patting her leg. It’s so funny how observant she is.  Unfortunately, she is also biting her nails – a bad habit she got from me!

She is very independent these days.  She has to do things by herself and doesn’t want any help.  Which also means she doesn’t want to hold my hand to cross the street, etc.  I’ve never seen such a small person be so independent and head strong.  She’s going to do it; and she’s going to do it her way.  This obviously is a source of conflict some days.  A good side to her independence is that she also loves to help me with chores.  She helps with laundry – she puts the wet clothes into the dryer.  She helps with dishes – she hands me the clean ones from the dishwasher.  She helps keep the floors clean – she picks up specks or dirt or dog hair and brings them to me.  If she spills milk or water on the floor, she comes to get me and shows me where it is.  She is such a good helper!

She loves chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, pizza, cheese, and just about any fruit you offer her.  Veggies, not so much.  She has a sweet tooth like her mommy and also likes cake, cookies, pie, and ice cream.

She climbs up in Van’s lap every night (after bath and before bed) and he gives her a massage.  It’s like their daddy/daughter time.  They do this every night, without fail.  She loves her daddy!  She gets so excited when he comes home from work.  All day long she asks for Dada.  She kisses him bye every morning and waves to him as he backs out of the driveway.

She is so sweet at night time.  She gives Van and I hugs and kisses before bed.  She is not a fan of brushing her teeth though.  So we struggle with that every night.  I hope that when she gets older and can understand that her teeth will rot out if she doesn’t do it, she might give in.

She loves her baby doll.  She carries her around the house and pushes her in the stroller.  She also loves her Cinderella doll and brushes her hair.  She loves Minnie Mouse and Penelope (the big pink dog).  She climbs over Penelope and likes to sit and bounce on her.

She is so silly and loves to make you laugh.  She likes standing on her head.  She is curious of the world around her and just soaks it all in.  I love watching her pick clovers or watch airplanes up in the sky.  She is constantly learning new things.

She babbles a lot.  If you are in a different room than her, or especially if you are upstairs and she is downstairs, she likes to yell at you in her own little language.  I have no idea what she is saying but it’s really cute.  It sounds like gibberish.  She only says a few words but babbles a lot and knows animal sounds.  She still grunts and points to things when she wants them.  She knows what things are (if you ask her, she’ll go get it) but she won’t say the word when she wants it.  I’m hoping this will change soon.

She’s good at puzzles, enjoys reading books and loves looking at pictures.  She especially loves the photo book I made from our Disney trip.  She points to everyone in the pictures (including characters) and wants you to say who they are.  She can point people out to you, too.  She has recently started pointing to the people in the background though; those random people that end up in your pictures.  I think she just likes it when Van and I tell her we don’t know who those people are.  It’s funny because she will point to them over and over again.  And our answer is always them same “I don’t know who that is”.  It’s almost like she is saying “Well why did you take their picture then?!”

Sorry this is such a long post.  Makes up for lost time, huh?  I just wanted to capture Ashley’s little personality at this age.  I don’t want to ever forget a thing about her.  The way she laughs; her hysterical squeal when you tickle her.  The way she dances, bounces up and down, and turns around in a circle.  The way she says Mama, Dada, Nana and Jimmy (which comes out Ji-Ju).  The way she cries when she’s upset.  The way she bangs her head on anything she can find when she’s mad; whether it’s the floor, a wall or your leg.  The way my heart melts when she kisses me “night night” and waves to me as I walk out of her room.  She is such a sweetheart.  We love everything about you Miss Ashley!  No matter how big you get, you will always be our little girl!