Your Semi-annual, Un-requested Ashley Update

**disclaimer: you are under no obligation to read this post**

Ashley turned 18 months old last month!

(Getting ready to jump! with her brother. Serious face is necessary to proper form.)

I've said it many times before, but Ashley has a delightful and sweet personality. This makes me happy for many reasons, not the least of which is that it makes her easier to parent. I'm all for the easy way out, see.

She has been very easy to put to bed. Last night I held her before bed and offered to sing her a song. . .but she just looked at me and reached for her bed. I made her stay with me for one anyway.

She was blessed during her baby blessing with a creative mind. I think we're already seeing evidence of this; she is very good at spacial reasoning and has always had a lot of fine motor coordination. She will sit and color or do a craft for a long time.

One thing has made me a little worried, though, and that has been her speech development. While Everett went into preschool for his speech, I couldn't fight the nagging worry that Ashley was not on track, either. Not only would she not say many words ("mama", "papa", and "up" were about it), she wouldn't even babble while she played. I thought about getting her evaluated, but I gave myself until after Christmas to see if anything happened. In the meantime, I worried and tried to encourage speech without forcing anything to happen.

But, BUT, she has finally decided to talk. I don't think I realized how thrilled I would be when this happened. At 18 months old, she certainly has a lot of time to get her words down. She was certainly still in the "normal" range. But I didn't realize how worried I had been until I heard her start to say more words and felt like a weight had been removed. (I was less worried at this age with Everett, but now that I know what his problem was/is, I was more sensitive (a little too sensitive) to Ashley's progress.)

I realize now that she is just a quiet child. Even when she plays now, she doesn't make much noise, and many people have commented to that effect. It will be interesting to see how she is as she get older--she doesn't seem to be shy and has no problem being left with strangers. She is just a quiet, contemplative toddler (until Everett takes her favorite toy!).

If you will indulge me, I'd like to list a few of the words she says now. I hear a new one every day, so this is by no means a complete list--I just would like to write some of them down somewhere.

Jump, hop, up, lap, jacket, milk, juice, drink, water, cup, cookie, grape, banana, pickle, cold, hot, stairs, car, truck, choo-choo, bubble, tooth brush, more, please, thank-you, dinosaur and many animals and their sounds.

Thank you. It gives me a little thrill each time I hear her use a new word.

And, to make this post even longer, here are some of the things she's learned in the last few months:

7 months ago: walking!

6 months ago: to demonstrate dexterity by taking a tiny sticker off the pad and sticking it to a piece of paper.

5 months ago: coloring with crayons is fun (and keeps her occupied for a long time); running is also fun, especially after taking one of Everett's toys, and throwing and kicking balls are a nice pastime.

4 months ago: to quickly determine which megablock fits best where, and to be able to create impressively balanced structures; pretend play becomes more appealing, especially when she can be an animal.

3 months ago: to drink from an open cup (not by my choice) and to use a fork, bowl, and spoon. Also, to "jump" without lifting her feet from the ground.

2 months ago: that she likes to throw things away, especially diapers, and is remarkably adept at determining what qualifies as garbage; to do her "make-up" next to me with an extra make-up brush and compact as I get ready for the day.

1 month ago: That she likes to talk! Also, that high heels make the best clip-clopping sound on hard floors.

On Sunday, Ashley will go to nursery for the first time by herself. I know we won't have any problems and that she will really enjoy it, so I have no apprehension. Joel is excited because this means he can actually sit through all three hours of church without having to worry about a toddler. Maybe this is just as much a milestone for him as it is for Ashley :).