Ashley Speak

(These are some things I don't want to forget about Ashley. Feel free to skip.)

It's been a lot of fun having a two year old that can actually talk! I get to hear what Ashley is thinking all the time, and it is an absolute treat. It is also funny to note that she has added a lot of Everett-isms to her lexicon.

If you ask her a question, Ashley will usually respond with an, "Um, like. . . ." as she is considering her answer. Yep, she picked this up from Everett. No, I do not know where he got it.

If you tell her she can't have/can't do something she was hoping for, she'll hang her head, slump her shoulders and say, "AAAaaawwwwWWW!" Rarely will she throw a fit--usually these are extreme circumstances (ie, it is way past her bedtime).

Ashley has no fear of punishment. Time-outs are completely ineffective, and it doesn't bother her if we take something away she is playing with. What does work? That is a good question. Thank goodness I do not need to discipline her very often.

When I am cooking, Ashley always finds her way in and says, "I want to help, I want to help, Mommy!" and she pushes a chair up to the counter. If I am going somewhere, Ashley has to come with me. She is my little shadow. I love it. Everett is my home-body but Ashley loves to be out and about.

Ashley has to climb into the car all by herself. If you lift her in at any point, it becomes one of those rare times she will throw a fit. It is better for everyone to just wait for her to do it slowly. (I have to budget an extra 5-10 minutes every time we leave to go somewhere just for getting all the kids into the car.)

Ashley has replaced the word "yes" with the word "sure". Sometimes it works just fine. Other times, it doesn't quite fit:

"Ashley, did you go to the playground today?"

"Sure Mom, sure."

"Ashley, did you keep your underpants dry today?

"Sure Mom, sure."

Awkward as it is, I don't get tired of hearing it.

Another thing I'm really enjoying about Ashley is her ability to report what she did. I ask her every Sunday what she did in nursery at Church, and she always tells me at least two things. If the kids play at the YMCA while I'm working out, she'll inform me that she caught an octopus in the fishing game or she colored with purple.

Ashley loves identifying things everywhere we go. She loves to identify purple--on cereal boxes, on signs, on toys. She does this so often that Everett automatically gives her purple of anything we have. He knows it is her favorite color and wants to make her happy. She also identifies familiar PBS Kids characters. I am always amazed at how many names she remembers, even from shows she has never seen.

If Ashley injures herself, she always sticks her bottom lip out and says "Kiss it better, Mommy!" Once I do, it is magically healed (I wish a kiss would always fix all of my kids problems).

Ashley loves to sit for stories. She will sit for as long as Everett does, or longer.

My favorite thing that Ashley does lately is add the -ee sound onto almost any word. Everett has started doing this, too. She will say "Oh no-ee!" and "Hands-ee" and "Shoes-ee" and lots more.

Ashley is very quiet. Everett went to play at a friend's house yesterday morning and she and I had the morning together. I had some emails to catch up on, so I left her to play by herself for a little while. I didn't hear a peep from her. It is a good thing I had Everett first because he made me a more hands-on mother than I would have been otherwise, due to his need for almost constant attention.

Ashley loves to jump. She often shows her enthusiasm by jumping around excitedly.

Often if we are going somewhere else in the house, Ashley asks me to hold her (and carry her there). I try to always comply because A) she is growing up and won't want me to do it after too long, and B) I think she does it because she wants to feel a little extra love but obviously doesn't have the skills to express that. She will lay her head down on my shoulder and cuddle into me. It always makes me feel good, too.

I am so glad we have Ashley in this family. She is a wonderful and smart little girl, which makes her plenty of fun!