EFY Visitors

My Dad brought the kids down for EFY again this summer. Patrick and Lexi got to go to a session at BYU, and Dad and Nicholas just stayed to hang out for the Memorial Day weekend. It was fun to have them around even if it was only for a short time. Ashton was quite excited. He especially loved the present Papa brought him--a "Bill Fulbright for County Attorney" shirt!

(Ignore the ridiculously pregnant-looking me in the background, please...) We also had fun playing Lexi's Wii game, Just Dance 2. Ashton was endlessly entertained by this game and would dance around to every song.

While everyone was here, we had a haircut party. Both Patrick and Lexi wanted it done before EFY, so my Dad buzzed while I trimmed. (Nicholas had his cut right before they came, but we wanted him in the picture anyway...)

It was so nice to just relax with everyone and enjoy a weekend together.

Ashton loves his Aunts and Uncles! Too bad they don't live just a little bit closer...

(Judging from this picture, I'd say he's got a little bit of Fulbright in him...)

Eating

The Five Food Groups (According to Ashton):

1. Fruit (any...so far)

2. Vegetables (limited to tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, corn, and the occasional carrot)

3. Bread/Grains (one specific--very expensive--brand of wheat bread, sometimes a roll from Grandma's bakery, and a few--emphasis on few--varieties of crackers/cereal)

4. Dairy (whole milk, yogurt, and ice cream, of course)

5. "Candy" or "Treats" (aka things that are sugary and not good for you)

It's no secret that Ashton is a stinker when it comes to eating. But I suppose he could get a lot worse...knock on wood! Oh well. At least he's cute while he's doing it!

Chinese

Ashton found Tyler's Chinese dictionary and asked him to read it. For some reason, as soon as Tyler started reading the words, Ashton went insane! He started flailing around the room and repeating the characters and laughing. I guess he thinks Chinese sounds pretty funny...

Bandanna Boy

Thanks to many years of Girls Camp, I have a plethora of bandannas in just about every color there is. Ashton found them one day, and Tyler tied one on his head like a pirate, and he thought it was hilarious. Ever since then Ashton will bring them to us and insist that we tie them on to various parts of his body. It's pretty stinking cute...

And of course, it wouldn't be as much fun without a little music and dancing thrown in there, too.

We love this silly boy.

The Pianist

Tyler's cousin Rachel came home from her mission in Texas--yay!!! We went to her homecoming at church and the party afterward, and it was so good to see her again. Ashton hasn't seen her since he was 6 months old or something, so she was amazed by how big he is. We had a nice time eating yummy food and talking, and Ashton had fun playing outside with the other kids. Right before we left, though, he made a discovery...the real piano! He was having a great time banging on it until we went home.

He had the bright idea to play with his feet and hands at the same time. Adds some flair, I suppose...

I guess we'll have to get a piano of our own someday, so he can learn to play it for real!

The Prophet Book

A while back, Grandma Becky got Ashton an illustrated Book of Mormon. He is absolutely obsessed with it! He calls it the Prophet Book and runs for it first thing every morning. He sits and reads it to himself while I keep "sleeping" for as long as possible. But eventually he always says, "Mommy wake up! Mommy read it!"

Anyway, I made a video of Ashton discussing the things he has learned from the Prophet Book. Since he is talking quiet and hard to understand, I posted a transcript of the video below. So if you want to open it in another window and follow along, you can.

Me: What book is that, Ashton? What is this?

Ashton: Prophet book.

M: Yeah. And who is on the front, who is that?

A: Nephi.

M: And who else?

A: Lehi.

M: And what did Lehi find?

A: Hona Ball! [That's what he calls the Liahona.]

M: And what are they doing?

A: Big boat. Build a big boat to go big blue water.

M: That’s right.

A: Laman and Lemuel! And Sam.

M: Yeah. Now look at this page. Can you sing the Nephi song? Sing the Nephi song.

A: Lord commanded Nephi, go and get plates

From the wicked Laban, inside the city gates

Laman and Lemuel, both afraid to try

Nephi was…

M: Nephi was…

A: Courageous! This his reply.

I will do…

M: I will do…

A: Things…

M: The things…

A: The Lord…commands!

Provide…me to…

M: Wants me to…

A: To obey!

M: Good job.

A: That page…

M: What’s this page back here? Here, show me this one. Right here. Who are all these guys? Who’s that?

A: Jared.

M: Jared, that’s right. Brother of Jared, huh?

A: Touching the rocks.

M: And who’s that?

A: Lehi.

M: Lehi? And who’s that?

A: Nephi.

M: Nephi. Who’s that?

A: Sam. Laman and Lemuel!

M: Yeah, who’s that?

A: Alma.

M: Alma. Who’s that?

A: Bin-dai! Bin-dai. [That's what he calls Abinadi.]

M: Abinadi. And who’s he talking to?

A: King Noah.

M: King Noah. Who’s that?

A: Jesus.

M: Jesus, huh? And who’s that?

A: Mormon.

M: Mormon. Who’s that?

A: Ammon!

M: Ammon!

A: Him…no… [This is what he says when he doesn't know who someone is.]

M: King Lamoni.

A: King Moni.

M: Who is this?

A: Moroni.

M: Moroni. And who is that?

A: Joseph Smith.

M: Joseph Smith. Do you love the prophet book? (He nods yes.) Yeah? What’s your favorite story in the prophet book?

A: Nephi. Nephi.

Tooth Brushing Jam

Brushing your teeth is infinitely more fun with a little music and dancing...

Happy Mother's Day!

This was a milestone Mother's Day for one good reason: it's the first time Ashton has ever made something for me!

I never thought I would love a paper flower made in nursery so much, but I do. :)

But not near as much as I love this boy! I'm so proud to be his Mommy.

Photography Class! Part 2: On-Location

Well, photography class is over. It was excellent, I feel like I really learned a lot about lighting. It's only a drop in the bucket of all there is to know, I'm sure...but it's a whole lot more than the nothing I knew before! The last day of class was the one I was most excited for. We were supposed to go out to various locations in the area and have lots of models and lots of time to take pictures of them. Well, that only sort of happened. None of the models showed up that day, so we had nobody to take pictures of! So, we just went out as a group to the locations and took pictures of each other. This was problematic for many reasons. Most of us weren't prepared to be photographed. We weren't wearing nice clothes or makeup or fancy hair or anything. Plus everybody wanted to be the one taking the pictures; nobody wanted to be in them. Everybody (myself included, I'm sure), felt so self-conscious that they wouldn't stand for very long or ever relax. By the time I took a few pictures to check my settings they would run away and it would take me forever to convince someone else to pose for me. Needless to say the on-location shoot was not what I'd hoped for. But oh well. Eventually I stopped waiting on everyone else and just wandered around photographing the beautiful location. I can't believe I live in such a gorgeous place! Hope you enjoy the results...

I always wondered why people said they would never eat a fish from Utah Lake... now I see why!

Yes, that's a real snake. I almost stepped on it! Gross. After that I decided I was done... :)

The Genius Child

Our child is a genius. And yes, I am aware that every parent thinks that, so mock me if you will, but I still think it! And here are some videos I humbly (hmm...) submit as evidence of my claims.

Exhibit A: Ashton counting to ten. He skips 6, but this was taken a long time ago when he was still learning. I'm just too lazy to take another one.

Exhibit B: Ashton saying his ABCs. Notice the dramatic flare? I wonder where he gets that from... I also love how every time he gets to Q he speeds through to the end all at once--even the "now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me" part. Ha ha!

Pretty good for a kid who's not even two yet!