"What looks like a loss may be the very event which is subsequently responsible for helping to produce the major achievement of your life.”
-Srully Blotnick
James’ 1st birthday is coming up and Mom has been busy trying out some new desserts and dishes for the party. Ashlyn couldn’t resist joining in and “helping” in the preparations.
Ashlyn has always loved the water so we felt it was time to enroll her in swimming lessons. This was the first week of class and Ashlyn, as always, was shy at first. She warmed up to it quickly enough and was upset when it was time to leave. I suspect she will get lots of practice this summer.
These next pictures don’t really have a story. Our children are simply messy little creatures when it comes to eating. Whether it’s a smoothie or rice and chicken, our kids somehow find a way to make a mess of it. It’s ironic then that James likes to wash our faces after eating instead of his own, although with James it’s not uncommon to have food on us as well after he’s done.
Big sister is still James’ favorite person, and it’s fun to watch him learn from her. On Saturday he was picking up all the same tinker toys that Ashlyn was playing with, and he did his best to keep up with her as they played around the house. It didn’t work, and eventually he was so worn out that he actually fell asleep on his bouncer. He would start bouncing again when he began to wake up, which would put him back to sleep again. It was a funny cycle that lasted about 30 minutes.
As James gets older he’s starting to learn how to use things around him. He’s watched Ashlyn get her hair brushed, and when he found the brush on the floor he decided to try it out for himself. Ashlyn apparently didn’t think he was doing a good enough job so she helped him out. James them proceeded to double fist some Graham crackers to reward himself for his achievement. That boy loves Graham crackers.
If you’ve made it to the end of this post and are still curious as to what the quote at the top is referring to, here’s your answer. Ashlyn gave up her last binky this weekend. She had seen a Japanese bento candy making kit on YouTube and loved watching the videos over and over again. We ordered one, and it’s been sitting in our pantry for months with the promise that Ashlyn could have it when she stopped using her binkies. She finally decided it was time (we felt it was 2 years past time), and so Ashlyn is now binky free. It was a little hard for her to sleep the first few nights, but she’s getting better, and she now has a big girl doll for each lost binky to help keep her company at night.
