Maya is so honest. Jen had a really cute dress that she wanted a surprise for Maya, but wanted her to try it on. So she told Maya it was a special surprise, had her try it on, and she kept her eyes closed the entire time, feeling it with her fingers, noting how soft it was, eye still keeping those eyes closed and the surprise intact. Am sure in a few years this will all change and we will find her snooping for those surprises every chance she gets.
Ashton's favorite activity besides waking us up every night screaming is spinning in circles. Unfortunately, it also involves me spinning around as well, and far from my younger days when I could stomach anything, I have to do my best ice skating pose and try to focus on one distant object as I spin in circles giving my stomach just a few more revolutions before it calls it quits. Ash will grab my hand and spin around, and finish by body slamming into the couch. The kid does not get dizzy or feel the need to give dad a rest. It's ever better when he becomes airborne or sister Maya jumps in so the can virtually chase each other as I fling them around in circles.
Ashton rubbed his toe raw the other day on the bike as I pushed him around barefoot. Funny he did not even notice until we stopped and he wanted more, like bleeding made it cooler. On the other hand big sister tumbled to the concrete on the same day, maybe qualifying with a skuff on her knee and elbow. She cried halfway to swim lessons, and then had to be coerced into dipping her wounds into a pool for 5 minutes, petrified to move her limbs. Although I must say the contrast that was about to be set up made my day. As soon as she forgot about the wounds, she did the best floats, arms and even picked up a ring on the floor of the pool for the first time, and earned herself a ribbon into the world of the Octopus. She really impressed me in how she overcame her fears, even if it was minor, it was by far very difficult for her.
Ash is putting words together like Dada and Night-night and is constantly narrating any truck, bus or tractor that slips into his view. We must acknowledge it for him to stop bantering about it. He has become attached to a dog toy that NaNa got him at STarbucks, and calls it Nana doggie. Maya has been bringing home great Xmas artwork, and always wants to show me her work as soon as she gets into the car, even though there is a line of cars behind waiting to pick up their small child as well. The world can still wait at this age. She has also been noticing how things rhyme. Funny sometimes she will use the same word in different context, noting that they rhyme, yet not that they are the same words. Pretty cool though to see her light up on her own when she discovers something unseen before to her. Ashton has this super cute reaction to xmas lights. Every set of lights he sees he says "wha-oh" really loud, excited and undulating. He sounds so genuinely excited which each string of lights, like each on is the first time he has ever seen such a thing.
