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47 months.

47 months. One month closer to another year, making it 4 years. I hate the 8th with a passion.

18 months.

My boys are 18 months old. What? Wow, did that go fast. Like I have said in almost every post, I am continually amazed and thankful at how much Preston & Ethan are learning and developing. It is so much fun to teach them new things and to watch how their minds process stuff. They have hit all their milestones and then some. With every month that passes, Mark and I check off each milestone to make sure they are reaching them. Preston and Ethan have already hit some milestones that are not expected until 22-24 months! They are both learning and developing at the same rate which is pretty cool too. It's weird and also heartbreaking to realize that the boys are not even 3 years old yet but have already passed Karissa in development. That is why Mark and I are that much more thankful with how well the boys are developing.

So, here's what they are up to these days:

At the 18 month well-baby appointment:
Preston: weight: 24 lb 4 oz; height: 2' 8"
Ethan: weight: 23 lb 3.8 oz; height: 2' 7"

Language: They each have about 50-60 words. They are copying everything we say and it seems like they are picking up a new word on a daily basis. They are starting to string 2 words together. They will say "daddy bye bye,"  "its a car" and "more milk." Preston is able to identify and name the following items in a picture: ball, light, car, star, dog, hat, cat, baby, tractor, door, cheese, book, apple, shoes and socks. Ethan is pretty close to the same except I don't think he can name car but can identify duck.

Letters: A, E, I, O, U, B, P.

Numbers: They can count to 5, kinda...they will go 1, 2, 5, 4, 5. Mark has heard them say the number 3 but I've never heard it.

Colors: Preston knows the color purple and black and Ethan knows blue and yellow.

They both understand the concept of hot, up and down, on and off, and open and close. They love to play peek-a-boo and hide and seek. They both are imitating adult behaviors such as sweeping, vacuuming, feeding a doll, talking on the phone and combing their hair and mine too. They are following 2-step directions. Ethan sings simple tunes, specifically 'itsy bitsy spider' and 'twinkle, twinkle little star.'

They are playing with simple puzzles, like to scribble, are obsessed with open and closing doors, love to play with their mega blocks and push toy cars around the house. They are both climbing on everything, running everywhere and generally wreaking havoc! It's never a dull moment at the Ashley house!

~It's learning time~

~I was out of the room for not even a minute and this is what I find when I return!~

My little men. First Haircuts. May 2012.

Preston and Ethan got their first haircut. It was well overdue. Ethan was sporting a mullet and Preston just looked scraggly. I don't know why I put it off for so long. I knew when I cut their hair they would look all grow up, and they do. Maybe I'm in denial that my babies are no longer babies but my little men. Lol!! Anyways, my mom joined me to help out. Initially, the boys were very timid but ended up doing great. Another client in the salon even commented on how well behaved they were. I guess I must be doing something right! Here are the before and after pictures...

~The mullet~

~Preston playing in the water fountain prior to getting his haircut~

~Ethan checking out his new haircut~

Easter 2012. Handsome boys, jellybean cheeks and sticky fingers.

My boys looked so handsome in their Easter outfits. They melted my heart (and still do) to pieces! I never knew how much fun it could be to shop for and dress up two little boys for a special day. We went to church on Saturday evening and had an easter egg hunt on Sunday. I can't tell you how many jellybeans Ethan stuffed into his mouth. It was too cute! Preston and Ethan loved finding the eggs in the yard, opening them, and then dumping all the contents either onto the ground or into their mouths. 

~Jellybeans!!!!~

Late March 2012

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and we were able to get everyone together to celebrate. This rarely happens since we all have crazy schedules.

~Flowers especially picked for my mom~

~The cousins~

~The family~

~This face has mischievous written all over it!~

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Preston and Ethan always keep us laughing. They are both total hams, especially Ethan. They love playing outside. The month of March was a bit on the warmer side, so I brought out the water table. They are also obsessed with bubbles! The Redlands Bicycle Classic also takes place every year during the month of March. We usually host a few riders from a team but this year our team dropped out of the race due to injuries so we didn't get to host. Boo... But, we did get to meet Phil Keoghan from The Amazing Race! We are big fans of the show so it was quite exciting to meet him!

~I found my belly button!~

~Hangin' out in downtown Redlands watching the classic~

~I'm just a tad bit excited!~

~Quite an amazing site to see!~