Well, outside of the baby seat anyhow. I managed to rig up the Ergo baby carrier to secure him into place (he’s still a bit floppy in the sitting department). Ashton had a blast and enjoyed a long stroll around K-Mart where we looked for Halloween costumes.

The crazy hair was getting just a bit too crazy. I didn’t want to chop it, because I was afraid the curls on top would be gone for good, but the hair was starting to get in Ashton’s eyes and bother him. I had thought we should do this while he was asleep, but we decided to live on the edge and cut it while awake. I held him while Daddy used the scissors. It actually turned out better than expected. But now Ashton looks more like a kid than a baby 🙁

Before After

Ashton visited the pumpkin patch today with Grandma, Erin, and Kaylin.  And good news… Ashton loves pumpkins. Probably because they’re big and colorful. He also sat on a tractor and showed us how tall he is.

Pic

I’ve been sticking out my tongue at him for months. For the last month or so, this would get a laugh, but today, he stuck out his tongue back. His little tongue was in and out of his mouth all morning as he proudly showed off his new skill.

Ashton loves things that bounce. Toys, us, him… its all good, esp. if you provide sound effects. So, its no surprise that he loves his new doorway bouncer. I kind of thought these had all been recalled due to “safety issues”, but I found this one at the used kids store. And I can see that baby must never be left unattended, since the action can get a bit wild. Ashton looks a bit like a ballerina in this, since he can’t fully touch the floor, and ends up spinning around in circles balancing on one set of toes.

Ashton is now sitting without assistance. But he still gets excited or distracted by lights or shiny objects – and falls over rather ungracefully as he turns to look around. So, we surround him by pillows if he’s on the floor. Exact date for this milestone unknown – it was a gradual process.

Today Ashton had his first bites of rice cereal. After weeks of begging and lusting after our food, I decided to give it a try. I don’t think he really liked it much. Rice cereal has been tried twice more since, and he still seems uninterested. He does like bananas though. Problem is that he wants to feed himself. This is slightly resolved by giving him one spoon to play with while I try to feed with the other. Haven’t yet worked out the kinks in this plan.

Daniel, Ashton, and I attended the outdoor production of Comedy of Errors at Sanborn Park in Saratoga. Ashton was quite entranced by the singing Pirates at the beginning of the show and was very good at tracking the action on stage (his eyes darted back and forth across the wide stage to follow both movement and sound). Ashton also enjoyed looking at Ed and Heather’s 9-month old daughter (name escapes me) and she played with Ashton’s feet.

This event was also the trial run of my new Ergo baby-carrier, since Ashton is starting to get mad when he’s in the confines of the ring sling. Ashton enjoyed chewing on the straps and with a little bouncing, fell asleep in the carrier. I’d call it a success.

also just poking through the gums

from side to tummy. Happened 3x as I we were trying to get him to sleep after returning from rehearsal. I also found him on his stomach this morning although I had placed him to sleep on his back.