Ashlyn at 18 months

Our little Ashlyn is growing up so fast! I wanted to do a post at 18 months so I wouldn't forget all the cute things she is doing! I absolutely love every minute of being her mom!

Some people say she looks just like Jason...

Ashlyn Jason

And some say that she looks just like me...

Ashlyn

Tara

I think she is the perfect mix of us both!

Jason, Tara and Ashlyn Rickards

We still can't get enough of her! We could still sit for hours just watching her!

Like her dad, there are so many sides to her personality. She has a sweet side... She loves her stuffed bunny and sometimes carries it around the house.

She loves to read books! She can often be found reading in this chair with one of her sisters or her brother.
Recently, she has started to "read" to herself. It is so cute to listen to her as she turns the pages and recognizes objects that she knows the words to.

She is so playful and loves to wrestle with us!

Tara and AshlynAshlyn and TaraAshlyn trying to get me to say "ahh" so she can show me where my tongue is Ashlyn and Jason Rickards

She LOVES pajamas!! She gets excited at bedtime and likes to pick out her "jammies" all by herself. When I buy new pajamas at the store, she tries to take her clothes off so she can put them on! It's so cute! (I don't blame her! If I could wear my pajamas all day, I think I would!)Her Grandpa Rickards bought her these Ariel pajamas and she loves to wear them!

Ashlyn saying "cheese!"

One day, when I was doing laundry, I heard Ashlyn growl "burrrummm, bruummm!" It was such a gravely growl that it made me laugh to hear it. She has such a sweet little voice that it caught me off guard. I looked around because I didn't know why she did it. She started stomping her feet back and forth like she does when she gets excited and said "Up! Up!" with her arms reached up to me. I picked her up and she did it again. "BRRUMM! BRUUUUUMMM!" and pointed at Austin's motorcycle shirt that had just been washed! I started laughing and called Jason. Now she has her very own motorcycle outfit to match Austin's.

Ashlyn after her bath

She thinks the motorcycle "maggie" (magazine) is a fun bedtime story and often brings it over to Jason to read to her, which of course he loves!

Ashlyn and Jason

Jason and Ashlyn

Ashlyn loves dogs! She gets so excited when she sees a dog! She used to scream because she was so happy, but now she has settled into a big grin and an excited "Goggy! Goggy!" (She can say puppy perfectly and it is even cuter!) She loves to go across the street to see the neighbors dog and gets really excited when he plays catch. Sometimes when she is sad, Jason will pull up dog images on his computer and she could sit forever looking at them.

All she wanted to do last weekend at Danale's friend's house was watch the dogs.

We are always amazed by how smart she is! A few weeks ago, we were watching America's Funniest Home Videos with the kids. In one part they had a bunch of dog clips. Ashlyn went over and tried to get the remote from Jessica. From experience, this is a bad idea. She loves to push the buttons... She started crying when she couldn't have the remote, so Jessica got her a remote that didn't have batteries in it. She ran it over to Jason and gave it to him and said "Puppy. Puppy."

We couldn't believe that she understood that the remote could make the puppy come back on! Of course we rewound it for her so she could watch the puppy part. She was so excited and pumped both fists in the air, "Yeah! Puppy! Puppy!" Then she shook her head as she tried to tell us about it. "Uh food! Uh bye-bye! Puppy! arf! arf!" (The puppy stole the kids food in one clip and ran away. Dogs say woof! woof, but the little puppy in another clip, had a really high voice and said arf! arf!) We swear she is the smarted kid on the planet. Don't all parents think that? :-)

She loves food, and will even eat sweets now! Sometimes she will ask for "can-ee" (candy) after she has seen me sneak some out of the cupboard! She loves veggies and will still choose broccoli and mushrooms over a cookie! She won't drink any kind of juice- just water. She loves apples and will eat them all day long if I let her.

She loves her grandma! She gets excited when we pull up in front of her house! We never worry if she is happy when she is with Grandma. The hardest part of leaving her with Grandma is picking her back up! She cries when it is time to go.

She loves to go to the park and play on the swings...

She is talking so much! She can say just about everything! She has been putting two and three words together to start making sentences. My favorite is , "where'd it go?" with her hands out and shaking her head.

She just woke up, so I am out of time!