Prince Ashton at his school's May Day Festival

Ashton was voted Prince of Mrs. Clark's class for

the school's May Day Festival.

Ashton and Princess Brianna are announced into the procession.

Making their rounds

Such an adorable pair

Baby sister is oblivious...adorable...but oblivious

After a quick wardrobe change, Ashton joins his class

as they perform a Chinese Ribbon dance.

Ash and Audrey

Messy boy

Halloween 2010

County Fair with Friends

Summer, Pool, Fall, School...and girls (grrr...)

Kindergarten is in full swing and Ashton has adapted to his new school with style. After a fun-filled summer at the YMCA - where he finally got past his fear of deeper water - he wrapped things up having learned (mostly) how to swim, he made lots of great friends and he perfected a (disgusting) dark tan.

having learned (mostly) how to swim, he made lots of great friends and he perfected a (disgusting) dark tan

The first couple of weeks of "big boy school" were of course a bit awkward...for him as he really missed Ms Brooke and Ms Susan (his wonderful Pre-K teachers from last year) and he wasn't yet sure what to make of his new teachers - Mrs Clark and Mrs Melissa....AND for me as I had to watch our baby boy getting on the VERY BIG school bus each morning. Of course that part didn't bother him in the least...he likes riding the bus and he loves Ms Kat, the bus driver.

Ashton did manage to get comfortable with his new routine relatively quickly. During these first 9 weeks of school his reading skills have doubled, his handwriting is improving rapidly, he takes PE, Art, Music and Technology (computer lab). And while these things are fine and great, his real interests in school were made known quickly...girls.

For the first 2 months of school he seemed to have a new girlfriend each week (which is odd, since he proposed marriage to Ms Brooke - his PreK teacher - at the end of last year). It's gotten to the point where you find yourself only half listening whenever he's discussing his latest "romantic" interest. BUT...Ashton commanded my full attention the other evening when - as he was calmly telling me about his day - he proceeded to describe how his current girlfriend had taken him behind a big tree in the playground at school. She asked Ashton if he had ever kissed a girl yet. He said no and she shared that she hadn't yet either (allow me to digress...HOLY CRAP! THEY'RE 5 YEARS OLD!). This little girl then proceeds to let Ashton know that she feels that their first kiss should be together. Right then. Right there. Behind the tree. Ashton's reaction?? "No way. I'm not kissing anybody until I get married! Not til I'm 38!!" Oh thank god. A bullet dodged. I agreed with Ashton and said 38 and married was a fine set of conditions for kissing.

And now for the pics...

Getting fueled-up for school.

So handsome in his uniform.

And...now we're posing.

And dancing.

And dancing.

And showing off at the bus stop :)

He's so shy...it's a shame.

Little boy...Big bus.

Hard at work.

Hard at play and big man on the block.

But always my little boy :)

Lightsabers, Clean-Smelling Teeth & Ice Hockey

If you're a Star Wars fan,
hit 'play' below for a deleted scene :)

Now when I was a kid, they had
lightsabers that were sold fully extended
and equipped with (make-believe) sound effects.
When I was a bigger kid
(ok, maybe I was in my twenties)
my brother Josh bought me one that
could actually extend and retract, albeit manually,
but that had prerecorded sound effects!
Very cool!
Not to be outdone, Ashton used a
birthday gift card (courtesy of the Chalmers')
to purchase the new and improved model...
this thing looks and acts like
a real lightsaber!! (WT-lol)
Not only does it light up and make noise
like mine, but it also automatically extends with
the push of a button!!
(I'll raise a Star Wars nerd if I want to)
:)

Such a big boy...


A few weeks ago I scored some free tickets
to a night of college ice hockey
at the Savannah Civic Center.

Ashton LOVED ice hockey!!
...for about 15 minutes.
Thank God his Uncle Jon and Aunt Judit
joined us and kept him company :)

Introducing...Ashton's Snuggie

So...my son has had his first experience
as a victim of 'As Seen On TV' marketing.

One day, after I picked him up from daycare,
he went on and on about how much he needed a 'Snuggie'.
(For those of you not 'in-the-know', it's a blanket with sleeves)

Of course, every other day he sees something
that he thinks he needs,
but normally those passing fancies are forgotten.
Not true with the Snuggie.

For weeks he tried to convince us that a Snuggie was a necessity.
The repeated ads on television only fueled the fire.
Finally, one day last week, we had gone into Walgreens
and lo and behold, there sat a full floor display of Snuggies.
I couldn't believe how excited my 4 years old was
over this silly backwards bathrobe.
He was just too cute (and I'm a sucker).



Fifteen dollars later we were back in the truck
and Ashton had his treasure in his lap.
He looked at me with a self-satisfied smile and slowly nodded his head...
I swear it was the best 'yeah, baby' look I've ever seen.
:)
Ever since then he's never without it.

Christmas 2009

5 Christmas this year.
The first was Christmas Eve with
Uncle Jon and Aunt Judit.
Jon had to work Christmas Day
so we exchanged gifts the night before.

#2 was Christmas morning
at Mommom and Poppop's house
with the family.


Ashton...oops, I mean Batman
was a thrill to watch.

Uncle Josh's remote control helicopters
were a very big hit!
(...well, at least with the big kids)

#3 was Christmas night
in Baxley, Ga at
Stacy's father's house.

After all of the gift exchanges
Stacy pulled out her Wii game system
and we all took turns
boxing, bowling and golfing.

#4 was 2 days after Christmas
with Stacy's Father's family in Brunswick, GA.

We spent a lovely afternoon eating,
swapping presents, & playing outside.

And #5 was later that evening
with Stacy's Mother's family.

We met at a Spanky's restaurant for dinner,
and then carried the party over to
Stacy's Aunt & Uncle's house for dessert
and more gift exchanges.


For those of you who may not be familiar
with "Wii Boxing", please enjoy as Ashley & Mark
(Stacy's sister and brother-in-law)
provide this hilarious demonstration...

Random Shot & Spidey

Sent from my BlackBerry





Peter Parker
(scooter was a birthday gift from dad)





Spiderman
(costume was a birthday gift from Uncle Jon and Aunt Judit)

Seeing Santa

Every year we make a trip to see Santa


This year Santa was hiding in the Savannah Mall

First we found the train near Santa's workshop

After the train, we wandered into the north pole (Bass Pro Shop)
where Santa's helpers (Bass Pro staff)
directed us to the arts and crafts, the holiday decorations
and the ONE thing that every little boy (future Bass Pro customer)
needs at Christmas time...
...a shooting range.


Thankfully, Ashton did not "shoot his eye out"
and with that,
it was time for Santa...

Happy 4th Birthday Ashton!!

Ashton's birthday party was at the local Burger King this year.


He had a fabulous time!
The BK's play area was closed off from the rest of the restaurant,
so we had our own party room.


Many of Ash's friends were able to attend :)



Friends, Family, 2-story play area,
cake, ice-cream and gifts...
...perfect



Time to sing...






Lots and lots of sugar!


Oh, and did I mention that the party was
at 10:30 in the morning?
Great time for sweets!


And finally it was time for presents...


What a haul!
Spider-man, Power Rangers,
(kid-safe) tools, art supplies and games!


Thank you (again) to everyone
for taking the time to make our party a celebration!






I can't believe he's 4.
It's already going by too quick.
It's been an incredible 4 years!

:)

Special Thanks to Judit for acting
as the Party Photographer this year!

Happy Halloween 2008!!

Jack Skellington courtesy of Jon Sturgis


For our pumpkin,
Stacy, Ash and I checked out a couple of local pumpkin patches.

With her degree in Interior Design, Ashton and I agreed that Stacy was best-suited for the pumpkin carving honors :)

She did give Ashton plenty of opportunity to help with the guts-removal...

...after his first slimey quasi-handful, Ash decided that it was womens-work.

I, of course, was in charge of the camera.
Last year Ashton was Moe Doodle,
and this year THE RED POWER RANGER!We opted to go Trick or Treating in Stacy's neighborhood this year, and we had a blast!

I was actually somewhat surprised that Ashton didn't go for longer than he did. Stace and I took turns taking him out, but after only a few streets he was done.

It wasn't from fatigue, mind you, he simply knew that he couldn't dig into his haul until he came home and we checked out the loot.


Stacy and the girls at her office
decided to dress up 80's-Style for Halloween.
I loved it.
She looked just like every girl I had the hots for in High School :)

After trick or treating
I surprised Ashton by introducing the Power Ranger
to the local (well-fed) sheriff(the creepy-looking guy in the back is Jonathan)

The girls hangin' out.

Before long, everyone was trying on the fat suit...
'Plump Jon'
'Baby-Got-Back Judit'