29 Months

Time seems to go by so quickly. Asher is getting so big and changes so much from month to month, although sometimes I don't really notice the change until I look back at pictures or something I wrote down about him. Asher continues to be a busy little body. He wants to be into everything and wants to try anything he sees us doing. He wants to help with all the stages of food preparation, cleaning, crafting, etc. Since he wants to be involved with everything we do, I knew it was only a matter of time before he would want to do dishes. Its nice that he wants to help, but he misses minor details like making sure all the food gets off the dish, rinsing all the soap off, and making sure that food goes on the side of the sink with a disposal. I also don't think its the best idea for him to be handling dishes made of any material besides plastic :) Asher is no longer satisfied with watching me vacuum or using his popper toy to pretend he is vacuuming. He now wants to push my vacuum around by himself, but he usually just sticks to going back and forth in one little area and nothing really gets clean. Asher has very definite ideas about what he is going to do and does not like anyone to interfere. He usually eats at a stool next to the kitchen counter, but lately he has been moving it all over the kitchen and insisting that he eat in that spot. Whenever we are at the store he tries to push the cart by himself and won't let Austin or I help him. If we try to help direct it, even from the front of the cart, he will tell us "Hands in pockets". He is getting really good at speaking and astonishes us sometimes with what he is able to communicate. He tells us what to do a lot, with the majority of his commands ending with the word "now". The other night at dinner, kind of out of the blue, Asher asked Austin "How job going, Dad?" Austin and I talked about it later and tried to figure out if I had been asking him about his day before that, but we don't think so. Asher is good at his colors most of the time. He can usually name a color accurately, but is still way off sometimes. His favorite color continues to be orange, so he can name that one 99% of the time. Asher has started counting to three every now and then, but consistently says "one, three, two" no matter how many times we correct him. 
Asher's newest friends are a stuffed fox and a little toy cat my mom sewed for him about a year ago. It actually came with a whole set of animals, but he has taken a special liking to the green cat and calls him "Kitty Mouse". Kitty Mouse comes to church or on walks with us sometimes or watches Asher eat. When he does come to church, Asher likes to show him to everyone and tell them his name. Asher also loves a stuffed fox that I named Volpe (meaning fox in Italian). He can't say Volpe though, so he has named it Baby Boltay. Baby Boltay may actually be winning Kitty Mouse out in popularity. He goes on walks with us, gets wrapped up in a blanket and thrown around the house many times a day, and watches Asher eat. If Asher hasn't seen Baby Boltay in awhile, we have to search the house until he is found and can once more take the abuse of a loving two-year-old. Of course Asher's blue bunny, Jelly Cat, is still his favorite, but since he isn't allowed to come out of Asher's room (I don't want him to get lost or too dirty) except on special occasions, Kitty Mouse and Baby Boltay are the daytime animals of choice.
Asher loves to lock doors and often locks the bathroom doors-whether he is in the room or not. I have become pretty expert at unlocking the doors from the outside. Another big love of Asher's is sweatpants. He LOVES sweatpants and insists on wearing them everyday. We only have 4 pairs, so a couple days a week he has to wear something else, which does not make him happy. I'm happy on those days though, because sweatpants are so nerdy looking- especially when his cloth diapers make them look too short for him. 
 Here are some photos of Asher decorating the Christmas tree this afternoon (only achieved because I bribed him with two M&Ms :)