TGIF

Don't ask...
We've reached 35! He's not exactly the "stand still so I can measure you" type so this isn't a terribly precise number, in fact I'm pretty sure he's almost to 36 inches at this point - aka he'll have no problem passing the magical 36 minimum height line to ride the toddler rides solo while in Disney World this fall.

I swear Ash's vocabulary expands exponentially every single day. We have proper conversations all the time, and morning sing-a-longs have become the standard practice while we suck down our first cup of buna and Ash teaches us the motions to hokey poky. He even has his pretend voice that he uses whenever he's trying to impersonate someone or tell a funny story, which usually involves super pursed lips and his head bobbing around in all directions. And he still has the habit of deciding out of nowhere that it's story time, picking out a book and then plopping himself down in my lap and saying, "Mommy! Read it!" regardless of where we are or what we were previously doing.

He'll eat anything as long as you promise him he can eat a spoonful of ketchup in between each bite. Seriously. Last night's dinner consisted of 2 corn tortillas stuffed with spicy ground buffalo meat, melted cheese, and guacamole... and at least 1/4 cup of ketchup. The night before I baked a garlicky chicken dish served with rice... and at least 1/4 cup of ketchup. And the night before that he devoured his pasta with homemade pesto sauce... and at least 1/4 cup of ketchup. I'm not certain how when or why I'm going to eventually break this habit. Pretty much every restaurant in America has ketchup, and when we were in Spain he was on his "all french fries all the time" diet and we had no problem finding ketchup there either. Though our trip to Thailand next spring could present some challenges. I highly doubt pad thai is frequently served with a side of ketchup, then again this could present a fabulous opportunity to transfer his addition from ketchup to hot chili sauce which there will definitely be no shortage of! Unfortunately given the intensity of western influence in most of the countries we've visited with our luck the street vendors will probably mimic NY hot dog stands and hand you your green curry with one hand while squirting the bottle of Heinz with the other. Mmm, green curry and ketchup...

Dear Sun Gods,
Please grace NY with your presence this weekend. If you insist on letting the Rain Gods beat you can you at least make a little extra effort between the hours of 3PM-8PM so that we can go to the village pool? We'd really appreciate it. Oh, and if you have any "ins" with the Sauvignon Blanc Gods we could really use something nummy to toast to the weekend with tonight, just make sure it's delivered with a side of ketchup. Thanks a bunch.
Cheers,
Us