Sweet 6!

Ashlyn turned 6 on March 2nd! It was a day of snow and terrible tornados down south, but for us, we were celebrating. Grandma was able to come from Des Moines in spite of the snow, and Ashlyn had a fun day.

The next day, Saturday, we had her party with friends. We were able to take her to a new gymnastics place, so she had a blast playing on all the equipment with her friends.

Shown in the picture are: Amy & Erin Varga, Katelyn & Natalie Essington, Jordan & Jackson VanHorn, Lydia & Elise Hunter, Kelly Hoffman, Paig Safly and Ellie Isaacson.

So, it's time to give an update on our sweet girl, Ashlyn:

* She is still a bundle of energy. Still would prefer to run, jump, and climb rather than walk.

* However, she is also very good at concentrating on a project. She loves to build and assemble things like playgrounds and houses, and then she has her little figurines play on the set.

* Loves to create routines or concerts for us...complete with her get-up of leggings and leotards. The routine usually consists of some sort of twirling, hand-stands, and rolls off of the arm of the couch.

* She does very well in school. She catches on to concepts very quickly and loves to read!

* She continues to enjoy gymnastics and learns more all the time.

* She is doing very well in her piano lessons...however, she has a hard time sticking to the written music. She usually wants to make up her own ending, or add chords where they aren't written. The funny thing is, it usually sounds good, so it's hard for me to tell her she has to stick to the music! But, her teacher writes notes about it, so I guess I better make her stick to the boring ol' melody! :) She definitely sings her own tune, that girl. (Or you could say, plays her own notes.)

* She HATES jeans! Or, really anything that snaps whether it's pants, shorts, or skirts. So, you will usually find her in dresses or skirts and pants with elastic. And, she LOVES leggings! Wears them everyday, without fail. In fact, we go through them very quickly 'cause they get holes in the knees quite easily. I should have told all of her friends just to get her leggings for her birthday!

* Wants to be good at everything and compares herself to others. We had a volleyball clinic recently for grades 2nd-6th (Ashlyn's in Kindergarten). She cried almost every night afterward because she wasn't as good as the other girls. I tried to tell her that they are so much older than her and she is probably better than they were at her age, but it didn't quite sink in.

* She can be so sensitive toward others (not all the time, but she's definitely tender-hearted). She will usually give up whatever she's doing to go console Kendall and help her stop crying. And, she's very sensitive and hurt when I discipline her, so it's kinda tricky to make sure she receives a consequence without crushing her. A hard balance for me to find. I know she tries hard to please me, but it's not always obvious by how she's acting. Tricky one, that girl, but I love her.

Ashlyn is such a delight to us. God has blessed us with a talented girl who is full of spunk and joy.

We love you, Ashlyn!

Happy 6th Birthday!