Singin' in the Rain

The snow has gone, and the rain has come.
We are happy.

4 Years!

Ashlyn turned 4 today!

We had a busy day celebrating! We had her party this afternoon with friends. I've been trying to get her to tell me what kind of theme she wanted for her party, but to no avail. I don't think she really got the whole "theme" idea, so I just had her pick out some plates and napkins (thinking that she would pick Dora or Princesses or something like that, but no, she picked out this weird monkey plate! It was kinda funny. So, I went with it, and we had somewhat of a "monkey" party. I guess it kinda sums up her personality! She is our little monkey! And then, she's been looking at these cookie "cakes" in the mall since August, so I told her she could have one for her birthday. At first she picked out a guitar picture for the cookie (again, pretty random), but then she changed her mind to balloons.

Here she is with her little friends: Andrew Rotzoll, Nora Miller, Alex White, Austin Anderson, Cameron Miller, Paige Safly and Ellie Isaacson. Whew! It makes me tired just typing all those names! They were actually very well behaved, and we had a fun little party.

Then tonight, we took her to Build-A-Bear and she got to make her own little bear, whom she named "Ashley".

When we got home, she had some presents from family waiting for her. Here she is doing a routine in a cheerleading outfit that my mom got her, and then down below, she's in her rain gear that she got from us and Aunt Jill.

Ashlyn is really starting to mature. She's always been so active and a little on the crazy side, but I see glimpses of her calming down. :) She's very smart: she's known her letters and letter sounds since she was 2, she can figure out and play songs on the piano (God is So Good, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and others) and she continues to amaze me with her writing and drawing skills (her latest artwork is shown below). She's a big blessing to us, and I can't wait to see how she grows up. Thank you, Lord, for our beautiful Ashlyn.

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?

I didn't think she was that sensitive...

I've always thought that Jaclyn was the more sensitive girl. She was my "touchy" baby, and the one that often tears up. So maybe since Ashlyn didn't cry as often, I thought that maybe she wasn't quite as emotional.

I'm beginning to wonder...

Ashlyn loves the movie Peter Pan, so when Peter Pan: Return to Neverland came on t.v., we recorded it and were excited to watch it. However, I've come to realize that this movie is geared toward more mature audiences (just older kids, I guess), so it's a bit more scary, but also quite sad. There is one part in the movie where Tinkerbell almost dies, and the way they have the scene set up with the music playing, etc., it is very sad. As an adult, I was moved by it. So, here we all are, watching this scene, and all of a sudden Ashlyn lets out this very, very sad cry. And she continued to cry for a long time. It really made her sad that Tinkerbell was dying, and she just couldn't contain it! That was a while back, and now every time she watches that movie, she cries all over again (this picture is from yesterday). Sweet girl.

I think the difference in the two girls is that Jaclyn has a more dramatic cry. She probably cries more often, and it's usually a big uproar and goes on and on (sometimes over-dramatically) for a long time. However, when Ashlyn genuinely cries, it's a softer cry. She'll often put her head down and quietly sob, as if she's trying to hold it all in, but just can't. It breaks my heart, and makes me want to hold her and smother her with kisses.

Our February 14th

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Ours was mostly uneventful, but special nonetheless. Craig and I were going to have a short date on the Saturday night before, but Kendall didn't quite cooperate, so it just didn't work out. (That kinda sums up how things are going at our house right now...) Anyway, maybe soon we'll be able to leave her for the first time.

Sunday was a pretty normal day, but I did get a few gifts for Valentine's Day. For the last couple of years, Craig has made me chocolate covered strawberries...one of my favorites. It started a while back when he bought me some and they were about $2 per strawberry, so after that, he decided that he could make me a whole bunch for a lot less, so that's what I get now, and I like it. This year, he took it a step further and made them into a bouquet. What a man! :)

Sunday was also special because we had Kendall dedicated at church. There were about 10 babies dedicated in all, but we ended up being the only ones for the first service, so it was more personal than it would've been otherwise. They call it a baby dedication, but really it's a parent dedication. We are committing our baby to the Lord and vowing to raise her (and the others) to love God and serve Him. It's a huge task, and I actually feel right now like I'm failing, but we're pressing on. Thank God He doesn't expect perfection!

A Few Fun Pictures

Just Hangin' Out