The Big 5!

Ashlyn turned FIVE this past Wednesday, March 2nd! We had a great week of celebrations!
She decided to have a Hello Kitty theme this year, and we invited many of her friends from school and church. It was a great time, and Ashlyn was so excited!!

Here are the guests (from left to right): (top row) Sela Carmouche, Addison Gisleson, Jaclyn, Abbey Coons, (bottom row) Sarah Robinson, Paige Safly, Ellie Isaacson, Abigail O'Rear and Gretchen Marcy.

We also had fun taking treats to her class at school. This year we made cupcake cones.

Aunt Jill treated Ashlyn to a fun night of bowling for her birthday! It was her first time (besides playing the Wii, which she's quite good at), and she really enjoyed it.

And, Aunt Jill gave Ashlyn a new leotard, so here she is modeling it. Now she can go to her class in style!

So, here are some quick updates on our big 5 year old:

* Still VERY active. Loves to race around in the basement on her new scooter and practice her gymnastics around the house.

* Very smart. She almost keeps up with Jaclyn when quizzed on addition facts and is reading anything that can be easily sounded out.

* She's well rounded and isn't really focused on any one thing. She loves to pretend, play the piano, play board games, etc. but it varies from day to day. The only thing she does on a consistent basis is tumble around the living room. :)

* LOVES chocolate milk...in fact she could probably survive on it if we let her.

I am so excited to see the direction she goes as she grows up. She is a very talented and fun girl. What a blessing! We love you, Ashlyn!

The Age of Messes

This too shall pass...

Finally!

She almost needed a tooth extraction.

Both front top teeth are finally out, and let me tell you, it has been a long and arduous process. Her top left tooth had a mind of its own. In fact, it seemed to take on its own spiteful personality. For 3 long months we have been wiggling this tooth with only disappointment. We have watched it slowly sink down lower and lower, taunting us every step of the way. For the last 4 weeks it has been down and tilted to the side, protruding forward, and every day we would say, "It's got to be ready now," and we would wiggle and wiggle, but to no avail.

And then, 3 days ago, Jaclyn was eating a piece of chicken and says, "My tooth came out!"

"Finally!" we thought, but wouldn't you know it was the other top tooth! Which hadn't even been loose that long! So, back we were to that old, ornery tooth again.

This week has been full of tears from a girl who wanted the tooth out but wouldn't let anyone touch it. Lots of hours spent agonizing and fretting.

Today, it came out.

Jaclyn didn't even know it.

We can't even find it.

The stupid tooth won't even show its face.

Good riddens.

Celebrate!

The festivities have continued! We had Jaclyn's birthday party last night at Chuck E. Cheese, and it was a great time. Jaclyn was treated like royalty, and her friends had a blast too! The pictures say it all...

Sweet 7!!

Happy Birthday, Jaclyn!
She turned SEVEN yesterday! Wow. So, with the huge blizzard going on outside, we were celebrating inside. (It was kinda nice, 'cause she got out of school early, and Craig's basketball game was cancelled, allowing us to celebrate more.)

Here she is decorating the treats she took to her class.

Her big gift this year was a new bike. I was watching her ride it yesterday, and it's actually a big, grown up bike! She kinda looks small on it, but she manages it well.

So, here are some things about her right now:

*Loves to read - She's into the Rainbow Fairies books right now, going through them very quickly. Today she read a whole book in an hour!

*Loves to pretend she's performing - She and Ashlyn will both turn on music and dance or sing "on stage". She also loves putting on little pretend plays.

*She's a great big sister - She does very well taking care of Kendall (and sometimes Ashlyn). Although this sometimes depends on her mood. :)

*Still very friendly - totally the social butterfly. Life's not worth living if you can't spend it with friends!

*Still very expressive - get's very excited and talks dramatically...or cries dramatically.

*A great learner - loves school and soaks up information

I could go on and on, but that's a little bit of her. She is a delight and a true gift from God. I can't help but wonder, "What will the next 7 years bring?" She would be 14!!...

Our Own Ice Rink

What do ya know! We have our own ice rink in our backyard!

Kinda freaked me out, but Craig took the girls out to the pond behind our house this weekend, and after checking very carefully to make sure it was solid, they started shoveling away the snow to reveal the ice. The girls, especially Jaclyn, were soooo excited! Now she's asking for ice skates...

Cutie Pie Kendall

She is so cute!
I'm just loving this age.

My grandmother has a poodle, Bow Tie, and Kendall LOVED this dog. The poor dog is very, very old, and can barely walk and probably can't hear. So, I think Kendall kinda terrorized him, but she sure was in love with the pooch. She followed him all over the place and just stared at him and laughed. Very, very cute. So, here is a picture of her with Bow Tie.

She also got this little bear for Christmas. It makes noises and moves and came with this little bottle. I have to admit, when she received it, I thought she wouldn't like it much...basically that it was too old for her. But, she will carry it around and feed it the bottle! I was surprised and love watching her play with it. What a big girl!

Just a sweet picture of the girls.