Ashlyn

I recently realized that I haven't written about all the fun things Ashlyn has been doing. She's at the stage where she's learning so much and is full of personality. Some days I think she's already hit her terrible two's, but as long as she's grown out of that by the time the baby comes, it's fine by me. Here are just a few of the things we love about her. She is very silly. She often tries to do funny things and then puts on this cute little smile that makes her eyes squint even though half the time she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing. Josh and I are usually doing all we can not to laugh or smile. We have the same problem when she's mad at someone. For some strange reason she uses the word "ever" and yells it as loud as she can over and over. I think I told her not to ever do something again and it just stuck. She also does what Sadie nicknamed "big eyes". When she wants to tell you something, she comes close and opens her eyes wide to say what she wants to say. Sometimes she even cocks her head down to one side and avoids eye contact, but still keeps her eyes open wide.

You might be wondering why I posted a picture of her with green beans for this blog entry, but it's because she loves to help me snap green beans for dinner and loves to eat them raw (not my cup of tea). She has an obsession with the garbage man and calls every truck or loud noise the garbage man, yet she is terrified of loud noises. She is also obsessed with tissues. She would empty an entire box in a day using every single tissue to wipe her nose if I let her. She needs a tissue to cry, a tissue to blow her nose, a tissue after she has coughed, a tissue for comfort, etc. I probably won't have to worry about her getting sick very often. She also loves chapstick. I have to hide mine from her because she'll mutilate it. Just putting it on her lips isn't enough.

She's very polite and has been from day one. She almost always remembers to say "please" and always says "kayku" which is "thank you". Hugs solve everything for her. Even if you've just gotten mad at her, she wants to give you a hug. Kali and Sadie benefit from that just as much as Josh and I do. She's a climber, yet she's afraid of heights. I don't quite know how that one works. She loves books and actually allows me to read them before turning the pages. She's a good eater and a good sleeper, as long as she can do it on her own. Try to feed her and she won't eat a thing. Try to hold her to get her to sleep and it'll never happen. She's very good at expressing herself and loves her big sisters. Ashlyn is a ton of fun and we just can't get enough of her.