Two Front Teeth

   I think Ashlyn's favorite song this Christmas is going to be "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".  Ashlyn noticed that her two front teeth were wiggly some time ago.  I was really hoping that they would stay put for awhile.  Last Friday, she came home from school and her teeth were in a bad state.  One of her top teeth was literally hanging sideways dangling by a thread, and the other was pretty loose too.  Her teeth looked pretty bad.  Joey tried pulling one, and she wasn't happy.  She went to the bathroom to take a look and sure enough she came out with the tooth in her hand.  She was very excited.  The tooth fairy paid her a visit that night leaving fairy dust in her room.  On Saturday, her other tooth was very loose too.  She was taking a bath with Dawson and said he some how made her lose it.  I'm still not sure what happened, but when I came in the bathroom she was holding her other tooth.  The tooth fairy made another visit that night. 
    Ashlyn is especially proud to the the first one in her class to lose her two front teeth.  It's quite an honor I guess.  She talked a little funny at first, but she has gotten better at talking normally.  She really does look too darn cute without her two front teeth.  I'm hoping they take a while to come in.  She has now lost a total of 5 teeth!!!

Toothless girl

She looks so cute!

Does she look big or what? I can not getting over how fast she is growing!!!

Back to the Future Car

   I feel like I haven't really mentioned Dawson much on the blog lately.  There has just been so much going on.  Dawson is one funny, funny little boy.  He is constantly making us laugh.  He is such a sweet and loving little guy.  He has recently really gotten into hugging.  Multiple times a day, he comes up to me and says, "I want to hug you" and gives me a big hug.  It warms my heart each and every time!
     A few months ago, Dawson discovered how to climb out of his crib.  I was planning on keeping him in his crib for as long as possible (or until we needed it for the new baby).  After he climbed out a few times, we decided it was time for him to get a big boy bed. We headed up to Ikea to look at toddler beds.  We picked out one that he liked.  He transitioned really, really well into his new bed.  Dawson literally didn't sleep through the night until he was almost a year old.  He has more than made up for that with his champion sleeping now.  He is such a dream child when it comes to sleeping.  He consistently takes a 2 hour plus nap each day, and goes to bed very easily.  When he is out, he is out for the night.  He loves sleeping in his big boy bed.
     Dawson has another new obsession and it is the movie Back to the Future.  Joey's favorite 80s movie has always been Back to the Future.  He can watch that movie over and over.  Years ago, a coworker of his gave him a little Matchbox Delorean car like the one in the movie.  Well, one day Joey decided to watch Back to the Future with Dawson.  Dawson immediately fell in love.  He found Joey's car, and it now doesn't leave his side.  He refers to is as his "Back to the Future Car".  It is a very tiny car, and I can't even begin to count the amount of times Joey and I have had to search the house for that car.  He gets very upset if he can't find it.  It is the cutest thing ever!

Sweetest little boy in the world!

Jumping in his "big boy" bed

Ready for bed.  That is his Back to the Future car next to him. 

His new little sidekick

Showing off his car

He is honestly one of the happiest little boys in the world.  He is always smiling. 

Ashlyn's Party

   For her birthday party this year, we let Ashlyn pick where she wanted to have it.  She picked a gymnastics place again this year.  I guess she had so much fun last year, she wanted to do it again.  We picked a different place this time that is much closer to where we live.  Ashlyn also got to invite girls from her class. She was very excited to have her friends from school come celebrate her birthday with her.
      The gymnastics place has a huge open gym area.  The party host took the kids to three different stations over the course of an hour.  They got to go down a huge bounce house slide, ride in a cool swing, jump on trampolines, and jump into a huge foam pit.  Those girls sure had an awesome time!  I wish I could have bottled up the adorable giggles that kept coming out of their mouths.  They were just too sweet.
     After an hour of play time, it was time for cake and presents.  We headed up to a party room to finish the party.  I have always made Ashlyn's birthday cakes.  This year I was not inspired so we just bought one. She didn't mind a bit.  The party guests filled up on lots of cake and juice.  Then Ashlyn got to open her presents. She got lots of great gifts.  She got a lot of Lego sets which is awesome because she loves Legos!
    Ashlyn's party was absolutely perfect.  I don't think I could have asked for a better way for her to celebrate turning six with her friends.  A great time was had by all!

Getting ready to head to the gym.

The awesome slide

Ashlyn trying out the slide. 

Ella having a blast on the slide. 

Dawson really liked the trampoline

This swing was the coolest thing ever.  The girls absolutely loved it! They let out such squeals of delight and joy when they got pushed.  I decided that they need a swing like that for adults to go on. 

What fun!

They could not get enough!

Heading to the next station

Listening to some rules.  Ashlyn was too sweet holding Dawson and Ella.

Trampoline time!

Our little jumper

Dawson jumping again

The ball pit was so much fun!  Since Ashlyn was the birthday girl, she got to jump in first.

Look at all those kids in the pit.

Dawson got a great kick out of being thrown in

More play time

Enjoying some refreshments after all that playing!

Ready to blow out her candles

Eating cake and giggling with friends

Present time!

Seeing what she got

Handing out goodie bags

Time to say goodbye. 

Ashlyn's Family Birthday

   I can't believe I am typing that Ashlyn is now 6 years old!!! Where has the time gone?  It seems like just yesterday I was holding her for the first time.  She is truly the sweetest girl in the world.  There aren't enough words to describe how blessed we are to have Ashlyn in our lives. I never in a million years could have asked for a better daughter.  She is one amazing little girl.
      It has been such an amazing and surreal experience to watch her grow over the last 6 years.  She has grown into such a smart and caring little girl.  She is constantly amazing us with her intelligence.  She continues to read like a champ and getting to harder and harder books.  She is doing really well in school.  Last week she brought home three reading tests, all of which she scored 100% on.  She has such a strong desire to learn and explore the world around her.  She loves to learn new math concepts and Chinese at school.  Ashlyn's teacher said she is a bright girl and wants to push her to first grade work by the end of the year.  Ashlyn also excels at school socially.  Her teacher told us she is friends with the entire class.  Ashlyn just loves being around other kids and sees the good in everyone.
        Ashlyn's favorite past time is art and drawing.  Every time we go some where, she has to take paper and crayons with her.  She informed me one day that a good artist never leaves the house without art materials.  She is constantly drawing us pictures and creating projects.  She can entertain herself for hours with just paper and markers.  I love to see what she creates.  She also likes drawing objects.  She will take a stuffed animal and sketch it.  I'm always very impressed by what she draws. She is actually quite good!
     Ashlyn continues to be our very sweet little girl.  She loves to cuddle with us and often showers me with kisses and hugs.   She is always willing to help out whenever we ask her to.  She loves to help with her brother and cousins.  She often gives them something she has without even being asked.  She loves being around kids.  She keeps telling me that when she grows up she wants to be a teacher.  The other day, she added that she wants to be an art teacher. 
    This is just a small fraction of who Ashlyn is.  Again, I could not have asked for a better daughter.  She is truly the light of our lives and every day with her is such a blessing!
     Below are pictures from her actual birthday.  She got the Elf on the Shelf birthday edition.  It came with a little cupcake outfit and the book said her elf, Eddie Buddy would make an appearance on her birthday.  Ashlyn was beside herself with excitement to see Eddie Buddy before Christmas time.  She woke up to find he had decorated a special birthday chair for her.  He also wrote "Happy birthday" in strawberry syrup on the table. She got such a kick out of that one. 

Checking out what the elf did

Eddie up on the cabinet with the crepe paper he used. 

Her special birthday chair

She loved this, but what a mess that one was to clean up!

Every birthday, Ashlyn gets special birthday pancakes and breakfast in bed.  She lives for it. 

Our sweet little 6 year old

Ready for her first day of school as a 6 year old. 

Dawson decided to jump into the picture.  They love each other so much and have the best relationship. 

   Ashlyn went to her 6 year check up at the doctor.  She is a very healthy little girl.  She grew nearly 3 inches in the last year and is in the 70 percentile for height!  Her appointment went well.  I took her to school after her appointment.  For lunch, Ashlyn's dad brought her favorite, Chick Fil A to eat lunch with her at school.  What a special treat that was!  Joey also brought in cupcakes for Ashlyn to share with her class.  Its such a special day when it's your birthday.
   For dinner, we let Ashlyn pick where she wanted to go.  She immediately picked Red Robin her favorite.  My parents and brother went with us.  We had a great birthday dinner there.  After dinner, we headed back home for presents and cake!  She ended the day with cake and play time with her cousins.  She had a great birthday!

Look at all those presents!

Dawson and Daddy

He loves getting his picture taken too!

Ashlyn was dying for a diary.  She told us that she would write in it every day.  She was very happy to open it. 

Ella and Jameson came over to join the fun. 

The Brave bow and arrow set that she loves!

Ella checking out what she got.

Since she loves to draw so much, my mom got her a huge pack of printer paper to draw on.  I seriously doubt that pack of paper will last until January. 

Uncle Steven giving his card.

Time for cake.  Ashlyn wanted to decorate her cake with candy this year. 

Singing to her, she has always loved this part!

Blowing out her candles.