MBAGU: Ashlyn edition

Dear Little Miss-

Has it been a year? Seriously?? It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we were bringing you home for the first time and now you are a walking little bundle of one year old joy. You, my little princess, have been such a fun baby. (Except that whole stopping nursing thing, but we won't relive that good time again here.) I think it was a combination of your easy going personality and the fact that you were my third baby(and by extension I had to be more relaxed about things, or I would have gone crazy) but I have just loved this first year with you. It has been so fun to watch you do and experience all your firsts that this first year brings. I love what a softening influence you already are on your brothers. They love you. They love being around you, they love making you laugh, they love to be the first ones you see in the morning, they love showing you new things. They are very protective of you and you already have them wrapped around your little finger. I hope for your sake it stays that way, and that you use it to your advantage. : )

I love how quickly you learn new things. I love that you lay your head down on a pillow now and say "nigh-nigh", I love that you know when I say "I love you" that means you give me kisses. I love the way your chubby little hand holds one of my fingers as you take me somewhere to show me something you liked. I love when you bring me a book and sit on my lap, then look at me like "okay, read it now". Can you tell I love you? :)

Can I thank you for being a girl too? This house needed a little pink in it and it has been so fun to dress you up this year. I love buying you dresses and hair bows and things like that, it is almost an addiction I think. Thanks for giving me a reason to venture over to the little girls side of clothing stores. (Which, by the way, are way better stocked than the little boys side. For boys you have like two options: shorts/pants, and t-shirts or collared shirts. For girls there are a million options, it has been nice to buy clothes without bugs or dinosaurs on them. ) I am already excited to have a mall/pedicure/chick-flick partner.

I hope your next year is as fun as your first. Watching you turn one was bittersweet. In so many ways you aren't that little baby we brought home a year ago, but in other ways you still are. So, on your birthday I watched you with smile on my face and a tear in my eye, which is probably the way I will watch you every birthday. I love you Ash, don't grow up too fast!

Love,
Your mommy

For her birthday we took her to Farm Country at TKP. It was so much fun. All the kids loved it. They had a little jail the kids could play in. I am going to building something similar in our basement. (I'm just kidding, even though the thought did cross my mind briefly...) they thought they were pretty funny in there.


After farm country Ashlyn was starving so we got her one of her favorite meals, chicken nuggets that she dips in ketchup all by herself. It is messy, but she loves it.

Her birthday cake. The boys fought over who got the sun, since it was like 3 inches of pure icing.

My first child who wouldn't touch their cake without a fork. She used it for a while and then gave it up in favor of her hands when she realized how yummy it was.

This beauty is a picture Jace took of her. I love her smile and how blue her eyes look.

She got this little stroller for her birthday. She loves to push her little baby all over the house. It is a good thing that baby is not real though because she usually picks it up by the head and sometimes smashes it head first into the stroller.

Here is another present she got, a little splash pool with a water spray. It lasted all of one day. Shortly after the picture was taken Jace and Braxton popped a hole in it. So, I am glad I got a picture of the 15 minutes she got to enjoy it : )

This is the Sunday after her birthday and one of her first times with little pig tails. I can barely fix my own hair, so I was glad they turned out somewhat even.

One of her favorite activities now, getting into drawers.

I was talking to a good friend this past week who lives far away and she was complaining that I don't update this blog often enough. I told her if she got me a maid and/or a nanny I would update it every day. Somehow that turned into a small bet. She told me she would bet big that I couldn't post everyday for a week, I told her I could. So, get ready for a lot of the Prusses this week because I have a lot riding on posting every day for one week. I can't promise it will all be good, but it will be something.

Oh, and the title. MBAGU=My babies are growing up. My kids have all had big milestones in the last week or two that need writing about. Today was Ashlyn's turn. Tomorrow it will be Braxton and his adventures in potty training.