Ashlynn's Birthday Present

Check out this gorgeous bike!  Ashlynn saved all her birthday money from friends and family (and a little extra from Mom and Dad) and this what she bought!  It even has a small attachable Barbie bike for her Barbie to ride with her.  It is the cutest thing!!!  She loves it and so do we.  It sure beats the $5 garage sale  bike we bought for her a few years ago.  Now she wants to ride her bike every day.  Ashlynn tells us how 'bewful' it is every time she jumps on it. 

Happy Birthday Ashlynn!

Ashlynn was born 4 years ago on an early Easter morning.  It was a beautiful day!  When I looked out the window of my hospital room I saw snow covered mountains and down throughout the valley I could see so many trees bursting with pink blossoms.  When we brought Ashlynn home from the hospital, our two trees out front were covered in pink blossoms also.  I felt like the earth had given me a beautiful pink bouquet to celebrate not only Easter, but the birth of my baby girl.  I LOVE spring time.  So many wonderful events to celebrate!  Every year Ashlynn and I look for these pink blossoms because they always arrive on or around her birthday.  The first 4 blossoms opened on her birthday this year! 

This year we decided to make her a princess castle cake.  In the beginning, I was going to assemble a 3-D style castle cake...but with a 5 week old baby and not much sleep and time...I decided to make this one instead.  Maybe next year I will attempt the 3-D version.

SHE LOVED IT!!!

This was Ashlynn's first birthday party.  She shared a party with Luke when she was 1, but this was her first party all by herself. She loved having her friends come over to be princesses with her.  They decorated crowns, colored princess pages and ate some cake.  It was pretty low key...just the way I wanted it.  These girls were all so adorable.  Ashlynn had so much fun with them.

We love this little girl!  We love her little sweet voice and all the funny & cute things she says on a daily basis.  We love her blue eyes.  We love her wonderful hugs and her concern for others.  She is very thoughtful and loving toward her family and friends.  We feel so blessed to have her in our family.

What does that mean?

Over the last few days, the kids have said some funny things that have left me wondering...what does that mean?  I would love to go into their brains to see how they think. 

Situation #1-Ashlynn and Luke were eating Mac N Cheese and Luke was complaining it was 'TOO cheesy!'...of all things.  Ashlynn was happily eating her food and said, "Mommy, I Love this Mac N Cheese.  It is soooo cheesy it makes my hair feel like there is watermelon in it!" 

Ben and I laughed and then said, "What the...?" 

Situation #2- Luke ate a huge cookie and a huge glass of chocolate milk and then said, "Man, I feel spicy now!" 

What does that mean?  So funny!  If anything, moments like this help me 'lighten up' and to remember to smile, laugh, and breathe.  I need to remember these guys will only be little for a little while.

You Know You Have a Girly-Girl When...

...even the dinosaurs get a make over!  Luke was not happy to see this!

8. Friendships Made In Heaven

     One of the things in life that has brought me so much unexpected joy is watching my children play, interact with and love their cousins. It is a simple joy that I never tire from observing.  I guess part of it comes from the fact I never had the opportunity to develop friendships with my cousins.  My sisters and I were always the youngest and lived far away from any of our cousins.  Sadly, I don't even know how many cousins I have and I can only name two of them!  This is not a tradition I wish to carry on.  I am so thankful my children know each of their cousins from both sides of our family.  They can name them all by name.  They worry and think about them.  They miss them.  They include them in their prayers.  They don't want to say good bye to them....these are truly friendships made in heaven.  I LOVE it!  Luke even made up a rule all by himself..."If cousins come over, then I don't want the TV to be on.  ONLY PLAYTIME!"

     For example, at the close of a visit with my sister and her family, we asked Ashlynn to say goodbye to cousin Avery and her brothers.  Ashlynn and Avery both started crying...a lot.  I (being clueless to this particular bond of friendship) kept asking Ashlynn what was wrong.  I asked her if she was hurt.  I asked her if she was fighting over a toy with Avery...and etc.  Finally, Ashlynn blurted out between sobs..."I'm SAD MOM!!!"  I was startled and couldn't believe my 3 year old was crying at the thought of saying goodbye to her cousin.  Ashlynn followed Avery out to the minivan...crying and hugging her all the way.  After their minivan drove away, Ashlynn ran up to her room, buried herself in a blanket, curled up in a ball, and repeatedly told me how sad she was. She didn't want to play or do anything.  The poor girl was needing some chocolate to help the situation!  It was sad, but so adorable.

5. My Heart Dances With Her

Okay, I have to admit something.  I always thought people who put their daughters in dance class at the age of 3 were mostly doing it just for themselves.  Let's face it- what little girl dressed in a dance costume couldn't make her parent's heart melt?  Because of my preconceived ideas, I was very reluctant to have Ashlynn join a dance class.  Since she was 2, she had been telling me she wanted to learn how to dance.  I thought to myself, "You are 2...how could you possibly know you want to dance!" 

Well, I finally signed her up this past fall and she has absolutely loved it! She wears a smile on her face during every practice. A day hardly passes without her asking when her dance class is. She loves her girl friends in the class, she adores her teacher, she loves the beautiful costumes and she feels so good about herself. Every little girl deserves to feel that way and... it's great exercise!

Here is Ashlynn getting ready for the recital.  She, of course, had to wear her princess robe while she was getting ready and she loved wearing mommy's mascara and blush-a requirement from the dance company.  She performed in front of hundreds...yes, hundreds... of people!!!  I almost had a heart attack for her.  At first I felt really bad for putting my daughter in that position.  I naively thought there would be about 50 people in the audience.  Why didn't anyone tell me?  Ashlynn was a little stunned when she saw all those people, but she got over it and just danced.  Backstage she told me she wanted to do it again!    My heart rejoices in the fact she has this opportunity and that she isn't paralyzed by shyness and fear like her mommy.

This is her whole class.  Aren't they darling?  Believe it or not...Ashlynn is only 3, the youngest in her class, but the tallest one in the group!

Ashlynn is a Pop Star

I haven't taken any photos lately and I haven't posted anything for a long time. I forgot I had taken these pics back in February and they made me laugh when I saw them again. Here is Princess Ashberry eating some fruit and whip cream. I love her crazy hair. If we even TRY to come near her with a comb, she says, "NO, I already have 'bew-ful' primpiss hair".

If I straighten MY hair, she stares at me for a while and then says...."Me hate yur hair. You no have bew-ful primpiss hair."

Evidence that Ashlynn was here. Daddy is being taken care of extremely well. He has every blanket tucked around him that she could find. Ashlynn even managed to tuck a few of her babydolls in with Daddy.
Have you been to the doctor's office lately? Well, we went there several times in January and February and noticed that the basket of suckers had Ashlynn's name on the wrappers!!!! The spelling is even the same as our Ashlynn. I looked it up online and I guess the Dum Dum's Co. has a contest for kids and if you are the winner, you get your name put on your favorite flavor for 6 months to 1 year. A little girl back East won and her name happened to be Ashlynn. Our little Ashlynn was loving having her name on the suckers!

Random Purchase

A few weeks ago, I purchased a face painting kit online and we have had so much fun with it! The paints are professional grade and come with an awesome book full of cheek art and face painting examples. My kids are THRILLED to say the least.

Face painting is harder than I thought it would be-especially on children. They are so dang wiggly!

Luke picked a baseball theme because he was learning about the letter B last week at preschool. These face paints are so fun and I would recommend them to anyone.

Christmas Roses

This may be hard to believe, but I took this photo one month ago! We still had roses blooming and the kid's hadn't even taken out their winter coats yet. I can't believe all the snow we have received since this photo was taken. Now it feels like the snow will never go away.

Visits with Santa

Luke is all about the festivities of every holiday. He was elated to go see Santa! He even brought Santa a gift and made sure to wear his reindeer antlers to impress Santa. A few days later Ben was talking with his friend "Santa" and Santa told Ben that Luke was the only child that has ever brought him a gift. When we related this info to Luke, he became the happiest child I have ever seen. He went into another room and yelled out, "I WAS THE ONLY KID TO EVER GIVE SANTA A GIFT!!!" It was the cutest thing in the world!

Now...Ashlynn on the other hand...well, you can see how her visit with Santa went. She later said, "Hate, hate Santa!" (She loves to repeat things twice!)

Quote of the Day...by Ashlynn

Our sweet little Ashlynn HATES washing her 'princess' hair (that's what she calls it). Well, the other day I was fighting with her to let me rinse the shampoo out of her hair. After swatting me away several times she yelled out...
"Daddy, Daddy says (she likes to repeat things twice),
'no wash hair!'." I told her that Daddy never said that. She then said...

"Jesus, Jesus says 'no wash hair'."

Somehow she knows Jesus has a higher priority! After an outburst of laughter from Ben and I, we reassured her Jesus never said she couldn't wash her princess hair. Nice try Ashlynn:)

First Dentist Visits

I finally brought Luke and Ashlynn in for their first visits to the dentist. Luke was such a good boy. He made me so happy! Ever since he was a baby, he has always been an angel at the doctor's office so I didn't really expect anything different from him at the dentist. I reminded him that his Uncle Craig is a dentist too and that made him happy and confident when visiting the dentist.
No cavities...just a mouthful of beautiful teeth and a cute little smile!
Oh man...if looks could kill, the Dentist, the Assistant and Mommy would be dead! I think she was bugged at me for attempting to take a photo at such a traumatic time! I actually expected Ashlynn to freak out and she did. 3 people had to hold her down while they did an exam.

He-He... and Ben thought they would be able to do a cleaning too! No such luck here.

Crack Me Up!

Luke fell asleep with a butterfly net on his head. I'm just glad he could breathe okay!
A homemade Buzz Lightyear helmet brought to you by the one and only... Luke. Can you tell how proud he is of his new creation?

Best Friends

Oh...this one melts my heart.

They are either best friends or worst enemies. I think I need to frame this one.

It looks like the 'dressing up gene' has been passed to Ashlynn. She emptied out the closet trying to find something to dress up with. I know what she's getting for Christmas...

Happy B-day Ashlynn!!

Happy Birthday Ashlynn! Her birthday was last week and she turned 2 years old. I pulled out some old photos from the day she was born and I thought I would share a few of them. Here I am greeting her on her original birthday. It was one of the most wonderful and beautiful days of my life. Spring time is such a wonderful time to have a baby. All the trees have fresh, new leaves and flowers on them and all the tulips (my personal favorite!) are popping up everywhere. As we drove to the hospital and when we returned from the hospital, I remember looking around and seeing hundreds of trees bursting with beautiful pink flowers. Our whole street was lined with these trees. I felt like the Earth had given me a huge bouquet of pink flowers to celebrate Ashlynn's birth. I knew we were bringing someone very special to our home.

I will never forget it!

Here she is on the first day in our home-looking so pretty in pink!

And here she is 2 years later with her Grandma Marge. If you notice Ashlynn's outfit, she is wearing EVERY SINGLE item of clothing she received as a gift. She had to immediately try them all on-at once! She was thrilled to receive new clothes and let out a scream everytime she opened a new outfit. WOW, a true girl from the start!

Opening a gift from her Aunt Jaime and Uncle Craig.

Grandpa Ed wishing Ashlynn a happy birthday.
Ben came home that morning with a huge bouquet of balloons and a princess kit for Ashlynn. The kit was equipped with a wand, stick-on earrings, a necklace and a purse. She LOVED IT! Good Job Ben!
Grandma Marge is trying to help her open her princess kit.
She was loving life!

Ashlynn knew she was special this day! Luke, I must say, was such a good boy too. He never acted jealous or tried to take away from her special day. I thought he might feel sad or left out and he never did. He was very happy for Ashlynn and told her that she was special all day long. It made me sooooo happy.

Sneaking cake together is always fun!

Well, poor little Ashlynn didn't want her special day to come to an end. She REFUSED to remove her birthday/cupcake T-shirt and sparkly princess shoes for 3days and 2nights! Yah, some of you may think we are disgusting for allowing her to wear her outfit for that long-but you have never tried to dress or undress this girl. In the past, I have walked away with a black eye, bloody lip and scratches. Here she is running away from us.
Ashlynn wears these shoes with her jammies too. She can't get enough of them! I love it when you find the perfect gift for your child.

We love this little girl so much even if she is a little spicy!

Sugar & Spice

This post is dedicated to my sugar muffin, babe-a-licious, fiesty bear, baby doll & etc...otherwise known as our little Ashlynn Berry. Some of those nicknames may make you sick, but I can't help but gush a little when I talk about Ashlynn.

I haven't posted a picture of her for a while because I hadn't downloaded our pics from the last month or so. Here are some of her lastest adventures:

She loves taking care of her baby dolls. Here she is trying to feed one of them her sippy cup. OH! So cute. I love how tender she is with them.

Here she is looking so grown-up! She is also sporting her VERY first...

...Pony Tail! She looked so cute.
Ashlynn is also wearing her MOST favorite outfit in the world. They are hand-me-down jammies from her cousins in Tennessee! She wants to wear these everyday and protests when we have to remove them for bathtime. One time a nurse asked me to have Ashlynn remove these jammies for a 'weigh in' on the scale. Well... let's just say Ashlynn won.

Look at that (guilty) smile!

Ashlynn got caught sitting on top of our counter height table. She is quite the climber. Notice the outfit? She loves to dress herself and will usually only wear pink or purple or the jammies stated above. This girl is not even 2 yet! In this picture she is wearing a dress with a brown skirt under the dress. Thank goodness we didn't leave the house this day.

And finally, here is Ashlynn keeping up with big brother. And yes, Luke still wears the Lion suit on occasion. Is it any wonder that one of his favorite books is 'Where the Wild Things Are'? Ashlynn recently received an inkpen stab in the eye and a visit to the doctor. Her corneal abrasion is healing just fine. The first thing the doctor asked us was, "Let me guess...was it big brother?" Just another thing I missed out on by having only sisters!!!

Getting Along

I had to take a photo because I was in so much shock. There was only one drinkable yogurt left and they asked if they could share it. They shared it with smiles on their faces and no one ran away crying. This was a good day!

Is this really possible? They are actually getting along again. Miracles still exist.

Ashlynn the Helper

There's that cheesy smile again. She is so happy to help Mommy sweep the floor with the fireplace broom.

Ashlynn's new Cheesy Cheese. I love that sweet little face.

Ashlynn is 18 months old!!!

I am a little behind on the things I wanted to put on our blog. Ashlynn turned 18 months old on the 16th of October! The doctor says she is around the 150% range for her height-so she actually looks like she is atleast 2 years old.
Now that she is 18 mos. old she can go into nursery at church. This is her first day at nursery and she did quite well. She didn't even cry. What a miracle! She is the only girl among all boys. Poor thing. One of them has tried to kiss and hug her. She got angry and pushed him away. Good girl Ashlynn!

Look at those blue eyes! Who would ever think I'd have a baby with eyes like that. Especially since her daddy doesn't have blue eyes either.