Knoxville

After attending the Living Christmas Tree, Ashlyn has been all about the Christmas and Easter stories.

A - Tell me that part again Mommy, about Jesus dying on the cross.
M - Yes. Jesus died on the cross. Remember why?
A - To pay for our sins.
M - Then after he died, his friends came and took him to the....?
A - The tomb.
M - Yep. Three days later...
A - Oh I know, the angels said "Roll that stone away!"
M - Yes and now Jesus is...
A - Alive!
M - Yes he is! And now Jeus lives in...
A - Knoxville!
M - No. Heaven.
A - (Laughing) Oh yeah, I meant to say heaven!

Sharing at its finest

Ashlyn received a pink, princess umbrella for Christmas. This now makes two good ones and one broken one for her. Ashlyn had both of the working ones out and opened playing in the living room.

Ashlyn - Mommy, where is my other pink umbrella?
M - It broke honey. But you still have two good ones to play with.
Matt - Ashlyn, that is really nice to have two of them. Do you think you could give one of your umbrellas to Addelyn-Kate?
Ashlyn - Oh sure Daddy. She can have the broke, pink one!

Jesus

Emily - Ashlyn, is this your Baby Alive?

Ashlyn - No. Just Jesus is alive.

Bobby shorts

Ashlyn was in the room with her Aunt Kitty as she was getting ready.

Kathryn - You know what Ashlyn, I just call Bobby pins 'Bobby'...you know, for short.
Can you say that?

Ashlyn - Yeah....Bobby Shorts.

No such thing as Santa

A - You know Santa isn't real Mommy.
M - What? Who told you that?
A - He is just fun to pretend.

I informed Matt of this in the car as we are all riding together.
Matt is shocked! When we come to a stop at the traffic light, he turns around and asks her if Santa is real.

We just happened to have stopped at a light where a huge, very life-like Santa is climbing the side of a jewelry store.

Ashlyn points out her window and says (in a very sarcastic voice)"Well yeah, look he is right there climbing that building."

Our child, the literal one. You can't fool her with anything!

Too much

Lots of our family members take turns picking up and taking care of Ashlyn for me as I work.

Maggie, our 17 year old cousin, was driving Ashlyn home the other day.

A - Maggie, sometimes you come get me, sometimes its popa and Nana, sometimes Aunt Donna, Aunt Jane or Nana Shirley.
Maggie - That's right, Ashlyn. We all come to take care of you.
A - Yeah, I think that is just too much family!

I don't mind, I forgive you

So as soon as I get to school yesterday morning, my husband gives me a call. He tells me that my girl has something to tell me.

A - Hey Mommy.
M - Hey baby. What are you doing?
A - Mommy, I got the Tinkerbell movie for Christmas! And a princess puzzle!
M - What do you mean you got a movie? How do you know that?
(Matt in the background: Tell Mommy what you did while I was in the shower.)
A - I unwrapped the presents Mommy!

I couldn't help but laugh. I know I probably should have been sad that she now knows some of the things she is getting, but I wasn't. The funny part is that I don't know how she knew which gifts to open. I had wrapped everything in the same paper, and I had purposefully not shown her which gifts were hers. Yet, somehow, she knew right where hers were under the tree.

Ashlyn must have been thinking all day of her actions and felt a lot of remorse, because when she finally came home last night, the 1st thing she did was go to the tree.
A- I'm sorry for unwrapping them Mommy.
M - That's ok baby.
A - Please don't give me a spanking.
M - I'm not going to honey. I hadn't told you to leave them alone. I'll just wrap them again, I don't mind.
A - (A big smile on her face) Oh Mommy, I don't mind for you to wrap them again. I forgive you Mommy!

Had a what?

Ashlyn was in the middle of singing a song when Matt walks into the room...

A - (In a sing-song voice) "...had a Aunt Amy, Uncle Brad, Aunt Donna, Uncle Roger, Popa, Nana, Granna, Popa Dave, Mommmyyyy and Dadddddyyyy , e, i, e, i, ohhhhhh! And on that farm he had a Jake, Maggie..." Apparently we are a bunch of farm animals:)

So proud

Ashlyn was helping me make dinner last night. She likes to get out all of the ingredients for me, and usually has a comment about each one of them.

M - Ashlyn, get the blue packet of rice please.
A - Did you buy rice?
M - Yes, honey. Just grab that packet right there (as a motion to the rice).
(Ashlyn's eyes lit up and a huge smile emerged on her face)
A - Oh Mommy! You bought rice! I am SOOOO proud of you!

Oh the little things that make a daughter proud :)

Decaf

As I was giving Ashlyn a bath last night, she was pretending to drink something out of her bath cup. Now, I really don't like her to do this, because too often, she actually gets some in her mouth. This is pure nastiness to me, seeing as how it is dirty bath water.

I turned around to grab her towel and when I looked back, Ashlyn was drinking the water.

M - Ashlyn! That is disgusting! Don't you know there are germs in that water?
A - Sorry Mommy. I was just pretending.
M - You need to stop. If you drink that you'll get sick.
A - Oh don't worry Mommy. It's just decaf water!

Addelyn Kate

We are so excited that our new baby is another sweet little girl, Addelyn Kate.

When Ashlyn got home from 'school' (MDO) yesterday, I gave her a big hug.

A - Mommy, did you know I have Addelyn Kate in my tummy too?
M - No I didn't. I thought it was still Mary or the skunk. (Oh yeah, she told me last week that she was no longer having a Mary, but rather a skunk!)
A - No, just Addelyn Kate. Mommy, you need to be careful hugging me so tight.
M - Why is that?
A - I'm afraid you are going to squish her.

Fighting babies

As I walked up the stairs, I realized that THE drawer is open in my kitchen. Now, for those of you who don't know, THE drawer contains my spanking spoon. Ashlyn usually stays far away from it. So, I begin to track down my little girl, knowing that she has it somewhere.

I step down the hall and look into her room. I honestly had to step back out to keep from laughing and then regain my composure before asking Ashlyn what she was doing.

The view looks like this -

Baby doll Andrea is faced down on the rug with the spanking spoon sitting next to her, while baby doll Kaitlyn is propped up next to the bed as if she is watching the whole scene unfold.

M - Ashlyn, did you get into my drawer?
A - uh huh.
M - What are you doing with the spanking spoon?
A - Well...Mommy...Andrea was hitting the other babies and so I had to give her a spanking!
M - Ashlyn...only Mommy or Daddy give a spanking, not you honey.
M - By the way, what is Kaitlyn doing?
A - She is just watching to make sure she stays in time out for now.

Extra salt, please

I guess we have ordered a little too much while on the road this Thanksgiving.

I walk into McD with Ashlyn to order her lunch.

M - What do you want baby?
A - Mommy, I want the number zero with a fry and a sprite. Please tell them to add some salt, cause my fries aren't salty 'nough.

Armpit

I have been teaching Ashlyn to sneeze into her arm instead of the open air. Ashlyn just sneezed all over the keyboard.

M - Ashlyn! Where are you supposed to sneeze?
A - Oh, I'm sorry Mommy. I should sneeze in my armpit.

New fruit

M - what do you have Ashlyn?
A - an orange?
M - you mean a clementine?
A - yeah, I have an orangetine!

Smile!

While sitting in my lap this morning, Ashlyn gets all up close and starts 'loving' on me. My sister, who takes the pictures, was also sitting in the room. I guess Ashlyn wanted her to 'take a picture' of us, but it came out this way instead...

A - Aunt Wendy, can you get your camera and smile at us? :)

Pink or Blue?

We are down to one day before THE ultrasound! With Ashlyn, we just called everyone on the phone to announce the princess, so this time, we thought we would get more creative. For Thanksgiving, we are bringing a plate of either blue or pink iced cookies to announce baby's gender. Ashlyn is SUPER thrilled to make cookies!

A - Mommy, when can I make those cookies?
M - Not until Tuesday.
A - Are we making pink ones?
M - I don't know yet. We have to wait for the dr. visit on Wednesday to ice them. If the baby is a boy, they will be blue though, not pink.
A - Well Mommy, you KNOW that I only eat pink cookies!

Poor baby. I don't think we will be able to convince Ashlyn of anything but a girl even if baby is a boy!

Royalty

Matt, TJ and I were sitting in the living room the other night while Ashlyn was playing all over. I heard her messing with the front door and told her to come in the room with us. Her reply (totally out of the blue) "Yes....your highness!" The funny thing is that the way she said it was just like from a movie; serious yet sweet.

I was laughing about it last night and she thought it super funny that I was so tickled. So what does Ashlyn do? Our conversation went something like this -

M - do you want to help me with dinner?
A - Yes I do...your highness
M - Go wash your hands.
A - ok...your highness.
M - Can you hand Mommy the pan?
A - Yes your highness.

You get the idea. If only I could convince her to address me this way for forever:)

No money

A - Did you know I'm broke?
M - What do you mean you're broke?
A - Well, I'm almost out of money.

Birthday

Someone at MDO must have had a birthday yesterday, because Ashlyn was all about singing "Happy Birthday" last night.

A - My birthday is coming soon.
M - Yeah, your birthday is in just 4 months. What kind of party do you want?
A - I think I'll have pink.
surprise, surprise!
M - Well, do you want pink and maybe Sleeping Beauty or princesses or ballerinas?
A - Just pink is fine.
M - You know someone who shares your bithday is Mr. Ben. We will see him next week at Thanksgiving.
A - (Troubled look crosses her face)
Mommy, do I have to share my birthday cake? What if I just have pink one and Mr. Ben gets orange?

Someone is going to need to learn to share come April!

Baby tummy

We have Ashlyn come get in our bed for some stories, bible reading, prayer and singing before sending her to bed each night. Every night when we pray, she loves to get down and kneel beside the bed. Now, the bigger I am getting, the harder this will become, so I always just sit on the bed while A & Matt do the kneeling. Last night Matt was out, so it was just me and A going through the routine.

M - Ok Ashlyn, get down beside the bed and pray.
A - I can't tonight.
M - Why not?
A - Well, I have this baby in my tummy and I'm just getting too big for that:)

little caretaker

Matt has a new "scary" game that I have told Ashlyn not to watch.
Matt was playing the other night while I was in the room. Ashlyn walks in and sees me sitting there while he's playing.
A - Mommy! Close your eyes!
M - What's wrong baby?
A - Mommy, that will scare you. Don't worry though, I'll take care of you.

Broken heart

M - You need to pick up all of your blocks before we can eat dinner.
A - That just breaks my heart.
M - What breaks your heart?
A- That I have a mess to clean up first!

Cowgirl

Ashlyn just got a stick horse and has been "riding" all over the house on it.

M - Are you a cowgirl Ashlyn?
A - No, I wore that Sleeping Beauty costume to get that treat.
M - I'm not talking about last week, I mean right now. I know you were Sleeping Beauty for Halloween.
A - Oh. Can I be a cowgirl for next time?
M - Sure. If you want to that's fine with me.
A - Ok. I'll be a cowgirl and ride that cow:)

Mommy's Pink Hair

A - I used cutting things at church with Brady.
M - Do you mean scissors?
A - a huh. I used those scissors.
M - Do we cut anything but paper?
A - Nope. Just hair and paper.
M - Not hair Ashlyn, just paper.
A - Does Brady's momma cut your hair?
M - Well yes, because she went to school to learn how.
A - Mommy, you go to school. You learn how to cut hair?
M - No baby, just Mrs. Casey. Did you know I'm getting my hair cut and colored at Mrs. Casey's this week?
A - You should get pink so I can look at it!
M - Baby, if I got pink Daddy would wonder what is wrong with me.
A - (laughing) yeah...Daddy would say "Woman, what in the world you doing with that pink hair?"

All bigger

Ashlyn has this weird thing for wanting to take any medicine Matt and I take...should I be worried?

I was getting a cough drop when Ashlyn came into the kitchen.

A - Can I have a cough drop too?
M - No. You can't have a cough drop until you get bigger.
Ashlyn stops and thinks for a second. She bends down as low as she can and then jumps up as high as she can.
A- Hey look Mommy. Can you see I'm all bigger? Now can I have cough drop?

Too much junk

(Ashlyn sitting on the potty to GO)

A - I been having lots of tummy hurts and trouble.
M - I'm sorry. Do you not feel well?
A - Yeah...I guess I just ate too much junk yesterday.

Pink Palace

(Ashlyn looking at a weddding pic of Matt and me)

A - I'm going to get married someday, Mommy.
M - Yes. I know you are sweetie.
A - Yeah...I think I'll go to the palace to get married. It's probably a pink one.

Baby Mary

Ashlyn has decided that she is also having a baby like mommy, and that her baby's name is Mary.
A: Mommy, my baby may be coming in a few weeks.
M: Really? You mean Mary?
A: Uh huh. I am going to lay on a table and push her out!

Oh gracious, where does my child hear these things!

Sassy Pants

As Ashlyn and I walked up the outside steps to our church yesterday morning, Ashlyn said, "Uh, look at all of that grass on those steps. Well, I suppose SOMEONE weedeated yesterday." (All of this said in her most disgusted, annoyed voice possible:))

Just singing along

So I am riding in the car with Ashlyn, singing along to the radio when I hear a little voice tell me, "Stop singing Mommy. You are going to break a window!"

Secret

I was trying to teach Ashlyn a bible verse last night at bedtime and she said she couldn't remember. So, I started to sing the song, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you..."

Ashlyn starts to sing along with me. After a moment of singing, she turns my head to the side, puts her mouth to my ear and says in a whisper, "I tell you a secret...I trust you Mommy."

Baby love

Me: Ashlyn, what are you going to do when the new baby cries?
A: I'm going to hold her and be gentle and not squeeze her. Not her tummy or anything.

2 year old put down

(Ashlyn sitting in her stroller)

Ashlyn: Mommy, you take me for a walk?
Me: No. I can't because it is dark.
Ashlyn: You're such a kid.
Me: Why did you just call me a kid?
Ashlyn: Because you won't take me for a walk.

This is as good as a put down gets at 2 1/2 years old:)

Jesus

After finding blue crayon drawn into our downstairs carpet, Matt and I bring Ashlyn to the spot and ask her, "Ashlyn, did you draw on the carpet with your crayon?" Ashlyn looks straight up at us, dead in the eyes and says, "Nope. Jesus did it."

I'm sick

I get ready WAY too early in the mornings due to the time I have to be at work. A good day for me is when I can get completely ready before Ashlyn comes in and starts begging me not to leave. This morning was not one of those mornings. Ashlyn came bursting through the bathroom door, with that sweet little head of hair all in her face, coughing like crazy! I immediately picked her up and set her on the potty. All this time she is still coughing and wiping her runny nose.
Me: Are you not feeling well this morning?
Ashlyn: I been coughing all last nights. I need to see a doctor. I'm REALLY sick.

A little prayer

Me: It's time to pray before we eat. Why don't you say the prayer?
Ashlyn: Dear Jesus, thank you for my mommy, thank you for my daddy, thank you for a healthy new baby, thank you for Jesus, Amen!

Kaitlyn Blueberry

Ashlyn and I were riding in the car the other day discussing the gender of our new baby.
Ashlyn: I think its a girl Mommy.
Me: What are you going to call that baby?
Ashlyn: ummm...I think....how about Kaitlyn?
Me: Kaitlyn? Where did you hear that name?
Ashlyn: I don't know.
Me: You know what Ashlyn, our baby is about the size of a blueberry right now! Isn't that funny?
Ashlyn: Oh! I know! We can call her Kaitlyn Blueberry Powell!


No worries, our chosen girl name is an "A" name without blueberry:)

Miss Match

Ashlyn goes into her bedroom with white underwear on, she then comes out, a few minutes later, with pink ones.

Mommy: Why did you change you underwear? You didn't have an accident.

Ashlyn:....they don't match my room and my shirt. I need the pink ones. These ones match:)

Prince Charming

Ashlyn's Aunt Kathryn got engaged tonight! We are so excited! I shared with Ashlyn how Joseph is Aunt Kitty's Prince Charming. Here is a little bit of our conversation...

(I am holding Ashlyn in my lap and combing her hair for bed)
Me: When you get older, some little boy is going to come and sweep you off of your feet! He will be your Prince Charming. (Ashlyn starts to get really still and listen) He will love you more than any other girl ever! He will tell you that you are the most wonderful and beautiful girl in the whole world! (Ashlyn starts smiling real big and shrugging her shoulders) He will buy you a sweet little house

Ashlyn: He buyed me a home?

and take the best care of you. He will take you to all of your favorite places and be your best friend. He will pray and read the bible with you, and he will take you to church. He will love you like Jesus loves the church! You will go and live with him and he will love you for forever! (Ashlyn is completely enthralled by this story!)

Ashlyn: Mommy, tell me again!

I go on to repeat this story four more times...she loves it!
As I lay her in bed, I ask her who she wants to pray for...

Ashlyn: I pray for that sweet little boy my prince charming. Mommy, can we go see him?
Me: I don't know where he is, but we can ask Jesus to take care of him.
Ashlyn: (A concerned look crosses her face for a moment) He going to sweep my feet off?
Me: No. He will sweep YOU off of your feet!
Ashlyn: No, he don't sweep my feet off...just my crocs!

Hold the sugar!

Ashlyn spent the afternoon at her Aunt Amy and Uncle Brad's house a few Sundays ago. Ashlyn had a muffin in her hand as she walked into the great room.

Brad: "Ashlyn, were is my muffin?"
Ashlyn: "Oh! Well you can have this one. I don't need the sugar!"

Suppose she has heard someone else say that before...hmmm:)

The 23rd Psalm

I have been working with Ashlyn on the 23rd Psalm for awhile now, and have gotten as far as "thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." A few weeks ago, Ashlyn was pushing her baby dolls in her buggy around the house. (Now the funny thing about Ashlyn's baby dolls is that she has chosen to name ALL of them Andrea!) I came down the hall just in time to see Ashlyn stop her buggy, bend down to her doll, and say, "Andrea, Do you want to walk through the valley of the shadow of death?"