Jeanie Beanie

My Ainsley Jean is getting so big! She will be 5 in July! I cannot even believe it. April 8th I took her to Kindergarten orientation. She got a new Silver Crest Knights T-Shirt. There were 5 stations set up with different games and she loved it. She is so smart and knew exactly what to do. She was so excited to have a shirt like Brinnley. We put it on at school so she could wear it home. I am so excited for her to start school. She is ready to have her own friends and do her own things. But I am almost more nervous about her starting than I was with Brinnley. She is a little more reserved and she is such a tiny little thing. But she will do great and she is ready!

I am so proud of my girl. I have seen so much growth in her lately. She loves her big words, and "actually" is still one of her favorites. She has taken quite a liking to playing with Polly Pockets and her Calico Critters. And she's been playing with her babies more. I love listening to her play. She has such an active imagination. It reminds me of when I was little playing with my dolls and Barbies. She loves to color and draw and play with playdough. She loves reading books. That is our time to sit and enjoy quiet time.

But one of the biggest changes I have seen in her has been her behavior. She used to get instantly frustrated when she didn't get what she wanted or something didn't work right. Her reaction was to scream and throw a fit. Occasionally that still happens, but it is a lot less frequently. She has gotten so much more even tempered. Her biggest frustration in life right now is a little brother that likes to torment her and kick her toys over. But she is learning that instead of yelling at him, go get Mom or Dad to "Take care of it."

She is still a master debater, well practiced in proving and defending her point. Often I am left speechless or laughing. Where does she come up with this stuff? She pays attention to details. The other day we were in the car and she said to me, "Mom, did you know there was this plane that had a crack in it and they had to emergency land and all the people had to get on another plane but that plane had a crack in it too. But luckily nobody died." I asked her where she heard that. "Watching the news with Daddy." She loves to watch the news. Often when I come down the stairs in the morning she is sitting on the couch holding the remote. When she sees me she smiles and says with a giggle, "I'm just watching the news."

She loves music and learns lyrics amazingly fast! Her favorite songs right now are Justin Bieber's Baby and the music from the Camp Rock soundtrack. She has every word down for Baby. It is the funnest thing to hear her sing. We have dance parties in the living room and we always sing in the car. She is such a fun little girl.

She is still my little monkey girl. Each night her bed is piled high with monkey friends of all kinds. She is my girly-girl. She loves to dress in "fancy" clothes and she likes bright colors, patterns and designs. She cares about things like the right shoes. She has been talking about a new bedspread because hers is a dark purple and she wants a brighter one. Her favorite color is still blue with pink as the close second.

She always amazes me with her knowledge. We were in the car yesterday and we were talking about how the mannequins in the store windows at the mall were wearing tank tops and short skirts. We talked about that and if it was okay. Brinnley said that we should always wear a t-shirt with a tank top. Ainsley said, "yeah, because we need to be modest." And yesterday as well she asked when we were going to have the missionaries over for dinner. I told her I didn't know who the missionaries in our area are and if we had missionaries in our ward. She looked at me with a shocked face and said, "Of course we have missionaries or we wouldn't have anyone to teach the people what is right and about Jesus." She pays more attention than I think.



I just love this tender little girl! My life would not be the same without her. She has taught me so much and continues to amaze me every day. I love you Ainsley Jean!





(Here she is with her bear in his bed made out of a melted record.)








(Wearing the mask she made with Auntie J.)














(All ready for church. This sweater and these boots are her favorites.)