Two Monkeys and a Dog

These

are Ashlyn's loveies. When she was a baby she had a paci and then when she turned about 8 months old I started weaning her off of it by giving her a stuffed animal to sleep with in place of the paci. The first animal was a small plaid green frog. She did good with it for a while and then one day she picked up her orange monkey from her little rocking chair in her nursery. I bought it for her when she was still in my belly, even before I knew she was going to be a girl. This monkey replaced the little frog and soon became her best friend. She does everything with her monkey. She burps it, plays ring around the rosy, makes it pray, and everything else. The other two are her Build a Bear animals. The dog is Snuggles and the other monkey is Suie after the sound a razorback makes. These animals go to bed with her and spend the day in the living room with her. But the orange monkey, named monkey is the favorite.

Just Bragging

I have to brag on my little girl. Ashlyn has been a little slow to start talking. She said momma, dadda, hi, bye, bath, duck, etc.. at the right ages, but I was concerned with learning new things and recognition of colors and such. I started working with her a few months back with a different color each week. I was beginning to think I was doing it for nothing because she didn't show any interest at all. One day about a month ago she blew me away. She started naming colors and matching them with the correct items. It didn't stop there though. She named several shapes, and counted from 1-10. I guess she just held all of her new knowledge inside until she wanted to show it off.

The best thing of all is after any book we read Ashlyn folds her hands, bows her head, and says "pray". Nathan and I started reading her a preschool Bible story at bedtime each night and then we pray with her. She claps her hands after every prayer. It is so cute. The other day we were in the mall and she found a book to look at. After she looked it over she folded her hands and wanted me to pray. Of course I did, how can you not with those sweet little eyes looking at you anticipating what we'll thank God for next. Sometimes I don't feel like praying when she wants me to, but it is a great reminder that even though we may not feel like it we still need to.