Happy Birthday, Ashtyn!

Today Ashtyn is 6-years-old and it's hard to imagine there was ever a time when she wasn't a part of our family. Ashtyn is our little angel, our sweet little love bug who is always ready with a kiss and a hug. Ash is our "unexpected" baby and she couldn't have come at a better time. When I found out that I was pregnant with her, our little family was in need of some sunshine. We had just lost Austin about 6 weeks earlier and we were missing him so much. We were surprised and excited to find out that there would be another addition to our family.
The day that she was born was just like any other Saturday. Lauren and Mackenzie were playing their last soccer games of the fall season and we had spent the day at the soccer fields. I had been having some minor, sporadic contractions all day and was pretty miserable. Having just had a baby 10 months earlier, I was so worn out and huge. Mackenzie and I sat on a hill watching Lauren play soccer and I was able to pay attention to the contractions. It seemed they were more regular and a little bit painful. There were several moms on our team who were nurses, and as we left the game I asked them how close together contractions needed to be before I got concerned. I still had 6 weeks left. We decided to go home and rest and see if they would stop. At about 5:00 that night we decided that we should go to the hospital, thinking that we would be sent home. We weren't. Ashtyn Michelle arrived a couple hours later and weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz.! She had a full head of beautiful blonde hair and was perfect!

Now 6 years later we couldn't imagine life without her. She has the greatest laugh! Sometimes we tickle her just so we can hear it. Ash is a good friend and is so loving and kind. She loves animals and doing art projects with her sisters. She also loves to swim and play soccer and loves our little dog, Princess.

We celebrated her birthday yesterday with a party at the movie theater. We saw Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and then had cake and ice cream with her friends. It was a great day and we had a great time. Happy Birthday, Ashy! You're growing up so fast!