happy birthday, princess

It's 1:25 in the morning, and I'm updating our blog. Over the past 2 weeks, work has been absolutely crazy, but a good kind of crazy. So, just as I have every night this week, I've stayed up late trying to catch up on e-mails, and right before I head upstairs, I notice that our computer's still on. Aw, what the heck, I say. Let me check out Bella's and Miko & Marco's blogs before I head up for the night. Seeing them updated (and quite well I might add) has given me the energy to write this . . .

Our little princess is 8 years old today. For some reason, and we have no idea why, but this birthday for Ashley is different. It feels different. Ashley has grown up so much over the past year. Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I talk to her more as a person now instead of just as my daughter. There are times we have conversations and make each other laugh when being her dad is the furthest thing on my mind. There's less teaching now. More guiding.

Ashley has a very distinct personality, and it just seems that from 1st grade to 2nd grade, from 7 years old to 8 years old, our little princess has literally grown up right before our eyes. She knows what she wants to order at restaurants now without asking us. She has favorite stores at the mall now. She has her own money in her own wallet in her own purse which she brings to the mall. And she knows what she wants to buy with that money. In what's probably the biggest sign of her growing up is the fact that she's actually learning how to deal with Kayley now, how to deal with her different moods, how to actually have fun with her little sister.

Yes, our little princess is 8 years old today. Over the past week or so, half in jest and half serious, I've been kidding Ashley about everyday things that happen in our lives -

• "Ashley, this is the last time that you're going to set the table as a 7-year-old"
• "Ashley, this is the last time you're going to watch 'That's So Raven' as a 7-year-old"
• "Ashley, this is the last time you're going to take a bath as 7-year-old"
• "Ashley, this is the last time you're going to be get out of the minivan as a 7-year-old"
• "Ashley, this is the last time I'm going to tuck you in as a 7-year-old"

Ever since Ashley was born and our parenting instincts kicked in, we've always treated her and disciplined her as if she was older than what she really was. And now, we're trying our best to keep her younger than what she really is. Unfortunately, we're losing.

You hear it said all the time - cherish each and every moment you have with your kids, because once you blink, they'll go from not wanting you to ever leave their classroom in the morning when you drop them off at school, to saying bye to you before you even get to their classroom so that their friends don't see them kissing their mom or dad. I think we've come to the realization that we've already blinked with Ashley. And once you come to that realization, it's kind of an empty feeling because you can't help but think back on those times when you could've been a little more patient, when you could've read her one more book before she went to bed, when you could've laughed when she spilled some milk instead of getting mad, when you could've spent more time playing with her instead of watching tv . . .

A couple of years ago, one of Ashley's teachers wanted to have the kids in her class learn more about each other, so she asked each set of parents to write a letter about their child which the teacher would read out loud in class. This is the letter we wrote for Ashley -

Our Little Princess

Once upon a time, there was a little princess named Ashley. She was born on March 10, 1998 and was the first child of King Gil and Queen Jo Ann. Ashley first lived in a very small one-bedroom apartment in Lincoln Park, a neighborhood in the kingdom known as Chicago. King Gil and Queen Jo Ann had to work in order to provide Ashley with the things that she needed. But although they couldn’t stay with her during the day, King Gil and Queen Jo Ann thanked God every day for blessing them with their little princess, for they loved her more than anything in the world.

The three of them always sat down for dinner together every night, since dinner time was really the only time that they could spend together during the day. Ashley was very fond of Blue’s Clues at a very young age. Ashley and her daddy would sing the Blue’s Clues song every night after they finished dinner. Ashley would pretend to be Blue and her daddy would pretend to be Steve and they would act out scenes from the show. Queen Jo Ann would later pretend to be Periwinkle. Oftentimes, Ashley would bring out books for her mommy and daddy to read to her; at such a young age, Ashley was very interested in reading. Barney books about shapes and colors; Winnie-the-Pooh books about numbers and letters . . . Ashley wanted her mommy and daddy to read them all to her. The three of them led a very simple and happy life.

Soon, however, the three of them outgrew their apartment and they had to move to another kingdom. This time, their kingdom was known as Glenview. This was a blessing in disguise since King Gil and Queen Jo Ann could now enroll Ashley at St. Catherine Laboure - our little princess was growing up and was going to start school soon! Here at school, Ashley’s curiosity and willingness to learn just blossomed. She was exposed to great teachers, a great environment, and made some great friends.

King Gil and Queen Jo Ann were so very proud of Ashley during last year’s Christmas show. As a 3-year old, Ashley had a slight fever during that year’s show and couldn’t sing very well. But last year . . . boy, did Ashley do great. We’ve never seen such an energetic rendition of “A Bushel and a Peck” from a 4-year old! It was great to see our little princess come out of her shell and be able to sing and dance so gracefully in front of a big audience. Ashley continued to battle her shyness and break out of her shell during graduation and the recent all-school mass. She was able to speak in front of a big audience and her mommy and daddy were so proud of her.

But we’re most proud of her being the best big sister to Kayley, her 4-month old sister. She helps mommy and daddy change her sister’s diapers, she tries to comfort her when she’s crying, she plays with her and reads her stories, she watches her when mommy and daddy are busy. She’s the best big sister Kayley could ask for.

Our little princess, Ashley, is growing right before our eyes. Though she’s still shy at times, she has a smile that can light up a room. Her eyes are so expressive that you can tell what kind of mood she’s in just by looking at her eyes. Ashley is a loving daughter and sister, and she always tries to make you feel better if you’re having a bad day. Her mommy and daddy have so many cards from Ashley that she gives us just to let us know that she loves us.

Ashley - this letter is meant to tell you how much your mommy and daddy and sister love you and to let your classmates know a little more about you. Thanks for being our little princess!

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Happy Birthday, Ash. We love you!