Ainsley - 2017 Review

2017 was an awesome year for Ainsley. She is becoming a confident, funny, hard working girl. It's been so fun to watch her grow. She has such a fun personality - not afraid to say what she's thinking and still has her crazy reaction faces.

Here are some of the many highlights from the year!

• Gymnastics! Ainlsey LOVES gymnastics - truly loves it. After hours of practicing in the gym, she comes home and does more gymnastics! She has even created her own gym in the basement. 
• In 2016-2017, she joined her first competitive gymnastics team and had a fantastic experience. The coaches were amazing, her teammates and their families were so sweet and formed a tight supportive group, and Ainsley was super successful. We were always so proud to hear from the coaches how hard she worked with a great attitude. At State Championships, she came in 1st in place all around, on bars, and on beam and qualified to compete in the regional championships!
• In July, Ainsley made the hard choice to switch gyms to a join different team. Her previous coaches moved to another city and it was a good time to make the switch. It was an extremely hard decision. She moved to a larger gym and a more competitive level, and she has rose to the challenge has been excelling so far! Although the gym different, her love for gymnastics continues to grow, and we can't wait to see where it will take her. 

 

• School - Ainsley continued homeschooling in 2nd and 3rd grade. She works hard, enjoys going to co-op, and has really taken off with reading this year. Her favorite subject is math and her least favorite subject is spelling. Poppy is teaching science and social studies. Ainsley also takes specials at Mason - Art and STEM. We enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling - going to the Children's Theater, outdoor exploring, reading through Little House and doing pioneer activities, going to museums and field trips with friends. Plus, with 12 hours a week of gymnastics, it's nice to have extra time with our girl!

 

 

• 8th Birthday -  Ainsley celebrated her 8th birthday in April! She had a great family party and then celebrated with her two good friends having a small party and then going to the trampoline park!

• Trips - We did a lot of traveling in 2017! 
• For gymnastics, we traveled to Columbus, Nashville, Akron, and Peoria. These were great trips filled with gymnastics friends and swimming in all the indoor pools. :)
• We traveled with Nani and Poppy on a Caribbean cruise in February. 
• We visited Norris lake in the summer the Weis family. 
• In September, we went to Chicago and St. Joseph, MI. The highlight of Chicago for Ainlsey was visiting the America Girl store! We spent hours in the store where Ainsley selected her first AG doll - Tenney!
• In November, we traveled to Disney and had such a magical vacation. 

 

   

• Friends - Ainsley is blessed to have such good friends - neighbors, homeschool, and gymnastics friends. They love to do gymnastics, play house, barbies, and American Girl. 

 

• Just a few of the other fun things we did last year included: 
• FC Cincinnati games! Doug and Evan has season tickets and Ainlsey enjoyed coming along and cheering!

                                           

• Hiking - with all the wonderful, mild weather, we did lots of hiking. While not Ainsley's favorite, she hung in there on most of our exploring. :) 

 

• Kings Island - We spent lots of time at Kings Island this summer, both the rides and the waterpark. It such a great place to connect with friends and be outside. We are so lucky to have it so close by and get to go so often. 

                                                   

• Lost teeth - Christmas 2016 was the Christmas of "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth". She's not afraid to wiggle her teeth out and even lost a tooth at Chad and Jen's at Thanksgiving. 

• Here are a few other highlights from the last year: 

 

Ainsley - 7!!

Our baby is 7!! Crazy!! This past 6 months can be summed up in two words - gymnastics and homeschool. :)


Ainsley decided to try her 1st grade year doing homeschool. It's actually been a better transition than I could imagine having both kids home. We are able to have lots of flexibility in going places and hands on learning. The kids have developed a great bond. Ainsley has really grown this year in her schooling - she is doing a great job with her reading. I love to listen to her. :) She is also doing well at co-op - taking math, art, animal studies, and nature studies - and enjoying her time with other kids.

Gymnastics is the other word the sums up Ainsley's year. She started gymnastics in late August, and hasn't stopped!! She is doing so well, quickly progressing and most importantly, smiling through most practices. :) Our basement has been transformed into a gym. There isn't a day that goes by that she isn't flipping, cartwheeling, or doing a back walk over. Ainsley has definitely found her "thing" and I can't wait to see where it takes her!

Ainlsey continues to be independent. She has a dry wit, and it's interesting to her what she'll say next. She continues to make the best, craziest faces in reaction to whatever is going on.

Ainsley loves her cousins so much. She has really enjoyed Abigail as she grows - I think she enjoys taking on the "big sister" role.


Ainsley's 7th birthday party was a gymnastics party. We had her friends over to do gymnastics in the basement, followed by a family party. Unfortunately, Ainsley wasn't feeling so well and fell asleep during her party. We appreciated all the family and friends coming over. We celebrated on her actual birthday at Cheesecake Factory - her new favorite.


Ainsley and Evan continue to be friends - mostly playing great together. I love the bond that the two of them are forming!



When Ainsley's not doing gymnastics, she likes to bake, hang out with her friends, be an honorary cub scout,  and go to Kings Island (48" this year!!).


Ainsley is the perfect mix of sweetness and wit. She is a joy to watch grow up. I can definitely see her growing up - I'd love to slow it down, but I know I can't. Right now, we are trying to enjoy every moment we can!

Ainsley at 6-1/2

Here are a few things Ainsley has been up to in the last 6 months:

Ainsley had her dance recital in May. She loves performing, especially with her cousin Mya!

Ainsley had a blast at the lake this year, and had fun doing anything with water. 

She lost her first two teeth!

 Had lots of fun at KI!

Went to several summer camps with friends:

In August, Ainsley started gymnastics and we think she's found her passion! We can't keep her right side up. :) 

Ainsley is 6

Ainsley Just celebrated her 6th birthday and we are really enjoying watching her grow up! She is smart and has a quick wit, and she keeps us smiling with all her singing and dancing!!

 Ainsley embarked on a new adventure this year - kindergarten!! She has a sweet teacher - Mrs. Grabeman - and a nice class. We have been impressed to see how much she has grown in ability to read this year. She has worked her way through the levels of "just right" books and will try books at home with lots of determination.

This year, Ainsley is taking dance once again with her cousin, Mya. The girls are learning ballet and tap and enjoy seeing each other each week. We are looking forward to their recital in May. Ainlsey still loves to tumble on her own. This winter she tested herself - doing 100 cartwheels in a row, doing headstands for more than a minute, and attempting handstands.

She also tried cheer-leading this year for Upward basketball. He favorite cheer was "A-W-E-S-O-M-E, Awesome, Awesome, To-ta-lly," She had fun learning the cheers and dance routines. I think she will participate again next year.

This year, Ainsley tried Daisy Girl Scouts with mom as one of her leaders. It is a nice group of girls - all 15 of them! Ainsley enjoys the crafts and activities, but I think a smaller group might be better for next year.

Her best friends are Angel and Mya. Now, when friends come over, they disappear for hours on end playing mom and kid, reenacting Frozen, playing school or vacation. It's wonderful to see the imagination. She also loves her two younger cousins - Leah and Abigail.

Ainsley even loves to play even by herself. He choice of playing changes - dress up, Barbies, and American girl dolls are a few of her favorites.She also loves to play with Evan, but their play is a bit different. :) They both love each other, and play well together almost all the time.

We are really enjoying the kids at their ages - we try to be intentional about doing lots of activities, adventures, and trips with the kids since they are so excited about seeing new things, and are just plan fun to be around. We have been lucky to make so many great memories - lots of trips to Kings Island, going to Disney World and Destin, visiting friends, Disney on Ice, rollerskating, skiing, snow tubing, theater, the museum and downtown, and new parks just to name a few,