Aspen's 6th Birthday

On July 9th, Aspen turned 6 years old.  I kept asking her what kind of birthday party she wanted and she kept saying a "Dolphin Party".  So that's what she did.  I asked what she wanted to do at her dolphin party and she really wanted to give all her friends a stuffed dolphin and let them adopt it and make it a house.  But that is what we did last year for her Unicorn Party.  So we decided to have water activities in the backyard.

We set up the slip-n-slide, kiddie pool, and a sprinkler.  And I filled the water table with "Orbies" water beads.  Then we had pizza for lunch.  And we made dolphin bracelets and got glitter tattoos.  The kids each got a stuffed dolphin (because that's what Aspen was the most passionate about) and blow up pool toy dolphin in their goodie bag.  I thought it would be a laid back party, but we were rushing to get everything done in time.  I think all the kids had fun.

Then we let Aspen choose where she wanted to go out to dinner and had the grandparents over for cake and ice cream. 

Aspen got some fun presents, including a Hatchimal.  She tried to hatch that egg for over 3 hours.  We ended up getting a defective one that we had to crack open by hand, but the company sent us a replacement one, so she got 2 of them.  I think she had a really fun day, and hope she knows how special she is to us.  Here are some things about Aspen:

• Aspen refuses to talk at school, church, summer camps, etc.  But at home she is super loud and wild.  At the Wheeler Farm camp, her 2 counselors spent the whole week trying to get her to speak.  They didn't believe me when I said she is loud at home.
• We have been really lazy about reading this summer and Aspen has forgotten how.  She came so far through kindergarten, but has been fighting me to get back into it.  I know that she's super smart and capable, but she lacks self-confidence.  So we need to get her to know that she is capable of anything.
• Aspen is super strong.  We joke that her name is Aspen "muscle-bum" Lloyd because it hurts when she sits on your lap with her bony bum.  But she really is solid muscle.  She's tough and always asks if she can help open tight lids and containers because she's super strong.
• Aspen loves playing with her friends.  Our new neighborhood has been great and there are lots of little girls she can play with.  Everyone loves her and wants to be her friend.  She loves playing pretend and has a great imagination.
• Aspen has been really into Legos this summer.  She got quite a few sets for her birthday and spent hours and days building them all by herself.  She is really good at it and has amazing focus.

We love our Aspen girl so much.  Lately she has been our easiest child.  Luke has been whining a lot, and Sophie is really sensitive and dramatic, so Aspen has been such a relief.  She has been the best helper and often cleans up without being asked.  She also wakes up and gets dressed and does everything she is supposed to without me having to remind her constantly.  She's such a good girl and I'm grateful to be her mom.