rushley & crew

Dear Ada,  Oh, how I love having a 9-year-old, and I love that that 9-year-old is you 😊 It's just so fun watching you become a full-fledged PERSON, with ideas and opinions and emotions, and to see you starting to mold those parts of you into a wonderful person. I love seeing this person who came from me, and who is like me in so many ways, but you're also your own person, and I love seeing that, too! I love watching you unfold into the person you're choosing to become :) Lately, you're very into getting books from the library that are about crafting or various activities, and you constantly ask me for supplies or opportunities to do the things you read about (most of which I say no to . . . we're both still trying to figure out how to get you doing the things you want to be doing without it being a constant ask on me 😅). You also check out tons of chapter books at a time -- lately you've loved the Whatever After, Ivy & Bean, and Dory Fantasmagory series......

Dear Ada,  You are 8 years old! You've been anxiously awaiting this birthday, both because you're excited for presents, and because you're excited to get baptized! You frequently talk about how much you love Jesus and how you want to follow Him. You say the most lovely and heartfelt prayers for specific things and specific people. You love primary songs, and you sing them beautifully. You are so creative and imaginative. I love that you are still little, and you still love to play pretend. You still play Barbies and house, and lately you're very into creating what you need out of paper and/or cardboard -- a small backpack, a notebook, a room for your Barbies, you name it! My favorite thing is to see you and Holly playing together happily and creatively. You LOVE to read. You've been in an online reading class for about a year now, and your skills in and love for reading have both grown so much. You're reading chapter books now, sometimes passing hours doing so. ...

Dear Ada,  How on earth are you seven years old?!?! There is so much that is fun about you growing up. For instance, you listen to a lot of audiobooks, and then you'll use vocabulary and phrases that aren't common around our house, and I'm always surprised because your world is expanding and I'm not the only one giving input these days! Sometimes you'll use a word, and then because I make a face (maybe a face of surprise, maybe a face that lets you know you used the word wrong), you'll immediately say something like "I don't even know what that word means!" Which is funny to me because adult-me wonders why you would use it if you don't know you're using it correctly, but that's just how kid-you learns! You're also getting good at things that required a lot of training on my part in the beginning -- things like cleaning up your room/playroom, folding/putting away laundry, doing table tasks. You're responsible and do those things ...

   Dear Ada, You're six years old!  You are fiery 🔥 You are creative, curious, and you soak up knowledge like a sponge! You can be so kind and empathetic…you can also lose your MIND if you don't get your way 🙃 You and Holly are the best of friends (and the worst of enemies 😅), and you're so excited to have another little baby around here in a few months. Although you weren't a snuggly baby or toddler, you now LOVE to snuggle. You like mermaids, princesses, and you still have a thing for Star Wars, though MUCH less intense than a year ago. You recently figured out how to pump your legs on swings (finally 😅😅) and are obsessed. You're full of energy and ideas, and I love you so! Stats 45.2 pounds (about 53%) and 44.75" (about 42%) 5T-6x fit best. Milestones Switched to a high-back booster at about 5y5m. Pumping legs on swings about a month before your birthday. Doing math randomly, just because you feel like it. You've already memorized some simple additi...

  Dear Ada, How on earth are you FIVE YEARS OLD?! I love watching you grow up. It's so fun to see the way that your personality grows and changes. You are so silly, so thoughtful (when you want to be), and so sweet. You have strong opinions about all the things, which I need to remember is a GOOD thing -- you're figuring out exactly who YOU want to be, and that's what I want for you, too. You're so curious, always wanting to learn about any words or ideas you're unfamiliar with, and I love this! I've always kind of felt like certain things are learned at certain ages, but you're showing me that we really do learn little by little. We've discussed things like how the ocean and space work, how the theory of relatively works, how cameras work, and those are just the things off the top of my head! We always try to answer in an age-appropriate way that we think you'll understand, and as a result I just feel like you're so smart and able.  You're s...

Dear Ada, I'm always amazed to see how much you grow and change in such a short time. You just become more of a grown-up every day, it seems! We had a pretty rough year or so, but I think things are starting to get better. I'm not sure if it's just because you're growing up or because I'm (sometimes) doing better at managing my own thoughts and actions, but I finally feel like the good is starting to outweigh the bad. I've loved you all along the way, but it was tough to feel like things were always hard. I'm enjoying feeling like things are getting a little easier for us most days. You like to go go go -- all day long you want to be doing something, whether that's playing with a friend, going to the park, playing a game, coloring, or playing pretend. You always want to play more, but you always want someone to play WITH you. Definitely an extrovert like mama! You're still sweet and forgiving, and you're even pretty good at saying sorry! You just...

Dear Ada, How on earth are you 4 years old already?! As I worked on your 4th year video over the last few days, I was reminded of how much you've grown in the last year. I thought you talked a lot a year ago (and you did), but it's amazing how much your conversation has developed in the last year. I love watching you change :) I'll be honest, you've been a little bit of a threenager in the last year, but I know it's because you've gone through A LOT of changes, plus you're just trying to figure out everything about how the world works. Here's hoping we're mostly over the major sass and stubbornness.  I love you. I love snuggling with you, tickling you, and laughing with you. I love seeing you learn to be respectful and kind. I love that you can be such a good helper. And I love you even when you drive me crazy -- I love you ALWAYS :) Stats 34.0 pounds (43%) and 3'2.75" (38.75 inches) (30%) You have clothes all the way from 2T to 5T, but 4T s...

accurate depiction of you right now -- always in a dress-up! Dear Ada, You're so big. It's crazy! Sometimes I look over at you and . . . you're just TALL! How did my baby grow so much?? It's been a big 6 months . . . You got a little sister! And you love her so much 😊 You really welcomed her into our family, and I've loved seeing you love and take care of her. However, I'd be lying if I said it was an easy transition! You used to get so much one-on-one time with mama, and now you have to share your whole world with Holly. This has resulted in a lot of wildness from you, and I haven't dealt with it very well. I'm learning more and more that I'm not very patient, but I hope I can learn to be more patient, and I hope you can forgive all the times when I'm not. I love you like crazy, my big girl, but I'm far from perfect. Thanks for continuing to love me even when I lose my cool. I'm glad you'll always be my girl 💗 Stats 31...

Beautiful Ada, This age is quickly becoming my favorite. People talk about "terrible twos" and "threenagers" and I do definitely see moments of crazy, but there's just so much to LOVE! You are talking SO much, you are so sweet and loving, you are really solidifying some of the habits and manners we've been teaching you, you are funny, and you're becoming independent/self-sufficient in so many ways. It never stops blowing my mind how incredible it is to watch you learn and grow. You make me so proud, no matter how big or small your accomplishment! I have to tell you several times a day, "I just love you!" because I do! And I love that you've started saying the same thing to me randomly. I'm forever grateful you're mine, sweet girl! Stats 29.2 pounds (36%) -- You've gained exactly one pound in the last 6 months, which dropped you down percentile-wise (used to be 50ish%) 35.75 (8%) -- You've grown 1-1.25 inches in t...

Oh my sweet Ada Girl, I just don't think I'll ever get over how much I love you. I was telling your dad the other day how sometimes my dad will just look at me with such love and tell me how proud he is of me or something, and how it feels so weird to me -- but then I know I do the exact same thing to you. I'm just obsessed with how stinking cute and smart and wonderful you are, and I thought maybe that would wear off a little bit as you get older, but it hasn't, so I'll probably still feel this way when you're 26, too ;) I'm just so grateful that you're my daughter. I'm so grateful for all the joy you bring to my life! I love you, sweet little lady! Stats 28.2 pounds (50%) -- Sticking right around average weight for your age :) 34.9 inches (27%) -- You've grown just over 1.5 inches in the last 6 months and stuck around the same percentile. We're still doing size 4 diapers, and I kind of never want to potty train. It seems way hard...

For Ada's birthday this year, I wanted to keep things suuuuuper low-key. It was so easy to go overboard last year , that I wanted to avoid that :) So we just invited a few of Ada's friends to meet us at a nearby park to play and eat cake, and that's exactly what we did! We were kinda sad not too many people could make it, since we invited like 10 families, but we were happy to have those who did make it :) Ada mostly just wanted to swing the whole time -- didn't care much about the cake (a school bus because she loves to sing "wheels on the bus") or her friends. Definitely wasn't too interested in photos! 😂 On her actual birthday (the next day), we had a family dinner with my family, so she got to open some presents and see her cousins. We're so grateful for our sweet little 2-year-old! :)