Ashley Dear

Ashley is a lot of fun.  While many girls love baby dolls, Ashley can't stand them. She can barely even tolerate looking at a baby doll.  In fact, she balked in a major way when I made a comment to her last week about how maybe someday she will have her own babies.

 

"Blech!" Ashley shuddered with distaste, "I don't want to ever have any babies!"

I laughed at her insistence.  Later she changed her mind and decided that if she "has a baby just like James and names him James, that would be all right."

 

 

 But Ashley loooooooooves stuffed animals.  She has quite a collection.  Sometimes I wonder where they all came from, because we do not make buying them a habit.  However, since they are about the only toys she ever plays with, I don't mind too much.  Her preferred animals are cats, horses, and unicorns. 

 

 



 (Ashley set up the animals and posed just so I could photograph it all)

Ashley's preschool class just did a gift exchange. Ashley helped me pick out a delicate little plastic tea set, which we wrapped in silver paper with an enormous purple butterfly adorning the front. Unfortunately, she was sick on the day of the class party, but her teacher sent along the present one of the girls bought for her.

 

The box was very large, and Ashley was excited to open it at home. As soon as she tore the wrapping paper away, her face fell. It was a baby doll and stroller. "Oh, I just really don't like baby dolls," she said sadly. All of that anticipation for a gift she truly could never imagine using.

 

But it did cause us to have a good lesson on finding something nice to say about a gift someone gives you, and I felt grateful that she hadn't opened this in front of the person who sent it to her.

Ashley also looooooves picnics and tea parties.  She often sets up a picnic for the two of us to share.  One day I just finished a large salad for lunch when Ashley announced that she had a surprise for me.  When I opened my eyes in the living room, I saw a spread of sandwiches and fruit that Ashley worked diligently to prepare.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was full, so I had a second lunch that day.  We did not make it through all three oranges she peeled and the four apples she washed, but we tried!

We are working on developing good social skills.  Ashley prefers relaxing at home without too much pressure from social interactions, so school is somewhat of a challenge for her.  Sometimes church is as well.  This past Sunday, Ashley found me immediately after she was done in primary and begged to go home.  Just then, a friend of hers from her class found Ashley and started to talk to her.  It was too much for Ashley to bear, so she plugged her ears, closed her eyes, and turned away.  I had to pull her hands off and compel her as kindly as I could to give the friend a very reluctant greeting.  Fortunately Ashley's friend and her mom were understanding and there were no hurt feelings.

Again, we had cause to have a good lesson about social interactions when we were home and relaxed.  Ashley is not at all mean-spirited; she is actually quite sensitive and empathetic.  But since sometimes she feels an overwhelming need to shut out stressful situations, we are working on positive reactions so people don't misunderstand her intentions.  Ashley and I agreed on a goal for next week.

I really love my Ashley.  I love that she is a little quirky and beats some of the typical girly stereotypes.  I love that she is passionate about horses and cats and drawing, and that she loves wearing dresses and tights, and that she also loves fighting and racing and building and spiderman and riding her bike like the wind, and making "no boys allowed" signs to post all over the house.