Ashtyn at Church

Ashtyn loves going to church. She gets really excited when I tell her it's church day, which I think is pretty cute.

For her, it all starts when we get out of the car in the parking lot. She loves it because she can go "walking" (her absolute favorite thing), holding Mom's finger with one hand and Dad's finger with her other hand. We walk into the sacrament room and over to our bench. Inevitably, she tries to walk away from the bench and she throws a mini fit about having to sit.

Once we're seated, she looks at the program. She loves pictures of temples and Jesus, so the program is fun for her. She also loves identifying the letters that she knows (like W and H). She'll sit and read it, sometimes for quite awhile.

She's really good during sacrament, usually (for a less-than-18-month). More and more, she'll sit between Ben and I on the bench. She still likes to stand up, turn around, and look at everyone behind us. When there's a baby behind us, she'll wave and say hi, sometimes saying "hi Thomas!" (her baby cousin's name is Thomas). She also will continue throughout the meeting to get down, saying "walking!"

During the sacrament, she loves to watch for the bread and water to come and then take the sacrament (of course). She signs bread and water and as soon as she's had her's, she asks for more. I usually give her her sippy cup of water right after.

During the hymns, she's started wanting her own hymnbook. She'll sit next to me with the book open on her lap and "sing" with us, flipping through the pages. She loves the hymn books, probably because we wouldn't let her have them when she was younger and going through her rip every page phase.

Ashtyn loves prayers. She thinks folding her arms is the greatest thing ever. She'll look up on the stand and see everyone's eyes closed, saying "shhhh" (that's what she does when anyone is "sleeping"). I think it's so cute that she loves prayers so much.

Keeping her entertained during sacrament is a job, but it's not the exhausting part. She's really good through the sacrament and then we have snacks, coloring, books, and toys that keep her quiet and occupied.

After sacrament, we go to Sunday school. Ashtyn is so close to being old enough for nursery, but isn't quite there yet. Ben and I are both really ready for that transition to come.

Ashtyn loves walking through the halls. I usually make a bathroom stop (because I'm pregnant) and Ashtyn loves going into the bathroom with me. Right now, Ben and I sit a chair apart in Sunday school and the chair in the middle is Ashtyn's. She spends most of her time on the floor, coloring and eating snacks and trying to get out to run around. We try our hardest to keep her quiet, occupied, and by us. By the time Relief Society comes around, I usually let her loose in the room because it's too exhausting to keep her cooped up for three hours.

Ashtyn loves seeing all the pictures of Jesus and all the flowers. She loves the music ("mekik") and prayers. She loves that we let her walk from class to class and she loves the attention she gets from everyone (and believe me, she gets LOTS). She simply loves church and I love that, even if it's a lot more work with such a young child.