Happy Birthday, Avery!

Our sweet, baby girl is 4 years old! She got out of the car Sunday morning headed into church and was greeted by Maggie with a "Hey Avery. Happy Birthday"...Avery's response..."I'm 4". Is she proud? Oh yes.

My favorite things about Avery these days -

She loves to play with others, or she can be just as content playing by herself. Most mornings (if we're staying at home) she quickly changes from her nightgown to her princess dress. She has princess shoes that she begs to wear when we're going out. I don't usually let her, but she's insistent that she wears them in the truck, and then she'll change shoes when we get where we're going. Works for me; however she has gotten away with wearing her new Minnie Mouse hot-pink glittery, shiny flats just b/c she "forgot to switch shoes"...how convenient for her. She did talk me into letting her wear them Sunday night to church on her birthday. I told her it was a special treat since it was her bday. She's been going to big church with us on Sunday nights, and she does really well; she definitely knows who "Mr. Steve" is. In addition, Sunday School promotion has taken place and she now attends children's worship. And she's getting ready to start Wednesday night choir. She thinks she gets a treat everytime she does something right or is pleasing; I am probably to blame for this one. The girl has her momma's sweet tooth! She loves to ride in the car with daddy; she thinks she's super cool. Her knew favorite word is "pretend"...let's pretend this or let's pretend that. Her favorite is "let's pretend I'm the mommy". Dance class has begun for this new year, and she still loves it. She knows her routine when it's time for a nap (basically, use the bathroom, turn on your sound machine, close your blinds) but as soon as I say it's time for a nap her words are "don't tell me...I know what to do". Some days I hear her in her room playing and talking during naptime, and she comes and tells me she's done napping. As long as she's not grumpy I don't mind if she skips her nap. She and Parker are learning how to take turns; she tells me "it doesn't matter who goes first, does it?"...hey, she's listening! She likes "enny-menny-miney-mo" and her rendition is pretty funny; she doesn't quite have all the words down. She still calls us in the morning to come get her out of bed; I don't know why she doesn't just get up (she does at naptime), but she'll call out and lay there until we come get her. And if she has to use the bathroom during the middle of the night - despite the fact that the bathroom is two steps away - she calls us to come take her to the potty. She still loves making new friends. She loves to cuddle and give kisses. She loves to be tickled. She helps me so much with Carter. She loves her brothers and is proud of them. She's pretty good at the hitting baseball; daddy is a good pitcher. Our neighbors have Baxter and Sigma (big dogs!) and she talks a big talk always wanting to go see them. But when we get within a few feet of them she screams and runs away! Her new favorite outdoor activity is riding her bike, down the street...the driveway doesn't cut it anymore. She's a little sponge and she's learning, learning, learning!!!

Happy Birthday, Avery. Mommy and Daddy love you very, very much!