All About Avery

It's been awhile since I've done a real update on Avery, and it's good timing to do one now since she is now FOUR years old!! It does NOT seem like it's been four years since I've been a mom, and haven't worked in an office, and basically my whole life changed overnight ;)

Over the last week, Facebook has been showing me so many memories of pictures I posted 4 years ago, right after Avery was born.



I love seeing her baby photos, but I am loving the chapter of life that we are in right now! 

Avery has matured so much in the last few months, especially since beginning preschool. It's hard to believe that this is the same girl who was terrified of anyone and everything. She absolutely loves going to school, and really enjoys playing with friends. We had her first parent-teacher conference last month, and she is exactly where she is supposed to be, according to her teachers. They said she behaves really well in school, and they really enjoy having her in the class. She still has the occasional "meltdown" at home, but they are starting to get fewer and fewer.

I'm amazed at how much her fine motor skills are improving right now. We bought her some new pajamas for Christmas, and she loves to button the buttons on them (and any buttons that Travis or I wear.) She can zip her jacket now, and we've started working on tying shoes, but we're not there yet. 

She is still such a great big sister to Kendall, and she plays with her so well. It is so nice to watch them play together, and Avery will always go to Kendall if she starts to fuss. Many times she can take care of it before I even get there. She really enjoys making Kendall laugh, and I see a lot of Travis's personality coming through. She also loves to pull Kendall around through the kitchen on her sled. It is so cute, and she is pretty strong! 

Avery loves to tell jokes now, and it is so funny to see what she'll come up with. She works hard to make us laugh. She also enjoys taking pictures now, and being in pictures as well - it was a long phase of trying to "sneak" photos of her...I'm glad that's over with!

I've been attending a MOPS meeting every other Friday since September. (Mothers of PreSchoolers) Avery does a little "MOPPETS class" there with the kids that are 3 and older. It's so nice that I can take her places and she looks forward to playing with the other kids. She tells me some of the things they do, and then asks when we are going back. Since we started going, she has never been shy or scared. We sat with the lady who does MOPPETS at our dinner the other night, and she said that Avery is so sweet with not only all of the kids, but especially with one of the little boys there who has down syndrome. I guess she loves making him laugh, and that was so good to hear. 

She does fabulous at her dance class every week too, and I'm amazed at how well she seems to listen in comparison to the other girls. She is definitely focused, and wants to do well in everything she does. Recently, I have been teaching her the Chicken Dance...don't ask me why I just thought it would be fun. We've also been doing a lot of the Elmo Slide. If you don't know what that is, check it out on You Tube. 

She is starting Learn to Skate group lessons tonight, and I couldn't be more excited. Over the weekend we watched an episode of Sofia the First where they were ice dancing, and I think that she's really looking forward to tonight. 

I love this little girl so much and am so thrilled to be her mom!