One. Then two. Now three. We’ve made it. We’ve made it to three. And boy has it been fun. Challenging, but incredibly rewarding and loaded with love. My Avery Grace, my Doodle, my heart and soul made it to three and my heart swells. This was the year of learning. Learning routine. Learning new things. Learning about more change. Learning about rewards and punishment. But, it was also the year of growth, blending families and solidifying more of her personality.
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
This year miss Avery Grace accomplished a lot… She learned how to sleep in her own bed and bedroom, she learned how to use the potty, she has been learning how to swim and how to ride a bike. My sweet girl has braved fear and “scared” and made it to the other side successfully. She was scared to sleep in her own room for quite some time, I make up it had to do with the raging wind outside her windows and the unfortunate circumstance that her room hears all the downstairs noise. We built a chart and worked hard and struggled through story times and music drowning out the wind and the noise and the fear of the dark and now my sweet little sleeps in her own room through the night. I still believe she needs a bigger bed and some redecoration, but in the grand scheme, she has conquered a big fear. As soon as she was bed trained, we moved her right into potty training. Another chart was built and more stickers were purchased. It was time to move out of diapers and into panties. One weekend, four LONG days, and diapers no more. It was a haze of routine and repetitive conversation. There were moments of break down and moments of struggle and moments of great success. After four days locked in our house in a potty training haze, we ventured out into the light as we were successful in the mommy/Avery effort. There have been accidents along the way, but nothing we cannot learn from & nothing I didn’t expect. Avery immediately moved from potty training to swim lessons. Swim lessons have been incredible. Watching the terror in my Doodle’s eyes on Day 1, to her courage and effort, now she is able to float and swim and float and swim. What progress. And to think, all this learning started with a bike on her 2nd birthday and then a big girl bike from Santa. There have been little learning’s along the way as well; copy-cat-ing, singing the words to songs, learning letters, specifically the letter A and learning how to make chocolate milk. Learning is fun, learning is exciting, learning makes me sad my wee one is growing so fast, but wow, it is so incredible.
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
Miss Avery Grace has a personality that is a conundrum of sorts. She easily sways from love to frustration, from happy to questionable, from inquisitive to irritated and it is so beautiful. I am one proud mama watching it all occur, albeit sometimes frustrated and feeling like a failure. This past year she has developed so much more personality. So much more personality in the way she communicates, in the passions she shares, in her needs and wants and in how she expresses her emotions. She has developed into a wonderful tiny human with so much magic in her little soul. Some of her new personality traits are engaging others in communication: “Let me tell you something”, “Come here”, “Come play with me”… She has a best friend at school and she speaks of her “friends” at home. Her sweet nature is charming. Her personality has bloomed into a more loving girl, she still carries those chill traits of her infancy, paired with all the colors of her rainbow that have developed over the past couple years. She is love and magic and sweet and sassy and quiet and loud and beauty all rolled up into one little Doodle.
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
The Doodle hasn’t changed much in the food department. She is in love with chocolate (Hershey kisses to be clear), icing, chocolate milk, mac & cheese, hot dogs, pb&j and cereal. She loves dressing up like a princess, literally wearing the dress up dresses. She enjoys reading to me and herself. She loves her iPad and this year her top movies & shows include: Brave, Hotel Transylvania, Despicable Me, Cinderella & Sponge Bob. She loves music and dancing. When she dances, she borrows a fedora like hat and prances around the room tipping it off her head. She loves riding her bike to the park, she loves playing independently in her play room and she loves horsing around with her sissies. Doodle now prefers showers to baths, she now prefers flip flops to shoes, she now prefers shorts and leggings to dresses and skirts, she now prefers snacks to meal and she now prefers awake to sleep. Balloons are a favorite always, and many grocery store stops include a balloon purchase. She plays with dolls and colors and runs with wild abandon. Her heart is a heart of gold and when she loves something/someone… It is abundantly clear.
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
And where her likes haven’t changed much, nor have her dislikes. Her dislikes are going to bed, eating fruits or vegetables, eating dinner or any meal for that matter with the family, listening during discipline and doing anything when asked. She has a mind all her own, she has a determination all her own, she has a focus all her own… And boy, does she show her true colors when pushed outside her comfort zone. Avery does not like waking up in the morning and racing out of the house, she is not a huge fan of chaos and I am fairly certain she is not a huge fan of restaurants. She is a free bird, flying her own direction and trying to cage her is the last thing anyone should attempt to do.
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
As her mommy, I have learned this year that her spirit is HUGE, her heart gigantic, her smile genuine, her fears honest, her learning is fast, her joy is contagious and her hugs are calming. I have watched my mini grow and develop and start to communicate so much more, she now tells stories and speaks her mind and shares her thoughts. It is so sweet and honest. It is so unique and bold. I have watched my Doodle start to identify letters, knowing the letter A stands for Avery. She now notices the differences in people; green eyes or brown, blonde hair or grey, their skin color too. She a funny little and a sweet little and a determined little and a moody little.
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
And to you my sweet little, I say this… Thank you, thank you for teaching me so much. You teach me about love daily. You teach me about forgiveness on the regular. You teach me about staying in the moment more and more everyday. You teach me that courage is in your actions and we all contain crazy amounts of it. You teach me that love is felt and shown and expressed. You teach me that slowing down is the key to sanity. And you also show me… You show me so very much about being an incredible person every single day. I love holding you, snuggling you, having your sweet little hand in mine as we walk together. I love giggling with you, whispering with you, playing with you and reading with you. I love kissing your forehead and your feet and your belly and your nose and your toes and your fingers and your cheeks. I love you with my whole heart. God is so very good, so very good to me, he granted me the greatest gift of all, YOU. Thank you for choosing me as your mommy. Thank you for loving me through this learning how to be a mommy thing. Thank you for being sweetly, honestly, beautifully YOU. You my love are incredible and I love you just the way you are… xoxoxo
Love ~ Mommy
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| Photo Credit: http://ytwphotography.com |
Omg.. these pictures are to die!! What a gorgeous girl you have created..gahhh just perfect.