Happy 3rd Birthday, Avery! {& 20 questions}

Avery, you are THREE years old today! You're an energetic, talkative, healthy little girl, and you bring so much fun into our house! We're so thankful that you're our daughter.

(Photos courtesy of Allison Jean Photo)

You are hilarious and keep us laughing all the time. Sometimes when we should be mad at you! Here are some recent "Averyisms":

• "I don't like the way you sing, Mommy. Except when you sing at church."
• When we were reading one of your Bible stories, you told me your version of Jonah: "The fish said, 'You don't taste very good' and spit him out."
• One day when we were on a walk, you wanted to ride in front, but I couldn't carry Landon, push the stroller, and walk Meg, so after realizing that your situation was bleak you said, "You could if you were a monster. You would have five hands."
• "I'm kind of a girl, but I don't have boobs. How old will I be when I have boobs?" (Oh my goodness!)  
• "Excuse me! Excuse me! Excuse me!" Your new (polite?) way of interrupting adult conversation.
• You love to play role-reversal where you're the mom and I'm the little girl. Apparently I always talk with my hands on my hips. You even have a special "mom voice." It's entertaining (and sometimes humbling!) to see how you mimic me! 
• "Don't tell me what to do!" Oh, girl. We have some attitude to work on!

You wear mostly 4T clothes and a 9/10 shoe. You're 34 lbs (75%) and 38.75" tall (90 %).

You love to read, and you memorize books really quickly. You know your alphabet and you can count to 33 with help. Without help, you count to 13 before jumping all over the place.

You also LOVE to dance. You start as soon as you hear music. You especially love ballet (or your version of it anyway). You've been doing VBS motions to the songs non-stop for almost a month. You really like princesses and baby dolls. You're so girly! But you can hang with the boys, too. You love to run and play and get dirty outside.

You're VERY independent. One of your favorite phrases is, "I can do it all by myself!" This is usually said in protest when we're intruding on your territory. You like to test the limits and see what you can get away with.

You have such a sweet heart. You're extremely kind to others. Your Sunday School teachers always tell me how you try to make visitors feel welcome and that you are always a helper. I love that about you. You're also really concerned any time people are sad. You give the best hugs. :)

You're happiest when you wake up in the morning. You go to bed around 8pm and get up between 7 and 8. You still nap around 2pm, but you go through phases every now and then that getting you to sleep is a real struggle. You are SO much happier when you nap though, so it's a battle I'm willing to fight! I promise that when you get older, you will miss naps. Enjoy them while you can. :)

Time out is usually the most effective consequence for when you need one. You're pretty tough, so spankings don't really phase you, but you absolutely hate being away from the action, so when we send you to your room for time out, you are just devastated. As soon as we come talk to you and release you from your prison, you are ready to correct your behavior.  

You are an amazing big sister. You adore your little brother, and Landon thinks you're the greatest thing ever! We love watching you play together; you even included him with your friends at the water table at your birthday party. You're so sweet to him, and you tell him you love him almost every day.

You absolutely love your grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. You're so lucky to have so many people who love you! You're a little social butterfly who adores her friends. You talk about them all the time and every day one of your first questions is, "Where are we going today?"

We love seeing your imagination get even bigger as you get older. We're able to have thoughtful conversations with you, and we're looking forward to watching you grow into the precious girl that we know you'll be. Our prayer is that you love Jesus more than anything and that you truly understand what it means to serve Him.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Brand new!

One!

Two!

Three!

In Your Own Words...

{What makes you happy?} Playing with my toys

{What are you really good at?} Painting

{What is your favorite color?} Purple and pink
{What is your favorite toy?} Cars (um, okay. You don't really play with your cars, haha.)
{What is your favorite TV show?} Sesame Street
{What is your favorite thing to eat?} Macaroni

{What is your least favorite thing to eat?} Carrots

{What is your favorite drink?} Milk

{What is your favorite movie?} The Lion King

{What is your favorite game?} Don't Break the Ice
{What is your favorite animal?} Giraffes at the zoo
{What is your favorite song?} Jesus Loves Me
{What is your favorite book?} Curious George
{Who is your best friend?} Landon and Lily
{What is your favorite thing to do outside?} jump on the trampoline
{What is your favorite holiday?} Christmas
{What do you like to take to bed with you at night?} Froggy and biting toy (pink star baby teether; long story)
{What do you and Mommy do together?} play games

{What do you and Dad do together?} go to somebody's house

{Where is your favorite place to go?} to the store

{What do you want to be when you grow up?} a grown up and a ballerina