A little note to my baby girl

Today is Avery's preschool graduation. I'm very excited about this for many reasons (summer, 2 kids at one school next year, etc.), but as with any change in life, it brings a time for reflection and appreciation. It's so easy to let the days turn to months and the months turn to years and before you realize it, you've lost the details of the days that you thought you would never forget. Today, I am celebrating Avery and the sweet young girl that she has grown up to be. And just get ready because tomorrow I'll be doing the same for Mackenzie who is finishing 2nd grade. A few days later Nathan will be next as we celebrate his 1st birthday. Sheesh, it's a milestone kind of mood around here!

Dear Avery,
Today I want to tell you how proud I am of all that you have accomplished this year. This has been a busy year for you. A year spent with good friends like Kindsey and Jordan.

A year spent with great teachers like Mrs. Donna and Mrs. Michell. A year spent on activities like gymnastics, soccer,

and dance.

A year spent learning how to be a big sister.

A year that ended with you in a cast with a broken arm.

As always, you were so excited to start school again in the fall.


You are such a social butterfly, that I never have to worry about you getting nervous or sad when I drop you off. This is the 4th year you have been at our church's preschool program (the pics are from 1st day @ age 2 and 1st day @ age 4), but this was the year you were top dog - the Pre-K year. We had to get serious about learning upper and lower case alphabet, counting, numbers, sorting, etc. I noticed right away that you are very different from Mackenzie when it comes to school work. You lack confidence in your abilities, but I never doubted that you could learn all that you needed to know by the end of the year. It brings me such joy now to hear you spelling rhyming words like cat, hat, sat, hit, sit, dad, sad, etc. I will continue to pray for your confidence to grow as you enter kindergarten and begin to explore reading. I laughed out loud last week when you told me that you couldn't wait to learn to read because you were going to read "Twilight" one day. Ha! Of course not everything this year was a positive. As you became more confident, you also became more bold and a little more, how shall I put this - SASSY! By the end of the year, you have been getting into trouble at school on a fairly regular basis, mostly because of your mouth and choice of words. We have had many discussions about how to talk to teachers and dare I say even a few spanking sessions and groundings. This will be a prayer for next year as well - that God would develop in you a more respectful spirit to those in authority.

You have always been my little shadow. When I would vacuum the house, you would pretend to vacuum beside me. When I cook, you want to cook. When I would nurse Nathan, you would get a baby doll and pretend to nurse. When I would do my "work" on the computer, you would do your "work" with a coloring book right beside me. You have spent your days off of school running with me to grocery stores, craft stores (not Hobby Lobby again!), dr's offices, beauty salons, and the dreaded elementary school pick-up line in addition to entertaining a little brother and doing the helpful chores like fetching diapers and wipes and burp cloths. Some of my favorite times were watching the Amazing Race with you every Monday and making Pinkalicious cupcakes to go with your favorite book.

I will miss my little shadow next year, but I know I have been blessed beyond measure to have had time at home with you while you were little. I don't take a single moment for granted and can't wait to see all that you accomplish next year!

Love always, Mom