Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

It hardly seems possible that a year has past and that Avery is turning ONE!  Maybe it's because our house has been under renovation and we've been preoccupied with that or because we have 3 older kids to keep us busy, but it seems like just the other day that we were bringing Avery home.  Avery is amazing- She is such a joy!  The older kids LOVE her and she just adores them!  Avery has been, yet another, easy going baby.  As a 4th child I suppose she has no other choice!  The only thing that stands out in my mind is that she absolutely REFUSED the bottle until she was 10 months old!  She didn't fuss too much about it though, but rather just turned her head and wouldn't take it.  In fact, she wouldn't drink anything all day long while she was at day care- I even tried sending breast milk in a sippy cup when she was just 5 months old- that didn't work well either!  I guess she's had a stubborn streak from the beginning!  It's fun to watch Avery- we can see a little bit of all the kids in her, yet she is her own person as well.  She is happy, funny, shy, snuggly, loving, energetic, outgoing... the list goes on.  She says Mama, Dada, baba (bottle) and ba (ball), and she shakes her head yes and no appropriately.  She just started taking a few steps on her own last night!  I thought for sure that she'd walk before any of the other kids as she started sitting up on her own the day she turned 4 months old- but that goes to show that Mommy doesn't know everything.  Avery's 1 year well child check isn't for a few weeks so I don't have any stats to share at this time, but I do think she is the most petite of all the kids.  She was able to use her infant car seat until just a few weeks ago... more because I refused to give up the convenience of it, not because she is actually that small!  At times I feel twinges of sadness knowing that Avery is our last baby, especially now that she is on the go, exploring things on her own, taking her first steps-  she is much less dependent on me.  That said, I look forward to being able to do things as a family, like travel and other things, that are simply just too hard to do with 4 kids under age 6!

The song I chose for Avery's video is "Handprints on the Wall" by Kenny Rogers.  "Days go by so quickly, summer turns to fall, seems like only yesterday, that you began to crawl.  So don't be afraid to take that step, I'll catch you when you fall.  I don't mind if you leave behind a few handprints on the wall".  These words remind me that time does go by so quickly.  When I think about how much we've done in the last 6 years it makes me wonder where the time has gone.  The words also reminds me of something that I try to remember everyday... it is the little things in life that matter- they are really the big things, like spending time with my family and enjoying story time with the kids- the everyday stuff, even if it may seem boring or a nuisance at the time- these are the things that matter!

And so Avery, my hope is that we will always be there in your time of need to catch you when you fall- whether it is learning to walk or something much bigger.  Know that you are loved very much and we are so happy that you are in our lives.  Happy Birthday our Little Goose, we love you!