My Baby is 5....

Dear Avery-
You are 5 years old today! I truly. can’t. believe. it. It seems like it was yesterday when you (all 10lbs 1.5oz of you) were born.

As you start a new year, a few things to remember about you:
-You weigh 45lbs and are about 46in tall.
-For the most part, you wear a size 6 in clothes.
-You still HATE buttons.
-You still LOVE your brother, although you call him “Will” now more than you call him “Bubba”. “Bubba” is usually reserved for when you are tired or when you want something.
-You also still love your Sunshine and she keeps you up reading way past your bedtime every night.
-Your fave food is probably a cheeseburger with ketchup and pickles. You did not get your love of pickles from me.
-You started taking dance this year, both ballet and tap. You really enjoy it and you first recital is coming up soon!
-You are currently taking swim lessons and surprisingly you really like them. Every time I look, you have your face underwater, which is huge!!!
-Your favorite indoor toys are you Barbies. Your favorite thing to do outside is swing on your swing set. And get dirty. You love to get dirty. I do not love for you to get dirty.
-You and I have a lot of fun watching “Say Yes to the Dress” together. You are so funny to listen to as you describe what you like/dislike about each dress.
-As much as you love frilly, poofy dresses, you are most at home in an ill fitting pirate t-shirt and a pair of Will’s hand me down shorts.
-You start kindergarten in a few short months. I have no doubt you will be the belle of the ball.
-You love candy and anything sweet.
-You still don’t like riding in the car and get a headache almost immediately if you try to pass time time by reading a book. I think you suffer from a little car sickness like your daddy.
-You absolutely love to play outside with all the neighborhood kids and you can hang with them…boys or girls, age 8 or age 4. Makes no difference to you.
-You are still very into me……makes for long nights sometimes around bath time when your Daddy is trying to bathe you and not me. But you absolutely adore him to pieces so your whining for me is short-lived and the next thing I know, you and Daddy are cracking up about something. Probably him wearing your pink sparkly hat to get his lunch today!!!

Avery, I love you so much and I am having so much fun watching you grow up. I can’t wait to see what this year brings for you!

Love,
Mommy
Or “Ama” as you call me a lot…..

Eggs, Eggs Everywhere!

Both Will and Avery had their school egg hunts this past week and since I am on my little working hiatus, I was able to go do both.

Avery’s was the first one in the week. My last egg hunt at HMCS…sniff, sniff. NOT!!

 

They do the countdown and they’re off…well, all except these 2. They are too interested in the other class and their hunt! Ha!

Finally she starts hunting! And what a successful hunt it was!

Checking out her loot!

 

Hanging out post hunt with her buddies.

 

After all that running around, it’s time to take a break and have a snack. In addition to the typical kid party fare, there was carrots, celery and hummus. The only one of those that frequents the kid plates in our house is carrots, although I did pay them to try hummus the other day. They didn’t like it…that’s okay, the way I see it, that’s just more for me!!

 

The next day was Will’s egg hunt. His hunt had a lot more eggs! And the eggs all had names written on them so each child could get the same number. It made for a tough hunt for sure!

 

Waiting for the hunt to begin. If you can’t find Will, he’s the one wearing NEON YELLOW. Ha!

 

And they’re off!

 

 

Checking out what he found.

 

A really bad pic of the 2 of us, as he is mid-chew with a Starburst!

April Birthdays continued

In addition to Aunt Greta, Stella and Avery also have April birthdays! A few days ago we did a little celebration for Stella and Avery at Mimi’s house since Mimi will be out of town later in the month.

The Birthday Pug! She turned 9 on the 19th. Stella received some dog treats and 2 stuffed animals. Stella brings a stuffed animal to bed every night so now she has 2 more to choose from!

 

Dessert time!

And what comes after dessert?? Presents!

 

She was super excited about her Pirate Fairy movie. She also got 2 books and some clothes. 

Looking forward to more birthday celebrations for Avery in the next 2 weeks!

Little g’s Birthday!

Little g, aka Aunt Greta, had a birthday a few weeks ago. We had a fun night at Mimi’s house with super yummy scallops courtesy of former chef Uncle Gray. 

Avery loves all her aunts so much…she always talks about how all of them (Aunt Greta, Aunt J, Aunt Liz and “Thethily” aka Cecily) are all going wedding dress shopping with her one day!

Before dinner, Avery found herself a play mate in Aunt Greta. Matthew and I appreciated the break!! 

 

After dinner it was cake time. Aunt Greta always has a willing helper when it comes to cake!

 

And the next best thing to cake is presents!!

Ha, we left one of Aunt Greta’s Christmas presents under the tree this past year and I finally remembered to bring it to her.

 

More presents!

The cutest present of the night!

 

Uncle Gray and sweet Murphy.

Happy, Happy Birthday Aunt Greta!!

Pump It Up

A few weeks ago, Avery asked me to show her how to “pump” her legs and swing. So we went out in the backyard and I showed her a few times. I loved swinging on my swing set as a child and was truly crushed (no pun intended) when our HUGE weeping willow tree fell on top of my swing set during a hurricane and crushed it. I can still see that image in my mind.  Nevertheless, my wonderful father and one of his friends welded it all back together. Swing on!

Anyway, Avery quickly got the hang of pumping her legs and then spent the next several days running to the backyard every afternoon to practice. Before I knew it, she was flying high in the back yard. And boy is she excited. She wants to show EVERYONE how she knows how to “pump”. Not swing, but pump.

So sweet how it is such a simple thing that has her so excited. I guess it should be a lesson to us all!!!

She continues to run to the backyard as soon as we get home in the afternoon so she can swing. She even bypasses the pantry and skips snack, which is AMAZING.

Diamond Time

Time to get back out to the baseball diamond!  Will is playing baseball this spring through the same league he played with in the fall.  Still a little too serious for my liking…Will says if you want to be like the big boys, you’ve got to play with the big boys! I guess so!

His team is the Red Sox and it seems like most of the games and practices have been rained/sleeted out this season but hopefully the sunshine is here to stay.

This past Friday night his team won 19-9, but not before letting the other team get the score 12-9 in the 2nd to last inning.  Will led off the rally top half of that inning with a single and then scored the first of many runs that inning!

Just a few pics from the season so far….only 2 more months to go! Ha!!!

 

Poor Sissy and her chapped, chapped lips! She’s a good sport about being out at the field, as long as I bring lots of snacks.

 

Kinda sorta not officially Assistant Coach Matt

 

 

Avery and another little sister have a lot of fun together. It’s late on Friday (past bedtimes) so we broke out the iPad for a few minutes. Of “Pad of I” as Will likes to call it.

Okay, so that was more than a few pics! Sorry!!

Dancing Days

 

Avery has been taking dance this past year and she really enjoys it. Kudos to Mimi for taking her each week.

I actually took her last week and was able to snap a few pictures.

There are 4 little girls in her class…they are all so funny and sweet. And they are young so no one pays a whole lot of attention!!! 

They are in full dance recital prep mode right now. I can’t wait to see her in her costume all made up doing her 2 routines!

Idol

 

It’s no secret that Will and Avery have always loved each other to pieces. In recent years as Will is growing up (aka becoming too cool for others), it is really Avery who shows most of the affection.

And it’s not just hugs and kisses….it’s finding outgrown clothes and claiming them as her own.  And then fixing her own hair, including the pony tail. Oh and she is wearing a camo shirt (monogrammed of course) as her unseen undershirt.

She came bouncing downstairs last Saturday morning all PROUD of herself. We were pretty proud of her too. I’d be even more proud if she had put on a prettier outfit and had a bow in her hair. In her defense, her pony tail holder did have a big fabric flower on it.