We are in Kansas!!!

We just arrived to Kansas last night...and we are having a blast!

We decided to drive because of gas being so affordable. As we were getting to North Oklahoma, we started seeing some snow patches on the ground. Avery said, "Look Mom! There's sugar everywhere!" It was pretty cute. Spoken like a true Texas girl.

We were able to go see my friend, Audrey and her son, Carson, and family for his first birthday party. I didn't take any pictures because I was still recovering from the long drive and not thinking too clearly.

Today, Ave spent the day with her dad. I got to meet his new girlfriend. She redecorated his house, which used to be- our house. I think I handled it all in all, pretty well. I am happy that her dad is happy-Avery deserves two happy parents.

I have loved spending time with Kristan, Keith and their kids. Jared and Brittany are two kids with BIG personalities and it is fun! Avery LOVES playing with her cousins and I think the feeling is mutual. Jared said last night, "I've never had this much fun with Avery!" She is now at that perfect age where playing with other kids is the best thing ever.

So, I realize I do miss Kansas when I am back here. I got to see my other good friend, Kendra, and she tried to talk me back into moving here as well as little hints from Kristan. I know Texas is where we are meant to be for awhile...I'm just happy to be able to come visit without it being too far away!

Need to take more pictures so that I can post some!

Covering all her bases

The following conversation establishes the fact that my daughter is officially a super smart and savvy 3 year old.

Setting: I am making dinner. Avery is playing with her pictures and letters on the fridge, when I hear:

"Oh, Look Mommy. Its a picture of me and my best friend" while pointing to the picture of her sitting on Santa Claus' lap.

"Oh Yea Ave- Santa Claus is your best friend?"

"No, he's not. Ruth and Caden are my best friend."

"Oh, Ruth and Caden are your best friends?"

"No, they're not. Katelynn's my best friend."

"Oh, Katelynn's your best friend?"

"No....MOMMY is my best friend."

"You are right Avery. But its ok to have more than one best friend."

She's covered all around. You can't go wrong with having many best friends, especially santa or mommy.

The shirt says "Best gift ever"and I could never deny that...

Its still FALL Y'all!

Avery and her Uncle Anthony made some massive leaf piles this weekend. The weather was beautiful and in the low 60s so we were able to play in the leaves for awhile. The Texas leaves are just now starting to fall and change colors.

We also started working on our Christmas baking, although most of our goodies are already gone. Avery loves making sugar cookies, especially rolling out the dough and decorating with frosting. We try to save her cookies just for her-since she enjoys licking her fingers through the process!

AVERY is THREE!

Avery had a great 3rd birthday! We went to the Disney on Ice Show with her best friend, Caden and his mom, Ruth....Then we had a small party. Avery was quite the birthday girl and seemed to have the birthday princess attitude down...Almost like she didn't know what to do with all the attention. For instance, she really did not want to blow out the candle on her birthday cake- I had to coerce her into it. I'm sure her favorite part was opening her presents. Caden really wanted to assist with the opening, which she didn't mind. She is still loving playing with all her presents and likes to remind me of her growing age, saying, "I'm three Mommy...Not a baby." I'm using the "Well, three year olds listen" card and hope that it works for awhile.

I was telling my friend that it is interesting to me that Avery is probably at an age now where she will start to remember things. My first memory is a couple months after I turned 3, stepping onto some steps to see my newborn baby brother, Collin, in the nursery....It makes me even more excited to make fun memories with her but a little more conscious of my parenting skills.

The Terrible Twos went by way too quickly- onto the Terrific Threes.

Feelin the season

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Three perfect years

On the eve of my little girl's third birthday....I have this strong inclination to think back to my life on November 29th, 2oo5. Here is an excerpt from my pregnancy journal on this day....

I was just amazed when I saw your head come out first and then the rest of your body. [Yea, we had a ceiling with mirrors and I had to watch]... I was thinking to myself, where did she come from? You were so big it was incredible that you were inside me all this time. You were so perfect and all I could think about was how blessed I was to be your mom.

Your daddy was crying at the first second of seeing you and could not take his eyes off of you. He went over by you when they weighed you and cleaned you off. The nurses said, "She's got some meat on her bones." I couldn't believe it when they told me you weighed 8 lbs, 10 oz. I was so proud! I kept watching you as they cleaned you off with tears falling down my face. It was the best moment of my life- you are here- a healthy, beautiful little girl and you are mine! ____________________________________________________________________
Three Big Things I Learned from my Three-Year-Old

1. Real love-I am grateful for Avery for opening my eyes. The love I have for her is unselfish, sacrificing, unconditional, and fills my heart with joy. Love is also patient and forgiving. For instance, when a 2 yr old tells you, "Mommy, you're not my friend anymore," its o.k. Give her five minutes to get out her frustration with the world and she'll be coming to find you to deliver the sweetest hug before too long.

2. Faith- in two different powers. First, faith in yourself. Whenever you're not sure if you can do something- you gotta take a big breath, tell yourself you can do it, and then think about what you need to do. Example: You've climbed half-way up the tall caterpillar like the big kid did and now you're scared. You don't know if you should jump down, keep climbing, or cry for help. You can ask for help but don't ever think that you're not capable of doing what you really want to do.

Secondly, faith in Heavenly Father is a major coping skill that makes life so much easier. For instance, I knew a little girl that was having a hard time mastering the art of potty-training. She was doing o.k. at home but at school, there were multiple challenging obstacles that stood in her way. She started saying a prayer before her and her mom left for the day- that she would have a good, dry day.....and it worked-quickly. A perfect example of how our Heavenly Father is aware of our worries and desires- no matter how big or small.

3. Find time to be silly- EVERYDAY. Life is messy and life is hard. You gotta make time to laugh, dance, sing and to do things that make you happy...If you like to find cool sticks and leaves, make awesome art projects, dance in your ballerina costume, be a tickle monster, read the same story twenty times in a row- then by all means, do it! And never stop waking up laughing...(I am so happy you got this from your daddy).

I love you Avery! Thank you for three magical and inspiring years!

Mommy

Oh Christmas Tree!

I never thought I'd be one of those people that could actually put up a Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Growing up, my family, or my mom, was adamantly serious about keeping the two holidays separate. When I was maybe ten, my Nana asked me to play piano songs for a bit while everyone was working on the Thanksgiving meal...I started playing Christmas songs and my mom came over and said something like, "Can we just get through this holiday first?" Not that I blame her....But I became an adult just so I could make my own decisions and I could easily sense Avery's love for this tradition as she has been ooohing and aaaahing the christmas trees at the stores since SEPTEMBER!

So, we got ourselves a cute and little pre-lit Christmas tree. This is the first year I actually had to put one together myself- so I was kinda worried, especially about trying to put this together in front of an excited Avery attempting to assist. Lucky for me, the cheaper the tree-the easier to assemble. I literally had to snap the base together and insert two big pieces and PRESTO- a tree!

Avery loved the decorating of the tree. She kept saying, "Isin't this pretty mommy?" and "This is my Christmas Tree." I let her hang most of the ornaments and the star on top...She was very dedicated to finding the perfect spot each individual ornament- even if that meant our tree is slightly assymetrical...I didn't hang any of my keepsake ornaments like the porcelain ornaments my Grandma Knick made. I have a feeling this girl is going to want to rearrange her tree a time or two and that would just be too risky, even at the top!