And it's a wrap.......

Thank goodness birthdays only come once a year, and, luckily, our girls' birthdays are six months apart. The next couple posts are a virtual picture parade documenting Avery's birthday celebration that seemed to span over three whole days.

Thanks to all of you that made Avery's birthday so special! I know she felt very, very loved!

Birthday Bonaza

Birthday breakfast

A birthday cheer

Singing Ave "Happy Birthday!"

Ave giving Ro a "thank you kiss!" for the baseball mitt

Modeling her new "A" necklace

.....and the scooter!

Me and Ave

Taking the scooter out for a spin

And, "I'm a Cubbie!" and then she dropped the ball......

Rainforest Cafe

Birthday sundae

Sharing some of her birthday sundae with RoMe and Ro

Dan and Ave

Happy Birthday Avery!

Dear Avery,

Happy Birthday! Today you are four-years-old. Wow. I simply can’t believe it.

Four years ago you JOLTED our world, and we didn’t know it then, BUT WE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. You father and I were two self-centered-spry-career-hyped-twenty-somethings (with cash) turned family-oriented-coupon-clipping-fat-bottom-tired-movie-renting-pizza-eating-slugs. To say you have taken our world by storm would be a MAJOR UNDERSTATEMENT. You jolted us then, and you jolt us now, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

You are spunky, sassy, funny, silly, happy, and passionate. Your Tot Rock teacher described you as “memorable” and that really captures who you are. You are remarkably memorable. And, you can be incredibly sweet. You are quick to tell people you love them, quick to take a hand, and quick to offer a hug. And, you are totally and utterly fearless, and I love that about you.

You are, and will always be, so special to me. I love you.

Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mom

Independent

No, we’re not celebrating the 4th of July (yet); rather, we’re celebrating Avery. Tomorrow is Avery’s fourth birthday, and she is our “Miss Independent.”

If you’ve engaged with Avery recently than you’ve certainly heard some of her frequently used expressions: “No, just me!” “I can do it!” "I don't need any help!" or some form of those phrases, “I can do it all by myself!” “Just me, not Ro!” She’s even informed us that she’ll be blowing out her birthday candles by herself, not Ro. Whoa to Ro if she even steps near Avery’s birthday cake. Stay tuned. This could get interesting.

Oh, and if you happen to be at Old Navy and see this t-shirt in a girls size small please pick it up for me. I'll pay you double.

Father-Daughter

Don't mind the food in Romey's mouth, instead, notice the way she is looking at Dan. I just love this picture and had to share it.

Morton Arboretum

A friend once described the Morton Arboretum as an "outdoor children's museum" and I couldn't agree more. The girls loved exploring and doing all kinds of cool things!

Ave in a little log cabin.

Romey playing a flower xylophone.

Sliding.....

Avery and Lea (a terribly good sport) navigating their way through a pond filled with tadpoles (really neat since Ave had just seen a Curious George episode about tadpoles, and seeing them in person was a fun real-life application).

Naturally, Avery wanted to touch.

And, a whole lot of bridge-type climbing, and climbing, and climbing......

Pointer Sister

Romey isn’t saying much yet, but man, can that girl point. I’ve never seen someone point with such fervor or enthusiasm. Romey’s whole body “points” toward what she wants, and her little face contorts with such urgency, and frustration.

Ro and I had a moment today where she was maddeningly pointing, and I kept trying to bring her what she wanted but missed the mark three times solid. Finally I said, “Look, if you can’t articulate what you want, and instead just point, you’re just going to get something from that general direction. If you want what you want you’re going to have to ask for it. So ask. I might just give it to you.”

Note: This is all in good fun. We’re working with her and know that she can’t point her way through life.

Gift

Dan and I always knew we wanted two kids. We weren’t sure what God had planned for us, but thought we’d try for two kids. Six months after Avery's first birthday we learned that I was pregnant. Sadly, we lost that pregnancy, but then, soon after, learned that I was pregnant again.

The third round of pregnancy was difficult for me, as I was acutely aware that my pregnancy was totally, utterly out of my control. Sure, I could do my part, but, ultimately, God’s hand would determine the outcome.

And the outcome was Romey. Oh, Romey. If you haven’t met her you just really can’t fully know what a sweet joy this kid is. I love Avery and Romey so differently, and yet, so similarly. Avery was our greatest surprise (and still surprises us on a daily basis), and Romey was our most hoped for.

And I want to explain the “hoped for” part because it doesn’t mean that Romey was more wanted. Moreso, it means that we didn’t know if our desire for another child aligned with God’s plan for us. And so we hoped for Romey.

And so you’ll understand why I love the picture above. I love that the holding hands thing lasted for a nano-second. I love that you can see both girls’ spunk in their facial expressions. I love that I can come up with hundreds of captions for this picture, one of which goes, “You better hurry up Mom, cause we’re about to cat fight!”

I love these girls and I’m so glad they have one another. They are a gift to us, but also to each other (whether they realize it or not).