Five on Friday: 5 Things About Avery

In honor of Avery's Third Birthday I thought it would be fun to document the 5 things that come to mind when I think of Avery at this age and the 5 things I don't want to forget when I look back at this moment in time.

1) "A-V-R-Y -that's my name, me smell my name, A-V-R-Y" - Olivia has recently become a big speller of names.  She can spell at the kids names in her class and walks around spelling her own name like its a verse in her favorite song, so of course, monkey see, monkey do, Avery has joined in the spelling fun.  When she sees the letter A on anything, from a street sign to the brand name in my shoes, she thinks she is seeing her name, because she knows it starts with the letter A, but beyond that the letters are basically Greek to her, so when we ask her to spell her name, she rattles it off quickly and usually omits the E, but then goes on to say "that's my name, me smell my name" instead of "me spell my name", its adorable and I smile just thinking about her little voice saying those words.

2) Snacks at 6:30am - the second she wakes up she is talking about food. Usually I get an ear full at bedtime about her tummy not being full, but often times it is just a stall tactic, she isn't hungry, but being that this child isn't a big meal eater, it is likely that some nights she does go to bed hungry and of course then, wakes up starving, craving...wait for it....wait for it...what every 3 year old craves at 6:30am (better than 4:45am, but don't be fooled, the craving was the same at 4:45am as well)...Fruit Snacks, always 2 packages, Peanut Butter Crackers (picture the pre-made packages of 6 peanut butter crackers), Fruit Loops (the entire box, and a big one) and sometimes she craves a rather normal breakfast food, like a Fiber One bar or a Special K Fruit Crisp, but not often, almost always I find empty Fruit Snack wrappers in our bed.

Disney - December 2011

3) Mommy's Girl - I like to think that I have a close relationship with both of my beauties, but when we are talking about physical closeness I think that Avery takes the cake. We joke that if it was possible, she might attempt to crawl back into my womb.  I wouldn't be telling the whole story if I didn't share that at times its exhausting and very frustrating that Brad can't help her do simple things, or that Brad can't hold her when she needs to be held, I walk in after working a full day and I immediately have a toddler on my hip, but when I take a step back and think about how quickly these days go by, I find myself holding her a little tighter and asking her to come sit with me when we are watching TV on the couch, her days of needing her Mommy are likely numbered (in her mind of course, we all know that us gals all need ours Moms, far beyond our youth)

4) Me Do It Myself vs. Mommy Do It - Avery is very torn between being independent and being super duper needy. But not just needy for everyone, needy for Mommy.  And you never know which Avery you are going to get: Little Miss Independent (shout out to Kelly Clarkson) or Little Miss "I can't do a thing for myself, including climb on the potty and tinkle". One minute she is begging you to help her get her socks on, and then next second you are attempting to help her with her shoes and she is swatting them out of your hands screaming "Me Do It Myself". This is likely very driven by her age, but I imagine Avery's light switch changes are a little extreme, heck, it keeps us on our toes. And sometimes she changes her mind, for example, if she asks me to help her get dressed, I help her and then she changes her mind and wants to do it herself, she will proceed to remove all her clothes, stand there naked, scream "Me Do It Myself" and then will dress herself again. But often times the redressing part requires her to examine every single article of clothing in her dresser JUST to make sure she is satisfied with the outlet she is about to place on her body.

5) Brad: "No Running Avery" Avery: "Me hopping, me not running" or "me skipping Daddy, me not running". Her teachers have warned us that she is a rather bright bulb, and this child is very good at pushing those buttons, skirting around the scolding, and a perfect example is when you tell her to stop running, she will quickly respond, grin on her face with "Me skipping, me not running".  Or when you tell her to get ready in the morning, and you find her reading books in Olivia's room..."What are you doing, I thought I told you to get ready?". Avery: "me getting ready...to read books". You teeter between laughter and wanting to wallop her adorable little tush. Most of the time it cracks me up,  she is a witty little girl that Avery Emerson Turner.