Avery's 6

I can't believe she's already 6! Watching my kids grow up is such a bitter-sweet experience. I know I have the opportunity to spend forever with Avery, but she will only be 5 once! Out of all 3 of my kids, Avery has the most spunk and the greatest love of being in motion. She loves dancing, singing, playing soccer, roller-blading, monkey bar swinging, swimming-you name, she'll try it. I am hoping that trait doesn't turn out to bite me in the rear when she's a teenager. Last weekend John and I were looking at some old home movies. We found one of Avery at about 18 months dancing around, shaking her little booty, showin' us her moves. The cuteness is overwhelming!! She was a mover and a shaker even then.

Avery is very curious and that usually works out ok. She's the child I wouldn't be surprised to find running around outside naked, coloring on her walls, or playing with the stove just to see how it works. Thankfully she hasn't tried any of those. There was the time she covered her whole room with vaseline though...

I love that Avery's almost always smiling and happy, carefree, and ready to have fun. She requires the least audio stimulation via TV, video games, or computer of my 3. She would rather be outside playing, inside playing, anywhere playing.

I can't get enough of this little girls puffy cheeks and will be sooo sad when she outgrows them. When I tell her about my cheek woes, her response is, "Mommy, I will still be beautiful and you can still puff my cheeks even when I'm big. Look, I can puff yours and you're old". If I could box and sell the way those cute, velvety soft cheeks feel between my fingers along with the joy that pinching them brings me, I would be a rich woman.

The little birthday diva is having a pool party this Saturday with her friends in the backyard. We are going with a luau theme. I picked up the decor and favors today and decided a pinata would be fun. When Avery got home I showed her the party stash and she, of course, thought the pinata was the best part. "Mommy!! You got me a pee-yata! That's so nice!!" Ahhhhh! She's six and she still has a cute word. I will cherish "pee-yatas" for always. We had a little semi-family celebration for her tonight with a small cake and gifts from her siblings. John is away on unavoidable business and Avery was so sad he couldn't be here that she hugged my leg and cried while we sang her happy birthday. She loves her daddy so much!! He sent her flowers and she was tickled pink, but there is just no substitute for the actual Daddy. At 5, there are few good excuses for Daddy missing your 6th bday, even if we aren't celebrating until Saturady.

Avery: "Mommy where's Daddy! Isn't he coming to my birthday???!!!"

Me: "He's in another state, Avery! Arizona is like 20 hours away driving, and 3 on an airplane. Daddy's boss says he has to stay and make his presentation. You don't want Daddy to loose his job right? And anyway, your party isn't until Saturday and he will be home for that AND your Toys R' Us date Friday night."

Avery: "But.....isnt Daddy coming to my birthday?"

I guess I should cherish the few years I have left before she grasps the concepts of space and time.

Oh yeah, listen to the first song on my playlist before you go. I hope all my kids "dance" and I hope yours do as well. Life is too short not to! Enjoy some Avery moments....

Spring Fun

Hey Y'all,

Can you believe it? We've been busy!! During March and April we have had family visit, holiday festivities, the typical run-around-town, and we have added a new family member. Ross and his new wife Laurie visited us during our spring break so it was nice for the kids to be able to get to know their new Grandma. We went to the JFK memorial, the Fossil Rim Safari, the Dallas Temple, and who can resist the Bass Pro Store!! All of us enjoyed spending time with Ross and Laurie and it was such a neat experience to share a temple session with them. Gator, Amy Sue-Beth Joe-Ann, Clementine Begonia, Cleburne Cletus Jr. the 3rd, and Lil'Gipper hope to see Pa Ross and Ma Laurie again soon. In between visit from grandparents, we were thrilled to welcome the VanOrman family into our home for a fun sleep-over. We miss our Kansas friends a ton and love it when they come visit. Seeing how the kids have grown and watching our children enjoy each other so much is always bitter sweet. We were sad to see them go so soon. We love you Karina, BJ and family! After the VanOrmans headed back home to Kansas, my Mom and Dad flew down from CA! We had so much fun! They got to spend Easter here and loved running to and from all the grandkid activities. Our days were spent house hunting-yes that's right folks, house hunting-and what a blessing it would be for our family if they were able to move down to TEXAS!!!! Mom and Dad ended up putting offers down on 2 houses and we are waiting to hear back from the builders...pray for a move friends!!! After living away from them so long, having them close will truly be a miracle in all of our lives. In the afternoons, they got to see Addy play volleyball, Aidyn work his Jiu-Jitsu magic, and Avery dance and play soccer. And you will be surprised by this, but our evening were spent on the train...that's the Chooch train for all you domino fans out there. A visit to the Stevens' home is never complete without a friendly game of chooch to rouse the competitive spirit of our guests. Happy spring everyone!! Enjoy the pix of our new Holland Lop, Fuzzy Lumpkin. You can call him Lumpy.