My Baby Girl is Eight!

Eight years ago today, our precious Avery June came into this world.

She is named after her great grandma, June, who is 90 years old. We call her Avery June Bugs. She is incredibly sweet and always ready for a hug and a great snuggler.

Avery continues to love gymnastics. Earlier this week, she gave herself a fat lip twirling too fast around the bars on the school play ground. Poor little thing...her lip was the size of a large marble.

She has mastered may stunts in gymnastics, most of which I don't know the proper names for but what she is most known for is her head stand. Almost every class period, she can stand on her head longer than anyone else in her class. She can do splits in the air, bend her knees, move in a circle, among other things, all while standing on her head.

When Olivia asked her what she wanted for her birthday, Avery told her to "Figure it out for yourself! You should know me well enough by now!"

She may be small and petite but she can be a spitfire and she is not afraid to let you know what she thinks!

She loves giving us gifts on our birthdays. If she thinks of something she wants to get one of her sisters, she just tells me to buy it for them and then she wraps it. Sometimes she is very economical and finds treasures around the house to give as gifts.

This past year just before Lauren's birthday, she asked me to hand her a little vase with a tiny flower in it from the kitchen window. I gave it to her and the next day on Lauren's birthday, Lauren unwrapped this tiny vase, which was placed on it's side in a small box - flower and water included. The cuteness and thoughtfulness of it brought tears to my eyes.

Then for Steve's birthday, she wrapped up a set of his golf balls and tees. Too precious!

Avery is very much a "go with the flow" kind of person. She is so easy to please. She shares a room with her brother and doesn't ever complain about having to share this space with him. May times when I wake her for school in the morning, I find her brother sleeping in bed with her, practically smothering her. She explains that when she hears Samson wake up and call for us, she tells him to jump in bed with her so he doesn't wake us up.

She is my girly girl. She loves to have on nail polish and something in her hair almost all the time. She will brush and brush her hair each morning before school and then on her way out, she pops a clip or barrette in at the last minute, not caring if it goes with her outfit or not.

When we are all gathered in the kitchen, Avery is almost always sitting up on the counter. She even does her homework sitting on the center island!

I love her dearly! I am so lucky and privileged to raise her as my daughter!

Look how our June Bugs has grown over the years!: