Avery Turns 3!

One day late on blogging, our Avery turned 3 yesterday! She was really excited, although a bit overwhelmed when everyone sang to her. I have video of it, I'll post later, she looked like she was going to burst into tears at any second when we sang "Happy Birthday!" When she gets nervous she plays with her fingers, so I could tell she was slightly overwhelmed. Of course, she LOVED her cupcakes and opening gifts. Every gift she opened, she would say "MINE!" She does not want to part or share any of her new toys, which is understandable. She never had an official birthday before! Everything right now is "Mine, mine, mine!"

She has been home almost 8 months. In many ways she has come so far. The ONLY concern we have right now is her language skills. Comparing her to other 3 year olds she is light years behind. BUT, comparing her to where she was 8 months ago, she has improved leaps and bounds. When she arrived here in January, she said not one word. NOTHING. She didn't even speak Creole. She never even made a peep unless she was mad, then she would scream. She was either completely silent or screaming. There was no middle ground. Now, she will talk all day long, but her words are very hard to understand. She'll put words together, like "Look at me!" or "Where's Preston?" It's usually just 2-3 words in a row, and no more. She will tell us when she's hungry, thirsty, has to go potty, etc.

She is ALWAYS smiling. I have never seen a child as happy as she is. In her own way, she is so appreciative of everything. Anything I give her (like a cracker) she says "Thank you, Mom!"

She says "I love you, Mom" at least 20 times a day and her absolute favorite thing to do is cuddle. If I say, "I love you too, Avery!" she says, "Thank you." So sweet.

She loves to be held, loves to be played with, loves to be read to. She shows NO signs of attachment issues (maybe these will show up as she gets older?), except she can be a little overly friendly with strangers. When Mike comes home from work, she yells "Daddy home!" and runs to the door and about plows him over with a huge hug. Basically, she LOVES to be LOVED and LOVES to give LOVE. It really does seem like she is making up for the years she didn't get the love she needed.

She is VERY easy child at home, but of course, around other kids her age she will fight over toys with the best of 'em. She also will copy what other kids do (good or bad) and she can get really hyper around other kids....again, not surprising. She tends to listen to me better than anyone else. When she gets hurt or gets her feelings hurt, she can be very dramatic and carry on for longer than is appropriate. However, she doesn't carry on as long as she did when she first got here.

She loves to push her doll babies in their stroller, brush their hair and feed them, play with her laptop toy, look at books, and carry her blankie around. She also loves to EAT and EAT and EAT. When she first got here she ate NOTHING. For at least a month she would only eat oatmeal and goldfish crackers. NOTHING else. Now she will eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. She can eat more than anyone in this house. I don't know where she puts it all! My boys will only eat a 1/2 sandwich at lunch, and Avery would like 2-3 sandwiches! Her favorite thing to say is "I Hungry!" or "Avery hungry!" She is tall and we are wondering just how tall she is going to be! Which is sort of comical because our boys are below average height. One day....we are picturing Avery looking down on her "big" brothers!

She also loves to tattle-tail on her brothers. She likes to fight with Preston about who gets to sit next to me on the couch. She loves to ride bikes with her brothers and swing at the playground. Her abosolute favorite activies are swimming and putting on everyone else's shoes! She LOVES to go to bed and sleeps like a dream from 7:30pm-7:30am. She sleeps so soundly I think we could throw a party in her room and she wouldn't even flinch.

She doesn't like green beans, iced tea (I am really grasping for something she doesn't like!), milk, and isn't crazy about cookies...but I am sure that will change. Oh, and she does not like going to the doctor! :)

Overall, we could not be happier with how she is doing. Her smile just lights up the room and her positive, upbeat attitude is so amazing given all she has been through!