Coming of Age

Pin It The age of twelve is a coming of age.  In our culture, it's when a girl transitions into a young woman.  I don't think I can say "it's hard to believe my first born is twelve" or "I can't believe I'm old enough to have a twelve-year-old" because in all actuality we are old (ha!) and a lot of wonderful things have happened since that perfect day twelve years ago.  I suppose it IS hard to believe how fast time flies.  It really does seem like yesterday that we were anticipating the birth of our first baby, had looked forward to becoming parents for a long while, it was a blissful stage of life.  I had an ideal pregnancy with Averie, was a bit sick in the beginning, but ran til the end, and worked at a job I loved.  We felt prepared (are any of us ever really prepared?) in most every way, from our loving marriage to a sweet feminine nursery to bring her home to.

  (The day we brought her home)

She was truly a beautiful baby, I had never seen anything this gorgeous.  She looked familiar to me, had my eyes, her Daddy's long arms and legs, flawless skin, and smelled delicious. 

She was super independent from the beginning and never has "needed her mama."  At first, it was confusing to me because I was so smitten and attached by her, the only time I could snuggle with her was if she wanted to nurse.  The rest of the time, she was bouncing around and figuring things out on her own.  This leads me to my first favorite thing I love about her:  

1) Her Independence.  Figuratively, she march's to the beat of her own drum and only looks back to see if we're there.  

2)  Probably my favorite of the favorite things about Averie is her free spirit.  She's the opposite of rigid, and you just have to be around her for a few minutes to witness her free spirited nature.  It's manifested in the way she moves, talks, laughs, eats, plays, dresses, and dances.  I love this most because it is different than me and I admire her for it.  This free spirit of hers was God-given, from day one.  She's not restricted by others' opinions and not weighed down by the little things in life.

3)  I love her excitement for anything and everything!  She has a zest for life that is rare because she doesn't have to try or make the choice to be excited.  Whatever emotion she is feeling at the time is felt to the 100th degree.  

4)  She is super dang funny.  In a very witty sort-of-way.  She makes adults and teachers laugh for her state-the-obvious-yet-say-it-in-a-hilarious-one-liner sense of humor.  Anyone who knows her well knows that she has some pretty funny things to say swirling around in that head of hers.  

5) She loves her Daddy and she is the apple of his eye.  They get each other.  She has always been interested in his interests and loves learning from him.  

6)  She is fearless.  A thrill-seeker for sure.  She will go on any amusement park ride the grown men will go on.  I love that she is willing to try new things and doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about what may happen.  Adventure is her middle name. 

7)  I love her beautiful long legs.  Her legs are almost as long as mine!  

8)  She has always been so creative.  When it was just her and Kempton, their imaginations were in full swing, and she has continued to lead creativity in our family.  It cannot be contained.  

9)  I love her love of learning.  Ever since she's been little, it's been so fun to teach her new things because she understands so quickly!  She is super bright, learning comes easily to her, and she enjoys it.  She's a veracious reader, is a math whiz, and retains information like a sponge.  Her memory is sharp.   But she is humble about it thank goodness.  I've always worried it would get to her head, but she never has.  

10)  She's a good example to her siblings, helping them try new things, get out of their comfort zone, do well in school, respect authority, and have their own opinions.  

11)  She has a great sense of style, but doesn't care too much about how she looks.  She's starting to enjoy girly and feminine things, but has never been one to overthink her appearance.  LOVE this! 

 12)  Her big smile.  She has a naturally "turned up" smile as we call it.  She always looks happy on her face (unless her eyes are being sassy haha) because of her big smile.  

I am so very proud to call Averie my daughter, and I'm looking forward to the woman she becomes.  No matter what she does, she's going to be amazing!!  I love you my first born!