AVERY 7.75 YEARS OLD

Dear Avery,

You're 7 and 3/4 years old and nearly 4'7". It's so strange to 'measure' you with inches, pounds, and now the world has expanded measurement to test scores and athletic team levels. None of these measurements come even close to measuring humans, yet we all do it. It's getting increasingly real how important these measurements are becoming yet Mama and I are still truly measuring you by your kindness, respect for others, listening, openness to learning, etc. You can have all the high achieving marks readily accepted by the world but if you're a jerk it all goes out the window. We will continue to stress being a good human. The rest should follow.

As I looked back through my photos from July- September the quantity and focus looked a lot different from 2020 and 2019. In 2020, due to COVID the word stunk even more. In 2019, we were living our best lives prior to COVID. This year, Mama and I were vaccinated during this time but we were still waiting for a vaccination safe for kids 5 years and older. We're hoping this comes by the end of the year.

Kicking of July we took a trip the The Wilds and the Columbus Zoo with Uncle Chaddy, Uncle B, Lincoln, and Cora. You have such a strong love for animals so we paid a little extra for the "off road" tour at The Wilds. The pure joy on your face, squeals of delight, and play-by-play recaps at 100 words a second were priceless.

The Wilds are a couple hours west of Columbus. It's hundreds of acres of open area for animals. You've been watching a somewhat reality show on TV about The Wilds and the Columbus Zoo, so this trip was like TV coming to life for you. You were on cloud 9 at The Wilds. The photo below on the left was your perma-smile the whole time. Seeing this smile was the highlight of my entire trip.

Riding around in the open air safari truck with one of the guys from the show as a tour guide was so cool to you. You forget as a parent that you've had few experiences being in a moving vehicle with no windows and not need to wear a seatbelt! You felt like a rebel. You also had never had multiple giraffes stick their head in your vehicle. The giraffes were SO COOL! I was in as much awe as you. I'd never been this close to a giraffe and they were truly majestic. They loved the romaine lettuce you were feeding them. :)

After The Wilds we joined Uncle Chaddy and his family at the Columbus Zoo. We shared an AirBnB place which is so much more fun than a hotel! You had a blast running up and down the paths looking at exhibits together. I'm sure the zoo felt like a giant wonderland to all of you.

Seeing one of the cheetahs from the show was so exciting for you. You are all about cheetahs. Sitting this close to the cheetah and then taking a photo together was pretty awesome. As soon as I took the photo you wanted to check it to make sure you both looked good. LOL

Like an relationship, it's not always rainbows and unicorns, but it was pretty sweet seeing you and Lincoln's relationship growing. Spending this much time together can really accelerate relationships. So sweet.

What wasn't sweet was how I felt after this ride. Mom doesn't do circles. This ride does fast circles + allows you to steer the bird via the tail. You really liked to steer the bird...like a lot. Let this blog document the intense love Mom has for you even stepping into this damn bird. I knew I was going down following this ride. Like any good parent, I grinned and beared it during the ride, pretending to have the time of my life. Then promptly exiting the ride to go on a walk and nurce my wounds alone. Nurse my sick, sic stomach while texting Mama, "I don't think I'm going to make it." I literally sat on a bench in the middle of the park watching life pass me buy wondering when my stomach would return to normal. LOL

These are the required awkward cousin shots your parents require you take that no one ever looks at again and definitely doesn't print, why? Because in the moment you feel like you're documenting something special but in the end we all end up using the group shot for anything print-worthy. Well not his time friends, I documented this awkwardness right here, right now. You're welcome.

Maybe my favorite part of any getaway is seeing you and Mama connecting in fun ways, beyond the day-to-day routine of life. Which by the way, Mama rules this but in these adventure moments you get to see the silly Mama, the curious Mama, and even more of the Mama that loves you to death.

We were able to connect with the Marples, family friends who moved to the Columbus area about 5 years ago. It's crazy how time flies. It was so good to see them IRL versus mostly social media and the Naperville Olympics. Rarely does the "meet up" with people work but we made it work. So good to see them!

This photo may just be my favorite photo from our trip. The little beads of sweat on your face from running around the zoo, the freckles coming out, and the smiles on all of our faces. You can fake those things. They are the exclamation marks of good times. *melty*

This photo captures that moment when you're in love with that souvenir and in that moment it represents all your memories from the trip. In this case, Suevana represents The Wilds and a crazy ostrich you met there. 

Just before driving home we were able to wrangle all of three of you for a final photo. This is actually the only photo we have of all three of you from the trip! LOL Crazy kids!

POOL

The neighborhood pool continues to be a great place to meet up with friends. It's been crazy to see your swimming skills grow to the point where I know you're fine wherever you're swimming, shallow or the pool well. As a parent, that's a huge relief. As a kid, you're totally digging the feeling of independence within the greater pool area. I love that you can swim, play, eat tons of treats at the concession stand, and you're having fun and you're safe. Hanging out at the pool are some of my favorite childhood memories. Uncle Chaddy and I spent a lot of time at the pool with Grammy.

I had one of those, "I might be my parents moment," when I subbed in the pool's adult volleyball league. Seeing you run around while I was playing was surreal. I was like, "wait a minute, just yesterday I remember running around at my dad's softball league," and now you're running around my game.

It's these goggle pics that really give me all the feels. The moment when you see some of your friends across the pool or they just walk into the pool area and all of you squeal is so great!

10TH ANNUAL NAPERVILLE OLYMPICS

Your role in the Naperville Olympics has elevated to assistant operations manager. You enjoyed helping create the gold medals for the events this year...mostly because you go to spray paint!

This was our first Olympics at the new house. Notice the lovely missing window on the second floor as our renovation project was still in progress! The more level backyard worked better for most of the events and the shade trees were helpful too. While we missed our old patio, for this transition year everything worked out just fine! ;-)

RENOVATIONS

Speaking of renovations, here's a bit of an update on the progress: A lot of progress was made but honestly I'm over it. I can't for all the workers to be gone and the work to be done. We're getting there. The roof was ripped off and replaced. Roofs are never sexy but they are necessary. We had both layers removed and a new roof installed. They also replaced the skylights. Love the natural light in this house.

The work on the stairway continues...who knew how specialized it was. We removed the honey stained, curly railings and replaced with railings to code that were lighter stained to match the floor. Then we squared off the end posts too. Next up they can add the wrought iron spindles. I'm most excited for this finishing touch. The stair well is really coming along! 

As the work in our bathroom was wrapping up, they were able to replace our carpet too. We  were so excited to replace this darker brown carpet. The new, lighter carpet with a thicker pad really modernizes the room. We're still waiting for all of this to be done so our furniture can be delivered.

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY - BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

For Jim's 50th birthday we toured Buffalo Trace Distillery. While I'm biased because I work there, it's hands down the most beautiful distillery. Many views from around the distillery are just draw dropping and the smell in the air is enough to get you to linger for no apparent reason. We were fortunate enough to experience a barrel pick. I had never had this experience so it was special to share the experience with people who really love bourbon and especially the bourbons from BTD.

Picking THE group's barrel from the four barrels we sampled and then autographing the barrel was a very memorable experience. After our barrel is bottled and shipped to Naperville, the barrel will fly to Mexico to hold some Corazon tequila for about 18 months. Then the same group will make the pilgrimage to sample the tequila and take a tour. I can't wait to see the agave plants! Given most of my job is understanding Spirits sales, why consumers are doing what they're doing, and what consumers will want next, it was a good empathy exercise as I walked in consumers' shoes. It was a good reminder of how special the Buffalo Trace Distillery experience is and all the ways we can continue to increase the "X" factor.

We were pretty proud of our barrel. You would have thought it was a celebrity. Well in our minds is was! Speaking of celebrities, we ran into THE FREDDIE, a third generation tour guide. He's a pretty big deal around BTD.

This trip wouldn't have been possible without Aunt Patti and Uncle Kevin spending the weekend with you. We're 100% positive you had just as much, if not more, fun as we did on our BTD trip. Knowing that, always puts Mama and I at ease. 

FRIENDS

While the world doesn't feel "back to normal" yet, friends have helped the summer feel more normal. Some of our friend time started as a simple invite that's turned into a summer tradition like the Air & Water show with Lisa.

Most of the time it was simple times in the backyard playing dress up, swimming, bouncing on the trampoline, or scootering to the local restaurant for a Sunday dinner on a last minute text to friends.

Walking to Bottoms Up for a dinner on the patio may be one of my favorite ways to try to extend the weekend and keep the Scaries at bay. Now that all three of you can make it on your scooters it's a lot easier. :)

You've also met new friends in our neighbors behind our house too. They have a couple younger girls, one is more of a dare devil and the other more quirky and laid back. Their personalities are perfect for you depending on your mood.

Rachel and Corey are always up for some pool time and dress up. On this particular occasion Rachel spent a good amount of time on your hair so you both had to come down to model the 'do.

Kid friends are great but adult friends are even better! An adult date night with great conversation, drinks, and food can be restorative...helps you realize we're all in this together.

If a regular date night is restorative, we got really crazy for Mama's birthday! Covid has sucked the life out of a lot of celebrations in some obvious ways and in other less obvious ways. Given the cases were down and we were vaccinated, we splurged for a celebration in the city. The reality is we haven't done much by way of trips/vacations since covid so why not splurge a little?

So we rented a limo and went downtown to STK for a nice dinner. No kids interrupting. No tending to kids' needs. No offense. It was nice to have adult time. However, you, Hayden, and Ella were mesmerized by the limo and enjoyed exploring the car before we left.

Inside it felt a bit over the top, but we didn't care. It was nice to have someone else drive and pre-game...for a nice dinner. Yes, we did that. Something about being in the back of a limo no matter the date or time makes you feel carefree. We needed that. 

Overall it was a nice way to celebrate Mama's 45th birthday. Yes, we still had to wear masks walking to the table and the bathroom. Yes, covid was still impacting lives but on this night, it felt the most normal in a long time.

I was also able to reconnect with the Drohans in Arizona! The Drohans lived across the street from us on Clyde for a few years and loved watching you grow up. I had a business trip to AZ and was luckily able to catch dinner with them.

SPORTS

If friends kept us going during this time, sports was a very close second place! Your experience at M14 continued and we're excited because you continue to be into basketball. You intensely listen to the coaches' instructions and I love watching you learn the 'norms' of a new sport. And that headband will forever make me smile. *melty*

You also tried a volleyball camp with a few friends. So far you enjoyed volleyball but still rank basketball and soccer about volleyball. I think you like how you can attack and go get the ball in the other sports versus reacting in volleyball. It's always fun to see you try to new sports. We're simply stressing listening, learning, and getting better each day. We're still wearing masks everywhere. I'm so proud of resilient you've been with all this masking.

You continue to rank soccer #1. We've enjoyed meeting more families through Galaxy and we're proud that you've continued to learn and improve your skills. It was a big learning curve from park district to Galaxy. You were frustrated early but accepted the challenge. You're doing so great and have made so many good friends!

I love how your team really is a team. You hang together and coach each other on positioning. You're a team of players versus a bunch of girls who show up for soccer...it was a noticeable shift. It's fun to see your little posse forming.

Sometimes I see you on the pitch (I said it! Thanks Ted Lasso) and I can't believe you're our kid. We love watching you compete. You're taking ownership of your game and it's inspiring.

This team photo at one of the tournaments is one of my favorites. You guys look like the Little Rascals. :)

There's something so innocent about soccer practices until sunset...takes you right back to your childhood when you'd play forever with no sense of time.

Soccer also brought us fun opportunities. We went to a Chicago Stars game with the team. The weather was gorgeous and the soccer was great. As always, you really enjoyed the concession stand. 

It's always fun with family and friends come to your games too. Natalie and Katie met us for a game and dinner. Such a fun Sunday afternoon.

We also watched the Naperville North boys play Central with the Galaxy team. Again, I think the concession stand was the favorite but you were very excited to cheer for North since the others were cheering for Central, you know North's coaches, and Mama works at North.

When North won you couldn't wait to wear your Naperville North jacket to school the next day. LOL

SCHOOL

It is really hard to believe you're going into 2nd grade. It's also tough to stomach that Covid started at the end of your Kindergarten year and is still a part of our lives.

Your reading has exploded! You've pushed that phase where you're learning so many words and sounding them out that is can be exhausting and now you're into the fun part of reading where you can read and comprehend pretty quickly. It's been fun to have you read to us as you're changing up your cadence and voices to bring the story and characters to life. You accepted the challenge of reading 50 books for $30 over the Summer. Nice job!

The 2nd grade preview day was fun. You were basically squealing with excitement with random outbursts in anticipation of this preview as we walked to school. Here you are checking out your desk and then you met Mrs.Feightner, your 2nd grade teacher. You were so excited to experience preview day with Addie and Rachel.

It's been so fun watching you three grow up together. Here you look like you're posing for a 90's CD cover but never mind you'll never know what that reference means. LOL

Firsts and Lasts always get me. Something about the promise of a first day of school always takes my breath away. Your excitement and lack of nerves inspires me! Each first day of school I feel like I'm sending you out into the world for the first time again...I'm not sure what grade this will ever change...maybe it won't. Maybe for the rest of my life at every life milestone I'll always feel this feeling of peacefully letting you go on your own journey.

It's the same feeling when you wait in your line to enter the building as a new 2nd grader. This little wave gets me every time...it's the wave that shows your excitement and also lets me know that you know that I'm here for you and you're good to start this adventure. :) I love that you're confident to go on these adventures without angst or tears. That makes me proud.

Some days we walk to school and I look over at you and can't believe how grown-up you look. I think it's the blue light glasses sometimes and other times it's your own style that makes you look more like a middle-schooler. Your fashion is way ahead of mine at your age!

It's often what I catch in my peripheral view that catches my attention...them moments you're literally walking by. I love our walks to school. I love how you talk a mile a minute and tell me everything that you're excited about for the day, concerns, and questions...something about walking in the early morning sun together that just let's the conversation flow.

The photo on the left below was "picture day." You picked out your outfit and you were so proud of your jean vest from Aunt Patti. Then one morning Mama had a late start for school and she joined us for our school walk! We were so happy!

Then it happened...another growing up moment...you and Hayden walked home all by yourself one Friday after school!! I'm not sure how the whole walk went down but this is how I caught you guys walking up to the house. LOL You were pretty proud of yourselves!

Then you launched into a little youtube time followed by trampoline madness while I finished up calls and work. You're getting really close to walking to and from school by yourself. I'm thinking next year you could handle without disrupting my end of day work schedule. ;)

LABOR DAY

Labor Day weekend is always the last big weekend at the cottage. I love this weekend as a transition into the school year. We've started school but we're not in the throws of it yet, the routine isn't solidified and then we have one more hurrah at the lake to pretend like school hasn't started.

There's something about being on the water that's always so relaxing even if we just anchor it, swim, eat, and play music. I love boat rides!!

Of course we had to get a little tubing time in too! You and Mama tore up the lake. Watching you both makes me laugh so hard. Cousin Regan got a little tubing action too. So much fun!

It always feels like time goes a little slower on the lake. Conversations are a little better. The sun feels a little warmer. And overall, you feel a little untouchable, even with a cell phone still on the boat...everything feels optional in those moments.

Uncle Kevin bough a new smokeless fire pit so we had to check it out with some smores. This was a bit of a rare treat so we seized it! You definitely love marshmallows, toasted or not, they're going down the hatch by the bunches.

Tank is getting better at the cottage. For the most part he stays out of the way, but he often feels overwhelmed by all the people coming and going until they all settle. So many people to supervise and so little time!

GROWTH

We have officially transitioned from us reading you bed time stories to you reading to us. We have remained squarely in the "toots join us for story time" phase. LOL I mean how, something about lying horizontal and relaxing really lets them flow, hence the laughter in the photo below.

Also on September 15, 2021, you received braces to close the gaps between your teeth created purposely with the expander. You were such a champ getting your braces! I mean no whining, no nothing. You amaze me how you just roll with it and keep on going. You were so excited to show your friends at MsKathie's house! My heart sunk a little when I first saw you with your braces...suddenly you felt like a middle-schooler. I'm not ready for middle school!! :)

Just as you're reading so much more, you're also writing significantly more. Check out this birthday card you made for Mama. You combined words and visuals. I loved it. Sometimes we catch you copying text from books on to paper too...it's like you're practicing writing and writing stories. You're also desperate to learn cursive and we see some creative "cursive" writing especially when you sign your name. ;-)

Mama and I are also getting back into the swing of having more regular date nights so we can connect. We now have a pretty good group of babysitters which makes it easier. Now with Covid it's just more about remembering to make date night part of our routine again. #stupidcovid

Avery, we can't wait to see all that 2nd grade holds and we're hopeful for a kid Covid vaccine we can get back to living a full life again. Your resilience has been so impressive during this time especially as an only child. We love you to pieces.

Love,

Mom

XOXO