These past couple weeks I feel like Avery has grown up so much! She started potty training, chewing gum on a regular basis, swimming and floating great (with our assistance of course), knows letters A-J, can count to 12, and we just moved her bed into her own room!

I feel like I woke up the other morning and my baby was no longer a baby. She’s so grown up and knows exactly what she wants and how she feels.

We got her a little princess seat that goes on top of the toilet and she loves it. I don’t know what she loves more; getting a piece of gum after she goes potty on the big girl potty or wearing doc mcstuffins pull ups! When she chews gum it’s so cute because sometimes she forgets to swallow her spit because she is trying to make sure she doesn’t swallow her gum that her salvia just drips out of her mouth. She loves mint gum and juicy fruit! She carries those little tubs of juicy fruit everywhere!

Swimming lessons were a big deal to us because I want Avery to be safe but not be scared of the water. When it comes to swimming I love it but I’m not the first one to dive deep down or jump off something really high into the water. That is Josh for sure!! Josh told me to not baby Avery as much in the water and that she will be ok and he was right! As soon as I stopped babying her she wanted to go all the way under like her toys did and she trusted me enough to help her float on her back.

Another thing she has done lately that’s shown me what a big girl she is has been during our learning time. Each day we go to her art table and have learning time. She picks things up so fast it’s crazy! She loves being able to point out A-J and does so even when we are out and about. And she can count to 12 which comes in really handy when she is getting impatient for something. If I tell her to count to 12 and then I’ll be done doing whatever I’m doing she counts to 12 as fast as she can but if it’s to do something I’ve asked her to do that counting to 12 can drag on awhile! Girl is smart!

By far the biggest milestone and change these past weeks has been moving Avery’s bed into her room. Before Josh and I got married Avery slept with me in my bed every night. I loved that extra time with her especially because I didn’t have a husband to cuddle next to yet. And then when Josh and I got married Avery still slept with us and then one day decided she wanted to sleep in her own bed. I was very excited because as crazy as it sounds I was on the edge of the bed some nights in a king bed with only Josh and Avery in there with me! Her bed was only a few feet from ours and she occasionally slept with us but besides that she loved sleeping in her bed. It worked for us because she would still wake up some nights and I was able to be right there for her. And then after adding a cute flower wall lamp from IKEA in Avery’s room I thought I would bring her mattress in just for fun. That night she ended up sleeping on her mattress in her room for the first time and loved it! I was sleeping on the ground by her closet but I was happy she loved her room! We then brought her bed frame in there too and she loved it even more. We decided instead of slowly inch by inch moving Avery into her room I would just inch by inch move out of her room. I slept next to her for a few nights and then tried sleeping in Josh’s game room/our second guest room with both doors wide open and it worked. When she woke up I was right across the hall and I was able to sleep in a real bed. Once she doesn’t wake up at night anymore Josh and I will go back to sleeping in our bed and have the doors open with a baby monitor on her all night. This may sound ridiculous to some people but this is progress for me! I am happy with what we are doing and the way we are going about things.

I feel like pretty much all big changes that have happened to Avery she has told or shown us she was ready. She wanted to be a big girl and go potty like the big girls. She told us she was ok with going under water at swimming lessons. And after we put a new flower wall lamp in her room she loved the idea of moving her bed in there. I love that these big changes and milestones happen when SHE is ready. Josh and I are aware of Avery’s feelings and we want her to feel comfortable with things. We are very much hands on parents and out parenting works really well for us. Our daughter is growing up so fast and we are soaking up every moment of her childhood!