Happy 4th birthday Averi Noe'l

Dear Averi,
You turn 4 this Saturday and I am in awe of how quickly time has passed!It feels like just yesterday your daddy and I were admitted to the hospital and told we would be induced 2 weeks before your due date! We were so nervous yet so excited to meet our precious daughter, you! Averi your birth was hard, and long, but worth it all baby girl because when you came out, red and screaming with a huge bruise across your head and a black eye, I couldn't have been more in love!

Sweet girl I thought, in all my 20 year old maturity, that I was so ready to be a mama! But oh man you through me for a loop! You taught me love, patience, devotion, selflessness, and trust all in one short year! You brought your daddy and I closer together, and most importantly you brought us closer to our heavenly Father! You my dear were exactly what our little family needed, even if the rest of the world thought it was "too soon" God knew to give us you in HIS perfect timing and HIS perfect timing was April 21st 2008 @ 8:56pm!
By the time you turned one we had discovered you were going to be a BIG SISTER! So we REALLY focused on savoring every moment with you as our "only"! You had two BIG 1st birthdays, one in Louisville where we lived at the time and one in Tn with all your daddy's family! The cake was certainly your favorite part!



The day you turned 1 and a half we welcomed your little sister Sofia into the world! I thank God that He gifted us you two so close in age, as you don't remember life without each other! You truly are best friends! You play well together, you share a room and you look out for one another! I pray God continues to bless your relationship,that you will always recognize the magnificent blessing it is to have a sister!


By the time you turned 2 we had moved into a new apartment and you had mastered the art of being a big sister! You slept in a "big girl bed", you loved to play with your buddies Emma and Jane! You were very talkative and a Daddy's girl! You LOVED Barney and Elmo and we even had an Elmo party that year to celebrate! Youre personality was coming out so much at this age and we were loving really getting to know the precious girl God had designed you to be!


Between 2 and 3 you really seemed to grow up! We moved to TN and you loved being able to see Nana, Papa and your cousins, Auntie K and all the rest of your family all the time! Mommy worked 3 12 hour shifts a week for almost that whole year so Daddy could focus on finishing his degree. It was hard for me to be away from you that much, but we were very blessed with a Nanny you call Miss Whitney! She played with you, did crafts with you and took you to the park, she was a real blessing and made it a lot easier for mommy to go to work, although I was always anxious to cut my hours down because I missed you terribly! By the time you were 3 you had potty trained, knew your Abcs, John 3;16, and the fruits of the spirit, all your shapes and colors and could count to 15! We were also preparing to welcome your little brother into our family! You loved touching my big belly and feeling Reiter squirm and kick, it was so fun being pregnant with you being old enough to understand it better! We had a Luau for your 3rd birthday, it poured rain and made for a muddy day but you and all your friends and cousins still had a blast!

This last year has been a joy with you Averi!Right after Reiter was born I started working 1 day a week, I wouldn't trade the time I have with you kids for anything! You have grown into such a kind hearted, bubbly and good nature little girl! We struggle some with your attitude and a few other discipline issues, but over all you are an easy kid! You love your brother and sister, you are still a Daddy's girl but LOVE to Be momma's helper! You laugh easily and LOUDLY! You love preschool. You have 2 imaginary friends "lina" and "tina" your favorite show is Cailou and Dora! You can count to 25, you recognize most letters and can spell your name! You have lots of friends, you make them easily!You want to grow up to fast and I want to freeze you like this forever! You tell us all how much you love us several times a day, you love to read books and color! Your favorite thing to play with is your doll house! You take Ballet and Tap and enjoy them both!

You are my little buddy and I truly enjoy being with you. I feel like you really are a little girl now, no longer a baby or a toddler and I don't know how we got here for I feel like it was only yesterday I was looking at your tiny hands and counting your tiny toes for the 1st time, awestruck by the grace God had bestowed on me allowing me to be a mom, your mom, Averi that feeling is still there, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't praise God for making me your mommy!


Thank you Jesus for Averi, thank you for every day of the last 4 years you have given me to mother her! I ask forgiveness for the parts I have fallen short and thank you that your grace and mercy has helped me and Kevin parent her thus far! Lord we pray that she will grow into a women who loves you, who desires a life that serves you! We ask God that if it is your will that you will spare her heart ache and that her refuge will be in you, her heavenly Father! Please Father let her know you at a tiny age, we know that the holy spirit has the power to reach her little heart,even at the tender age of 4 and we pray it is! We pray that you will guide us and help us to remember always in how we discipline, love and teach that we are the biggest example of you to her and that our words and actions will make her WANT you! Thank you Jesus for blessing us with her, help us not to take for granted the gift and responsibility a child is! We love you and we thank you for the wonderful blessing our Averi Noe'l Yates is!