Fairy Trail with Friends
Zoe and I ventured out to the fairy trail in Hendersonville with some of our closest friends from church. Jennifer and I loved watching these girls light up with joy at all the fairy houses and exploring the gardens. It was such a fun day!
July 11th Through the Years
Time for the annual look back at Ava on July 11th through the years
July 11, 2012 - Newborn
July 11, 2013 - 1 Year Old
July 11, 2014 - 2 Years Old
July 11, 2015 - 3 Years Old
July 11, 2016 - 4 Years Old
July 11, 2017 - 5 Years Old
July 11, 2018 - 6 Years Old
July 11, 2019 - 7 Years Old
July 11, 2020 - 8 Years Old
July 11, 2021 - 9 Years Old
July 11, 2022 - 10 Years Old
July 11, 2023 - 11 Years Old
July 11, 2024 - 12 Years Old
Ava is 12!
It is hard to believe that on July 11th, Ava turned 12, which means this is her last year before becoming a teenager. It is crazy to think that we will be the parents of a teenager next year.
Ava is growing so much these days and is such a beautiful young lady! She is about 5’2” tall and I am not sure where that lands on the growth chart because her well check had to be rescheduled to a later date. But I know she has grown a ton because of how tall she’s getting and how she keeps needing new pants because they are all getting too short. She is definitely in the juniors section for clothes now and can wear the same size shoe as me.
I asked Ava her birthday questions again this year, with a few modifications to make them fit an older kid. It is always so fun to compare answers and see how things change as she grows up.
What is your Favorite color?
Purple, Pink, Blue and Yellow (all pastels)
This is always a question that changes for her. She goes through phases with different colors but lately has at least stayed in the pastel range.
What is your favorite book?
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Ava doesn’t read as much these days but she does still enjoy books. We have been reading together for homeschool and it is fun to go through books together. We both really enjoy historical fiction books so we’ve read some of the Dear America books and we both especially loved Number the Stars that is set during the Holocaust.
What is your favorite TV show?
Stranger Things
Ava enjoys suspenseful or horror shows and movies for the adrenaline rush. It is crazy to us that the little girl who was scared of pretty much everything likes those things now. It is also crazy that we are past the stage of watching animated shows. She is growing up so fast.
Who is your favorite music artist?
Ariana Grande
Ava is very adamant that she is not a Swiftie. She says all of Taylor’s songs sound the same. I appreciate that she doesn’t just go with the crowd and recognizes the talent. She also really likes Adele and Lauren Daigle. She still sings Aladdin and Greatest Showman songs all the time. And lately, she’s been in a Christmas music kick and is singing all sorts of Christmas songs. She is a great singer and has a beautiful voice. Voice lessons is something she tried this summer and is considering doing again at some point in the future and we think it would be great for her to develop her God given talent.
What is your favorite outfit?
High waisted jeans with a blue cropped graphic t-shirt with a vintage design
Ava is very into the current fashion trends and I keep telling her everything she likes is from the 90s. It is crazy to see the styles in Target that look exactly like the popular clothes in the 90s/early 00s. She mostly wears jeans because she says shorts aren’t as comfortable. She is not into dresses or skirts as she gets older. Graphic t’s are definitely her staple and she likes the so called vintage designs but I keep saying things from my middle school days are NOT vintage, ha. She loves clothes but I think she’s happiest in a cozy sweatshirt and comfy pants.
What is your favorite food?
Tacos
We have tacos for supper most weeks and they are a common lunch request from Ava. She loves the hard shell tacos with rice, black beans, queso and salsa. Sometimes she eats them with a pan fried flour tortilla instead of the hard shells. She also loves lasagna soup, quiche, fried egg whites, tater tot nachos with homemade tater tots, black bean soup, and buddha bowls with rice, black beans, kale chips and fried eggs. Breakfast for supper is also a common request with items like pancakes or waffles. Ava loves to bake and that has been a common homeschool activity for us. It is a great way to use math without it being too boring.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Molinas
Molinas is our family favorite Mexican restaurant. Ava used to only ever get a cheese quesadilla but now she has ventured out to bean nachos or bean burritos. Ava also loves Moes, Cracker Barrel, Eggs Up Grill, and Panera. Her local favorites are Sidewall Pizza and Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Her favorite places to get special treats are Starbucks, Crumbl Cookie or Duck Donuts. She is also a big fan of Boba tea and loves to get that out as a special treat.
Where is your favorite place to shop?
TJ Maxx
Ava loves to shop. She loves all the stores like TJ Maxx or Marhsalls that have good deals. She also loves Target and Kohls. She enjoys walking through the stores at the mall too. She especially loves stores like Ulta and Sephora. In fact, her birthday wish was to go to Ulta to spend some of her birthday money, which we did. She could spend hours in those types of stores looking at all the makeup and skin care, two things she absolutely loves.
If you could have a shopping spree, what would you do?
I would go to the mall and go to all the expensive stores like Nike, Lululemon and the other expensive stores I can’t afford and buy lots of things. I would also go to Sephora. I would also buy a dog. I would buy lots of things on Amazon and complete my room. I would also buy some expensive Christmas gifts that my family would like so that they like them a lot. I would also buy a new iPad, iPhone, Apple computer with cases for them all. I’d also buy a ton of Stanleys. I would buy us a new couch because we need it. I would also buy a pool for our backyard.
I was not expecting this detailed and long of an answer and when I commented on how much she was buying she said I didin’t give a budget to the spending spree, haha. I love that she included things for us and her family, not just herself.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
London because it is London and to see all the pretty shops, downtown and the palace
Now that she is older, she talks about traveling and where she wants to live when she grows up. Sometimes she will talk about wanting to go far away but usually she says she wants to visit those cool places like London, NYC and LA but that she wants to live close to home.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
An Entrepreneur - I want to own my own business
Her daddy was very proud of this idea because he is an entrepreneur and is always coming up with business ideas. He cannot wait to help her start her own business. She actually says she wants to start an e-commerce business when she is a teenager so she can start saving money then for the future. She also talks about wanting to be an influencer like most kids her age. It will be exciting to see what she ends up doing as she gets older. For now, she loves to plan out her future with her business, her house and her dogs.
What is something special to you?
My family, Winnie, Sookie and my blanket and Red Panda
This was a super sweet answer. She loves her family and her dogs. Winnie especially is her best buddy. They sleep together every night and Winnie is such a great companion to Ava. Her blanket is her Tot Tot that she’s had since she was a baby. And Red Panda is her little red panda stuffed animal that she’s had since she was a toddler that she instantly attached to. We got it at a White Elephant gift exchange with our community group and it became her favorite stuffie. We tried to find back ups for it but couldn’t. Thankfully, he is holding on well!
What do you like to do with your family?
I like to talk about stuff and go to Disney World and the beach and the mountains.
Ava definitely has opened up with us a lot more as she’s gotten older. She will have nights where she is super chatty and wants to talk about all sorts of things. It is special to be trusted to have those conversations with her…and they aren’t all deep conversations, sometimes they are about the most random things. It is just a sign of her growing up and maturing and it is fun to watch. We missed out on a family vacation this year but we hope to be able to do something next year, all four of us. The girls love the beach but the mountains are definitely mine and DJ’s happy place so it is great to hear that Ava loves them both equally.
What was the best thing to happen when you were 11?
Figuring out myself
Ava is definitely in that tween stage of trying to figure out who you are as you are not really a little kid anymore but you are definitely not grown yet either. It is a tough stage for everyone but I am thankful she sees it as a positive thing from this past year.
What do you want to accomplish as a 12 year old?
Get closer to God
We can’t hope for a better answer as her parents. We pray this for her as well and we are seeing growth in her relationship with God as she gets older and understands more about faith and grace. We cannot wait to see the ways that God works in her life this year.
This past year has had its challenges but we are proud of Ava for how she’s handling all that has gone on. It hasn’t always been easy for her or for us but she is growing and changing so much and we see the way that God is working in her life. She is becoming a young lady and we are excited to see who she will become. We know that our front row seat to this comes at a cost and we never take that for granted. There is someone very special to us missing out on this view and we promise to always honor her and her role in Ava’s life. We are so grateful to Ava’s birth mom for trusting us to raise her and we hope she always knows how much she means to us.
Happy 12th Birthday, Ava girl! We all love you to the moon and back!
Freshman Hall Reunion
I had the chance to catch up with some of my freshman hall friends from our Lever 6D year. Ame was in town visiting her family and organized the get together at Brick Street. Lizzy and I spent so much time with Ame and Kathleen freshman year and we realized it had been 16 years since we had all been together at Kathleen’s wedding. Unfortunately, Kathleen’s roomie, Rebecca, wasn’t able to make it but we all decided we needed to make sure we didn’t go another 16 years before getting together again. It was so nice to be able to catch up with these sweet friends!
Zoe’s Spring Recital
Zoe’s recital this spring told the story of Willy Wonka (although they called her Willa Wonka because the dancer that played Willa was a girl). The studio did such a great job at putting on a fun show. Zoe’s acro class played the old grannies and they started out their dance wearing robes and shower caps that they threw off to dance to “Stayin’ Alive.” Zoe did an amazing job with her routine and her cartwheels across the stage. We are always so proud of her for getting out on that big stage and performing her piece so well! I didn’t purchase her portraits from the studio this time since she let me take some of her before the recital but I had to save them even with the watermark because they were so cute.
All the Last Days
First a side by side of the first day of first grade and the last:
And now, all the last days of school so far…
Last Day of 1st Grade
This year definitely flew by and it is hard to believe Zoe is already finished with her last day of 1st grade! (Ava finished up 6th grade too but we didn’t take pictures - she’s past the age of letting me take school pics). And yes, Zoe wore her Gabby’s Dollhouse kitty cat ears to school…anything goes for that last day, ha. Now on to 2nd (and 7th for Ava) grade!
1st Grade Awards
Zoe had a great year in first grade. She loved her teacher and made some really good friends. She loves school and learning and it is fun to watch her get excited about all that they are doing in school. We were able to go to her awards day and she was so excited to get the artist award from her teacher. Mrs. G said that Zoe always added really great drawings to her poetry notebook pages. She said the kids always wanted to see what Zoe drew. She really is a great little artist and loves to take her time creating drawings and crafts. We are so thankful for another great year of school for her!
A Little Getaway
Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law sharing their Edisto beach house and my mom for babysitting, DJ and I were able to get away for a couple nights before he started chemo. We wanted to get some time away when the radiation fatigue had worn off for the most part and before the chemo side effects hit. It was such a wonderful, relaxing getaway and we hope to be able to make it back down there again!
Eclipse 2024
Right before Zoe’s birthday, we had a partial eclipse. Zoe had an e-learning day because it was going to happen during school pick up and they didn’t want the kids out there looking at it unprotected. The girls were excited to see it but were very disappointed because it was nowhere near as cool as it was in 2017 when we had a full solar eclipse. It was a fun experience even though it was a bit of a let down.
Spiritfest 2024
Zoe had a great time at her school’s spiritfest this year. It was much better than last year because it did not rain so it was able to take place outside. She had so much fun on the inflatables with her friends and playing all the games. This is always a favorite school event!
April 7th
As always, April 7th hits with so many mixed emotions. I love celebrating our girl on her birthday but the day is also filled with sadness as we miss my daddy so much. I’ve said so many times that I am thankful they have this connection since they never got to meet. It is so special and Zoe knows all about her Grampie who loved her. She talks a lot about how it isn’t fair that she didn’t get to meet him and how she misses him. It definitely isn’t fair and we’d give anything to have him here with us. But, we know this is not the end of the story and we know we will have an eternity with him in Heaven. He’s just waiting for us to join him one day.
Zoe girl, I know you know this but your Grampie loved you so much. He knew we wanted another baby girl and he was so excited to have another granddaughter to spoil. God had other plans and called him home before he could spoil you. We wish you could have known him and that we all had more time with him here on earth. You are a bright spot in a hard day and we are so thankful God gave us life to celebrate on a day filled with loss and grief. We all miss you so much, daddy!!
April 7th Through the Years
Here is a look back at Zoe on April 7th for the past 7 years.
2017 - Newborn
2018 - 1 Year Old
2019 - 2 Years Old
2020 - 3 Years Old
2021 - 4 Years Old
2022 - 5 Years Old
2023 - 6 Years Old
2024 - 7 Years Old
Zoe is 7!
I still cannot believe that Zoe is 7 years old! Each year now just seems so old! She is growing up way too fast and I wish time would slow down.
Zoe had her well check right after her birthday and she is right on track developmentally. She is a very healthy little girl. Zoe’s stats were:
Height: 48 in (51st percentile)
Weight: 48.5 lbs (40th percentile)
Zoe definitely had a growth spurt this year, especially the past few months. The pants that she started wearing in the fall are now way too short for her…although they still fit in the waist. She wears size 7 in clothes and either a 12 or 13 shoe.
I continued with the annual birthday questions with Zoe this year. Like I’ve said before, I love being able to remember the girls at different ages in their own words.
How old are you?
7
What is your favorite color?
Orange and pink with sparkles in them
She is sticking with orange as a favorite color and pink. I love that she added the part about sparkles in them because that is so Zoe…she loves anything with sparkles. The more sequins the better for her.
What is your favorite food?
I like French fries and chick fil a’s chicken sandwich, and I like Mac and cheese and I like pasta
Zoe is more adventurous in eating these days but is still very picky. She will try a lot of new foods at school and we are very thankful for the free lunches that allow her to try new things like chicken sandwiches, salads, hamburgers and fish sticks…all new things she likes. Pasta and rice are still huge staples for her. She also loves Sister Shubert rolls and most any kind of bread with butter. Breakfast for supper is always a hit and she especially loves pancakes and waffles. I think she would still love to live on a diet of just fruit though. Berries of all kinds are her favorites but she also loves grapes, cherries and pineapple. As far as veggies go, she isn’t great about eating them but she does really like broccoli.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Ooh, that’s a hard choice, Molina’s Mexican
This is probably everyone in our house’s favorite restaurant. Zoe also loves Papa Johns, Chick-fil-A, Panera and Tropical Grille. Some local favorites are Sidewall Pizza and Swamp Rabbit Cafe.
What is your favorite outfit?
Any dress
Zoe is still obsessed with dresses and wants to wear a dress or a skirt every day. She is very particular about what she wears each day and will lay it out on her bed to make sure it looks good. She is still a girly girl who loves a good tutu or twirly dress. She isn’t dressing up in her princess dresses nearly as much these days but did recently start wearing her Elsa dress more and pretending to be Elsa. I’m definitely hoping the dress up days last a little longer!
What is your favorite TV Show?
I like Mira, Bluey and Gabby
These are definitely shows she watches over and over again. Some other favorites are Lion Guard, Ada Twist, Fancy Nancy, Puppy Dog Pals, Little Einsteins, Super Kitties, Eureka, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doc and Kiya. A new show that she was introduced to at school that has become a favorite is Young Jedi, which made DJ very happy to have a little girl who likes Star Wars.
What is your favorite song?
Bye, Bye, Bye and Zero from Ralph Breaks the Internet and Let it Go
My 90s girl heart was very proud that she chose Bye Bye Bye as a favorite. And of course, her other favorites are from Disney. Disney music is always a favorite. She also loves Greatest Showman. She is a big fan of Colony House, Toby Mac and Jamie Grace too. Another common request is Hannah Montana. She basically loves anything with a good beat.
What is your favorite book?
I like board books
Zoe recently started wanting to read the board books from when she was a baby. It has been fun going back through our old favorites, especially all of the Sandra Boynton books. Zoe also likes books based on TV shows she likes such as any Disney Jr books or Gabby’s Dollhouse books. She is also a big fan of any of the Click, Clack, Moo books. In school she discovered the Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie books or the Pigeon books and she loves those. She also really likes Bun Bun and Bon Bon graphic novels. Those were some of the first books she was actually excited to read herself. She was super proud to show us that she could read through those books. She is slowly getting better at reading. This has been a little bit of a struggle for her this year but she is working super hard to master reading.
What is your favorite toy?
“Merin Girl Doll” …American Girl doll
Zoe was so excited to get Melody for her birthday this year. We decided to go ahead and give it to her this year even though she couldn’t read the books yet because we did not want to miss the window of her wanting to play with dolls. She also loves her baby dolls and comes up with some incredibly imaginative things with her babies. She still likes to build things but hasn’t been doing that as much lately, it has been mostly babies that she plays with.
What is your favorite thing to do?
I like to go outside and draw
Zoe does ask to go outside every day. It doesn’t matter how hot or cold it is…or even if it is raining. She loves to go splash in puddles when it rains. She is definitely happiest outside. She also loves to craft. She is still into creating projects out of boxes and always has an idea in her head before she begins and manages to create it. She also really loves to draw and is getting pretty good at it. I love looking at the backs of her papers from school because there is usually a very detailed drawing on the back.
Where is your favorite place to go?
My favorite place to go is a good answer, Disney World!
Zoe and Ava have both been asking to go to Disney. We hope we can make that happen sometime in the next year or two but we will see. Zoe loves to pretend we are at Disney and will create stories with her baby dolls about being there. As Disney adult parents, we love that our girls share our love of Disney, just wish it was easier to go more often.
Who are your best friends?
Juliette, Jordyn, you (mama), daddy, Ava, my cousins, Chase, Liam, Evie
Oh I forgot another friend, my birth mama.
Our little extrovert couldn’t stop listing people as her friends because she is happiest when she’s surrounded by a ton of people. She loves going to church because she gets to play with all the little girls around her age and there are A LOT of them at our church. I think the social aspect of school may be her favorite part…and what can get her seat moved multiple times in the school year until they find a spot where she isn’t quite as chatty, haha. She is a sweet friend. Her teacher said she is always trying to make sure anyone who is hurt or upset is taken care of. I love that she included family (birth and adoptive) in her list of best friends. She loves her family fiercely and we are so blessed to be loved by her.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Engineer
She is definitely set on being an engineer of some sort. Her little mind can definitely picture things and then plan it out to create in a way that the rest of us in the house cannot understand. We are still trying to encourage her to be an Imagineer so we can all get access to Disney. Recently she told me she was going to be an Imagineer but not at Disney. She said she wanted to create a park like Disney but make it not cost much since Disney is so expensive and she wants more people to be able to go. I thought that was a super sweet thought!
What do you hope to accomplish as a 7 year old?
Stop sucking my thumb
We really hope she accomplishes this goal. She started sucking her thumb in kindergarten when the other kids were doing it (and I think because she was missing us) and it has proven to be really hard to break. We are really hopeful that since she’s decided this is her goal that she will actually achieve it.
Zoe wanted to add another question…what’s your favorite flower?
My favorite flower is marigold and iris
Zoe still loves flowers and being outside. She is so happy when things start to bloom in the spring. She also loves when our blackberry and blueberry bushes start blooming and she can eat the fruit.
And another by Zoe…what’s your favorite sport?
Acrobatics, even though I call it Acro
Zoe thrived in Acro again this year. She really mastered her cartwheels and teddy bear headstand and was even able to push her legs up straight and hold it for a few seconds. She is very determined to master a handstand. She qualified to move up to Acro 3 next year and her teacher said that is when they really start to teach the more advanced skills. We cannot wait to see what she accomplishes next year!
Zoe still has such a big personality! She is still goofy and loves to make people laugh. As usual, you can see some of her goofy personality in these pictures. She definitely has a tude and can be super sassy (always keeping it real)! But she is still a cuddle bug and still wants to be carried everywhere. She is definitely getting close to being too big to carry, I usually have to resort to piggy back rides instead of carrying her on my hip. But you can tell she’s the baby of the family and she wants to keep it that way and wants to be carried as long as physically possible. She loves big and we are grateful to receive that love daily.
We are so honored that we were chosen to be this beautiful girl’s parents. We know that choice was not made lightly and we do not take it lightly. As we watch her grow, we know there is someone so special that is missing out on these moments. Zoe’s birth mama holds such a special place in our family and we can never express how much she means to us. We are so grateful for her and Zoe in our lives!
I still do not know how in the world Zoe is 7 years old. We cannot wait to see what all God has in store for her this next year! Happy 78th Birthday, Zoe girl! Mama, Daddy and Ava love you to the sun and back and the whole entire earth!!!
Zoe’s Birthday “Party”
This year, I didn’t have it in me to do a big party with everything going on with DJ. Plus, Zoe’s trip to Charlotte was more like a big party. But, our little social butterfly didn’t want to give up on celebrating with her little friends. So, we did a park play date with cupcakes. It was super chill but the girls had a blast and Zoe felt loved. She asked for a mermaid theme party so I found mermaid cupcake toppers that were perfect to give her the party she wanted. She also took cupcakes to school to celebrate with her friends at school. This girl loves to party and be with her friends and we are so thankful for all these precious friends in her life.
Happy 7th Birthday, Zoe!
Zoe turned 7 on April 7th, her Golden Birthday! We surprised her the day before her birthday with her first gift and a day trip with cousins. We decided to give her an American Girl doll this year. We’ve had it for years after buying it through a Today Show deal like we did with Ava’s doll. We originally said she had to learn how to read the books to be able to get an American Girl doll but after missing the window on Ava wanting to play with dolls for long, we decided to go ahead and give Zoe her doll this year even though she isn’t reading chapter books yet. She was so excited to open the box and see Melody. It was so cute when she compared her skin color to Melody’s skin and see the joy in her face that the doll matched her. Then we told her we were meeting her cousins in Charlotte for lunch and shopping at the American Girl store. She had a blast celebrating with her cousins and shopping, complete with BFF necklaces for her and Karla. For Zoe’s actual birthday, we celebrated with dinner at Cheesecake Factory and she got her first (and probably last) taste of cheesecake. She loved the design they made on the plate around her birthday cheesecake but was not a fan of the actual cake. We had so much fun celebrating our big 7 year old all weekend!!
Easter 2024
We spent Easter with my family again this year. My mom, grandmother, aunt and uncle came over for lunch. After lunch we all enjoyed an Easter egg hunt that ended same as always with one egg missing. Hopefully Zoe will find it eventually this year like last year. It was a special day celebrating Easter with my family.
Bring Your Grownup to Dance
I joined Zoe in her acro class at the end of March for Bring Your Grownup to Dance day. That class is no joke! I was sore for days from it. It was fun to get to enjoy the class with Zoe!
Radiation
After 30 daily weekday trips to the cancer institute, DJ finished radiation on March 20th! Overall, the whole process went really smoothly. There was only 1 day that the machine wasn’t working to delay treatment. He had fatigue but it was manageable. He did lose some hair but it is easily covered by his other hair. It was a long 6 weeks but we are so thankful to have this step behind us. Now we have a break before chemo starts on April 22.
Spring Break 2024
As with most things this year, spring break looked very different. We wanted to take the girls for an overnight trip but with DJ’s fatigue from radiation, we decided that wasn’t the best option. Instead, I took each girl for a day trip to Charlotte. Ava and I spent our day shopping (no pictures from that day). Zoe and I spent our day at Discovery Place. She loved the science themed museum and especially loved the recycled crafting area.
We ended spring break with ice skating at the Pavilion. Zoe was determined to teach herself how to skate. She took a few pointers from me and Ava but she actually did figure it out on her own. I don’t have any pics of her once she mastered it but here she is zooming by with the walker. She can’t wait to go skate again!
