Avery’s twelfth birthday means we now have less than a year left without a teenager in the house. If his personality now is any indication of what is to come, I think we are ready to take it on. I am constantly impressed with the young man we are raising. Avery is sweet, sensitive, self-motivated, and hard-working. He is fiercely loyal to his siblings, chooses very nice friends, and is so sweet to his parents. I’m just trying to enjoy every second of it because I know soon his friends will become the priority in his life and before long girls will take precedence over Legos.

At twelve, Avery says he wants to be a firefighter. I honestly thought he was going to say software engineer though, and we also see his dental skills evolving as he continues to remove his brothers’ teeth, which I am incredibly thankful for.

For his birthday Avery wanted to go to the local bike park with a few of his buddies and then have a sleepover. It made my heart so happy to see what a sweet group of friends Avery has decided to surround himself with, many of whom were part of his original crew from our previous days in Snoqualmie.

Happy birthday, Avery Liam. We love you more than you’ll ever know!