As you may recall, I’ve begun participating in the Letters to Our Daughters project with some wonderful photographers whom I met through Clickin Moms.  Each month, I will be posting photos and writing a letter to my girls.  I love having this opportunity to speak directly to my daughters, to tell them things about our lives today so that they can read about them in the future.  Last month I wrote a letter to my daughter Alexa (you can see it HERE), so this month my letter is to Avery.  After you’ve read my letter below, please follow the links on each post and make your way around the circle, starting with fellow Seattle photographer Bonnie Hussey’s letter to her daughter HERE.

Dear Avery,

My angel, my monkey, my big girl.  I love you so very much.  I am so excited to write you this letter, so that I can tell you that I think you are just the coolest kid on the planet.  I know that I am biased, of course, but I think even an objective person would be unable to deny how cool you are.  You are so brave, so fun, so ready to tackle the world.  You charm everyone, wherever we go.  You are such a wonderful daughter to your dad and me, and sister to Alexa, and you make sure that we are always having fun together.

Right now we are on vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado.  This week, you officially became a skier.  Your dad and I wanted you to love skiing the way that we do.  We enrolled you in lessons, but it wasn’t important to us that you acquire skills right away as much as that you enjoy yourself.  But you’ve really worked so hard!  We are at the very end of the ski season and so there aren’t many people on the mountain.  Your group lesson turned out to be a private lesson, just you and your instructor, and so in two days you were off the magic carpet and tackling the mountain.  I was afraid that wouldn’t be as much fun for you, but you didn’t even want to come in after the lesson.  You find the fun in everything that you do and this is no exception.

Since your lesson was now private, your instructor – who goes by “Pooh Bear” – told us that she’d be taking you on the ski lift.  So, of course, I had to ski with my big camera to be sure to capture this incredible first.  You did SO well!  I really cannot believe how quickly you are learning all of this.  To me, you are still such a little girl and yet I see you are already finding ways to tackle that big world out there.  I have a feeling I will always be in awe of you for this.

After a third day of skiing, we picked you up early.  We were exhausted and we imagined that you must be too.  You fell asleep in my lap while we waited for your dad to bring the car.  I cherished the moments, seeing that you are growing up so fast and knowing that my opportunities to hold you like that are not going to last forever.  We realized later that it wasn’t just that you were tired, but that you were also sick.  You needed extra snuggles and I must tell you that, although I hate when you are sick, I didn’t mind that part one bit.

(Your dad took this photo of us.)

What impresses me about you is how easily you snap back, how quickly you are ready to find the fun again.  Late this morning you had the highest fever you’ve had before and it scared me and your dad.  We ended up rushing you to the urgent care clinic here to have you checked out.  Although you had not been yourself at the height of the fever, and it had taken some time to come down, by the time we arrived at the clinic you were back to your old self.  In the waiting room you commented on a snowboarder’s tattoo, and you happily told the nurse that you liked the picture of a moose on her calendar.  You chatted happily with the doctor, who felt you were the picture of health (with a mild fever only at that point) and we wonder if he really believed us that just an hour before your temperature had hit 105 degrees.  But that is who you are – you love to have fun and you were ready to get back to it as soon as possible.  Here you are with your dad, waiting to get seen by the doctor, happy as a clam:

Once we knew that you were ok, and the doctor told us that you could continue normal activities if you felt up for it, you were ready to get back to the fun of vacation.  Our friends had reserved a private bowling alley and we rushed off to meet them and join in the fun.  On your very first frame ever, you bowled a strike!  (Ok, yes, you had bumpers and you used this slightly strange contraption for kids, but it still isn’t easy and you did it!).  Not only that, but you were cheering everyone on, just like you always do, saying, “Mom, you can do it!” and helping your little sister to bowl too.  I am so proud of you, of the little person that you are becoming.  I love all the fun that we have together all of the time.  I am so lucky that you are my little girl.  I love you.

love,
Mama