Ava is 11!!!

Height: 4'8" (41.25 %)

Weight: 92 lbs 13 oz (70.29%)

BMI: 83.34%

 Ava is 11!! She is the best daughter who we love so stinkin' much! She is growing up so fast and is responsible and amazing! Here are some memorable things that happened in the last 6 months. 

*She completed Level 4 in swimming lessons and has loved learning how to do all the different swimming strokes, especially when Dad helps her

*She has started getting a few pimples, but she is still really into her skincare routine and taking care of her face and skin

*She learned how to swallow pills

*She started 5th grade with Mrs. Bu and Sparks

*She is excelling at Chinese 

*She isn't a big hugger, but will recognize when I need one and give me the best hug. She will also let me give her hugs a lot more and will hug me back

*She is a very good at giving compliments, but is also very blunt sometimes. I have had to talk to her about phrasing things in better ways so it doesn't come off so offensively and to focus on what she likes about something, instead of what she doesn't, especially with Atticus

*She is a lot like the White side of the family; very independent, she says what she needs to, a bit messy, very creative, not super touchy feely. She looks the most like a White to me as well

*She is a big helper, but she s"mothers" up to Gavin and down to Atticus sometimes. I have to remind her that I've got it and will let her know when I need her help or input

*She got a Troomi phone and has loved calling and texting her friends, especially Maci Roy and sending Gavin GIF's and emojis

*Maci called and asked Ava what she was doing. Ava said, "Eating cheese"

*She loves the 90's and 00's trend atheistic. Her favorite pants are a pair of baggy khaki cargos. She loves baggy-ish pants

*She likes listening to The Saints on the church app

*She sang in the stake youth choir with Gavin and Atticus

*She wears a size 3 in shoes, youth large shirts, and size 12-14 bottoms

*She participated in the Young Doctors program at Rocky Vista University and loved it

*She gets to do The Point videos at school and help with the special needs PE class once a moth

*She has been hit or miss with math (probably because she is going too fast)

*She is starting to fit into some of my clothes, especially my older, small clothes I have saved over time

*She is super good at Chinese and scored high on the APPL test

*She likes the names Theo an Hannah

*She participated in her last primary program and was one of the narrators (10-22-23)

*She got her 2nd HPV vaccine (11-22-23) 

*Katie and Scott invited some Chinese friends to Thanksgiving and they said she spoke the best Chinese and were so happy to talk to the kids

*She ripped out 2 more premolars

*She was able to help with shoe coverings a few times for the St George Temple open house

*We were all able to go attend the rededication of the St George temple on December 10, 2023 by Elder Holland in the morning and then put on shoe coverings for the afternoon session

*She told me that she doesn't believe in Santa and knew last year but played along

*She is super excited to start YW in January. She will come up with her friend Megan Erickson. Ava is going to be the youngest girl in YW

*She is growing a little bit, but I feel like she is right on the verge of a growth spurt in the next little bit

Ava is 10.5!

 Ava has been such a delight to have in our home! The last 6 months have been no exception. Here are a few things she's been up to.

*She learned how to braid

*She got her first dose of the HPV vaccine (12-19-22)

*She says, "I have reason" or "For reasons"

*She lost her upper right 1st molar (01-06-23) at Pizza Factory while we were eating with Grandma and Grandpa White

*She has been having some major mood swings and any little thing will make her cry

*She still loves art and has learned how to draw pretty realistic eyes and faces

*She lost her bottom right 1st molar (02-27-23) 

*She participated in the Eshelles dance clinic- she was nervous since she isn't a dancer who isn't as flexible as some of the other girls. The Eshelles helped her modify the dance and feel seen and important. She was in tears when she told me how amazing they made her feel 

*Jessie McGee, Maci Roy, and Ava have been having friend drama with Malia Kittrell, who has been talking behind their backs, spreading rumors, and being emotional and rude to them

*She said her 3 wishes if she ever met a Genie would be 1. A pen 2. A piece of paper (then write all the things down she wanted), 3. Have all the things she wrote down on the paper to be granted

*We went to Minnesota as a family for Spring Break to visit Grandma and Grandpa White on their mission. We went to the Mall of America, the Spam museum, and ate some really delicious food!

*She lost another tooth, but in Minnesota

*She and Atticus have been fighting so much, but then will turn around and be best friends

*She has been sneaking YouTube time when she says she is listening to music

*We found out the cyst on her earlobe that she has been dealing with for a long time was an infection, not a cyst. After medications it pretty much went away

*She is constantly in the bathroom doing makeup, hair, or skin care. She also loves super long, hot showers and loves to stick to her beauty routine 

*Her favorite song is Spring Day by BTS 

*She got a 3 out of 4 on her Rise testing which means she is proficient or excelling on grade-level in English, Math, and Science

*She had to get an orthodontic habit appliance on her upper palate to help stop her thumb sucking

*She is definitely an empath and is sensitive to those around her. She gets very emotional when it comes to her friends getting hurt or being made fun of

*She has had a hard 4th grade year due to friend/classroom drama, but luckily has loved Mrs. Reeder and Miss Xu

*She was super disappointed to find out she has Malia, Kingston, Atley, Desmond, and Alistair in her 5th grade class next year, but she is excited to have Mrs. Bu as homeroom and then to be with Mrs. Sparks half day

*After hiking in Bryce National Park she said, "I'm going to be paralyzed because my legs hurt so bad"

*She is starting to grow little bits of hair in her armpits and groin (06-02-23)

*She has the most beautiful skin and freckles. People comment on how pretty her complexion is all the time

*She is growing her hair and nails out. She has a butterfly haircut and it's so cute! It lets her natural wave and texture come out in such a beautiful way

*She loves crossbody bags 

*She loved going to see the SUGA documentary with mom and Grandma Abplanalp

*She is still our most adventurous child who doesn't need any coaxing to try anything. She cliff jumped, without hesitation, off the highest cliff at Sand Hollow and rappelled in Sunglow Canyon (and others) like a champ!

*She has become a fact master and loves to quiz us on random trivia and correct her brothers, especially Atticus, when she thinks he's wrong

Ava is 10!!!

 

Height: 4'5" (32%)

Weight: 79 lb 13 oz (68%)

BMI: 84%

It has been a pleasure to watch Ava grown another year. Her curiosity and drive amaze me. She is the best daughter I could have asked for! 

*She says, "Sophie, you are so cute" multiple times a day

*She and Atticus were both 4'4" in July 2022

*She talked all the way from St George to Fishlake, nonstop about BTS, Korea, Kpop, and Asia and Asian culture

*She started 4th grade with Mrs. Reeder and Xu

*She said her greatest fear is a duplicate /clone of herself because they'd know your every move

*She can do a cootie catcher with one hand

*She went to her first concert on September 10, 2022 in Las Vegas (Kings Elliot, Macklemore, and Imagine Dragons)

*She doesn't like M&M's (only peanut butter)

*She says counculator instead of calculator 

*She has a crush on Jacob Westbrook, not Ike anymore. She says Ike has gotten annoying

*She loves to watercolor

*She started to grow her nails out

*She tried out of a solo in choir and didn't get the part. They usually give them to 5th graders so she wasn't too concerned but I was proud of her for trying her best and the moving on

*She says "You're so confusing" instead of your so embarrassing when I embarrass her

*We asked her to take smaller bites at dinner and she said, "Taking small bites isn't fun" and Atticus said, "Eating shouldn't be fun"

*I walked in on her bent over the toilet thinking she was throwing up but she was actually secretly cutting her bangs and flushing the evidence

*She lost her lower right canine on November 25, 2022

*She iceskated like a pro on November 26, 2022

*She is missing an adult molar on the bottom left side 

*She started wearing braces on her wrists and hands to sleep to help her stop sucking her thumb so she doesn't have to get an anti-thumbsucking device 

*She had a birthday party with lots of kids where they did art and played Left, Right, Center

Ava is 9.5!

 

*She climbed to the top of the 70 foot rock climbing wall at Contact climbing gym

*She loves her Valiant 9 teachers, Lorraine Glazier and Tamara Sherman

*She is taking piano lesson from Katrine Baker and is doing so well. She is great at memorizing her music

*Her best friends are Maci Roy, Jessie McGee, Malia Kitrell, and Ike Mathews

*She had a reaction to her 2nd COVID shot and had fever and chills for 24 hours

*She rock climbs higher than her brothers

*She solo rappelled Yankee Doodle

*She is good a waking up and maker her lunch and staying on task

*She is a great reader and does super well at school

*She likes to try new things and foods

*She is 100% still BTS and Kpop obsessed 

*She is such a sweet girl and is always willing to help, without much complaining

*She is doing choir and loves Mrs. Marchant and Reeder

*She had a choir performance at Tuachan 

*She wakes up early to go to choir and doesn't make a big deal about it

*She loves bucket hats and trinkets of any kind

*He loves to play with Ella Devlin and Megan Erickson

*She wants to grow her hair out but still won't let me do it often. She likes the natural look

*She is very into makeup and hair tutorials. My bathroom hasn't been clean since

*Gavin always teases her that when she gets out of the shower and I ask where she is that, "She is looking at herself in the mirror"

*She is loved by all her teachers. They always tell me how studious and amazing she is in class

*She gives her brothers hugs when she sees them at school

*She loves to sing, especially BTS and has started singing more at church

*She has been obsessed with making raspberry compote

*She always says, "Mom, can I ask you a question" instead of just asking the question

*

Ava is 9!!!

Height: 4' 3" (31%)

Weight: 64 lbs 13 oz (52%)

BMI: 68%

We are ecstatic to have been able to spend another year with our amazing girl! It has been a great one! Ava has been growing and learning so much! She never ceases to amaze us! 

*She really wants an axolotl 

*She wears size 2 shoes

*She still bickers and debates with Atticus constantly 

*He loves to be another mommy to her brothers, for better or worse

*Uncle Matt always says, "Ava's such a cool girl!"

*She told me that she likes to wear whatever she wants and doesn't care too much about how she looks. She thinks it's weird that girls are late to school because they took too long to get ready for school

*She went on a weekend 12 mile backpacking trip with Colby to Ashdown Gorge July 16-17th, 2021. She did amazingly well and was starving when they finished. Colby told her she could get anything she wanted and she chose Costa Vida. He asked if they just wanted their own burritos or to split one and get queso and she immediately chose queso

*She is becoming such a confident swimmer and has leaned to roll on her back when she gets tired

*She loves watching lighting/rainstorms

*She loves anime and BTS

*She believes that if she looks into people's eyes when she poops (like she did when she was little) that it really helps her go

*She had an ear infection behind her left ear, near her ear piercing that might need plastic surgery. Luckily the antibiotics seemed to help. She only has 1 piercing now while it heals

*She has been playing with Draper Eves and Everlie Openshaw for hours a day

*She backpacked into Coyote Gulch with Colby and Gavin on August 7-8th, 2021

*She started 3rd grade with Mrs. Marchant and Ding

*She got a rapid COVID test on 08-20-21 after potential exposure at school and was negative

*She participated in Girls on the Run

*She started wearing a training bra. She loves sleeping in it and underwear at night

*She drew an amazing picture of Christ on the cross at church September 27th, 2021

*She really wants to learn Korean as well as continuing learning Mandarin 

*She is worried about wasting her Magical Decade so she is trying lots of new things (girls on the run, storytellers club where she recited the book "Same, but Different Too")

*She started sneakily sucking her thumb again

*She loves watching baking shows

*She has been playing clapping games at recess

*She went to the Grand Canyon/Tuweep for the first time on November 27, 2021

*She doesn't love hotdogs or eggs

Ava is 8.5!

 

Ava is 8.5! 

The past 6 month she has been up to a lot! 

*She has been really into using boxes to make houses for her stuffed animals and loves to do crafts

*She loves to paint with Dad

*She loves to watch craft and art shows on YouTube

*While we were playing cards she said, "That's B A A D"

*She had a massive headache that woke her up 02-04-21

*She has started to cry and get emotional and hangry more often

*She asked me to come help pick out her clothes for the next day to do her 70-80's birthday party for Jessie McGee

*She is very interested in sewing

*She learned how to roller skate

*She likes sour cream and onion chips and almost everything I make

*She loves taking leftovers to school for lunch

*She likes math and Chinese

*She will still put herself down for naps when she is tired

*She likes to dress like a tomboy sometimes and a girly girl the next minute. She also likes to dress for the occasion or theme her outfits

*She didn't win her Valentine's box contest in her class and was super bummed out because she made hers almost all by herself and those who won didn't

*She bought herself Rollerblades and can blade without falling after just 2 days

*She loves to ride her Rollerblades in the house

*She rarely lets me do her hair anymore

*She likes to cook and makes a mean Macaroni and Cheese

*She loves mashed potatoes and can eat so much of them

*She loves Heath bars, Werther's, caramels, Milk Duds, Whoppers, and Robin Eggs

*She started needing and wearing deodorant 

*She still sleeps with an eye mask

*She is very tenderhearted and sensitive 

*She loves Sophie and Sophie loves her and listens to her most of the time

*She always wants Sophie to sleep on her bed, but she rarely stays up there

*She has been starting to instigate arguments at home and correct people and tell them what they said or did wrong

*She is growing out her dolls and toys

*She wanted a one piece swimsuit that looked like a boys. We settled on a light blue and white stripped suit

*Her favorite colors are black, blue, and gray 

*She is not a huge fan or cleaning and is quite a messy girl. She does go through phases where she cleans her room and is ruthless about what she throws out

*She told me this joke

"Why do ducks have feathers? To cover their butt quack"

*She loves penguins and elephants and pigs

*She got hot tub foliculitis from the Howard Johnson we stayed at in Sandy for Kate's baptism

*She finished Lexia Core 5 on 04-15-21

*She has a crush on Ike (Isaac) Mathews and he likes her (They played Truth or Dare at recess and found out). He has liked her since the beginning of the school year and he has been in her top 4 crushes but has moved up because her other crushes are being too crazy)

*She had her 2nd piano recital and memorized and played "Powerwalk"

*She moved into her room in the basement on 05-01-21

*She loves BTS and Korean pop and constantly watches shows about them to learn anything she can about them

*She loves Korean food, chili relleno casserole, and mexican food and will try anything. She doesn't like grapes, fish, deli meat, blueberries, or oranges

*She finished her 2nd grade year

*She went to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming for the first time when we went to Yellowstone from 05-23 to 05-31-21

*She says pacific for specific 

Ava's Baptism Photos

Ava is 8!!!

8 whole years with this sweet, amazing girl! She always exceeds our wildest expectations and accomplishes the goals she sets for herself. She is sweet, kind, funny, and creative and makes our world a better place!

Height: 4 feet (21%)

Weight: 54 lbs 11 oz (42%)

*Pulled her 9th tooth (right lower lateral incisor) 07-08-20

*Katrine Baker is her piano teacher and she is learning a recital song called Tambourine

*Mrs. Hatch and Miss He are her 2nd grade teachers. They luckily can go to school but have to wear masks. A lot of  school districts across the nation and world are closed

*Size 1 shoes and size 8 shirts and size 7-8 pants and shorts

*Loves enchantimals and that's all she wants for Christmas

*Sophie is starting to listen to her more and is excited when she comes around

*She is very complimentary to me but can also be very blunt (not meaning to be mean or anything)

*She stopped sucking her thumb in September 2020 and got a panda enchantimal set as a reward

*She loves to sing her Chinese songs

*She loves being with friends and having playdates

*She gave Atticus feedback on his drawing from school. She said she gave him a few things he can fix and a lot of things he did well

*She likes to mix patterns or dress monochromatically

*She loves the book Jackie Ha-Ha by James Patterson

*She almost has her first recital song Tambourine down and is starting to memorize it

*She is doing well in math but needs some help with spelling

*Likes to poop with the Ipad in hand

*She brought a whole tub of jalapeno cream cheese for lunch with some wheat thins. She has always been awesome about bring leftovers and eating home lunch

*Her favorite colors are blue, orange, green, and red

*She was a ninja for Halloween

*She loves Heath bars, Ring Pops, Lemonheads, Nerds, Rolos, Whoppers, and Werther's (hard and soft caramels)

*She started wanting her fingernails painted

*She doesn't really like pink, purple, or things that are too sparkly

*She grinds her teeth and snores when she sleeps

*She is reading at a level M and is getting much better at reading out loud

*She loves Golden Grahams cereal

*She still loves to dress up for every occasion

*She is getting very excited about her upcoming baptism and is ready as ever!

Ava is 7.5!

*She had her 5th tooth (right upper 4th tooth (1st molar)) pulled by the dentist on 12-23-19 because she had an abscess caused by a dead tooth root

*She said "Repunzel" instead of Rapunzel 

*She got an LOL Doll house, a LOL organizer and some LOL Dolls from Mom and Dad and an OMG LOL Surprise Doll from Santa

*She stayed up until 12 on New Year's Eve

*She is in CTR 7

*She assumed that because we switched classes at church and she was going to switch school classes when Christmas Break was over. She wasn't too happy because she was excited to meet another new teacher

*She pulled her 6th tooth (upper left incisor) on 01-27-20

*She is going through a lying phase

*She started wearing socks on her hands at night to help remind her to stop sucking her thumb

*She got her ears pierced on 02-18-20 at Vamp Tattoo

*Her favorite piano song to play is "Halloween is Coming" and air plays it before she needs to concentrate on something

*She isn't a huge fan of homework or practicing the piano but does it most of the time without too much complaint

*Her favorite song it "7 Years Old" by Lucas Graham

*She loves most foods but especially loves Costa Vida and Panda

*She will ask for food and then see something else and want that, especially if it's mine. We say she has FOMO (fear of missing out) with food

*She is good to always let the boys sleep in her bed with her

*She pulled her 7th tooth (bottom right lateral incisor) 04-11-20

*She hiked the Red Mountain in Ivins without any complaints

*She says "We are thank thee for" instead of "We thank thee for" when she says prayers

*She loves Descendants and Z-O-M-B-I-E-S on Disney+

*She has really been doing better to not biting her nails so that I actually have nails to clip

*She has become obsessed with peanut butter by the scoopful and PB+J toast 

*She has started to sleep in just underwear like Gavin or just a t-shirt "so things can air out"

*She pulled her 8th tooth (left lateral incisor) on 05-10-20

*She loves watching Gravity Falls, American Ninja Warrior Jr, Sugar Rush, Home and DIY shows, Monster High, and the Willoughby's 

*She loves watching Moriah Elizabeth (ME), Troom Troom, Dr. Squish, Cookie Swirl C, LEV Toys, 5 Minute Crafts, and Life Hacks for Kids on YouTube Kids

*She loves to do word searches 

*She says "aspossed to be" for supposed to be

*She yells "deer cross" whenever she sees a deer crossing sign 

*She loves to nap and still puts herself down for naps when she is tired or emotional and is a great sleeper at night too

*She eats the batter of anything I am making

*She loves to do her makeup but doesn't like me to do her hair

*She always lets Atticus be her pet when they play because she knows it makes him happy

*She has been getting really carsick when we travel or drive on the freeway or twisty roads around town

*She loves anime like Grandma Abplanalp

*She loves snuggling Sophie first thing in the morning and is the one who usually takes her out in the morning too

*She is still is a messy person and doesn't love to clean up after herself but she will when I ask her to without much push back. She will sometimes get the cleaning bug and really get cleaning and give things away

Ava is 7!!!

Little Miss Ava is 7! She is learning so much and is such a fun girl to be around! She is a big helper and loves to play and socialize. She is by far our most social child which we love so much! 

Height: 3 ft 10 in- 20%

Weight: 45.7 lbs- 25%

*She randomly asked if anyone in the family had a glass eye

*She calls cattle guards "cow crosses"

*She had her first nightmare (at least that she's woken me up for) about pirates

*She likes to pretend she is a DJ named DJ Kitty but told me I could call her DJ

*She cried when we left Tropic after spending a week there

*She calls gravy "potato sauce"

*She has started to roll her r's

*She says "I can take it" when she doesn't want to watch, eat, or do something she doesn't love

*She lost her 3rd tooth (upper left front tooth) which the dentist pulled on 08-05-19. She said he did a sneak attack and wasn't happy about it until he gave her a sparkly tooth holder

*She is in 1st grade with Mrs. Lasater and Mrs. Sun for Chinese

*She woke up with a squeal on the first day of school and yelled, "It's school!!"

*She is going through a nightmare phase

*She doesn't love crunchy things on soft things, like the edges of bread and things like that

*She pulled her 4th tooth (upper right front) on 09-03-19

*She listened to the sacrament prayer and told me that she felt the Holy Ghost in her heart

*She knows how to really pester her brothers and isn't afraid to hit every now and then

*She can be the queen of sass, stomping around with a major attitude but is also the kindest, sweetest girl ever

*She is as sensitive as her mom and cries during any sad movie or sad part of any book 

*If she is doing Lexia on the iPad she will try to cheat and have Siri spell the words for her

*She absolutely loves school, her teachers, and friends

*She passed off all of her 1st grade sight words before Halloween so she got to have a pizza party with Mrs. Lasater 

*Her hair is getting so long, almost to her bum and she cut it off to her shoulders on 12-07-19 as part of her birthday present from Dad and I (earrings are next)

*She really, really wants a baby sister and asks me about it all the time. I tell her to talk to her dad about that. When he tells her no she'll tell us that we need to adopt one

*She learned how to whistle

*She sneaks into our bed on Colby's side if she has a nightmare because she knows he won't wake up

*In size 6 clothes and 11-12 shoes

*She and Atticus (age 5) were the same height and almost the same weight at her 7 year checkup

Ava is 6.5!!

*She asks if we can go hiking almost every day

*She got a LOL Bigger Surprise from Santa; a giant Pikmi Pop Cat (she named Starlight and the little blue cat Moonlight), Enchantimals (Peeki Parrot and Bren Bear), a Lip Gloss Kit, a LOL necklace making kit, and a cute outfit from Mom and Dad and Grandma

*She loves to play with Lilly Maynard and Nash Harenberg

*She is sneaky when she plays games and always wants to win. She also likes to hide the last puzzle piece so she can put it in

*She loves watching "What's up Mom" and "4 Minute DIY's" on YouTube Kids

*She said, "No, Atticus!" in her sleep and then a minute later giggled (I can only imagine what he got in trouble for after she told on him)

*She lost her 2nd tooth (right bottom front tooth) on 01-09-19

*Her friend Nash's last name is Harenberg but she calls him Nash Hamburger 

*She had Influenza B on 01-29-19 but handles sickness well so I almost didn't take her in. After the swab she said she felt like she had a cactus up her nose

*She calls Gavin's puppet Bobby, not Tommy, just because she knows it will bother him

*She always says, "I'm just sayin'"

*She is our best, adventurous eater but isn't a huge snacker

*She loves coloring and crafting

*She calls cul de sacs "Cold Sacks"

*She has the highest reading level in class, level D and is at a level 8 on Lexia 

*She mastered the mouth/hand fart and can do it so loudly

*She is an awesome hiker

*She used air quotes in random spots in conversations

*She said it was hot in her cheer practice and she said it felt like the sand age

*She asks lots of driving and traffic questions when driving

*She calls herbivores "plantetarians"

*She is still such an amazing sleeper and goes to bed so quickly at night

*Grandpa White always says "No ass at all" and she asked me the other day what "noassatall" meant. She didn't realize that grandpa was swearing and that there were 3 words. It was the best! 

Shamrock 10k

 

Sleeping Ava