Avatars disappeared

I finally figured this out...

It has to be created on your watch (Apple forcing you to buy one for this feature? Surprise).

On the watch there is a Memoji App and you recreate your Memoji/Avatar there and then follow the instructions below to use it. This is completely labor intensive, I have no idea why Apple did this.

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Send a smart reply, Memoji sticker, sticker, GIF, or audio clip

You can also compose messages without entering a single character. Try one of these options after creating a message:

• Send a smart reply: Scroll to see a list of handy phrases that you can use—tap one, then tap Send.
• To add your own phrase, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, go to Messages > Default Replies, then tap Add Reply. To customize the default replies, tap Edit, then drag to reorder them or tap  to delete one.
• If the smart replies aren’t in the language you want to use, scroll down, tap Languages, then tap a language. The available languages are those you enabled on your iPhone in Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards.
• Send a Memoji sticker: Tap , tap , tap an image in the Memoji Stickers collection, tap a variation, then tap Send.
• Send a sticker: Tap , tap , scroll to the bottom, then tap More Stickers. Tap one, then tap Send. To create new stickers or see all your stickers, use Messages on your iPhone.
• Share your location: Tap , then tap Share. See Share your location in Messages on Apple Watch Ultra.
• Send a GIF: Tap , tap , tap a GIF, then tap Send. To search for an appropriate GIF, tap the Search field, enter a search term, tap a resulting GIF, then tap Send.
• Send an audio clip: Tap , tap , record what you want to say, tap Done, then tap Send.

Me too ☹️ but all that is too much like hard work, Apple needs to sort this out….