2nd Birthday Part 1- Decor and Food

Since we took so many pictures at her party I am going to do seperate posts to break them up a little bit. We decided to have a smaller party this year at our neighborhood clubhouse. With the unpredictability of Texas weather in March we thought this would be the best option. We had have a great place indoors that was big enough to hold all the people and we were still able to go outside and play on the playground next to the clubhouse since the weather was so perfect. I did not want to put our party guests (and ourselves for that matter) through what happened last year when due to freezing temps we had to move the party location to our house and cram 60+ people inside with kids running all about with nothing to do. Having it at the clubhouse was a lot less stressful but the preparation the morning of was a little crazy. Mikey and I totally underestimated the time and manpower it would take to get everything lugged to the clubhouse and get it all set up in time. It didn't help that the key they gave us to get in the clubhouse didnt work and so for about 15-20 minutes we were trying to figure out how to get in. We finally made it in to set up but we definitely ran out of time and I was running out the clubhouse door at 9:45 delegating tasks to friends and family that were already showing up so that I could get home, change, and get Ava dressed and ready to go by 10. All in all everything turned out great thanks to a little help from some friends and family to pull it all together.

the food table

Since her party was a farm theme we carried that on for the food. We had "Little Chicks" /Chick-fila nuggets

"Little Piggies"/Pigs in a blanket

"Ava's Garden"/veggie tray

"Chicken Feed"/Chex Mix

and Watermelon

The Birthday Banner

The absolutely amazing cake that my aunt made that perfectly matched the invitation.
(I also made some mini cheery cheesecakes but didn't get a picture of them)

The party favors (barns from the dollar spot at Target with a few goodies inside)

Table Decorations

Ava's monthly pictures

2 years old!

Dear Ava,

Happy 2 years old sweet girl! Wow, I can hardly believe it! Time sure does fly when you are in love. I have flashbacks to when you turned 1 and you were still so little. Over the past year you have turned into a little girl and you continue to melt my heart everyday. :)

Here are some things you have been up to in your last month of being a 1 year old:

*You are 35 1/2 inches tall (90%)

*You weigh 26 1/4 lbs. (25-50%)

*Your head size is 19 1/2 inches (90-95%)

*You know some of your shapes (circle, square, triangle, star, heart) and some of your colors (brown, black, red, pink, blue, green). It's amazing how much your little brain is absorbing each day!

*You have started talking in short sentences now. Your daddy's favorite is "You're funny Dadda". You say that one quite often. You also always point out when someone is being silly. The other day some little boys were playing by you and you said "silly boys". Another funny thing you said this month that made us smile is when mommy asked you what daddy was, boy or girl, you said "man". haha. I had no idea you knew what a man was! Oh, and one more! I saw you chatting on your cell phone the other day and you were saying, with your head leaned to the side of course, "yeah, yeah, yeah...I know!". I guess you have heard mommy say that many times before when talking on the phone???? You are always making us laugh silly girl!

*You understand the word "me" and anytime you see a picture of yourself you either say "Ava Woo Woo" (the nickname Brinley has affectionately given you) or you point to yourself and say "me".

*You have excellent manners and have been saying please and thank you all on your own. Makes me proud!

*Some of your favorite things to do at home this month have been pushing your baby around in the stroller while you wear your princess shoes, pushing your favorite collectibles around in your shopping cart, playing/eating snack/doing your business underneath the kitchen table, playing in the sandbox, watching "Fissy Movie" aka Finding Nemo, and coloring in mommy's lap while she checks email.

And occasionally during this time you draw tattoos on your hands as well. I sometimes draw a smiley face on your hand when you obey, as a reminder that I am proud of you ,and you drew one on your hand all by yourself. Not too bad!

Pushing your stroller around wearing your heels.

Rather than playing with your favorite toys you often times will hord them all (or other random things you find in the house) and put them in your shopping cart and just push them around. I guess you always know where to find them when you want them!

*You definitely still like to test the waters with things and you occassionally have a tantrum but nothing like you did last month. I have learned that natural consequences are much more effective with you than time out. You seem to respond pretty well to it, although mommy is sometimes sad too when we have to leave the park or come in from outside because you didn't obey.

*You understand the word "tomorrow" and often times if you get upset about something, like having to get out of the sandbox or saying bye to Brinley, I can just say we will play in the sandbox tomorrow or we will see Brinley tomorrow (whom we see almost everyday anyway) and you calm down pretty quickly.

*You have enjoyed being outside more this month now that the weather is warming up. We have been going to lots of parks, playing in the backyard, and eating dinner outside on the patio. You are so happy being outside. I love to see your face light up when we step outside and I just smile listening to all your happy chatter.

Playing in the sandbox with your best bud, Brinley.

*We have been spending a lot of time with Amy and Brinley this past month. Now that we joined the YMCA with them we seem them just about every day. If we aren't with them at the Y, we are going to Bible Study together, eating frozen yogurt at Tappy's, or going to library storytime with them. Now anytime we go somewhere you always ask "Brinley, too?". You love Brinley and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual. I hope yall will always be best friends.








Ava, you are everything to me and your daddy and I could not be more proud to be your parents. You have filled our hearts with such joy over the past 2 years that you have been in our life. We are constantly looking at you in amazement at the sweet, smart, silly, and beautiful little girl that you have become. There are days where I still can't believe that you are mine. You and your daddy make me so truly happy. There aren't enough hugs, kisses, and I love you's to truly express the way I feel about you. You are my precious gift and I will always strive my best to be the best mommy to you that I can be. You deserve it and more! Happy Birthday Ava Marie!

Almost 2!!

Here is the slideshow that I created from the last three months. If you watch till the end you can see all her monthly photos from the past year and see how much she has grown.

Birthday post coming soon!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Flashback Friday

I seriously can't believe that Ava will be 2 in a little over a week. She has grown up so much and I couldn't be more proud to be her momma.

Here is a walk down memory lane of those first few days of having her home with us. I am so glad that I made these slideshows for her. I love looking back at them and being reminded of how blessed I am to have her.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Elmo's Healthy Heroes

On Sunday we took Ava to see Elmo and all his friends at the Elmo's Healthy Heroes show at Nokia Theater. Before having Ava these things couldn't interest me for anything but when we found out the show was coming to Dallas we knew it would be something that Ava would really enjoy. It was Ava's early birthday gift from us and as expected she loved every minute of it. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw Elmo in person for the first time. First of all our seats were awesome! We payed for seats that were in the middle price range but our seats somehow ended up being much closer than we expected. We were in the center row about 8 rows from the stage. They couldn't have been any better! So we were very up close and personal to Elmo. When he came out onstage she just sat there stunned at what she was seeing. She isn't one of those kids who jumps up with excitement and claps, at least not yet, but I could tell that she was loving it. The show held her attention almost the entire time and she did so well. Despite the fact that my cheap side cringed at the ticket prices and then on top of that $15 to park, are you kidding me, it was well worth it to spend this special time with our little girl and see her happy.

Click on the shutterfly link to the right of the blog to see the pictures!

Sneak Peak

Over the past month I have been keeping myself busy by making things for Ava's party. Here is a sneak peak of a few of the things I have made (many of them thanks to the Cricut. I love that machine!)

Birthday Banner

Table Decoration

Ava's shirt and headband.

She will be wearing her pink boots of course too.

Her party is turning out to be a modern twist on a farm party theme. I think it will be super cute when everything is put together.

I can't believe in two weeks we will be celebrating Ava's 2nd birthday!!

New Pics

I just posted some new pics to the Shutterfly site with pictures from our last playdate. It had been way too long since we had spent time with these friends. We had a great time!