Birthday Afternoon

It took awhile to pry Avery away from the balloons, but the salon was a-callin' our names!  Avery got her toenails painted for the first time last year on her 1st birthday, so I thought this would be a fun tradition to do every year ... until she decides she doesn't like nail polish .... which will never happen!  I look forward to turning our polish changes into mini pedicures into full blown pedicures and know this will be a fun activity for us to do on her birthday every year - especially when she is in high school and hates me - what girl can resist a free pedicure?!

 Boy, did our toes need some work!

 Showing off her new "pinks"

 In Avery's words - "all better!"

FLASHBACK:  February 27, 2011 - our piggy painting tradition begins!

Birthday Morning

It's official ... a two year old lives at our house!  I know most people say that it goes by so fast, and it does, but being able to be at home with my precious 'baby' all day every day - makes me able to savor each and every moment a little bit more and for that, I am eternally grateful to my husband who allows me to do so.  We had such an exciting and action packed day, so I am going to split these posts up to avoid information/picture overload!  We started the morning with some festive door decorations which Avery absolutely loved!  She probably went up to her room at least 20 times today to say hi to the balloons and run through them laughing and screaming!  And the project was free - all it took were some streamers & balloons that I pulled from her party stash.  As always, thank you Pinterest for the idea!  Throw in some Texas toast french toast and you've got yourself a great birthday morning!

2nd Birthday: 1.0

We have had a very excited household this month because next week our favorite little girl is turning TWO!  We take birthdays pretty seriously in this house, so Avery is not getting 1, but 3 birthday celebrations!  Yesterday she celebrated with some of her best buddies at her birthday play date.  As always, the kids all had fun and got along really well - but do you think I snagged any pictures of the cuties?!  Mommy Fail!  Thank you Brielle, Kaden, Dominic, Max & Everly (and their mommies) for joining us and also to baby Nolan who visited us later on! 

Any kid's birthday party is not complete without party favors!  Since we had a mix of toddlers & newborn babies, we did 2 different bags.  

BABY BAG:  

* Pair of socks (Target & Old Navy sell individual pairs for $1!)

* Teether (TIP:  buy a 3 pack and divvy them up! - found here)

TODDLER BAG:

* Fruit Snacks

* GoGo squeeZ apple sauce - Avery's favorite snack & pretty healthy too!

* Got Milk Magic Milk Straws

* Crayola Pick Your Pack crayons - my new favorite product!  Only found at Target, you can purchase 8 crayon packs for any party theme imaginable!  Since I was getting crayons for 2 boys and a girl, I decided on Pink Princess, Born to Rock & Dinosaur Roar, but how cool to get "Over the Rainbow" for a rainbow party or "Mermaid Shimmer" for an under the sea party.  Genius idea - only .99 a pack!

Simple, but fun party decorations.  Balloons & streamers hung from the ceiling!

 

Our spread!  Since we did a morning play date, I decided on Panera bagels, fresh strawberries & a yummy toddler snack mix that even the mommies enjoyed!

 

Thank you Pinterest for this adorably pink toddler snack mix!  You could whip this together a variety of ways, but I went with Cheerios, Strawberry frosted Shredded Wheat, yogurt covered raisins & strawberry yogurt drops (found in baby food aisle).  Original idea found here.

 

Birthday girl found a princess crown!

 

The only picture I got with Avery and one of her friends ... her newest friend Dominic!  I really think Avery is going to be a professional nanny when she grows up ... the chick is smitten with babies!

We will be back next week with birthday celebrations 2.0 & 3.0 (her actual birthday & family birthday party)! Can't wait!  

A day for love!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I think my house has a Valentine's hangover today with all that we did yesterday! We normally do not make a big deal about V-day - Nick always brings me beautiful flowers and we go out to a nice dinner. But since we now have a curious & excitable 2 year old (and a bigggggggg help from Pinterest - what would I do without you?!), this year we decided to go all out!

First we did a little baking...
 

Treats for daddy to take to work...
 

And we delivered treats to 4 of Avery's Valentines...
 

We got a little crafty...
 

Added a little love to Daddy's lunch...
 

Ate donuts in bed...
 

Daddy brought flowers for mommy & a special bouquet for Avery (heart melting!)...

Avery & I surprised daddy with his favorite dinner under this sweet fort...

Ended the night with some chocolate fondue... and that's what I call a Valentine's Day!!
 

More Sledding

SO glad we had more snow in December then all of last year put together! We may have the flattest lawn in the world, but that doesn't stop us from sledding!