Avery's 4th Birthday- Mermaid Party at Cottell Park!
We rented this blimp for Avery's 4th Birthday- See it at the top just under the roof? :):):)
Hard to see, but the girls had matching mermaid outfits on- super cute!
Poor Miss Caroline has a nasty cold, so she was a snotty mess, but still smiling through it all! :)
Ave's birthday lunch:
-"Shells" and cheese (homemade "Panera" mac and cheese- Ave's fave!)
-"Clam" sandwiches ("Uncrustables" PB and J's-yum!)
-"Fruit of the Sea" salad
-"Ocean" blue jello with fruit snack fish sunken in it
-Deli sandwiches for the grown-ups :)
Ave makes an outfit change into her mermaid costume for cake time!
Sweet mermaid!
Love this cake that Sweet Sinsations did! We just gave them one of her plates and they made this beauty!
Annnd then the wind picked up- poor wittle Cara!!
Present time!
Avery was so lucky- lots of amazing presents! She got this light-up vanity from Nana and Papa!
After having a "sea creature hunt" (aka sea creature bath toys hidden in various bushes), it was crafting time (these were a mix of both hard and soft crafts, Diana!:). Sandpaper starfish!
Addy, Rylee, Arlynn, and Sydney crafting away!
Avery and Arlynn- love these cuties:)
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| Avery with her amazing presents- such a fortunate, blessed girl! She will help write every thank-you note! |
Ave's 4 year pictures
These were actually Caroline's 3 month pictures- 2 months later!! Bad Mommy!
This one is recent- Avery 4 years, Caroline 4 1/2 months...but poor Caroline was sick for this picture, and totally looks like she has a cold- look at our pale little princess (and we thought Avery was fair skinned- ha!!!)
Well, I knew it would happen at some point! I let our blog go by the wayside as the busy days of summer flew by! After her triple airway surgeries in May, Miss Caroline was diagnosed with kidney disease (duplicated kidneys and a ureteroseal in the bladder)- between her first surgery for that, doctor's appointments, and going back to teaching, I was totally lax on the blog (I know, the old "my child had surgery excuse"...). Thankfully, Sweet Caroline is stable and all is well at the moment!
Avery girl turned 4 on Sunday, and we mermaid-style partied at Cottell Park- a great option with no fee, minimal clean-up, and lots of space to spread out and play!! We had a lot of fun:). I can't believe Avery is 4...these days she amazes me with her sassiness (seriously, the girl can even be sarcastic- now that's talent) and her intelligence (her vocabulary rivals that of my third graders!). Sometimes she combines her vocabulary and sassiness when she gets mad- and hilariousness ensues. Like if we tell her that she can't watch a show, she will glare at us and say something incoherent to the effect of "this is not my opportunity, you need to pay my attention, and take your chance, or I'm moving to Nana's!" She thinks she sounds so grown up- it's super funny, but we can't laugh in the moment, or it makes her more angry. These days Miss Avery is into gymnastics, reading (a forever book lover), playing "baseball" in the backyard with Daddy, terrorizing her little sister (and giving us heart attacks as we shriek "You CAN'T pick her up!" from across the room), coloring/doing crafts, riding her bike, and watching Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, or pretty much any Disney creation. She also LOVES scary stuff- that's right, scary stuff- she asks for a "scary" princess story every night before bed. Usually they involve some sort of red-eyed animal in the forest, and usually she tells me my stories aren't scary enough- so sometimes she adds parts- super funny. Totally my daughter though- I love scary stuff too. :)
Oh the irony of parenthood- when they are so small, life is hard, and messy, and busy... and you wish they were older. But then they are...in a blink. Just like that. And you wish it wasn't so. It's that way with my Avery, a spunky little thing with a whole lot of heart- I wish I could freeze her, just like she is now. Well, without the sass and such, of course. But then, there's the irony again:). Happy birthday to my little punky- I love you Avery!
