Random Cell Phone Snaps

Eating at the table like a big girl



Planking furniture

 

Cheerio Addict.  I swear if I turn around for a second that box somehow appears! 

 

No privacy in this home!

 

Morning fly with dad

Our morning hair routine distraction methods.  Cheerios and chapstick.  We are ready to begin now.

 

Ava's very first goose egg  :(  She was twirling around in circles really fast and when she stopped went head first into the corner wall.

Gymnastics Update

Ava's gymnastics skills have improved since we started. Especially on the bars. When we first started she wouldn't even hold on to the bar. Now she'll lift her legs and swing. She is getting better at waiting in line and following directions.  She still has her moments though.  She is still doing well on beam, and enjoys the foam pit and jumping on the trampoline. 

Here she is doing her backward roll.  She can also do a forward roll as well. 





Day 1 at gymnastics, she wouldn't even hold the bar

She can walk her feet halfway up the wall

Swinging on the bar

Here is a video of the bars, foam pit, and forward roll down the wedge.  The foam pit is funny.  She's so tall she can sink down to the bottom and jump on the trampoline!

 

Overall, we decided gymnastics is a good activity for Ava (heck, it's great exercise for Mom too!!) so we signed her up again for the fall semester.

Strawberry Shortcake Play House

So the inspiration behind Avalyn's birthday was this 1980's Strawberry Shortcake "Berry Sweet Home." It use to be mine as a kid and my mom saved it in the attic after all these years. We gave it to her on her birthday. She was excited about it but we realized pretty quickly she was not quite old enough for it. She continually tried to pull off the chimney and kept tell, "it's stuck!" She also tried to stand on the second level of the house. It was a fun prop for the kids to play with at her birthday but it's going back in the basement and we'll try again when she's 2 1/2 - 3 years old!

 

 

Weight Loss - 1 Year Later

I started losing weight right after Avalyn's first birthday. Happy to say I've lost 71 lbs in the last year!  Hopefully by the end of the year I'll lose the last 10 lbs.



August 2012



25 lbs lost



50 lbs lost



71 lbs lost

Strawberry Birthday - Friends and Family

Last birthday party post.  Some final pictures of fun with our family and friends.

Strawberry Birthday - The Party

Ava had fun playing with her friends for a little bit when they first arrived and then we had lunch.  The weather was beautiful and the kids even got to go outside for a little bit.  Then we sang happy birthday and opened gifts.  Ava was into the gifts for the first half and then took off playing so Jon got to open the rest of them!

So cute, reading her card upside down!

Strawberry Party - Cake

Ava loves berries so I figured she'd love strawberry shortcake. She did! After everyone sang Happy Birthday she joyfully yelled "YAAAAY" while clapping.

 

Strawberry Birthday - Decorations

We had a wonderful 2nd birthday party for Avalyn. The party was just as big as her 1st birthday. It was a lot of work but so much fun!

All pretty for her party

The theme was strawberries so I used pink, red, peach, and aqua colors.  Turned out to be a really pretty mix! 

Here is Avalyns month by month pictures.

Little sneaker.  She actually bit into one of those strawberries.  They are made of foam!

We had red roses, white mini mums, and pink ranunculus flowers set with cute pictures of Avalyn.

 

 

Lunch boxes in strawberry baskets.  The kids had peanut butter sandwiches, chips, a fruit squeeze and a choice of juice, regular milk, or strawberry milk.

The full display.  We had poppy seed chicken salad with rolls, strawberry caprese salad with bruschetta, pasta salad, strawberries with cream, strawberry trifle, cupcakes, and pink lemonade.

White lattice, vintage strawberry table cloth, burlap, crates, and baskets gave it a cute picnic feel.

I made Ava a mini strawberry shortcake for her cake this year. 

Favor bags filled with strawberry themed goodies.

It was a great day and Ava had tons of fun playing with her friends.

 

More pictures to come this week!