Birthday Bash(es)

Apparently, 4 was an extra special number for Avery last week. Not only did she gain another year in age, but she also got FOUR birthday celebrations! 

Party 1: Matt knew he would be working out of town for Avery's special week, so we first celebrated as a family with an ice cream cake a couple of days before her actual birthday.

Party 2: Because Avery attends preschool MWF (and her actual birthday fell on a Tuesday), we brought cupcakes to class on Monday. They sang to her and she got to wear a lovely glitter Birthday Girl tiara. She came home skipping and singing "Happy Birthday to Me!"

Party 3: Tuesday. Her actual 4th birthday. Woke up to a room full of balloons, chose a chicken nugget Happy Meal for lunch, spent the afternoon at her favorite playground, and rounded out the day with a cup of delicious berry frozen yogurt. Her little bestie, Cheyenne, stopped by with a bouquet of balloons, too! She opened gifts she'd received in the mail and enjoyed playing with them the rest of the night.

Party 4: The official bash with little buddies! Awhile back, when I asked Avery what type of birthday party she wanted her response was, "Hello Kitty Ballerina." Um, Ok...  Since I prefer creative, crafty, original decor this took some extra effort. But with a little fabric, paper, balloons and time I think we pulled it off. My secret weapon was our friend Jen who whipped up some seriously adorable themed cake pops!

The beautiful birthday girl.

Oma & Opa came to celebrate!

No "Hello Kitty Ballerina" party would be complete without big bows and tutus.

 

Little Kitties

And Big Kitties

We played a few games, the most popular of which was Charades. Everyone loved Opa's version of 'swimming'.

Kitty cake pops were a huge hit and WAAAAY less messy than traditional cake.

Lots of presents, sweet treats and laughter later... this kid is officially 4! 

And I am officially partied out.

"Thanks for coming!"

Patching Things Up

Avery's preschool class recently took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. When the flyer sent home said, "Wear long pants and sneakers... it's a real, working farm," I was excitedly thinking this place was gonna be LEGIT. All Matt and I heard from her the entire car ride there was, "This is my FIRST FIELD TRIP!!!"

While it did have goats, a real corn maze, and some small-ish fields, I think "real, working farm" was a bit of a stretch. Who cares... Avery had a blast. Mostly.

 

No family outing is complete without oversized swine.

Trying to keep Lear from nom-ing the hay.

Avery and her adorable neighborhood friend, Kenzie, listen intently to their pumpkin presentation.

Then after a so-called hay ride, they hit the field to pick their own gourd.

At this point Avery got confused and thought her pumpkin (gourd) was too bumpy. She didn't realize the gourd and pumpkin patches were two different areas.

 

Oh, crocodile tears... nothing a romp through the corn maze couldn't solve.

Until she hit a "dead end" and freaked out.

At least this little guy had fun.

No Smore's?!

When Matt told me that he and his buddy Tyrone wanted to take Avery on an overnight camping trip, I was like, "Ok, yeah. Awesome." Then he casually mentioned it was wilderness camping. As in - hike in 3 miles, no bathrooms, carry all your gear in a pack, one man tent, no campfires allowed, in the woods, hike out 3 miles - kind of camping. With a 3 year old. Whoa... that's brave.

The entire week before, Avery was PUMPED. She helped me pack her backpack full of the necessities: cheddar goldfish, fruit snacks, her magnifying glass, pjs, jacket, change of clothes, and of course one dolly.

And according to both her and Matt, the trip was a complete success! She hiked about a mile herself - lucky to have a strapping Dad to carry her otherwise. They hunted for insects, learning that red ants bite and black ones don't. She stole Tyrone's apple for dinner, was a champ about the chilly night (35 degrees!), and generally had a super attitude about the entire adventure. Only slightly disappointed that they weren't allowed to have a campfire (and thus no smore's), Avery was easily consoled by dehydrated astronaut ice-cream. Good call on that one, Tyrone! She was also especially proud to come home and tell me, "I peed in the woods!"

 


   

 Lear also had a special moment with Daddy this week:

Man Band from The McNeils on Vimeo.

End of Summer Catch Up

It's no secret in my house that I'm not a huge fan of TV. Watching it is rare for me. Instead, one of my favorite ways to occasionally mentally "check out" is to spend time perusing blogs of other creative-types. A favorite of mine is a gal who writes daily with crafts and stories from her home - always accompanied by beautiful photos of everyday life (ashleyannphotography.com/blog). Granted, she's a professional blogger, but she also has FIVE kids!

I, on the other hand, haven't done a blog post in 6 weeks... guess I can't pin it on my TWO ankle-biters, huh?

To spare you long ramblings about our end-of-summer family happenings, these photos shall do (most of) the talking:

Somebody has all but outgrown naps. 

The lucky once-a-week snooze I do get from her usually looks something like this...

Grandma Laurie came and watched both chitlens for a weekend.

My first true overnight (3 nights!) away from Lear went great for me. Grandma, however, was exhausted - in the best way. ***Also, I'm proud to note that this picture is NOT photo-shopped. I actually got all three people looking/smiling at the same time - a small miracle!

 

I'm not sure there is anything more wonderful than a freshly bathed nudie in a monster towel.

Avery has recently mastered the wall headstand. She insisted we do one together!

Chunk-a-saurus has been crawling for a few weeks now. 

He loves being a man on the move (and getting into all his sister's things)! We've also learned he has an affinity for shoes. You cannot leave any footwear within eye shot of this kid or he bee-lines for them and they go straight to the mouth. I gag a little every time I catch him licking on a flipflop lollipop!

Uncle Casey had some use-it-or-lose-it vacation time to burn. What better place to cash that in than with his favorite niece and nephew in San Diego! We packed a lot into 4.5 days - exploring the zoo, little italy, seaport village, the beach, balboa park, a Chargers football game, dinner with the Pettit family, and a round of drinks in the Gaslamp.

 

Daddy's home these days. His return was unexpected, but certainly welcomed! 

He and Avery recently got serious about painting pottery.

 

  

Lear's first carousel ride was a success. I love that slight dimple he got from his Daddy!

We've also had to finally lower the crib mattress after walking in on this the other day... stinker.

 

And a true marker of the end of summer is the start of school. Avery is excited to be attending a half-day preschool program, 3 days a week. It's a great step for all of us, giving me quality time with Lear and allowing her the stimulation she craves while practicing some social graces.

Her teacher, Ms. Young.

October has us looking forward to a 4th birthday celebration, a visit from Oma & Opa, and hopefully a final decision on what costume to wear for trick-or-treating!