When Dad's In Charge

When Dad's in Charge...

He begins her IT education early.

"A little bit of this..."

" A little of that..."

"There! Now it's fixed!"

A Lemonade Party

This past weekend, Ava and I attended her friend Adalyn's 1st birthday party. It was a Pink Lemonade party, and no detail was left behind! Super cute party, full of pink lemonade, burlap and lace, the cutest cupcakes and birthday cakes, tiny sunglasses for the kids, and a peacock who crashed the party...well, the party was by the zoo and the kids loved the party crasher. :)

Wynston was gone during this time, attending his annual Father/Son float and camp. The day started in Marshfield at a large family reunion. Ava was 100% all about walking around on her own, introducing herself to relatives. A quick drive and short nap later, we arrived at the birthday party. Ava decided to switch gears and wanted to be held, but only if we were walking around. Many laps were made around the party pavillion.

The party was so adorable, and full of so many little cuties. Too bad my hands were too full to take any pictures of the party. Shame on me. I wish I would've because you all would've loved it.

I've learned that doing several events in one day sans Ava's favorite person (Wynston) is exhausting...for both of us. And full of clumsy mom moments...like when I dropped my lemonade all over Ava's face and my leg. Ya, that was fun. Don't worry, Ava wasn't hurt, just sticky afterwards. And we ended the party on a high note, sharing a cupcake and getting it everywhere.

I picked up this cute dress for the party, and was so torn on whether to get her the 12M or 18M. I went with the 12M and am so glad. There's even room to grow so she'll be able to wear this one all summer long.

Our Little Summertime Ladybug

This tops still a little big, but that's nothing a cute hairbow can't fix. :)

A Visit to Daddy's Work

This week we took Ava up to visit her dad and grandpa at their work. Her visitor's pass even matched her outfit. :)

Summer Lovin

Ava enjoying a morning snack. Opps! That's not food, that's Wynston's fishing license.

12 Month Doctor Visit

I know I know, I just posted Ava's 12 Month Update post. But I wanted to share some doctor visit facts and pictures as well before the weekend.

1 year old Ava weighs 20.4 pounds, putting her in the 50th percentile.
1 year old Ava is 30.25 inches long, putting her in the 90th percentile.

What that means: she continues to be long and lean. Her weight and height curves have been steady over the past year.

We are now working on weaning Ava off of formula and onto whole milk. We'll also start to permanently go off of the bottle and transition to sippy cups 100% of the time. Any advice here is welcome. We want to only do one change at a time, so right now Ava gets a milk/formula mixture with each bottle, and I'm not heating them as warm as I was. Once we get her on milk, we'll do the cup thing.

Oh ya, and 12 Month shots...not fun. Neither was that finger prick.

Here's some pictures for you on what is looking to be a lovely Friday!

Someone PLEASE motivate me to finish painting our living room! We bought it that way, which means it's been like this for almost 2 years. So embarassing.

I know, I know, this picture is stretched for some reason (only after upload). But it's so sweet.

Little Ladybug Party - Ava's First Birthday Party

Saturday, May 11th 2013 was a gorgeous, sunny, slightly windy day. It was a perfect day to gather with friends and family for Ava's first birthday party. This year was THE year, our big party year. And what fun it was.

We had the party at a pavillion next to scenic Fellow's Lake. Fellow's not only provided a lovely backdrop for our party, but it also offers plenty of space to spread out and nearby playground equipment to keep the older kids at the party entertained.

We chose a ladybug theme for Little Miss's party. After tossing a few ideas around, it seemed that Mother Nature was urging us to go with this ladybug theme. Before Ava was born, when we were getting her nursery ready, we kept finding ladybugs in this room. We'd toss them back outside, but this past spring we'd find more and more crawling on her nursery floor. Turns out quite a few had come into her room, hidden somewhere and hibernated for the winter. Then, come spring, they wake back up. We went through a several week period where we were finding about one ladybug a day in her room. So it just felt right to go with that as Ava's birthday theme this year.

Here's some pictures from the big day. It was so much fun!




I love this photo collage my friend Katie made. It shows off the cute banner we made, water bottle labels, balloons, an adorable little lady in an adorable dress, and a fun cake topper Katie helped make.

Birthday Banner with beautiful lake background.

 

"Today I Eat Cake" banner and cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!



LOVED this fun ladybug balloon!

Custom, reversible birthday dress. Locally made.

Best friend wagon rides were a HIT that day!

These cuties are 5 days apart in age.

Girl talk.



 

 

Clapping after "Happy Birthday"

 

Sharing with Mommy.

 

 

 

 

"Don't take my cake away!!"

 

 

 

  

"Is this for ME?!"

 

"Do these shoes match my dress?"

Ava's friend Bennett sharing his hat.

  

Ava started walking around 9 months. Then she stopped. I think it was just easier, and faster, for her to crawl. The night before her party, she decided it was time to start walking again, and showed it off at her party! So cute. Since then, she's a pro walker and getting fast at it!

Ruffle diaper covers are the cutest.

Ava is ONE!