Avery's Birthday Party

Avery got a sneak peek of the cake we made and, of course, wanted to eat it. I like this picture with her hand out and looking to Grandma to give her some. She knows who to ask! Grandma got her a spoon with some icing on it and that was good enough for her!

Supper was SOO good! We loved the banana pepper/roast recipe, Hil! It turned out great with a pork roast. I'm definitely making this meal a regular for our family now!

She has definitely had this "Birthday Party" thing figured out for a while. She knows that a birthday means party, presents and cake! She knew to blow out the candles without being told, and she did a great job!

The kids (mostly Avery) started licking the icing off. Next to Avery is Hayden, then Alex (Taylor's sister - and Avery's "Special Sister"), then Grayson.

She still hasn't outgrown the idea that OPENING the gifts is funner than HAVING the gifts. She loved pulling the tissue paper out of the bags, and figured once all the tissue was out her job was done. In this picture, she's opening a gift from Alex, Lynn, Trevor & T: Princess high-heel shoes, and a darling little dolly in a raincoat and rainboots.

This is the gift from Mark, Hil & Carson: a little tea set with dishes. Once again, she loved the tissue. And when she found the little card inside, she gave it to me so excited saying, "ABC's! ABC's!"

Brandy & Cole and the kids got her a cutest little Pet Grooming shop by Little People. It has a little blow-dryer that makes noise and she loves to blow-dry everyone's hair with it.

Grandma & Gpa got her a toy set for the tub - a big whale that opens it's mouth and the other little toys fit inside. She tried it out in the tub yesterday and loved it!

And from Mommy and Daddy: her first Bike! She could reach the peddles pretty good and I don't think it'll take her long to figure it out. It was tough to peddle on the carpet, and the other kids liked pushing her on it, so she didn't get to try it on her own very much. I think I'll pull the Jeep out of the garage and let her ride around in there until the weather gets nicer out.

Gma Penny & Gpa Gord left for 2 weeks in Mexico, so they came by before they left to give her a gift: a Little People house that makes all kinds of sounds. She has a lot of fun playing with it, too. Lately, she puts the Mom and the Dad on the roof and they "slide down", crashing on the ground at the bottom. Whatever.....

We are amazed at how much our little missy has grown this past year. I started measuring her on the wall in our closet when she was 15 Months and you can see how every 3 months she put on a lot of height! We marvel to think that in 2 short years, we welcomed our first baby girl and have also welcomed a second!