Princess Tea Party

A few weeks ago I purchased tickets for my mom, Mark's mom, Avery and myself to attend a princess tea party.  What a special treat to have both grandma's there!  Unfortunately, my parents were moving out of the lake house that weekend, so my mom could only stay for a little while.  We had been out of town all weekend and Avery was really worn out from being away from Mark and I.  She was not feeling the princess experience!  She had fun being with her family, which also included   her cousin Ireland!  I think in the future we will see if one of her buddies can come along since she isn't the most social bee around large groups of unfamiliar faces. 

She is the cutest little princess!  I love having these times with her-even if she only wanted to be with me...there could be a lot worse things in life!  Love you Avery Elizabeth!

It Went Like This

It started off with cute kiddos getting ready for school...

Then I get word, while teaching a class, that Avery had fallen off the monkey bars. She tends to be dramatic at times and I thought this was one of those times. I said I would take her in ten minutes after my class was over. She seemed fine with that. When I came back to get her, she started to say she was sleepy and wanted to go to bed. This concerned me and the fact the tears were genuine! I had a doctor friend take a look at her and she suggested we go get it checked out. Mark saw right away on the X-rays that it was in fact broken! My poor baby!! 

We have to wait for the real cast, but in the meantime, there is a lot of care going on with this girl! Let me tell you-the guilt went out the door once she realized the attention which goes into this:) she suddenly made the connection to when Mack was super sick. There are a lot of, "I get to this because I broke my arm." I love this is her approach rather than feeling the pain! 

We are a little spoiled with family! She's gotten a teddy bear with balloons from Nanny and Papa H., warm cookies from Uncle Jack and Aunt Meagan, decorations and pins for her sling from her cousins, and extra gooey grilled cheese from Mum!

My first though was to cancel my race in St. Louis. Mark assured me she would be fine and off I went on Saturday. My friend Mary Clair has never run a race and I have only done one. We have enjoyed our training together and had a blast driving to St. Louis for our big half marathon!! We got our packets, had a carb load with my family, and went to bed at 8:30! We were ready! 

Waking up to my dad waiting at the counter was very refreshing. He hasn't done a race in 25 years and I wanted so bad for him to do it with me. We don't train together since he lives away from me, but we did encourage each other by talking about our training. So, seeing him the morning of my race was so (let's face it) AMAZING! He's 62 years old and still pushing himself! I told Avery how lucky she is to have a grandma who plays tennis everyday and a Papa who runs a half marathon! Plus a daddy that can conquer a Tough Mudder(that is a later post)

My last half marathon training was intense.  I followed the program and felt such anxiety.  This time I had anxiety, but was excited!  The atmosphere was inviting and energetic.

We ran past the Fabulous FOX Theater...

and right by my brother and sister-in-law's house.  This let me observe a cheering section with 6 cute kids, my husband, my mom, and my brother and sister-in-law.

Then Sarah and her friend joined me for a "joy run":)  I am thankful for this-I would have walked, but their energy and company challanged me to push on and finish 5 minutes faster than my last time.

Mark got shots of Papa high fiving his grand kids.

Mary Clair came by too!

I finally found my family after the race-there were 14,000 people!

What an amazing feeling!  We then took the kids for lunch and walked over to the circus.  We made it half way through when we realized everyone was just plain exhausted!  

As you can see below:

Mark and I were/are exhausted!  Today my emotions have set in.  Avery has a broken arm!  Sometimes I wish I could just take a mental health day.  Instead I let the kids do this-they are all home enjoying a day with Meme and baby Kalen!  This makes my heart happy!!!!

Our Girl Turns 5!!

Another year has passed and I can't believe our first baby turned 5.  I sound like a broken record each year, but it went very fast.

  She has turned into such an amazing girl.  Avery is kind to others and has the ability to work hard at things she wants.  She will spend hours doing puzzles, drawing, or using her imagination.  This girl is one smart cookie and we are proud of who she is becoming.  At 5 her personality has shifted-she has become much more independent and enjoys her time with friends and family.  She used to be VERY shy and now says goodbye to me as I drop her off at a friend or cousin's house.  There are much more hellos to other people around her and she has developed wonderful relationships with the people around her.  

So, when her party felt as if I was doing too much, I thought about all the things above and knew she deserved it.  We let Avery pick the theme this year and what do you know...

It was FROZEN.  Last year was a Princess party (which we combined with Mack's birthday) so at least she was more specific on this time.

She wanted it at Nanny and Papa H's pool where the kids could swim and we could have a big area to spread out.  I didn't stress too much this year getting it ready and knew I would have a lot of help the day of the party.

  Avery wanted a taco bar, so besides transporting it all, it was rather easy to get all the supplies.  Papa and Daddy stayed at home getting all the meat cooked and getting the kids out the door.  It was a little hectic, but they got it all done and brought some yummy taco meat!

The weather was a little iffy and I was worried it would rain...at a pool party, so at the last minute I thought of some indoor activities such as; build your own Olaf and pin the nose on Olaf. 

We had a make your own Olaf station using bananas.  

We had Olaf noses (cheese puffs)

Thank goodness for help with the decoration from my mom and sister-in-law because the place looked great!

This was the first year we invited more than one friend.  Avery had a few girls from her class...the rest were cousins.

and of course Baby Charlotte and Baby Kalen (must have missed the camera) attended with their sweet parents! 

Miss Rachel is Meme's (our nanny) sister and she fills in for Meme on occasion.  The kids adore her.

Avery got fake glasses and she loves them because she matches her cousin Lucie!

There was lots of dancing, swimming, running, and the occasional tickle attack!

The Mum and Nanny always helping out at the birthday parties.  Thank you ladies and thank you to all who attended!

Then we celebrated her actual birthday.  I had to work that day, but as soon as I got home we loaded up the car with pizzas and headed to a friends pool.  It was a very hot day!

My pictures are not in order, but before we went swimming the boys gave Avery her presents!

Papa H. and Nanny came over for some deserts and opening presents.

During the day she got to have lunch with her cousin Ireland and Nanny.

Mark and I got to go too! Of course we had tacos!

What a great 5th birthday.  Happy birthday Avery.  We couldn't imagine our lives without you!!!!