Party Like a 2 Year Old!

Okay, I promise this is my last birthday post for Avery's 2nd (next year is another story!), but I had to post pictures from her birthday party!

(Oh, and she had her two-year-old check up last week, so for the baby book, here are her stats: 28 lbs [70%], 35.5 in. [95%], and head circumference 19.5" [90%])

We had a small family party this year (we'll start doing friend parties for her 3rd), and we were joined by NeNe, Pop Pop, Grandma, Grandaddy, Uncle Nick, Brittany, and Amy. 

hot dogs and watermelon for dinner

homemade birthday cake balls (my husband is amazing)

ready to open presents!

opening her new dollhouse from NeNe and Pop Pop

Amy hooked her up with Fancy Nancy and all the fancy essentials

homemade play dough (in gorgeous colors!) from Uncle Nick and Brittany

 (Grandma and Grandaddy got Avery an awesome new kitchen but couldn't put it together because of their flight delay. I'll post pics of it later.)

blowing out the candles

teehee. (princess blanket from Nick and Brittany)

our little birthday girl

flashback! 1st birthday

Amy, Avery, and Grandma

Check out those shades!

so glad they made it back from Europe in time :)

We're trying to turn NeNe and Pop Pop into Rangers fans. :)

I love it when we get a family shot!

Go Rangers!

Licking an ice pack. Don't judge; it was hot.

I couldn't resist posting this. Ooh that face just gets me!!

Avery was fascinated by the visiting bullpen. Her eyes were totally glued to the ball.

One of the pitchers threw the ball up to the boy behind us, and he gave it to Avery. Oh, it was so sweet I totally teared up. His dad was so proud. It was a special moment. :)

The girl was wiped out from her birthday week, but I think it's safe to say she had a great time. :) So here's a final happy birthday to our new two-year-old. We love you, Avery!!

Friday Five

1. Aunt Carrie came up to meet Landon! She brought her new fiance, Bubba, his daughter, Ava, and NeNe, so we had a great time hanging out. We feasted at Bamboo Palace, watched the girls play at the fountains, and scarfed down some Oreo treats.  Ava and Avery (confusing?) had a blast playing together; I'm excited for Avery to have a cousin close to her age! We don't get to see Carrie all that often, so we were thankful to spend some time with her!

2. I enjoyed my first snow cone of the season today! I've been whining that our town doesn't have a snow cone stand, so since I had a couple hours by myself and needed to do some work at church, I decided to check out the stand between our house and the church. 1) It had a drive-thru. Score. 2) My wedding cake with cream snow cone was delicious. I'll definitely be back (especially since we can satisfy snow cone cravings without getting the baby out in the heat)!

3. I've got nothing for number 3. I have a lot I need to be doing instead of writing this blog, but I've been so stinking consistent this week that I hated to let it go today.

4. My parents were supposed to come home from Europe today. They've been gone for over two weeks, but their flight from NYC got cancelled, so now they're on a super early flight to try to get back in time for...

5. ...Avery's birthday party tomorrow! We're doing a very small family party at our house and then going to Avery's favorite place, The Ballpark in Arlington. Yes, we're having a Rangers themed birthday party for our little girl. What can I say, she loves her Rangers. I'll post a party update later!

No-Bake Oreo Bars

It's no secret. I have an insatiable sweet tooth.

Unfortunately, my 27-year-old (how did that happen??) body doesn't metabolize quite as well as my 18-year-old body did, so now I actually have to pay for my food choices.

Screw that.

You see, thanks to Pinterest (the most addictive time-sucker in my life right now), I'm addicted to No-Bake Oreo Bars.

People. You have to make them. They're essentially Rice Krispie Treats made with Oreos instead of the Rice Krispies, so the texture catches you off guard at first. But once you come to grips with the freaky chewy Oreo sensation, your life will never be the same.

And because plagiarism is wrong, the original recipe can be found here. But for those of you who are too lazy to click on the link, here it is:

1 pkg Oreos

1 pkg large marshmallows

4 Tbsp butter

Grind all the Oreos using a food processor (if you're fancy like that; if you're ghetto like us, a Ziplock bag and a rolling pin will do). Melt marshmallows and butter in microwave until puffed (about 1 1/2- 2 minutes).  Remove and pour in ground Oreos.  Stir to combine then transfer to a foil-lined 8×8 inch baking pan.  Let set up for 10 minutes.  Remove bars out of pan with edges of foil and cut into squares. The recipe says it makes 9 bars, but trust me when I tell you that a little bit goes a long way. Cut them into smaller bars and enjoy them for longer. :)

You can repay me by sharing your finished product. I love Oreos.

Wordless Wednesday: 2 Years Old

 

(to see the rest of Avery's photo shoot, check out Allison Jean Photo)

Happy Birthday to Avery and America!

We have just had the best two days around here!

{Avery's Birthday Celebration}

We're having a small family party next weekend, but we wanted to do something fun for Avery's actual birthday. I love birthdays and really want to make them memorable and special for our kids.

Since her birthday fell on a Sunday this year, she got to wear a special birthday skirt to church (complete with cupcake bow!). She even got to sing "Beautiful One" into the microphone on stage during worship team practice. Everybody was wishing her a happy birthday all morning, and her little Sunday School class even sang to her. I don't think she minded the attention one bit.

We came home for a delicious lunch of sausage, diced sweet potatoes, and (A's favorite) green beans. We'll do a cake at her party, so her birthday treat was No Bake Oreo Bars. The girl loves dessert (um, that might be my fault). But she's allowed to love dessert because she also loves fruits and veggies. See, I'm not such a bad mom. :)

After stuffing her face with chewy Oreo goodness, Avery got to open her birthday present from us, a Leapfrog Tag Reading System with a Disney princess book. (We decided to go with the Tag instead of Tag Junior because you can still use the Junior books with the Tag, and since the Junior system is a little more limited, we thought we'd get more years of use out of a regular Tag system.) She LOVED it (like gasped when she pulled it out of the bag). Point for Mommy and Daddy!

We snuggled on her bed for awhile with her new book and then she got a great nap. Yippee! Good naps make late nights bearable.

Our good friends Kendra and Carlos joined us for the rest of the evening, which consisted of Cotton Patch, fountains, and our town's fireworks show.

If I had known she would actually play IN the fountain this time, I would've brought her swimsuit. Good thing I had extra clothes!

Every time a firework went off, Avery would yell, "They hit a home run!" Um, someone has been to too many Ranger games.

Lauren and Brian joined us for the fireworks!

{4th of July}

Our town had a 4th of July parade, so Allison got up "early" to meet us at the house to go with us, and Kendra and Carlos met us out there. Um, the "parade" lasted maybe five minutes and was completely lame. 

Oh well. So we went over to my parents' (who are still in Europe-- come back already!!) to eat pizza and swim next door. 

We headed home for Avery to nap (she fell asleep in the car like two minutes after we left-- we wore the girl out this weekend!), and then we got our stuff together for the Talleys' annual 4th of July celebration. 

We just love the Talleys (Kendra's parents), and every year they invite over whoever from the church wants to come and watch the Duncanville fireworks from their front yard. They fire up the grill, and everybody just eats and hangs out until the show starts at dark. Avery loved playing with her friend Lily (and all of her other favorite people), and Landon was definitely not lacking in snuggles! The fireworks were awesome, and it was a nice, low-key way to spend the evening.

After a couple of busy days and late nights, I'm looking forward to a "normal" day tomorrow. Goodnight, everybody! Hope your holiday weekend was as fantastic as ours. :)