Laura's Graduation Party!

Laura graduated at the beginning of June.  I still remember when she was three, and now she is off to A&M next year!  We had a party at our house the day after graduation.  Laura decorated everything herself, and she did a great job!

She had a photo booth in the study that everyone enjoyed...even Chloe and Ave!

Laura should be so proud of all that she has accomplished.  She graduated in the top 10%  which meant that she got to walk across the stage first.  Hallelujah!  I may put an extra emphasis on grades with my kids so that we don't have to wait until the Z's are called during every graduation ;).  She is a beautiful, smart, level headed woman, and I know that she is going to do amazingly in college.  We can't wait to see how the next few years play out for her!

Avery is 5!

My first born is officially five.  I still can't believe it.  She's now been alive for half of a decade which also means that I have now been a mom for half of a decade!  For the past couple of years, I've done this little questionnaire.  It's so much fun to see the differences.

Favorite color- purple*

Favorite toy- Samantha doll

Favorite fruit- grapes

Favorite tv show- Wild Kratts

Favorite thing to eat for lunch- grilled cheese

Favorite outfit- dresses*

Favorite game- Hide and Seek

Favorite snack-

Favorite animal- ponies

Favorite song- The Olivia theme song

Favorite book- Nonfiction books

Best friend- Claire

Favorite cereal- Life*

Favorite thing to do outside- playing with shooter outside

Favorite drink- lemonade*

Favorite holiday- my birthday*

What do you like to take to bed with you at night- Puppy*

Favorite thing to eat for breakfast- Pancakes*

What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday- Schlotzski's pizza

What do you want to be when you grow up- a gymnastics girl

*same as last year

Bill and I say all the time how fortunate we are to have Avery.  She is the sweetest, most compassionate, loving girl I know.  It really is a blessing to be her mom.  She helps me out with Chloe all of the time and pretty much makes my life easier.  I am so thankful that she came first with her gentleness and kindhearted nature.  I couldn't have chosen a better role model for Chloe and hopefully #3 in the future.

Likes- Gymnastics, Chloe, her family and friends, books, Wild Kratts, animals, bugs, nature, sweets, movie nights, parks, museums, road trips, pull out couches, holidays, her blanket and puppy, and pizza.

Dislikes-
Thunder, rainstorms, Chloe taking her things, bad dreams, "scary things" in her room in the middle of the night, her bedtime routine, being in a rush

While Avery is as sweet as can be and pretty easy to parent, there have been a couple of times lately that she tells me that life is sooo hard for her.  My girl, if you only knew!  She tells me that she wants to have a job and work and not be a kid anymore.  I wish there was a way to give her a glimpse into that future and then let her remain a kid.

I couldn't be more thankful to have this girl in our family and spend my days with her!  She truly has a zest for life and gets so excited about every little thing.  Happy birthday my big 5 year old!

Avery's 5th Birthday Party

Avery decided that she wanted to have a gymnastics birthday party at Basel's this year.  She is currently obsessed with the show, Wild Kratts, so that was our theme.  Basel's is the perfect place because the kids can run free on all of the equipment.  We've been to several parties there, and they are always a hit.

Here are some pictures from the party-

After an hour of playing, we all went upstairs to the party room for pizza and cupcakes.  My mom made the cupcakes, and I think they turned out so cute!

After we got home that night, I realized that I didn't take a single picture with the birthday girl so we took a few more pictures (since I hadn't gotten quite enough!).

I have great memories from this party.  Avery had a blast, and I think all of the other kids did too!