Birdie Birthday

My oh my, how the first year flew by!! My little Ava is turning ONE and there is nothing that I love more than her pottery barn Penelope bedding with little birdies. Here is the inspiration:

Her invitation also set the tone for the party. I think many websites now have adorable invites already made up but there is nothing like a custom invite easily found on etsy. The only problem is that you do save money by getting just the image from the designer but then you need to find the best deal on cardstock. I found the best deal on Walmart of all places after searching up and down left and right. The design was 15$ and the cardstock was 0.87 cents per card.

My mom's friend continues to make adorable cookies for our kiddos' birthday parties. They taste just as amazing as they look! I love the different sizes this time!

My mom made these adorable birdies to hang from the dining room chandelier.....

 And a few to walk around the rest of the decorations!

The birdhouses are from Michaels and painted to match the party

 And of course the packages are hand stamped with stampin up! You can tell your a die hard stamper when you start to know the names of the stamp sets...Betsy's Blossoms....just sayin'

Using the Cricut, we made letters for the banner

Striped straws and matching candy in glass jars

My mom found these adorable little birdhouses online that you had to assemble but it worked out better that way since she could stamp them out a tad before putting them together

With having a bigger space to decorate, some balloons and matching crate paper help stretch the colors

I got pics ahead of time of Miss Ava knowing the day of the party would be hectic

We made up bags for Ava to take to her school friends since she's a little young to invite them to the party

A matching sign to put out in the front yard!

And a party wouldn't be final until the arrival of the cupcakes! Once again by Cupcake Tree Bake Shop and I just let her pick what she thinks would fit the theme the best.

I'll post some pics separately in the 'Ava 1 year' blog post of her devouring her delicious cupcake! Another successful kiddo party! I love that both kids birthdays are in the winter when we are stuck inside....gives us some time to create as we spend the cold days cooped up. Loved hosting the party in our new house too!

The Build: Black Rundle Stone

We have had many requests over time for the name of the stone on the front of the house or even just some shots of what it looks like. I took a few quick shots the other day just to get a few more on the blog. Once the weather is better, I can get a few of the entire front of the house.

Third stall

Front porch....Can you find Austin? Always keeping his tabs on Mommy

Closer up to the left

closer up to the right

Hope this helps!

Our Trip to the U.P.

What began at 4am could have been bad just for the early sake but instead turned even worse with poop all over Austin's crib. Our family just got over the GI bug that was going around before we headed up north, but it still remained a surprise when I got Austin out of his bed. So let's just say it was a rough start.

So we packed up the van that we borrowed and as I got the kids buckled into their car seats, Jason heard me say something he never thought he would hear in our entire lives, "Jason, I want a van!" Ok, so I don't really want a van, but man are those things convenient. We practically packed the entire house and still had room!

We were actually still in the neighborhood when I realized that I forgot to pack my camera, but there was no turning back. It took every ounce of energy to pack up the kids in that van and nothing was going to make us add more minutes onto the long trip.

I thought that the kids would fall back asleep. It was still dark out and they were watching movies, but oh no,  they were awake 98% of the trip. At one point Jason had to make sure to lock the van doors because I was close to opening it on the highway and just rolling out.  I thought giving Ava her pacifier would calm her down and help her fall asleep, but instead, she just threw it in every nook and cranny in the van every 2 seconds.

I quickly learned that I forgot to pack earplugs

Hour 6 of the trip and the kids were still not asleep and cranky as ever. We were due to arrive to Grandma Candy's in 1/2 an hour and that's finally when I turn around and see their eyes shut. Go figure.

Regardless of the terrible ride up, it was all forgotten as we visited with family and introduced our little ones to their great grandparents. Here is Ava with Great Grandpa Letson.

Austin received one large Valentine's day cookie from Grandma. She knows the way to his heart.

Benny and Austin quickly became best friends. On the way home from our trip Austin turns to me and says, "Benny is my favorite."

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Wodzinski's the following night and there were lots of deer to greet us. Austin thought it was pretty cool. I quickly regretted my not turning around to grab my camera decision as we didn't get any pics with Gma and Gpa W.

Oh Benny!

Each day Austin would get antsy and we'd take him out to another dollar store. He always seemed to find the biggest toys that made the most noise!

It was a short trip home as it was complete opposite from the ride up. Both kids watched movies quietly and fell asleep!

Always a quick trip when we head to the U.P. but we missed out on lots of family including Jason's Dad since he is still overseas. But he's coming home soon and I am sure he will be in shock as the kids have grown so much since before he left. Looking forward to having our basement finished so we can finally have family come and stay with us.

Ava: 11 mos

My little baby girl is just one month shy of becoming 1 year old! Now that's nuts. But I have to say that life seems just a little bit easier lately. We don't have a new baby, I am not breastfeeding or pregnant....but those things definitely ruled our lives for the last 2 years.

Ava loves to stand and cruise along the furniture, but no where close to walking at this moment. She usually crawls where the action is and then crawls up someone's leg to pick her up. She also loves to dance, which is so adorable as she sways back and forth....she did not learn those dance moves from me, must be from her daddy.

She is such a good eater. I wish she could teach Austin how to eat like that. I remember he used to do the same. There must be some toddler switch that goes off that says, 'from today forward, you will not like anything but applesauce and fruit snacks...done!' She did get Austin's love for greek yogurt though.

Down to just a few bottles a day and the countdown to never buying formula again is on.

She still loves a pacifier much more than Austin ever did, so wish me luck as I toss them before her 1st birthday party.

My children have chosen to talk over walking in their developmental staging, so Ava talks up a storm. She says, I love you, Austin, more, all done, and all those adorable mama, dada, and many other babbles.

Bath time remains a blast with both kiddos done a once, but Ava seems to be in a bad habit of drinking half the bath water. She's also starting the infamous standing in the bathtub which drives me nuts since she's just not that stable. Those chunky thighs can take her down so fast!

Still getting away with some 12 month clothing but not for long. My mom however, just bought her, her first pair of 'real' shoes. I am an anti-shoe wearing mom until they are really standing and cruising because I don't find the point other than being cute. So anyhoo, the guy at Stride Rite was like 'woah, those are tiny feet'. I don't know what average size is for an almost 1 year old, but she's a size 3, a small 3. Maybe she will take after my Mom and Aunt Carol with those itty bitty size 6 feet.

She still only has those bottom two teeth which doesn't seem to stop her from eating everything in site, but it only makes me cringe for those upcoming teething tantrums!

Well......Ava's Birdie Birthday is in the works.......Can't wait!