Audrey's birthday party

Audrey celebrated her second birthday with a luau party in the park this weekend. Even though the party was from 10-12, it was HOT! Luckily, kids don't really care about the heat and they still managed to have a good time :-) We were so lucky that lots of friends and family were able to join us in celebrating this big event for sweet Audrey!

The girls enjoying some watermelon in their personalized luau outfits

Our hula girl!

Audrey blowing bubbles

Eating lots of cake!

Audrey with her favorite birthday present - a creepy baby who coos, talks, and breathes. She LOVES it and we think that the baby could be in a horror movie! :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Audrey!

Two years ago today, our sweet Audrey joined our family. Today she is a fiesty, assertive toddler with a sweetness that can't be matched! Today she went to school after one of her current favorite breakfasts (blueberries, dried figs, and cheerios) and we joined her there later for a birthday party with her friends. Afterwards we went to the toy store so Ellie could pick out a gift for Audrey and they're playing with that gift (a toy cash register) now! Tonight we'll have Audrey's favorite dinner (burger and fries with LOTS of ketchup) and birthday cupcakes for dessert. This weekend we'll celebrate her birthday with family and friends at her luau themed party in the park. Happy birthday to our beautiful girl!

Pictures from this morning in her birthday cupcake dress

"Audrey, how old are you?" "Five!"

Birthday party at school

Happy Birthday to me!

For my birthday, we all spent the weekend in Philadelphia and had such a fun time! We spent most of Saturday at the zoo and then went back again this morning to see the exhibits that we missed yesterday (we're members so free entrance and free parking - yay!). The girls were great and enjoyed staying in the hotel almost as much as the zoo :-)

Lori and her long lost cousin

with whom Ellie came face to face!

The girls' both loved the Children's Zoo, especially this huge bunny village!

Inside a tractor wheel

Lunch :-)

Audrey is doing her imitation of an elephant - the index finger in front of her nose is supposed to be the trunk!

Enjoying mini burgers and ketchup at Saturday night's birthday dinner!

Sunday morning and back at the zoo!

There were special events at the zoo this morning for Autism Awareness Day. Ellie got to meet lots of different characters, of which Audrey was terrified. She kept calling Abby, but when we got close, she freaked out!

We had such a fun weekend and are completely exhausted! It was so nice to get away though. We hope to go back again soon and see more of the sights of Philadelphia!

Ellie's 4th Birthday Party

Ellie had her 4th birthday party at Build-A-Bear two days after we returned from Disney and it was fantastic! The kids had a great time and the parents appreciated not having to clean up before or after the party :-) The party lasted a little over an hour and then we had cupcakes and opened presents.

Picking out their bear "skins"

Ellie hugging her newly named Blueberry

Blueberry's hearts

Ellie watching Blueberry get stuffed!

Giving Blueberry a first "bath"

Looking at all the bear clothes to choose from....

And Ellie of course chose the wedding dress :-)

The kids with their bears

Having cupcakes after the party

Happy 4th Birthday, Ellie!

Happy Birthday to me!

I am one spoiled birthday girl today! This morning Lori took both girls to Ellie's gymnastics class and then to the grocery store so I had more than three whole hours alone!! I couldn't even tell you the last time I was home by myself and it was heavenly just to lounge around.

Lori and the girls brought back a bouquet of balloons for me and the fixings for a picnic. After naptime we all went to the park for an early picnic dinner and lots of playtime.

Audrey did not like the grass at all!

Ellie and Lori made me a delicious cake! My birthday gifts were a trench coat that I have been wanting for two years from Lori, beautiful weather, and Audrey's third tooth!

Butterfly birthday party

This weekend we had Ellie's birthday party and what a party it was! Our (small) home was filled with 10 kids ages 7 and under as well as even more adults. Ellie wanted a butterfly theme so there were butterflies everywhere! She had a fantastic time playing with her friends; she told us that was her favorite thing about her birthday.

Aunt TT and Uncle Ty drove 7 hours to be here for Ellie's birthday party. Ellie was so happy they were there!

Once everyone was here, we started with a "pizza picnic". We were trying to minimize the pizza mess!


After pizza we had a few activities for the kids. One was decorating a frame with foam stickers. During the party my mom took pictures of each kid and put it in the frame for the goody bag.


Another activity was making a pair of butterfly wings. We ordered these thick paper wings and let each kid decorate a pair. It was so cute to see lots of kids running around with wings on! You can also see one of the other activities in some of the pictures - Mimi painted everyone's face with a butterfly (or any other special request!).

Butterfly cake!

A very happy Ellie with a bright blue tongue

The goody bag - a butterfly activity book, butterfly stickers, a butterfly ring, a butterfly ornament, the decorated frame, a Smarties butterfly (paper wings taped onto a roll of Smarties), and of course their butterfly wings!

Ellie opening presents after the party

And of course, Audrey found the party quite exciting.