goodbye 3...today, i am 4! happy birthday to averie!

November 16th was my birthday...yes, MY birthday. And, I used that line, "because it's my birthday," a lot! :) But, what a great day it was. Actually, we celebrated all weekend long, and we had so much fun! Daddy & Mommy can't believe I am already 4. I told Brady the day after my birthday, "I will never be 3 again, Buddy." And, Mommy realized how true and bittersweet that statement was. But, I had a whole lot of fun being 3, so I am super excited to see what 4 will bring! Enjoy the pics!

Me...the morning of my birthday. I went to preschool that morning. (I am pictured with my bear, Lexi, who I made at my friend party...pictures in another post!)

Just me...the birthday girl

Daddy picked me up a little early from preschool (so exciting to have Daddy there!), and we met Mommy & Brady at Chic-Fil-A for lunch. Then, we came home and I got to open my presents from Daddy, Mommy, & Brady. Before opening gifts, I had to take a picture of me with our special birthday hat...bought by Daddy & Mommy in Disneyworld for us to wear on our birthdays!

Opening gifts...I LOVED doing that!

This one is from Brady!

My "big' gift...a changing table for my baby dolls! I LOVED it!

Me with an outfit for my baby dolls!

Mommy likes to wrap everything very individual rather than grouping them together. That way, I am opening lots of presents.

I love board games!

Daddy & Me

Mommy & Me

And, the look Brady gave Mommy when she said it was time to take a picture with the birthday girl. He has this new look...and it's rather funny!

The picture didn't go well...Brady was obviously too busy cooking!

That night, we went out to dinner at Kabuto's Japanese Steakhouse...otherwise known as "Big Fire." We went with all my family! Here I am...ready to go!

Me with my Opa & Oma

Me with my Poppy & Nana

Me with my Uncle Blair, Aunt Blip Blip, and McKinly

Me with my Uncle Todd, Aunt Helen, Brayden, & Carter

Me with my Uncle Art, Uncle Michael, Uncle Abe, & Uncle Thomas

Me with my Aunt Courtney, Aunt Kelly, and Jackson

Me with my Great Uncle Arie (Opa's brother) & Paul

Me with Sam, Kaitlyn, Zach, Eric, & Grant

Me with Daddy, Mommy, & Brady

The waitress got tired of filling up Eric's Diet Coke, so she brought him the biggest glass they had!! Hee! Hee!

Uncle Michael & Aunt Courtney drew my name this year (for the VW family), and they got me a high chair for my baby dolls...and a purse...and some princess dominoes!

Me with Kaitlyn & Stephanie

After dinner, some of the family came back to our house for cupcakes, pound cake, cookies, and coffee. I really like Hello Kitty right now, so Mommy decorated the table with Hello Kitty stuff, the desserts, and my gifts that I had already opened!

The cupcake of my choice...funfetti cupcake...with 4 candles on them!

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Averie, Happy Birthday to you." I loved listening to everyone sing to me!

Making a wish...

...and blowing out my candles!I said, "Hey, what's going on here" as I saw 2 of the candles re-light by themselves!

So, I blew them out again...and again...and again. It was making me laugh!

Now...time to eat my birthday cupcake!

YUMMY!

Opening my gifts...I got pretty excited when I got a bathtub with shampoo and conditioner for my baby dolls from Poppy & Nana!

"Ooh...what could this be"

"Ooh...it's twins!"

These are the twin babies I picked out of a catalog a few months ago and kept telling everyone I really wanted for my birthday. Thanks, Opa & Oma, for giving me Kate (the brunette) & Carly (the blonde). And, thanks to everyone else who gave me all the fun accessories to go with them. And, thanks for all my other great gifts!

Me with Kaitlyn...and the twins!

Oma played "babies" with me, and I paid her $80 to watch my babies for me while I ran errands. Thankfully, she told me that she wouldn't charge me and I could keep the money! We had fun together!

At the end of the night, I was completely wiped out. And, since "it was my brithday," I could stay up as late as I wanted. But, by 9:30, I was snuggled up next to my Daddy in my new Hello Kitty (Christmas) jammies (thanks to Poppy & Nana) and fell fast asleep in just a few minutes! What a great day I had with my family!

it's a birthday partay...celebrating with friends

This past Saturday, I had my friend birthday party at Build-A-Bear. I was super excited about my party...picking this place about 2 months ago. Daddy was able to go with us, and I loved that! So, here I am with my Daddy!

Mommy & me

Me with Daddy & Mommy. I was pretty tired. I had spent the night at Poppy & Nana's house for the first time, and though I did great & had lots of fun, I was up a little earlier than usual, so I was tired!

Me with some of my friends...Delaney, Sydney, & Makailyn. We had just picked the bear we wanted to make!

Waiting to stuff my bear...I am all smiles!

Rubbing the heart I will put in my bear...

...and making a wish for my bear!

Helping to put the stuffing in my new bear!

And, then...bathing her.

My bear is all ready for her hair accessories...

And, the finished look...me & my bear, Lexi!

And, me with my friends & our new bears!

Then, it was time to sing and have cupcakes. I picked funfetti again, and I loved the number 4 candle I picked out...as well as my plates/napkins!

We had cupcakes, goldfish, grapes, juice boxes, and water...yummy!

The birthday girl!

Blowing out my candle

And, me with my friend, Ella! What a great time we all had!

After the party, we went to pick up Brady (Thanks, Oma, for watching him!) and then came home to open the gifts from my friends!

I had so much fun, and I got lots of wonderful things...painting supplies, coloring books, Hello Kitty stuff, lacing bear, Polly Pocket, animals, board game, DVD, magic oven, & a Barbie doll.

Having so much fun...

...while Brady enjoys the cupcake that we saved for him from the party!

What a super fun day...I had a great time celebrating with my friends!

just havin' some fun...

Since Mommy has been baking lots of cupcakes in preparation for my (Averie's) friend and family celebrations, Brady has been super interested in the oven. As you can see, he knows exactly what to do...get the oven mitt on and take out the yummy food!

The food is ready...
...and Brady is pointing to what he "made" (And, for all of you who may be worried that I would let my son open the hot oven...it's not on...and there is nothing in there!) He loved it!

Here is a picture of me with the spider hat I made at preschool. Isn't just adorable?

And, we were having lunch at Opa & Oma's a few Saturdays ago, and I wanted to color them a picture. I asked Daddy & Mommy how to spell their names...so Daddy told me, and I wrote it. Yes, here it is! :) (Oh, I did have help with the flowers...)

Daddy helping Brady color!

trick or treat

We sure had a fun Halloween! We got to get all dressed up & got to eat lots of candy. Here am I...dressed as a fairy. I thought I looked like the tooth fairy in one of my books. Other asked me if I was Tinkerbell. Either way, I was a beautiful fairy from what Daddy & Mommy told me...and I had a fun night!

And, Brady Boy...well, he got to be a cowboy. And, a very cute cowboy he was. "Hats off" to our kind neighbor friends for letting us borrow this adorable outfit. All we had to buy were the cowboy boots! :)

Cowboy Brady

He was laughing at me while Mommy was taking the pictures!

What I said was obviously pretty funny...he is still laughing and smiling big!

And, here we are together...the fairy and the cowboy...ready to trick or treat in the neighborhood for a bit and then head out to our church for a fun fall festival!

One of our neighbor friends dressed their sweet daughter as a cowgirl, so Mommy had to take a picture of the cute kiddies!

Then, before we could get lots of candy, Mommy put some mini Nilla wafers in our basket to enjoy. So, while Brady had one in his mouth, he wanted to say "hi" to a neighbor...so that explains the crumbs hanging out of his mouth!

Me...having fun with sidewalk chalk with my next door neighbor friend, Giselle!

One of our neighbors gave Brady a toy gun and holster to compliment his outfit. He had fun playing with the gun.

"Look what I have, Mommy"

Too bad the holster was too big or he would have worn it all night!

Having fun playing with my neighborhood friends!

We rode in style to trick or treat! Brady is still enjoying his Nilla wafers at this point!

Daddy pulled us to each house...Brady was looking back to make sure Mommy was still with us!

At my first house..."Trick or treat" I would say...and then get some yummy candy & snacks!

Brady walked with Daddy some too, while I was busy knocking on doors and getting treats for both of us to enjoy!

Me with my neighbor friend, Connor!

Then, off to the fall festival at my church. I LOVED the clowns. And, usually I am afraid of dressed up things, but not clowns. They gave me glow bracelets to wear!

There were slides, games, bounce houses, food, and more...such a fun family time! I loved it!

Brady loved it too, but his favorite part was all the food...he ate everything...candy, popcorn, hot dog, and more candy!

Mommy caught him looking through my "loot" to see what he could find for himself!! :)

Mommy with us...on the hayride!

Me...ready to play some games!

Playing the ring toss game was fun...and winning candy was fun too!

And, every year, we see Uncle Michael, Aunt Courtney, Brayden, & Jackson! And, every year, we take a picture. So, here was our first attempt...the various facial expressions are rather funny!

Then, we added Brady Boy...he was fascinated by all the lights and costumes!

Daddy & me

Daddy & Brady Boy

Brady got to go down the really big slide (in a potato sack) with Daddy. I got to go all by myself...racing Mommy down the slide. What a fun night!

The rain brought us home a little earlier than we had hoped, but we still had a great time. What a fun family evening!

Until next time...see ya later!

why we really love monkey joes...

On our cold and rainy Saturday morning, we enjoyed going to Monkey Joe's to play...and of course, eat ice cream. What else is there to do on a cold rainy day? :)

I think this is really why we love Monkey Joe's...




Here, Mommy was trying to take a picture of us both looking, but Brady was clearly mad that he wasn't getting a lick at the moment! Me...well...I am just smiling!
Sure was a fun family morning!

averie's fall festival

Before leaving for my (Averie's) fall festival at preschool, Mommy had to take a few pics of us. You know, since she doesn't have any recent ones! :) Here is Brady...

And...here I am...ready for school...and the fall festival!

And, one of Mommy's many attempts of the 2 of us...this is the best we got! :)

At my fall festival...getting a tattoo from the tattoo artist, my Aunt Helen!

Me with my pumpkin tattoo!

Then, Aunt Helen "talked" Brady into getting his first tattoo also...at 15 months of age! :) He thought it was a sticker...until it wouldn't come off. He just kept staring at it.

Bean Bag Toss in a pumpkin!

And, Brady was at the coloring table...STILL fascinated with his tattoo (or wondering why it wouldn't come off)!

He gave up...and just enjoyed coloring!

...and more coloring...

Then, I got my face painted...

...with a butterfly, my favorite animal!

Then, it was back to the tattoo table for a few more additions...including a big pumpkin on my belly! Hee hee!

On to some more fall festival games...winning lots of candy and toys!

Other than coloring, Brady was most entertained by the sand box. Of course, there were toy prizes in there, but he didn't care...he just wanted to dig in the sand. I think he was looking for his beloved yellow shovel from the summer. Remember that?

So, I came along and helped him play in the sand.

But, I was quickly steered away by more games and prizes!

Time for the cookie decorating...one of my fave things at the fall festival!

I even got to lick the frosting right off my knife...don't look, Mommy! :)

A few sprinkles...

And, a bite for Brady...before I ate the rest. Yummy!

Last station...pumpkin decorating. I picked my pumpkin out...and enjoyed decorating it!

Me & my pumpkin!

What a fun fall festival!

sporting a mohawk...just for the day...the cute smile, well, that's for life!

Here I (Brady) am...sporting a mohawk for the day. My hair is getting too long to spike up, so Mommy thought it'd be cute to try and do a mohawk. Too cute, huh? But, that smile...well, that's been a work in progress. Mommy can now say, "Show me that smile, Brady" and this is what I do. So, the mohawk may come and go, but that smile...well, it's forever!

Oh, and I love playing with cash registers...



And, one last smile...

having fun at home...

Enjoy some of these random pics taken while being at home...

Here I am wearing a Campbell Camels t-shirt. Yes, this is where my Mommy went to college, and she had a wonderful time. But, what makes this shirt even cooler is that this shirt was given to my cousin, Andrew, when he was born. He is 11 years old now! Then, my cousin, Zach, wore it. He is 8 years old. Then, my Aunt Cindi saved it for a few years and gave it back to my Mommy last year for me to wear when I got big enough. How cool is that? Thanks, Aunt Cindi. Mommy loves it!

Brady & I love watching cartoons in our jammies on Saturday mornings...it's a tradition in our house. :)

I had my very good friend and 2 doors down neighbor, Emily, come over one day to play. We were having so much fun coloring...and playing with baby dolls...and doing all sorts of other fun girly things together!

We're such good buddies!

And, here is my (Averie) thought..."This is how this toy should be used, right"? Brady is doing a great job finally pushing ME around the house :)

Daddy giving Brady a "push" on the scooter!

Home is such a great place to be!

pickin' pumpkins

Hi Everyone ~ We sure have had a busy few weeks...Brady turning 15 months old, Daddy's birthday, preschool pictures, a trip to the children's museum in Greensboro (yes, again...that's how much we loved it!), and a trip to Patterson Farms. Enjoy our pictures!

Here we are at Patterson Farms. We've never been in the fall to pick pumkins...we've only picked yummy strawberries here. So, we were pretty excited. Here I am...of course, with the sun right in my eyes!

And, one of Brady...

Could his precious face be any cuter? (Mommy added that...not me :))

And, with one Mommy & us

Before we took a wagon ride and picked pumpkins, we got to walk around, see the animals, play on the playground, play on the farm equipment, and eat lunch. Brady saw this picture of the bunny, and he walked right up to it and gave it a kiss...so cute!

Then, he found this big golf cart and LOVED it, especially when he found the horn button...

Go Brady!

Me...well, I chose the tractor, of course :)

At the playground, they had these mini versions of John Deere equipment, so Mommy used that as a photo opportunity...
Brady often checks throughout the day to make sure his bellybutton is still where it needs to be!

And...another one of Brady...relaxin' on the tractor!

Now...my turn on the tractor!

I also got to swing on this "horse" swing. It was fun!

After playing for a while, we had lunch. Afterwards, we played some more. Here, my cousin, Jackson, and I were taking a little rest.

Our group...Brady (15 mo), Me (3), Jackson (3), & Brayden (6)

We were also quite entertained by watching the animals...and the tractors!

Having fun!

Brady watching all the action going on, too!

And, watching together, too!

Time to feed the animals. We got to feed a peacock right out of the cup! It was exciting!

After watching me, it was Brady's turn!
He LOVED it, too! In fact, he didn't want to let go of the cup afterwards, but it was time to for the wagon ride and pick pumpkins!

Wagon ride time!

And, finally...time to pick a pumpkin. So many choices... ...maybe this one...

Brady walks around looking at all the "balls," as he called them!Maybe this one looks good...

...checking it out...

...maybe this one...

Here it is...my pumpkin!

Getting to know his pumpkin!

Meanwhile, I am still deciding...

And...look what I found!

Me & my pumpkin

I sat with my pumpkin (& the one I picked for Daddy) just watching everything going on!
Smile for Mommy!
This time...a smile & a pose for Mommy!
Brady still figuring out the whole pumpkin thing out!
"Look, Momma!"

This is the look he gave as he watched Brayden & Jackson run around!

And, a sweet smile for Aunt Courtney!

Then, finally one for Mommy!
1st of many attempts for the picture...

And, the best attempt...me & Brady!

I think Brady was having a "chat" with his pumpkin.

Me sporting Mommy's sunglasses...

...while Brady takes one last look at all the pumpkins!

What a great day!

back to the greensboro children's museum

We had so much fun at the Children's Museum a few weeks ago that we decided to go again with our cousins, Brayden & Jackson! We had a great time again! Here we all are...ready to explore & play!

Brady immediately found the phone & called "Da Da" of course!

And, me, the receptionist, took lots of calls!

Brady's turn..."Hi Da Da"

I asked him who he was emailing...he just said "Da Da."

Time for the construction zone area...ready with my safety goggles on!

We had fun building a tower with the big legos!

The completed tower!Brady is ready with his hard hat on!

Here, Brady was attempting to go down the stairs. As you can see, his lip is clearly "beat up," but it wasn't from the stairs. He had fallen at home that morning while running to the car in excitement of going to the museum!

He made it down the stairs, very slowly, and with lots of assistance from Mommy!Kitchen time...clearly, Brady would make an excellent chef...

...while I love to bake! :)

All the boys...cooking in the kitchen!

I loved the creative station...it was closed last time we came, so we had fun playing with play-doh...

...and making a craft. I even got to use scissors!

Meanwhile, Brady found another kitchen to play with...and loved it again!

After enjoying our lunch, we got to go to the "supermarket" station, and we all really enjoyed that. Here, I am checking Brayden out!

Brayden & Me

Brady...just pushing his buggy & shopping for his groceries!

Then, it was my turn to purchase groceries...and Jackson was my cashier!

After the supermarket fun, we went to play in the sand.

Brady loved digging in the sand...even without his beloved yellow shovel!

He also enjoyed playing in the sand with Brayden!

Brady also loved sitting in the race car, too!

I loved the rock climbing wall...another new thing they had this time!

Our last stop...the theater room. We got dressed up in costumes and played on the drums. So fun!

Brady liked the drums also!
Then, we put on a "show" (well, about 15 of them) for our Mommies. They enjoyed our music, and we had fun playing!

Another great time at the Children's Museum!