Happy 4th of July Fun!

Hi Everyone ~ Happy 4th of July (a few days late!). We had such a great weekend, and we wanted to share the pictures with you. Enjoy!

To celebrate the 4th of July, we spent the day with our really good friends, the Mumpowers. That morning, we met up at Birkdale for the grown-ups to get some coffee at Starbucks. Then, we walked around and enjoyed the festivities...the crafts, the food, the games, & the parade. It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun! Here I am with my sister, Averie!

She enjoyed making a patriotic necklace...and then a bracelet for Mommy!

Then, we each got to get spray on tattoos...Averie enjoyed it...

I just watched the lady VERY closely...with a little fear in my eyes! :)

Waving our flags...Brock, Macie, Me, & Averie

Even the dogs came dressed up for the day!

Daddy & Averie got to look through a fire medic truck. They had fun doing that!

Then, I got to play with a basketball while Daddy & Averie got to shoot them in the basketball hoop!

She almost made a basket!

After the parade, we walked back to our cars. Here are Averie & Brock. They love to hold hands and walk together. They are good buddies!

Brock & Averie

Then, it was time to go to Opa & Oma's for an afternoon of swimming & grilling out. Daddy grilled out yummy burgers and hot dogs. We had a great time swimming and playing! Here is Brock jumping off the waterfall...

...and then it was Averie's turn. Oh, notice anything different about Averie? She's not wearing her bubble.

Yes, she got to swim without her bubble on for a lot of the day. She is doing great with her swimming...and she is very proud of herself!

Swimming to Daddy!

And, then there's me...exploring around the pool!

Our Family
And, the Mumpowers.

Technically, this picture should have rewarded Mommy with $100. Mrs. Deirdre said that she would give anyone $100 to get a family picture of them with everyone looking at the camera. Here it is. And, actually, this was Mommy's 2nd successful family picture of the day, so she should be receiving her $200 in the mail soon! :)

Opa stopped by & enjoyed a burger with us. Averie was the most excited...she loves her Opa!

Then, after I went down for a long afternoon nap, Averie enjoyed more swimming in the pool...mostly without her bubble. She was so excited that she would smile while swimming :)

And, she goes underwater too. What a big summer for Averie!

Hope you had a happy 4th of July. (Oh, Daddy & Mommy enjoyed a nice dinner with Mr. Adam & Mrs. Deirdre that night while we got to party with Poppy & Nana. Sure was a great day for all of us!) :) :)

Happy Birthday, Brady Boy...Round 2

Here I am...the morning of my birthday celebration with friends. We took a few pictures before the party started...Aren't I just the cutest 1 year old? :)

Playing with my CD player from Poppy & Nana...I LOVE music!

A sweet smile for my big sister, Averie!

The cupcake cake...it was super yummy! It's 40 cupcakes with a whipped icing...and almost all of them were eaten!

Let the party begin...it was in our backyard. Daddy & Mommy put up a few tents, & we played on the playground, had the water sprayers, water table, bubbles, & a balloon artist for the older kids. (It was my cousin, Andrew, and he did great!) The weather was perfect, and we had a great time! Here I am with my buddy, Garrison.

We sure had fun playing with the water table!

These were the party favors that we had...it was an idea that my Mommy "stole" from her friends. It's baby jars that I enjoyed eating...filled with skittles...and decorated to spell "Happy Birthday, Brady" It was also a good table decoration.

Ooh...another candle for me...

...which means everyone singing to me again...YAH!

Yummy "sunshine" cake...yellow cake with chocolate frosting!

Me...the Birthday Boy!

Mommy & me

I kept pointing to the cupcakes, so, after a few bites of my birthday cake, I got a cupcake. I loved it! YUMMY! So, Mommy decided I am more like a Karaffa...I prefer the store bought cupcake over the boxed sunshine cake! :)

Digging right into that cupcake!

Not sure why I gave Mommy this face, but it's a cute one! :)

Then, it was time to REALLY eat my cake...
Um, you mean I wasn't supposed to stuff it right in my face? Daddy & Mommy thought it was so fun to watch me enjoy my birthday cupcake!

Daddy & Mommy with me

And, a picture with Averie!

I was such a mess after pizza, watermelon, & birthday cake, so I got to take off my outfit and play in the water for the remainder of the party. It was such a fun day! I had a blast celebrating with everyone!

Happy Birthday, Brady Boy...Round 1

Happy Birthday to our Brady & a Happy 4th of July to everyone. We hope everyone had a great weekend...thanking God for our freedom. We sure had the most wonderful weekend...celebrating our Brady Boy & spending lots of time with family & friends. Enjoy the pictures. (Oh, and Mommy is now turning over the blogging to me...Brady...since it was my birthday!)

We had our family party on my birthday, July 2. (Yes, since both families together make for a large amount of people, we split up the celebrations.) I got to go out to eat at "big fire" (as the little kids call it...you know, the Japanese restaurants where they cook it in front of you!), and I ate A LOT of food..noodles, rice, zucchini, steak, chicken, etc. It was super yummy! I was also very entertained...here I am looking at the "big fire."

And, then...clapping for the chef who prepared our food!

After dinner, we came home to celebrate. Here is the dessert table...pound cake, funfetti cupcakes, and Dutch cookies...all some of my favorite things!

Daddy & Mommy with me, the Birthday Boy!

"Happy Birthday to Brady, Happy Birthday to You."

I really liked the singing...I clapped right along!

Daddy helping me blow out my candle!

Then, it was time to dive in...and I wasted no time...yummy!

I kept looking up because everyone was laughing and cheering me on!!

So, off came the hat...it was time to get serious...

...until it got all over my hands...and wouldn't come off! :) (Check out my facial expression!)

Another quick picture with Daddy & Mommy before they smashed the cake in my face...their birthday tradition for their children :)

Oma & Me

Poppy & Nana with me

After getting cleaned up, it was time for some presents. I didn't really unwrap any of them, but my cousins helped me. I just liked crawling on the gifts and playing with them once they were opened.

Yeah...a wagon. This was my gift from my Opa & Oma. McKinly & me are ready to go for a spin!

Mmm...wonder what's in this box from my sister, Averie?

Oh, something for me to sit... :) She gave me a lawnmower.Then...a new car! Man, turning 1 is so much fun. I got this from Daddy & Mommy, and I didn't want to get out of it the rest of the night. It was so much fun. It makes all sorts of sounds, and I love sitting in my car!

Fun...

Fun!

Averie sat in the wagon with me...I just love watching her!

This is what happens when one of us can walk (McKinly) and the other one can't (me)...McKinly gets control of the balloon because he can walk away with it! :) :) I think he is actually saying, "Ha ha, cousin Brady...I can walk and you can't." Just kidding! We get along great!

And, this is what happens when you are the oldest and only Karaffa granddaughter...you have to push the babies around :) I didn't care...I was pretty intense on perfecting my driving skills. Plus, Averie loves pushing me around.

We ended our celebration with Daddy throwing us way high in the air. We loved it!

Up, up, up...and away! :)

Once I got in my pj's, it was time for bed. But, Daddy & Mommy gave me a few more minutes to play with my car. Sure was a fun day!

And, Daddy & Mommy still can't believe I am already 1.

Happy Birthday to me!