Happy 3rd Birthday Avery!

Well, we officially have a 3 year old on our hands.  And she is everything we have been warned about.... active, energetic, pushes the limits, tests our patience, sassy, loving, kind, caring, and just wonderful.  Avery is an awesome kid and continues to make her dad and I very proud.  She is courageous, funny, super smart, friendly, and a fantastic big sister.  (Don't get me wrong, she has her moments...)

We celebrated her birthday starting the moment she woke up.  We had left a trail of presents from her room to the basement where her "big one" was waiting.  She started with a present from Ryen- a Mike Wazowski to go with her Sully.

 Then Dave and I gotten her a bunch of princess dresses....

and all 10 Disney princess dolls.  (There is going to be a theme here with all her presents.... see if you can pick up on it)

Then, we took Ryen to her godparents' house for the day while we spent the day with Avery.  After the park it was off to Green Gables for lunch.  This has become a tradition the last couple years and we love it, so we will make sure this continues!

This past Saturday we had her birthday party for family and some of our friends.  The weather was so nice and the kids ran around in their swim suits, were in and out of the pool, and played so well together.

One of Avery's presents was a set of 5 princess dresses, including headbands, shoes and accessories.

Grandpa and Grandma G. gave her a Princess Sophia dress!

And Auntie Ashley and Uncle Patrick gave her a Merida dress from the movie Brave....complete with her own bow and arrow set.  :)

It was a great day and we are thankful for all who came to celebrate with her.

Yep, this silly girl was here too!

Happy Birthday sweet girl.  We love you so much and are so proud to call you our daughter.  We can't wait to see what this year brings us!

So Long Summer!

Summer vacation has come to an end as students will be in my classroom on Monday!  We have been busy up until the last possible moment including today.  I decided to spend my last day before our school year started at home rather than in my classroom.  Here's how our summer finished up-

Aunt Judy and Uncle Rich came down to visit us for the weekend and we had so much fun!  We played at the park, the splash pad, got ice cream, played in our play house, and even hit the Third Sunday Market.  We can't wait for them to visit again!

Then, the girls and I made one last trip to Chicago before the school year started and the highlight of our trip was taking the train into the city (for the girls' first time) and spending the day at Navy Pier.

Auntie Ashley, Papa, Lucas, Avery and I went on the Ferris Wheel and the kids loved it.... even though Lucas' face looks otherwise.

They were so excited after the ride was over!

And then there was the carousel....

Ryen is also on the move for sure now!  She is so fast that if we leave the room for a minute, we actually have to look for her because she is no longer where we left her.  I guess we are back to the days of the gate being locked all the time now.

The girls have been so much fun this summer.  Ryen loves Avery so much and Avery loves her.  She is a great big sister and I think she is starting to like her even more now that she is moving!  That is until Ryen learns to grab Avery's toys and play with them or stick them in her mouth.

I have loved being home with this smiley girl for the past 5 months!  Going back to work will be a bit rough!

We also attended the annual family picnic and Ryen was quite happy at her first one.  

 Hanging out with Gigi

Playing a fishing game with her new friend Jade.