the birthday girl.

our sweet little avery mae turned TWO on the sixteenth!!

she is such a bundle of joy.

we started out the day with a "princess" breakfast. even though her tiara didn't stay on very well at all, i think it was still a smashing success. max & ave were so well-behaved at their very own table and they were just so adorable about the whole thing. 

after breakfast, we hurried out the door for storytime at the library. max slipped in the mud on our way there and got covered!!! so we were a tiny bit late, but managed to have a great time.

since we didn't have time for a bath before library, as soon as we got back avery requested one. max was uninterested, so she got the royal treatment and had the entire tub to herself!

after baths, it was popcorn time!!! ave's snack of choice. she loves her doll "penny pen" and was so good to share with her ;)

after naps for the birthday girl, we had a photo shoot on mom & dad's bed. the lighting wasn't the best (and i'm definitely not the best photographer in the world) but i think these pictures are so sweet & capture ave & max's relationship perfectly. hah! they usually are really good buddies.

^^ this one, though blurry, is my absolute fav. those cheeks!! i could kiss her all day long. ^^

before my family arrived for her birthday party, ave's "nephi grandparents" chris & nell (and kurt!) stopped by to spoil her. she adores them all and was so excited about her new play kitchen. good thing she has such a patient daddy who put it all together for her!! (it was quite the assembly!)

my family came down for dinner, cupcakes, and presents...and we are so glad they did! we go see them a bunch, but it's been awhile since they've been down to see our place so it was fun to show them all of the improvements we've been making.

^^ she's two now!! practicing with graunna shaunna ^^

avery loves kitties so when i realized that for my 2nd birthday, i had kitty cupcakes, we had to continue the tradition! before my family arrived, we had fun decorating the cupcakes. i did the ears, max did the eyes, ave did the noses, and danny was in charge of whiskers. we ended up with some very personality-filled cupcakes! just like ave :) 

the birthday girl was so happy the whole night...until we sang happy birthday to her! it totally freaked her out and she burst into tears. her favorite song is "i love to see the temple" so we quickly started singing that instead, and she warmed up. it was the cutest thing :)

^^ max was lovin' it all. in case you couldn't tell :) ^^

and after cupcakes, she was finally able to open her presents! she got necklaces, a new hello kitty sippy cup & hello kitty lacing cards (they are the cutest!). a kitty book...and a strider! avery has been wanting her own bike, but when max spotted the new & improved bike...he's had a hard time remembering whose bike is whose. :) 

we love you so very much miss. avery mae!!

here's to a fabulous year ahead :)

xoxo