Spider-Mania and a Beer Commercial

It was back to Austin this weekend to Aunt Shelly's house as we celebrated Avery's 4th birthday in true Texas style - a little swimming, a little grillin' (fajitas, yum!) and lots of fun with friends and family! Mother nature was very good to us allowing for beautiful day for all. Avery loved his Spiderman party and was running the show by saying "Mom, it's time for cake" and 'Dad, you said we could open presents!" What a difference a year has made. In the past, we are having to wrestle him down to eat and open gifts b/c he was so shy. But he reminded us today that he can do things now because he's 4! Avery and Bella relaxing in the pool. Ella enjoyed the party as much as everyone else. What is it with kids and beer? Just look at her tongue curled up and ready for a taste! Daddy wasn't paying much attention but luckily mom was! Foiled again! We had a special surprise for Avery when we returned home today. We made up his bed with his new Spiderman sheets and quilt and assembled a wooden castle that he asked Santa for this year but it didn't make it on his sled! Look at that smile... he does the closed lip smile when he is extremely happy. And he remembered- he said "This is what Santa forgot to give me!" Poor Santa! The real battle will be getting him to bed tonight. Thank you Shelly for opening your home to us and allowin g us to have such a great day! And thanks to everyone for coming and making Avery's birthday extra special!

Pebbles and a Birthday Party

Ella's hair is getting so long, we are resorting to putting it up with a hair band like Pebbles from the Flintstones. Man, is she getting mobile. This afternoon, Avery and I went to his best friend Kaiden's birthday party. Those two, along with Alex, are 3 peas in a pod. They had a blast playing race cars and anything else their imaginations would allow! We were sad to hear that Kaiden and his family are moving to Phoenix in June. We're going to plan a sleep over at our house before they go so the kids can have a full night of fun playing before he leaves. (Of course, Avery doesn't know any of this yet...) Hope everyone is having a great weekend too!

Easter Fun Weekend

Our Easter weekend started on Friday with the kiddos at Portrait Innovations for Springtime photos. I must say, if you have never been to this place, I highly recommend it. The pictures turned out amazing if I may say so myself and most of you will be receiving some within the next few weeks so you can be the judge yourself! The best part is they print the pictures in house so you leave with them in hand! Talk about service. If you can deal with screaming kids in the waiting room, the rest is cake! I really wish I could upload a preview photo but no-go! Saturday morning we headed to Austin to Aunt Shelly's for an Easter weekend of fun. Avery had a blast dying eggs with Aunt Shelly. What a difference from last year, only one cracked egg and that was only because it got stuck in the dye cup! Daddy was a good sport and heated the jacuzzi so Avery could get in some "swimming." Swimming and Aunt Shelly's house go hand in hand! On Sunday the sun came out after a morning of thunder showers to allow us all to enjoy the rest of the afternoon hunting eggs, relaxing on the patio and of course, round 2 of swimming. Isn't the shark water wings the best idea ever? Aunt Shelly always has the best gift ideas and Ella even has her very own pink life vest waiting for her this summer! Avery saw a dandelion and had to stop the egg hunt to pick it for me. Daddy as taught his son well, I always get flowers from my boys! Lastly, a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Kara on the birth of her baby girl, Brianna Grace, over the weekend. We can't wait to hear all about her arrival and how Addison and Brianna adjust to being sisters!!

That's My Girl

A blog update isn't complete without some pictures of princess! Here she is all dressed with no place to go. And a good thing too because she didn't care too much for the barrette. So we got out all the baby toys we've been storing for the past 3 years and she was all smiles after that!

Go Tigers

As promised, here are some pics from Avery's soccer game this morning. The best way to describe a team of 10 3-4 years olds is controlled chaos. Unfortunately Avery's shyness is holding him back from really enjoying the game. My only hope is that by the end of the season he may go on the field on his own and follow the pack with the ball instead of playing with dirt and disrobing in the backfield. (G-rated, only his undershirt!) As you can see in the picture below, he is preoccupied trying to impress his gal pal, Hannah (#3). Future class clown? That is all daddy!