Happy Birthday, Ava!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ava Marie! Here are the pretty flowers Daddy sent you on your special day; you are admiring the fuzzy little raccoon + rabbit hidden inside. Very cute, Daddy! So sorry you couldn't be here with us to celebrate, but in true Jeff fashion we will drag her birthday out + celebrate again next month when we come down to see you and Granny + Papa!

Here are some pictures from the party, mostly grown-ups but Ava didn't seem to mind, just more people to try and solicit attention from. She had a great time!! We had a backyard luau/pool party, the cake is "loosely" based on Nemo...I did my best. Some favorite presents include, a new dollhouse (she cried when she had to leave it for bed that night), a big girl step stool, a rocking chair from Granny + Papa, "Potty Patty" from Aunt Lisa, a Dora cash register from Grandma + Grandpa, the "jumping thing" + tricycle (sorry no pics yet) also from Grandma + Grandpa, and Jasmine doll from Mark, Melo and Morgan:

In Daddy's absence, Uncle Andy helps to assembly the dollhouse. She loves it! So cute to watch her pretend play with the little family. The party scene:Emma and Ava playing on the "jumping thing":
Little sis, Livi, kickin' back at the party:
Singing the happy birthday song:

Enjoying some cake with Grandma:Opening a Dora cash register from Grandma + Grandpa. Umm, I think I actually enjoy this more than Ava. I wish I had the time to video it, but there's a microphone you can talk into, so I get my little repeat (that's Ava) to say things in it like, "diapers, aisle 7", "produce on sale", "clean-up, aisle 2"....and she says them!! It's so hilarious; I laid on the floor laughing the first time we did it, my parents just watching us. The part I love the most is that I know my sister and I would have had a BLAST with this thing if we had one when we were little. I think it's actually for a 3 year old, but with Mommy's help we have a great time playing "shopping at the grocery store." I called Aunt Lisa that night to pump her up to play with it the next day...and it was a blast!!
Her very own rocking chair from Granny + Papa, so cute: Potty Patty from Aunt Lisa...yeah, I have some reading to do before we put this to use; more on her later:

Ava lures Tim into playing with her in the jumping thing, a little grin and she had him (thanks Tim!):Mommy + Livi join Ava in the "jumping thing" at the end of the day: Oh, one last credit: I have to give a "shout out" to Linda, a friend of my mother-in-law's, for the outfits that Ava and Livi wore at the party. Thank you so much, Linda!!! They are absolutely adorable!