Avery is 2!

Height: 33" (2 ft. 9 in.)

25-50%

Weight: 24.5 lbs

25-30%

I realize it has almost been a month since my baby turned 2, but such is the story of my blogging life. I can't believe she is already 2 years old!! She is growing up so fast and I'm constantly amazed at the things she does. My favorite was a few weeks ago I was getting her ready for the bath, and she ran away from me after I got her clothes off. By the time I got to her she was on the other side of the couch, and was prepared to run in circles while I attempted to grab her, so instead I tried a different tactic. I said, "Avery, do I need to start counting?" Would you believe her little sassy-ness put one hand on her hip, popped it out, held up her other hand and said, "One...(giggle giggle)Two...(giggle giggle)...." I was speechless...I just stood there totally appalled...then I couldn't help but laugh. 

Just recently she was at the kitchen table and just started saying, "Jesus, Jesus." I wasn't sure what she was saying at first, but when I looked at her, she was doing the sign language for "Jesus" and I put it together what she was saying. I'm not sure where she learned it, but I think it must have been at school. She also claps her hands above her head and says, "Bible, bible, bible, bible." I'm guessing it has to do with a song they sing at school about the bible. Either way...so super cute. 

And just the other day I realized she can count to 10!!! I knew she could count to 3, but I was shocked when the other day she went clear to 10 with only a little help! It's so fun to see her learning and discovering how to do things. Her favorite thing to say is, "I do it" or "Avery do it." ALL DAY LONG. She is so intent on doing things herself and then she has a certain way she wants to do them. And once she gets an idea in her head...good luck changing it or distracting her. She has been lovingly nicknamed, "Button," and she is just that...my little Button.

I've found that I'm not a huge party thrower, which is actually kind of strange, because my mom was the ultimate party thrower. My good friend, Cassy though...loves to throw parties...and they are the ulitmate party types. I'm lucky enough that Avery shares a birthday with Cassy's little boy, Leo. Leo turned one this year and Cassy was talking about throwing a "little" party for him. Basically bringing everything down to Leo's size. To which I responded, "That sounds awesome! And since it's Avery's birthday too, you can just throw it for her as well." I was totally being sarcastic, but she jumped right on it and got REALLY excited about the whole thing....so who was I to argue?? I had to let my friend have her fun! So I promised to be the financial backer and her personal little helper. The party was a big hit and Avery loved it! 

When I say everything was "mini"...I mean EVERYTHING. The food was amazing. We had mini-burgers complete with mini toppings and mini hot dogs. (She homemade the buns)

All the mini candy you can thing of...plus these homemade "midget s'mores" made out of Golden Grahams, mini marshmellows, and a chocolate chip.

Another look at all the mini food. She even scooped balls of apple out with a melon baller, then coated them with peanut butter and carmel topped with sprinkles for mini candy apples. 

She made this cardboard piece to fit in her door so that it was just the perfect size for Avery and Leo...all the big people had to duck.

Watching Mike come thru the mini door was especially funny for some reason.

Cassy even covered her fireplace to bring it down to Avery and Leo's size. I blew up about 200 of those mini balloons and she had them strung on a string across the room...luckily I had a little balloon blower-uper so I didn't have to do it manually....I would have passed out after only 2!! The picture on the wall is of a Great Dane looking down on a chihuahua....so very fitting. I took the picture home and taped it on Daniel's side of the mirror and wrote "Have a Great Dane." I'm hilarious.

The first activity was nap time. Do you love my mini party hat. Everyone had to wear one....big person, little person...didn't matter. 

The adults had to drink from sippy cups. The kids got juice boxes...lucky toads. Have you ever tried drinking out of one of those??? I finally gave up and took the top off when Cassy wasn't looking.

The kids enjoyed making little ice-cream cones and cupcakes out of puff balls.

This was the punch game. Cassy had this giant cardboard box laying around and somehow had the vision for a punch game. She amazes me. Behind each circle was a brown paper bag taped to the back of the cardboard. Each brown bag held a squinkie. Avery wasn't sure what to think of this game at first, but she got into it.

Each child at the party got their own 3 tiered cake. Cassy made each one with a 3-tier cake mold. She could only back 2 at a time. Then she iced and decorated each one. There was about 16. Took her a lot of time...I would have lost patience and chucked them across the room.

Here is my crazy talented friend, Cassy. She is bringing out Avery's cake.

I love the look on Avery's face. She was not sure what to make of this cake in front of her. But she LOVED having everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her. When we started singing for Leo later, she got all excited thinking we were singing to her again....

She didn't like the idea of getting her hands dirty with the icing, so she decided to skip the middle man.

Amongst her gifts she got a mini hippo pillowpet, barbie purse set with accesseries, a cup with her name on it, AND.....

Her very own tricycle and helmut!!! She is still learning how to peddle, but she's a quick learner, so I'm sure she'll have it figured out soon! 

Happy Birthday, Button!! We Love you!!