Avery's Second Birthday!

Avery turned 2 on July 4th. We started celebrating the day before, though, because you can never celebrate a birthday too much.

I made Avery a doll cake because she likes dolls but other than watermelon (see above) she doesn't really love anything else obsessively like Sophie did at this age. I think she liked her cake since she could hardly keep her fingers out of it.

I had fun experimenting with this since I've never done one before. I used a cake mold that I already had and just put the doll pick in the top, and luckily the proportions worked out alright for not getting the real doll mold. I thought it was cute that the doll head even looks like Avery with her crazy curly hair.

For her party we went to Chuck E. Cheese's. I have many many fond memories of birthday parties here from when I was young, so I hoped the girls would enjoy it, too. Their cousins Austin and Gabe came up which made it even better. Thanks for joining us!

My favorite game was always Skee Ball when I was a kid, so I was excited to see these kids try it out. Unfortunately those balls are so heavy to throw that they either ended up running up the ramp and just tossing them in the holes, or chucking them overhead which often resulted in nearly missing other people's heads.

I was a little disappointed in the variety of games they have there now. Most were geared toward older kids or adults. But the kids still had fun.

Avery loved all the ride-on toys, but I'm in trouble now because you know all those toys outside grocery stores I've always let the kids sit on but never put the quarter in? Yeah, my cover is blown. They now know that those toys actually move, so they won't be satisfied with just sitting on the horsies anymore I think. Dang.

Avery blew out the candles on her cake so quickly that I didn't even get a shot till it was over! I remember Sophie taking several tries before she could get hers out at this age, but Avery apparently knows how to get it done!

We waited to open presents until her actual birthday. I don't know who was more excited about getting them open, Avery or Sophie. Probably Sophie.

Avery was just as happy putting pen caps on her fingers as she was playing with anything else she got.

Joseph thought I was crazy to get her makeup and her own laptop, but both were purchased with the hope that she'll now leave my makeup and laptop alone! She's obsessed with both, and Avery plus makeup or electronics always equals disaster.

That evening we went to the park so Avery could swing her heart out.

They love their underdogs and Joseph was so kind to oblige them in giving them over and over again.

Happy girl

She could live in a swing and be content.

They love to swing on their tummies, too.

I love this shot of Sophie. It's actually a genuine smile without hair in her face for once!

Even Joseph got in on the upside down action.

Just hanging out.

We sure love you, Avery Jane! We hope you had a wonderful birthday and know how grateful we are that you joined our family 2 years ago. Your love for life radiates from you and you bring so much joy to our lives, too. Happy Birthday, 2-year old!

No Longer a Baby

Avery has a birthday coming up this weekend, so to properly say goodbye to the baby that she no longer is, here is an update with pictures of our almost 2-year old.

We moved Avery into Sophie's room a few weeks ago. Instead of moving the crib, we put Sophie into a twin bed and Avery has officially taken over the toddler bed. The first night I saw her sleeping in this I wanted to cry, because she did not look like a baby anymore! (It's a good thing there's a baby on the way to take on that title, or I'd really be a basket case right now! I don't know how people do it when they're on their last one!) As you can see, she loves to sleep with her arms above her head.

Avery loves to color. Sophie's never had much patience for it, but Avery could sit happily coloring for a loooong time if we let her. She's also definitely right-handed.

(I love when she gets really serious and gets on her tummy to do it.) Avery is a happy girl who always has a smile lighting up her face. Love it!

Avery loves to dance. And her favorite dancing partner sadly resides in Utah, not California. She loves to dance with Grampa Lamb, but she is very picky about what music they can dance to. If she doesn't like it, she'll tell you.

Avery is a ham. She loves to make other people laugh and always has a hearty chuckle herself when anyone else is giggling. She is our happy-go-lucky girl.

Avery continues to resemble her daddy the most, and she sure loves him. But she's also quite the mama's girl, so it's a toss up, which is just how we like it.

Avery has been talking well for quite a few months now. People are always surprised at how verbal she is and how easily understandable she is as well. It makes it soooo nice to know exactly what she wants or needs at all times, because she will definitely make it known! We sure love you, Avery Girl, and we're excited to celebrate your birthday with you in a few days!

Playing in Indiana

We recently got to make a stop in Indiana to see some of our favorite people, the Culwells. They live about an hour outside of Indianapolis in a beautiful, foresty area. Joseph told me about a hundred times that he wished our driveway were as lush and green as theirs. (Oh wait, we don't have a driveway! :D)

Jeni and Alan live in a lovely home on 5 acres of land with their four adorable children. You can't see any neighbors from where they are, so you feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere. It's so nice. We had a bonfire one night and roasted marshmallows and Starbursts and felt like the only people around. They are growing Christmas trees that will be planted soon to eventually become a Christmas tree farm. Cool!

Indianapolis has one of the coolest children's museums I've ever seen. It makes every other children's museum I've ever been to look like an outhouse. It's several stories high and contains everything from a huge dinosaur exhibit to the world's largest Etch-a-Sketch.

The first stop was the carousel. Avery liked her giraffe, even if it didn't go up and down.

Sophie loved her horsie and loved that it did go up and down. I'm not sure whether Joseph was really afraid of or excited about his tiger. :)

We spent a lot of time in an area that are for little kids only. Sophie loved this water table and worked hard to catch her ducks.

Avery loved the sand table. I commented to Jeni that it's amazing how long a kid can play with the same toy over and over again without tiring of it, and she laughed and pointed to a sign above us that said, "Have you ever wondered how children can play with the same toy over and over again?" Apparently I was on the same brain wave as someone else.

We visited the Barbie exhibit where Sophie became Barbie's new personal secretary. She took down this call very carefully. The girls also got dolled up and got to strut their stuff on the runway. We got a video, but I'm too lazy to post that, so you'll just have to imagine their cuteness.

We even took a trip to Egypt while we were there! Sophie had just finished serving us some drinks and food in this Egyptian cafe. I don't think Lily or Malia liked it very much.

While visiting the Nile we ran into this guy and his babies. He seemed friendly enough.

Avery wasn't taking any chances with those big jaws, though, and kept them shut tight.

The highlight of the trip for me and Joseph was staying up late playing games with Jeni and Alan. They lived around the corner from us in Provo while they were finishing law school and we were finishing our MBA program. We would go over most Friday and/or Saturday nights and play games with them for a few hours, often while bingeing on our favorite candy. The typical games included Settlers of Catan, Speed Scrabble, Ticket to Ride, and a few others here and there. It was fun to do it again since we have no game buddies in CA, and we sure miss them a lot! Thanks again for letting us come visit! We had a fantastic time!

Princess Parties Galore

Sophie has been invited to 3 parties in the last two months, and they've all been Princess-themed.

For each one she was asked to dress up like a Princess. Her first party was for her friend Natalie who turned 5, and she chose this dress which she calls her Jasmine dress.

Sophie's criteria on whether a dress is good or not is how well it can twirl. This is a good one.

The girls were ushered into the bathroom where they all got to have their nails painted and lip gloss applied to their lips. She's always begging me to do this for her at home so she was in h-e-a-v-e-n.

They played a lot of fun games like Pass the Princess, Musical Throwns, Pin the Kiss on the Frog, and Find Cinderella's Lost Slipper.

Sophie had a ball (pun intended) and could do this every single day. Natalie is the cute blonde in the center with the blue Tiana dress on.

The next Princess Party was for Sophie's friend Jensen who turned 4. This time Sophie chose to dress up in her purple dress.

These girls were so adorable, sitting around the table and chatting while they ate their yummy appetizers and sipped their juice.

And guess who showed up for this party? Cinderella herself was there (or so they all truly believed). She really was an incredible Cinderella, and when she walked in the girls' jaws all dropped to the ground and they were struck with idol shock. (Jensen is the little Cinderella on the left.)

Cinderella did a lot of fun activities with the girls including painting their faces or hands,

playing a game where they had to get the wand to Cinderella's hand,

and another game of looking for Cinderella's glass slipper. Then she sang a couple of Cinderella's songs for them, and wouldn't ya know, she had an amazing voice to boot. These girlies all had a great time and looked for Cinderella's orange pumpkin coach to come retrieve her at the end and take her back to the castle. Good thing it didn't or Sophie would've probably jumped aboard, too.

The last Princess Party was for Sophie's friend Paige who also turned 4. She went in her pink costume that she has christened her Glinda dress from Wizard of Oz. Once again the girls got their nails painted and makeup applied, and they played so many fun games and Sophie loved every minute of it.

Sophie chose some Polly Pockets to give Paige for her present and then insisted that she open them right then and there so they could all play with them. By the end of the party she had way more hearts painted on her face than I would have liked, but they all came off in the pool that night anyway.

It's a good thing that Sophie doesn't get to have a friends party this year for her birthday, or I have a hunch what kind of party we'd be throwing. And I for one am all princessed out!

Dancing Queens

Sophie just finished her very first recital for a dance class. This was her costume (minus one bow on her shoe) and she loved it!

These 10 girls were all adorable and became good little friends with each other. It makes me want to make Sophie take the next class in the summer so she can stay with them, but she wants to try gymnastics now.

The dance they did was called "Yes, I Am a Beautiful Baby!" and Sophie always thought that was such a funny name since they're not babies (as she emphatically told me). One day she finally said to me, "Mama, I think it should be 'Yes, I Am a Beautiful Big Girl' " and I agreed, so she was reconciled to it at last.

After their dress rehearsal earlier in the week the girls had a little party to celebrate, and they got all decked out.

Sophie was front and center for the actual performance. She did such a great job. I worried she would get stage fright and forget the moves or refuse to dance at all, but she didn't. She danced her little heart out and had a fabulous time.

She kept reminding me that she was supposed to smile the entire time, and that's what she did.

I loved their little bow at the end! That's Sophie's teacher, Ms. Paula, in the back. She can be a little strict, but the girls love her. I'm so glad Sophie's first experience with any kind of class was such a positive one and hope that she always loves to dance, on or off the stage!

Let's Try This Again

Let's see if I can be even more vague. (Sorry if the last post confused anyone.) If you ask Avery what she wants to be for Halloween, she'll answer "A big sister."

That isn't completely accurate, of course, because she won't quite be one by Halloween, but a couple weeks after should make her officially a big sister.

My due date is November 19th and we're all very excited. The girls came with me to my appointment last week and heard the baby's heart beat. Their jaws both dropped and they stared, speechless and gaping at me, for at least 30 seconds (unheard of) until Sophie finally commented, "It's so fast!"

We don't know what it is yet, but the girls are both hoping for another sister, and to be honest I'm just preparing myself for that as well. It would be easier since I already have everything for a girl! (Everything but a name, that is.) We have the boy name and would love a boy, but we're truly happy with either. Hooray for babies!

Happy Mother's Day!

I want to wish my Mom and Mother-in-law, two of the greatest women and mothers in the world, a very Happy Mother's Day tomorrow.

Speaking of mothers, wanna see what I'm working on this Mother's Day?

Hooray for being a mom! I love my girls so much and am so grateful for those who have made me a happy mother. Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!

The LA Zoo

I finally made it with the girls to the LA Zoo. We went on a beautifully sunny day last week with a friend from MOMS Club and had a fun time.

The girls could have stared at the flamingos all day. Sophie couldn't get over how they could just sleep on one leg and twist their head all the way around to rest on their back as they slept.

Am I the only person who thinks the zoo is the worst place to try to take pictures of your children? Of course they NEVER want to turn around and look at you and the camera when the action is the other direction, but that's the only way to get them and the animals in the pictures together. So this is the best I got.

Therefore, the rest of our pictures are either just kids or just animals, or backs of kids' heads with animals, which isn't my favorite. The other favorite animals of the day were the giraffes. You forget just how tall they are until you get up close to one, or see it standing right next to a measuring pole.

I read somewhere that many giraffes have their babies standing up, so a baby giraffe's first introduction into the world is a several foot drop to the ground. That doesn't sound cool. But they seem to get over it. And they really are so pretty.

The girls also loved watching the gorillas, especially the one that clapped along with them. We had a fun day, even if I got to push a heavy double stroller up and down hills for several hours. It was a good workout, and heaven knows I could use more of those. :)

Random Jensen Happenings

We finger painted with something a little different recently. The girls are used to painting with real paints, and usually their bodies see more of the paint than the paper does. Well, this time we mixed it up a little and finger painted with pudding.

Sophie did really well at using her chocolate and banana pudding to create a cool-looking tree before she ate much of it.

But as soon as Avery discovered that I would let her eat this kind of "paint" and that it tasted really good, the only thing she painted was the inside of her mouth.

Sophie doesn't draw much and has never been all that interested in coloring, but she was really into it when the only medium was this gooey stuff and her fingers.

The girls love the park. I wish we had a swing set of our own in the back yard. (someday--sigh!)

Avery is my swinging girl. She would swing the entire time we're at the park if I'd let her. And she doesn't sit back in the swing like normal. Ever since she was 6 months old and we stuck her in one, she's always leaned way forward and hung like a rag doll while I push. I love that she still does it a year and a half later.

Sophie loves it when I'm on my computer and she can sit next to me on daddy's computer and "type an email". She knows most of her letters and loves it when we open up a word document and she can find the letters on the keyboard and type them onto the page. For some reason her favorite letter to find is a Q. And don't mind my nice jewelry with my robe. I spend most of my day at home in this robe because I'm always cold. I think this was after church one Sunday and I just threw my robe on over my church clothes. Joseph loves the eclectic look that always produces, but hey, it keeps me warm!