Ava's Birthday Party

Ava's 1st birthday was a big hit. Thank you to everyone who helped us out. I was a little stressed before the big event. It was quickly put together, but everything went well. Ava opened presents first. The first present she opened was a set of twin baby dolls. She was done after that! She carried that baby doll around for the duration of the party. She came back every so often to rip the wrapping paper apart!

"Happy Birthday to Ava, Happy Birthday to you!"

Then it was time for the cake! She was a little unsure about it at first but once she realized she wouldn't get in trouble, she dug into that cake! It was hilarious, which you can see by the pictures.

Ella thought Ava needed a little help blowing out the candles. Mommy thought Daddy was going to burn Ella's face off!

Ella enjoyed it too and she got a big sister gift so she wouldn't feel left out. At 2 years old, she just didn't understand why all the attention was on Ava.

All in all, Ava's first birthday was a hit!!!

A Few Things Put Together

It is amazing how one minute life is right on track, you feel confident in what you have accomplished and then the next minute your mind is so jumbled with load put on your shoulders, you begin shutting down.

Brian came home almost two weeks ago and it was so great to have him back at least until May. Ella remembered him saying he would take her and Ava to the park when he got home so we went, even though Brian and I were exhausted! They needed that time to play with their daddy. The girls had a rough couple days going back to the office after that. We could see that the girls had a hard time with Brian being home when Ella started having multiple accidents (back at square 1!) and wanted to sleep with us...every night! Ava was just real fussy. But I believe we have just gotten back on track which is so nice. I will no longer have a head trying to push me off the side of the bed!

Brian and I got to have a weekend to ourselves last weekend up in Pigeon Forge. We went on a marriage retreat with our Sunday school class. It was nice to get away after Brian had been gone the last two weeks. It was nice to spend time with each other and our friends. And Mom was so great to come and watch the girls. They had a good time with Mimi, however, I am sure Mimi was glad when we came back too!

After having a nice weekend away, I went back to work with an unbelievable work load and it was almost unbearable. I am still feeling so stretched with little time to do anything. And the time I do have, I am unproductive because there are too many things to do and I don't even know where to begin! So here I am, finding myself on the computer, ignoring what I should be doing!