Pretty Pony

As I headed for the front door today, I was a bit peeved since the door bell woke Avery from her nap. My displeasure quickly dissipated when I saw the UPS guy with a long box. You see, I entered a contest over at Dark Horse Farm Designs blog not long ago and won! All I had to do was comment about some sort of horse story. Well, I had plenty to choose from. Oh, those good ole junior high days. Yes, I will probably be embarrassed by these later.

Look at this pretty pony I won!! I can't wait until Avery's old enough to play with it (not that I'm in a hurry for her to grow up.)
Huge thanks to Nancy Geaney!! Check out her other fun blog. I wish the dorm on a drawstring bags were available when I was in school.

Stats

Last week we had Avery's 12 month doctor's appointment, so I thought I'd give a little update on her status. She currently weighs in at 24 pounds and 30.25 inches. This brings her to 90% in weight and 75% in height. Needless to say, she's a big girl!

I delayed in reporting the results of our doctor's appointment to get over some frustrations with our pediatrician. If you remember this fiasco, you'll understand why. Now, we have been referred to yet another specialist. This time it is for a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Our pediatrician is concerned that Avery's feet may turn out too much. If there is a problem, clearly we want to address it and get Avery the care she needs. I just hate exposing her to x-rays or other unnecessary treatments due to an overly cautious doctor. So, once again I ask for prayers for Avery's health and wisdom for us and the doctors. (We could also use prayer for God's speed in getting us out of Laredo to a place with more options and better doctors.)

On a much lighter note, check out these comparison shots Brooke captured. This at 3 months.This one is at 12 months.

Allison's Baby Shower

We had so much fun pulling together this baby shower for Allison Hamilton. Here is the guest of honor. We based the theme on Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The hostesses each prepared dishes based on foods the caterpillar eats throughout the book. We had fruit salad, cherry squares, pigs-in-a-blanket, a "leafy" salad, and salami, swiss, and pickle mini sandwiches.

This picture is terrible, but it gives you an idea of the cupcake cake. I found the inspiration here. I can't believe this is the only picture I have of the whole cake.

For the favors, I saved some of the many baby food jars Avery's been going through, painted the lids, and filled them with candy. I found the perfect stickers on etsy.com. Finally, I made paper globes from Heather Bailey's tutorial to resemble a caterpillar. We suspended this contraption above the beverage island.

Since, the Mommy-to-be is an avid reader, we asked the guests to kindly bring baby Joshua a favorite book. I think he will be starting off with an excellent library.

The Great Toy Box

Todd was in the middle of building Avery a toy box to give to her for her birthday when I kept coming across this adorable chair from a BHG magazine in my random wanderings in the bloggy world. I mean look how great Jen Duncan's reading table turned out. So, I quickly purchased this magazine.

Here is the result. Todd is really getting good with his wood working. I did the letters on top with a couple hidden words tucked in.
This is the most obvious.

Most importantly, it received Avery's stamp of approval.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day

From: Avery
To:

More photos by Brooke Davis. Inspired by Brassy Apple. Brooke made the cute dresses in the middle two photos. The last photo is one I made from the Miss Madaline Pattern using Sandi Henderson fabrics.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the two most special people in my life!

I still can't believe Avery was born on Todd's birthday one year ago today.

I know Todd's birthday will never get the respect it deserves again, but I did bake his favorite cupcakes. Sticky pecan upside-down cupcakes from the Cupcakes! cookbook by Elinor Klivans. King Ranch Chicken is in the works for dinner.

I love you both more than words can say!

Party Peeps

Finally, we've arrived at the most important post of the event. Everything you've seen here is for Avery and all the special people who filled Avery's first year. This small party brought together our precious family and a few of Avery's friends. We were overcome by the kindness of the people who traveled to Laredo to help us celebrate. Avery is truly blessed!

Both sets of Grandparents made their way from somewhat near and very far.

And, of course, Aunt Bebe who helped make it all happen.Party 'lil Peeps
Ainsley ThorntonGavin Broom
Lily BrockmanLuke SchrieverLittlest Peep - Delia Rich (3 weeks old)More kisses for Brooke. Your photographs are priceless as is your friendship.

P.S. After all of that, can you believe the actual birthday is tomorrow?!?

Party Dress

I had so much fun picking the pattern and fabric for Avery's birthday dress. As I've said before, the butterfly fabric from Paula Prass set the theme for the party. The blue and black print from Jennifer Paganelli coordinated perfectly. I chose the Gracie dress pattern from Portabellopixie for all of its ruffles. That bottom ruffle is practically four widths of fabric gathered! It took some time and patience. Once again, I have complaints about the Portabellopixie pattern, but this time I did a test run. The bodice was initially too small, but I adjusted for the final product. I do have to say that this top is a bit challenging to get onto a baby girl. One compliment, it is the perfect length for our little scooter to keep in motion.The front. The back.Bella sat proud in her matching collar. I never knew how easy a dog collar would be to make. I have a feeling we'll never purchase a collar again.

Party Cakes

I can't decide which was my favorite project for the party, the cupcakes or Avery's dress. (We'll get to the dress in the next post.) I made strawberry lemonade cupcakes for the guests. It just sounded refreshing. The cake was my favorite lemon cake recipe from the first Magnolia Bakery cookbook. The strawberry-lemon buttercream was an adapted recipe by Toba Garrett. I piped the butterflies with Wilton's color flow icing based on a design from Peggy Porschen's book, Pretty Party Cakes.Here is the stand in its final glory.Avery's cake was the banana cake recipe from Alisa Strauss' Confetti Cakes book with a cream cheese buttercream frosting. Banana seems to be Avery's favorite food. She loves it plain or mashed in her oatmeal or cottage cheese. I wasn't quite sure how she would respond to the cake, but I shouldn't have been surprised when she tore right into it. Getting Avery to eat has never been a challenge. I eventually had to cut her off.

She enjoyed it so much that I saved a slice in the fridge for her actual birthday on Thursday.