Ava's 1st Birthday Party

Last night I went to Molly's to help decorate for Ava's first birthday party. I had so much fun getting the table decorated, the serving pieces set out and adding a touch of fun to the bar and entry! Molly and I were both so excited to see it all come together and turn out so well!!

After a long night of working, I was anxious for Ava's party this morning. So, I put on a new pair of shoes...

and Charles and I left for Molly and John's to help add the last touches before the party!

Molly and I...both thought the decorations looked even better and more fun in the daylight!

I had printed drawings illustrating the book which Molly framed, so I arranged the tea party scene in the entry...

and the rabbits on the bar...
Both complete with tea pots, of course!

We both had so much fun with the table! Molly bought the lanterns which I tied different colored ribbons on to hang from the ceiling along with the paper flowers Molly and I made...
On our girls' weekend trip, Molly, Kristi and I bought the forsythia branches, gerbera daisies, butterflies and moss...

Molly glued googly eyes on the gerbera daises, and I placed them in the tea cups with moss and butterflies...
They turned out so cute!

I just love how the table turned out!

Pom pom caterpillars served as the name card holders,and Ava's setting had a special box as well...

Charles and I arrived early,and I helped finish putting the food out...While Charles helped Molly finish up the favor bags... They were so cute - filled with cookies with initials and "Eat Me" written on them!

We had placed the mesh ribbon and serving pieces out last night, but, of course, the island looked even better once all the delicious food was in place!
Molly makes a delicious brunch!!
I then got to spend a little time with the birthday girl, Ava...When I gave her a birthday hug, she gave me a big hug right back!She is just so sweet!
The boys were busy playing...

and I mean Brady, Hugh AND Charles!!

After everyone finished eating brunch, Ava was ready to open her presents!Brady had to help... and ended up getting a present of his own to play with...After singing Happy Birthday and blowing out her candle, Ava took in her smash cake... She wasn't quite sure what to do, so she just smiled! She finally got the idea...
laughed...
and enjoyed eating some of her cake...
She didn't make much of a mess though!

Molly then gave the boys their favors - baseball UNO cards. She had each of their favorite teams and even gave Charles a set...
He was excited to see a Cubs set just for him!

Charles and Ava had a little talk before we left... and Ava told him she wants to bake. So while she was inspecting all of the cookbooks, I snapped this precious shot...
I just love how she is holding her little dress. I think it might be my favorite picture of the day!

We had a great time celebrating Ava's 1st birthday!!

Mother's Day

I spent a wonderful Mother's Day with my wonderful mother!

After a good lunch, we stopped by Dillard's and ended up in the shoe section - surprise, surprise! We each left with a couple of pairs of cute, cute shoes. As my mom said - how fitting that we buy shoes together on Mother's Day!

We then came back to the house for Mama to open her present... and to enjoy some strawberry trifle for dessert. I am so thankful to have a wonderful mom and am so glad that we could spend the day together!

Girls' Weekend

Molly, Ava and I left Friday around lunch headed to Birmingham for a girls' weekend with Kristi! It's become a fun tradition that Ava has been a part of from the start! She was such a good little traveler. After a quick stop or two along the way, we arrived in Birmingham. Ava was excited to see her Aunt KiKi and to run around her apartment for a while. After a little play time, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Unfortunately for Ava, she was stuck eating her food instead of the delicious Cheesecake Factory food Molly, Kristi and I enjoyed...
but she did join the rest of us in enjoying the nice weather from the patio!

After dinner and a little shopping at the Summit, we headed back to Kristi's and stayed up WAY past Molly's and my bedtimes, but we had the best time catching up! The next morning, we woke up and Ava kept us entertained until breakfast. Ava enjoyed her breakfast...
Then she really enjoyed some fun time with some chocolate Cheerios!

After breakfast, Kristi tried to turn our sweet Ava into a Bama fan!Then while Ava napped, Molly, Kristi and I had a fun spa day! Ava missed out on the exfoliations and masks but woke up just in time to join in the nail painting...

This was Ava's first time to have her nails painted, and while getting her nails dry was quite a funny experience, Ava had a fun time...and her little nails turned out so cute!We had a relaxing and fun morning!

Then it was time to take Ava on another first - her first Greek restaurant - for lunch!
After lunch, we did a little shopping for Ava's first birthday party and then headed back to Kristi's to look at the weather and radar. We had such bad weather back home Saturday, and Molly and I did not want to be stuck in bad weather driving home. The radar showed a pretty clear drive home Saturday night versus rain and other bad weather Sunday. Unfortunately, the bad weather cut our girls' weekend short, but we all had such a fun time!