Phew, we survived her first birthday! Better yet, so did she! There were more people around than Avery was used to and way too much going on, but she eventually warmed up to the crowd.
The cake, being the first time she’s had sugar, might’ve helped a little. Her cake was actually a pumpkin brownie recipe I used as a base but cut out some of the sugar called for and used stevia in place. This is what we served as dessert to our guests and no one said they didn’t like it, so that’s good, right?
We are still in recovery mode after the long weekend, so I’m cutting it short and just making this a photo dump of the big day. Enjoy!
You spend hours creating my cake, I’ll reduce it to rubble in under a minute!Ummm, dad, your nose is in my eye and both of you are in the way of my cake!While demolishing her cake, it suddenly hit her……”I’m one!!!”It only makes sense to be in your birthday suit, opening birthday gifts, on your birthday, right?Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies for the guests. We had a lot left over!!Seriously, anything that lights up is an instant win!Going Mom opens gifts, I write who they were from, Avery plays with wand and paper. Sums up most of the party!I hope she always feels this way about sugary food!We made cake from the chocolate pumpkin brownie batches I baked and Kelley used Greek yogurt for icing and blueberries for the “1”
Fun times indeed! Hoping to post a follow up with a quick summary of events and more photos of the fun Avery has been having with her new toys. Maybe she’ll even be walking by then. Hmmm, how long have I been saying that now???
It’s been 9 long super fast months since experienced really cold weather here in Texas, and it’s rearing its ugly head once again. I like the heat, if you can’t tell, so I’m less than thrilled to say goodbye to by garage sweat sessions. Now I’ll be huddled next to our space heater trying to keep warm with Avery before a garage workout!
When the cold came in a couple days ago, Avery’s bear suit came out. I shared a post about our experience with the bear suit last February and March, and Going Mom and I couldn’t get over how freakin’ cute she was in the thing!
Free Bear Hugs!!
The floppy, over-sized arms and legs were just un-bearable and all you wanted to do was hug and squeeze (gently) her all day!
But now, it was a bit more difficult trying to get Avery in the same bear suit. Aside from being sized 3 – 6 months (oops!), her activity level has increased approximately 500% over the course of 9 months. Guess it’s similar to development in the womb!
So, it “fit”, but I’m pretty sure her mobility was compromised a bit. Just so you know, I only kept it on her for the duration of our cold walk, and then it came right off once back inside. That said, she didn’t complain one bit while we walked, and she actually seemed quite content chewing on her paws.
Although she still didn’t seem all that thrilled to be in the tight-fitting bear skin….
Sorry, dear, but it’s much better than your lips turning blue. Like the did later that day. Double oops!
We just placed an order on Amazon for a new bear suit from the same brand, just bigger size and can’t wait for it to get here. Judging from the pic above, I’m thinking Avery is anxious for its arrival too.
Since it’s her birthday in 2 days, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on the past months and thought it would be neat to do a side-by-side collage of Avery in the bear suit back in February to 9 months later in Novembear (just getting my corny dad jokes warmed up!).
Kelley is off today and tomorrow to get things ready for Avery’s birthday party and hopefully Avery will take her first steps while Mommy’s home too. We’ve been saying she’s going to walk soon for the past 3 months, but hey, you never know!
Have you ever tried cramming your kid in clothes that just won’t fit anymore?
Ten days from now, at precisely 4:13 pm, Avery will officially be one year old! #holycrap
That means she has ten days left to start walking so we can watch her run around for her birthday. Pretty slim chance, huh? Really though, that’s okay with me, she moves around just fine on her hands and knees anyway.
We just had Avery’s one year pics taken at a small botanical gardens near where we live and the day was thankfully really calm and beautiful. Besides the annoying mosquitoes and Avery being a little very fussy, the photo session was pleasant and turned out great.
I’m cutting it short with words and just want to share my favorite photos here. Enjoy!
All photos posted were taken professionally by Kristin Hafner of Kristen Hafner Photography. She was very helpful during the photo session and since she has kids of her own, was understanding of Avery’s fussiness and how to deal with it.
I love the black and white one with Going Mom and Avery! It’s now the background on my computer so I can see it every time I turn it on!
Did you have or do you plan on having 1 year photos taken of your baby?
Any themes you’re going for?
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
