birthday weekend!

Sorry for such a late post on the girls' birthdays! We had a busy but very nice weekend. Unfortunately, Carson was extremely sick with strep throat so he was quarantined in the bedroom during the party Saturday evening. We had a houseful and I was so busy grilling burgers, visiting with guests and trying to keep track of where my kiddos were that my camera didn't get much use. I did make sure to get a photo of each child at the party, though.

Well, except for the birthday girl herself . . . on Friday I took Ava to feed the ducks at MSU and she absolutely loved it! She wasn't afraid of them at all.


Here is the very heavily frosted birthday cake that is a perfect example of my baking abilities!


Stella enjoying her first piece of birthday cake!


This is Payton, who is obviously super adorable and very smart!


And this is another Peyton, who is 10 years old and such a beauty.


Of course you remember Connor!


And this is the handsome Miles showing me his muscles. Miles and Ava went to day care together for a while at Southwood and have been friends since they were three months old! Miles will be three next month and I'll be doing some family portraits with him and his parents, which I can't wait for!


Another beautiful and familiar face - Addee!


Nate was feeling shy so he gave me his best profile shot . . .


Cute Ryleigh rockin' the bow in her hair!


And the lovely Chloee - who also had a birthday on Saturday!


I set up these poster boards for the kids to simply color and scribble on . . .


. . . and all the moms wrote these super sweet happy birthday messages! (This flower was drawn by Peyton.)


So while our house is too small and our yard too tight, the party was simply about having fun and celebrating the important things in life :)

On Sunday, which was Stella's birthday, the girls and I traveled to Billings to visit some family and have a little barbeque. The weather was beautiful and we spent most of the afternoon on the lawn. Here is the birthday girl!




It's rare to get both girls in a photo these days. By the way, the look in Ava's eyes pretty much sums up her entire personality!


When we got home, Carson was feeling a ton better. He had showered, shaved, vacuumed, and wrote this very sweet message on Ava's new Magna Doodle for us to see when we walked into the living room . . .


Mommy feels the same way!