Andy's 2nd Birthday Party!

Today we had Andy's birthday party at Avila Valley Barn! It was probably the most beautiful weather that Avila has seen in months, and the Barn had just finished putting out all their fall goodies.

With much help from Memere, Grandma and Pop-pop, we put on a cowboy/farm party fit for our little cowboy!

We got set up just as friends started coming....
Andy was ready to party....well, just as soon as he ate ALL the tomatoes before any of his friends could have any!
Let the good times begin!
Auntie Audrey (and baby girl cousin who we can not wait to meet! Bummed I didn't get a better picture of the adorable bump!), Julie, Auntie Arlene, Auntie Kayla, Cousin Sarah and Memere. Man, my kids are lucky!
Does this face look like it's having fun?!

I kept loosing Andy, but every time I found him, he was surrounded by pretty girls and food.
Or getting loved on.
Speaking of love, here is my super beautiful BFF with Andy's adorable BFF (they just don't really know it yet!)
Blowing out his birthday candle!
The aftermath of a cupcake.
Love!
Maybe a little off topic, but isn't my cousin Mariah gorgeous?!
There is no question Andy got the whole present thing this year! And loved it! He wanted to keep opening, he was in awe of everything he pulled out, threw paper everywhere and had a blast! A few times Momma took it in the face becuase I wasn't fast enough with the tissue paper!


This is about as close to a family picture as we could ask for.
More love!

We wrapped up the party, cleaned up and headed home. Both kids made it all the way home awake, which amazed us all. The whole party I could not get over the feeling of love and family. Being surrounded by people who love our little family is the greatest feeling in the world!

Andy's 2 Year Well Check

Andy got an A+ from Dr Patterson today! We knew he would, but it is always nice to hear. He weighted in at a whopping 31 lbs 5 ozs (84th Percentile) and measured 36 inches tall (96th Percentile). Yes, you read that correctly, he is 3 feet tall!!!

Dr Patterson was also very impressed that Andy could count to 12....even though he replaced eleven with yellow...silly boy!

Can't believe how my boy is growing up!

Andy J is 2!!!

I can't believe it, but Andrew Justin turned 2 today!

We are having a party for him next week, but we could not resist doing something special for him on the actual day. This time of year is super busy for the Hunter family. I am working a lot of extra hours at work, John is doing the same, there is soccer, school, friends and family birthdays, etc, etc. So come mid-September, we are in major need of some Mommy-Daddy-Julie-Andy time (yes, that is what we call it, all the time when it is just the 4 of us).

So we packed up Saturday afternoon and hit the road. The kids had no idea where we were going, just that we were doing something special.

We started off by spending the night in a hotel. Always a favorite with the kids (and us!) because there is cable TV! Yay for cartoons they have never seen before and the Food Network!

Andy woke up to a few presents from his Sissy and one from Mom and Dad. We were crazy enough to buy him a talking Woodie doll (like the one from Toy Story, even though he has never seen the movie and has no clue who it is) but he loved it so much, we barely even notice when he pulls the string.

Then we hit a park that had some super cool different toys, and an awesome covered bridge. (I know it is Andy's birthday, but when did Julie get so big?!?)

Here is Julie following a horse through the bridge. It was so large and solid. Made you feel tiny.

Then we hit our destination. Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton. We were taking the kids on a train up the mountain!!! They were bouncing and clapping and running when they figured it out, and they figured it out as soon as we turned into the parking lot.

We got there a little early so there was a little time for goofing around. Love AJ in this one.

He was saying, "MOOOO!"

And here is Julie all boarded on the train. This is how excited she was.

Andy was playing it cool.

All Aboard!! Except Daddy, who was taking the picture!

It was so much fun! We climbed and climbed and the train tooted and chugged. The kids loved it. Andy had such a great time that he fell asleep! He loves that rocking motion!

When we got home he was showered with love from Pop-pop, Grandma and Memere and got to blow out a couple little candles (which he did all by himself!)

And he fell into bed without a peep. All day long we received phone calls, texts and Facebook messages wishing the little man a happy birthday. Including picture messages from these two silly gooses!!!

It is amazing how much love surrounds these two kids, not just on a special day like today, but every day of their sweet lives.

Happy Birthday Big Man! Can't wait to see what this next year brings.

Question

What do you get when you take this adorable ALMOST 2 year old...... clean him, and leave him alone for 5 seconds......

Yup, baby powder. But man, he is cute!

Niece

We found out today that we are going to have a niece!! We are excited to have another little one join the family and to hear it was a girl is amazing! We have known for a few months that we were going to be an Aunt and Uncle, but today was the day we found out it is a girl! Congratulations Justin and Audrey! We can't wait to meet the little lady. Hope we can be half the Auntie and Uncle that you two are!!

Blown Away

Seriously, I thought I had about 10 years before she became smarter than me...now I am hoping for 5!

Yesterday Julie and I went to her friend Davin's (a classmate who I had never met before) birthday party. As we were preparing to leave, I told her to write her name on the card, thinking that she would scribble and maybe make a circle or something. I turned to finish wrapping the gift and looked back to see this. I knew she could make a J (although, in this case, it is a little sideways) and I knew she could spell her name aloud (along with a few other words) but I had no idea she could even come close to writing it!!!

Then, when we got to the birthday party (where she behaved like an angel, shared, took turns, said please and thank you and asked to take a pack of fruit snacks home for her brother) she was jumping on the trampoline with some friends. She bounced over to me and said, "There are 4 friends on here right now and if 2 more get on, then there will be 6!"

Yeah, that one got some jaw drops from the other parents.

My wonderful girl. I am so proud and amazed at the way her mind (and mouth) is always working. I can't wait to see all the incredible things she does with it.