Let's Celebrate

Avery received her first real report card on Saturday. The first trimester, the teachers give comments and use "N"eeds Improvement, "S"atisfactory or "O"utstanding for classes. This trimester, her report card included actual letter grades for Language Arts and Math. So,

Language Arts = A-
Comprehension = A
Oral Reading = A
Phonics = B
Oral Expression = A
Sentence Structure = A-
Spelling/Vocab = A
Handwriting = "S"
Math = A
Computation = B+
Problem Solving = A

Needless to say, we are very proud of her. All of the teachers commented on how she was reserved and shy at the beginning, but has really blossomed and has confidence in class. I cannot believe how far she has come and how much she has accomplished. We love you, Avery Lynn!

This is her new bear "Winnie", which she received as a gift for all her hard work.

Buddies

Girly girls

Happy 33rd

For my birthday this year we headed up to the city. My uncle just bought a place so we helped him move some stuff and then he, my parents, and Jaron and I went out to Charanga - a pan latin restaurant. The food was spectacular and we had a blast. Of course, I hauled the camera around and only took a few pics.

Dessert - Bread pudding, mexican chocolate cake with icecream, and bananas foster with coconut icecream. Yum!

Timothy the Beagle

A few weeks ago we headed to Gilroy to visit my grandparents' new dog, Timothy. The girls absolutely loved him!!! What a cute pup!

Braided

I am determined to learn how to do great french braids. Avery's hair is long enough and we are going to start experimenting with some fun new styles. Thanks Grams for giving us inspiration!

RyRy

Saturday morning...

Pancake making,

pancake eating

and laziness.

Book nook

I had an idea in my head of a little reading area for the girls while they are snuggled up in bed. I want to encourage them to read as much as possible. So, I decided to head up to Ikea in search for a reading light and book rack. Of course I did my homework. I scoured the internet for ideas. I found a blog of a gal who took Ikea spice racks (3.99 each!) and used them as book racks. Here was her post and here is mine:

Ikea bekvam spice racks (3.99 each) and tassa natt wall lamps (4.99 each)

Total for the project: $17.96

The girls love it!! They have wanted to go to bed early the past two nights so they can have reading time. This makes mommy happy. :)

decorating in love

My grandma recently sent me a bunch of old childrens books and I am absolutely smitten with them. I love all the colors and the worn and loved look about them.

I also did a little valentine decorating too. I made a heart banner - cut triangles out of an old linen curtain and painted a white heart on them, which I love the simplicity of.

More "loved" books

Fairyland

We kept it simple. 5 girls plus Aves. Pizza, painting, fondue, and fairy bingo = an awesome 6th birthday party for my fairy princess.

Favor bags filled with pixie sticks and a Rainbow Magic fairy book, Aves' favorite books right now.

Fairy house painting

Fairy Riley

Cupcakes made by my mom

Fairy Avery

All the fairies

Lauren, Avery, Guilia, Lindsay, Venezia, Cricket, and Brooke

ready, set, go!

The last 2 months in review...because I am too lazy to really blog.

Avery Lynn just turned 6 on the 13th. We are so amazed at how old and how grown up she is. STOP!

I recently found an old child's hutch for free and renovated it into a play kitchen for the girls. I may love it more than them.

Christmas morning cuties

J-dogg helps out with the Jr. High group at church and we went to the Mall Hunt in December. He went all out...shaved the beard off, wore a wig and a a beanie - hardly anyone found him. :)

Family pic at our annual friends thanksgiving...nope D&A, you are not our friends.

Beautiful sunset at the beach in San Diego...too bad my camera battery died 2 minutes later.
We spent Thanksgiving in Chula Vista with Derek and Amy. Awesome, epic, fabulous, like home. I miss my Amy.

The cousins

I think she would say Kaylin is her best friend. She is enamored with her.

I loved this pic of her hair.

Dressed up beauties

I did 2 boutiques this year - fun, creative, stressful. Worth it? Yes. Do it again? probably not.