A new baby cousin!

We were barely waking up the next morning after Avery's party, when we got a text from my brother, Todd. They were in the hospital and his wife, Michele, had been in labor since the early morning hours.  Barely an hour a later, we go the news that this sweet little angel was born....

 Giuliana Kathryn Deremer

7 lbs. 11 oz. ~ 19 inches

July 14th, 2013 at 8:39 am

 Check out this gorgeous hair!

 After the kids naps, we drove to their hospital in NJ and got to meet the little slice of heaven herself!

I'm a very proud Auntie!

Giuliana  - a perfect Italian name for a perfectly beautiful little girl!

 

Avery and Giuliana's birthdays are just 5 days apart.  Watch out girl, we have big plans for you! I see tea parties, princess dress up, and pampering in your future!

Congrats Todd, Michele and Big Brother Benjamin!

Aloha

As Avery blew out the candles on the princess castle cake on her 3rd birthday, she said "I wish I could have a luau party!"  (We had gone to Party City that morning to pick out balloons and she thought all of the luau stuff was so cool).  She has literally been talking about a luau birthday party for the past YEAR!  We kind of loved the theme too, so we decided to go big! We hope it met her expectations!  Adam and I are not the most creative people, but Pinterest makes us look like we are.

Here are some of our decorations....

I have to share these because my super party planning sister-in-law wasn't able to come to the party (because she was literally about to have a baby - see next post). She would have appreciated our attention to detail.... And when I say "our," I mean it. Adam did just as much prep as I did! He has a secret artistic and crafty side to him that not too many people know about!

Little umbrella toothpicks poked into a cardboard number "4"

Those of you who know Avery well, you know that she would wear flip flops every day of the year if she could, so that is kind of what our "theme" revolved around...

Tropical Salsa in a Flip Flop

Flip Flop Nutter Butters

and of course, Flip Flop Cake!

 Pineapple pecan dip (looked better than it tasted)

 We can't take credit for this one....this awesome shark fruit salad was made by 

Mom-Mom (Adam's Mom)

 

Gotta promote the Mars products

No summer party is complete without some frozen beverages for the adults.  

Adam whipped up some Pain in the A$$es (copy cat version of Seacret's signature drink)!

Here is the mix-master himself...using his beer bottle holster (Father's Day gift!)

Avery had to open this gift (from her Great Uncle Bobbi and cousins Madi and Tori) right away so that her outfit could be complete....

A Coconut Bra to wear and a Coconut cup to drink out of!

These girls are too much!

We were so blessed to spend the day with family and friends.  This is one loved little girl!

Here is another cousin picture (literally taken just hours before her newest cousin was born!).

Cousin Ben!

Cousin Madi!

Brother Grayson!

Best buddy Sean!

Sean's brother, Evan, with Aunt RaRa!

And the tiniest kid there....Avery's soon-to-be girlfriend in a few years, Quinn (not quite 1 month old)!

The kids enjoyed some limbo....

Avery enjoyed opening some gifts....

But she really loves getting $$$! 

On a side note, our church is having a collection this week to help families still struggling from Hurricane Sandy. Avery had the idea of giving them some of her birthday money "so that they can buy toasters and ovens!" Proud parent moment for us! : )

We enjoyed some cake and ice cream.  She didn't make her wish out loud this year, so we'll have to wait to see what kind of party she will request next year! I'm sure she'll start talking about it soon.

After all this excitement, Daddy finally got to relax and get silly...

Glow stick glasses

Glow Stick headband.

The whole coconut bra thing is just bizarre on a little girl!

The weather was touch and go prior to the party.  But around 8:30 pm after most people had already left, it started to down pour.  We let the kids play in it while we cleaned up. When we came inside, I told Avery she could cross that off of our bucket list.  She clarified and told me that the list said "Dance in the Rain," not "Play in the Rain." So, Bob-Bob, the good sport that he is, went back out with Avery in the pouring rain to dance for a few minutes. 

"Dance in the in Rain" - Check!

Birthdays really are the best!  We had such a great day with friends and family! 

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes and for everything you do every day for our kids! 

A visit from Great Grandpa Bob

On Wednesday, the kids had a special visit from their great-grandpa (Adam's grandfather)....

He had a special delivery for the birthday girl: a one of a kind, hand made Penn State Octopus! 

She loves it and Grayson has been enjoying it as well.  

 Avery enjoyed doing "magic tricks" with her GGB.  She put a play dollar into her purse, said the magic words, and suddenly a REAL dollar appeared in it!  She was fascinated...

 and smart too!  She continued to do this trick until GGB ran out of ones and she is now almost $15 richer!

Avery is FOUR!

July 9th was Avery's fourth birthday and I can hardly believe it.  I really feel that your birthday is the most important day of the year, so the day was all about Avery!  I took the day off of work and planned some special things to do with just her.  

It started off with her breakfast of choice: banana chocolate chip (whole wheat!) pancakes (sprinkled with pink fairy dust - aka sprinkles) and a side of watermelon.  

 Then, I saved $20 and gave her a pedicure myself...

 We dropped Grayson off at Nonna's and went to a magic show at The Ice House...

Afterwards, we played at the park on Sand Island.

 We headed to lunch at Red Robin.  The entire time she ate her meal, she kept asking if the servers were going to come out and sing to her.  They did, of course, but she was so shy and embarrassed about it.  I think it was worth it to get the free ice cream!

She got changed into her bathing suit and ran through the fountains at The Promenade

 and then performed her own magic show for me.

 Next up, was a long overdue haircut at Sweet & Sassy.  This was her first time getting her hair cut at a salon.  Usually, her great Aunt Lisa trims it for her.  She got about at least 4 inches cut off!

I love the braid they finished it off with.

 We walked around the shops for a bit and I let her pick out a birthday cupcake from The Fresh Market to bring home. Then we headed home to pick up Grayson.  Daddy met us all at home after his day at work and we enjoyed Avery's meal choice: tortellini and peas.  

 Next, she got to open her gifts from us. No big gifts this year, just a bunch of little stuff. Which of course, probably is her preference....more to open! 

She was most excited about the pink swim goggles she asked for.

 And this Yankees dress was Daddy's pick!

This was the sweet end to Avery's special day! 

 We feel beyond blessed to have this sweet, funny, smart, and sassy little girl in our lives. She is growing up to be a confident and smart young lady.  She talks to us like an adult and can negotiate like no other.  There is no fooling her!  She still shares a room with her little brother and loves him dearly. They are always cuddling and playing together. She loves all things pink, sparkly, and "fashionable." Her imagination is incredible and is often making us act out scenes from any given princess story (or just any princess type/rescue scene she comes up with on her own). She would watch TV all day long if we let her, but also loves doing arts and crafts, reading and baking.  She can write her name, but chooses not to most of the time.  She is a good eater for the most part, and she will always devour avocado, any fruit, (but will only eat bananas if they have peanut butter on them), salmon salad in a pita, pepperoni pizza, cream cheese and olive sandwiches, and baby carrots with hummus.  Unfortunately, she is developing a sweet tooth like her Mommy. She likes to dance and sing pop songs like "Suit and Tie," "Call Me Maybe," and "22." She prefers to dance and sing her prayers at night to put in a show for God.  There is no one like her and we are so lucky gave her to US!  Happy Birthday, Avery Grace Levine! You are loved more than you could possibly know!

Click here to watch Avery answer 20 questions about herself!