Like Christmas In August!

After months... yes, months- I love Birthdays... of planning, Avery's Birthday party has come and gone! (He won't turn 3 until Sept.9 but we will be at the beach that week, so we had his party early.) It was a HUGE success, if I do say so myself! Ha! We had friends and family over to celebrate in my parent's backyard, and Thank God the weather was nice. Hot, yes- but it IS the south... so I'm just glad it didn't rain! We rented a Mickey Mouse 5-in-1 Bouncy house that was the HIT of the DAY! Some kids didn't even get out to eat! Ha! Avery drove the man crazy that was setting it up ... "can I jump yet? is it ready yet? I want to jump, now, sir"... and his hair was soaking wet from sweat before any of his friends even arrived for the party! It took all of my birthday money to pay for it, but it was worth every penny! The kids (and even some adults!) really seemed to have a blast! My parents' "main gift" to Avery was an airplane teeter-totter from Costco. It took Brian all week (at night after work until dark) to put the 5000 pieces together, but it also brought a lot of smiles to the faces of Avery and his friends, so in the end, I think Brian would agree it was worth his hard labor! Ha! The things we do to make our children smile! He was so cute with his expressions and comments as he opened each gift. "OOHH! I LOVE IT! THIS IS MY FAVORITE!" I'm really looking forward to Christmas, now! :)

This was the first time that I was able to 1/2 way relax and enjoy the party. I started to say that I guess it will get better each year as Avery gets older and more independent, but then I remembered I'll have Baby #2 to take care of next year! Ha! Oh well... it was a nice thought for a minute! I will be able to relax in about 20 years, maybe! :) I wasn't the only one that was exhausted the next day, though... Avery slept until 9:00 on Sunday (he usually wakes up by 7:30) and then still took a 3 1/2 hour nap after church! I guess he was making up for the "NAPLESS" day before due to pre-party excitement! I don't see how one little boy has so much rgy! He makes me tired just watching him!