Our Big 2 Year Old

Rachelle, Chelley, Chelle. She is growing up way too fast.  She is a  talker and can tell you exactly what she wants.  She was really excited for her Birthday.  This year she got to share her celebration with her Papa-dad who turned 60 and cousin Eliza who turned 1.  Unfortunately, she was actually quite ill the evening of her Birthday but she was still in good spirits.

Her big present was this Lalaloopsy playhouse that came with a doll.

Sarah used her Giant cupcake pan to make a cute little cottage for her cake.  The tulips were leftover from Sarah’s birthday.

You can tell from her rosy cheeks she was running a little bit of a fever.

Even with a fever she was bouncing all around (Minnie mouse outfit was from Grandma Stubz).  Chelley loves to jump.

Jackson’s Big Day!

Jackson had an awesome birthday this year! In the morning we let him open a few presents and then Micah took him out to breakfast. That just started the day right for him. He had preschool and was sure he needed to bring one of his favorite snacks to share with everyone, which is mini powdered donuts. School was great and they treated him well there to help celebrate his day. After school we had a few things to get done to prepare for his party – so he played his new basketball and baseball video games while I got to work setting a few things up. I had made a star wars cake for him with an edible printed cake topper like this one the night before (which really was so easy and I would definitely do again), and I followed the instructions that said to cover it so the light didn’t fade the colors, so I gently laid a piece of foil on it for the night. Well, I think they meant put it in a box or something, but don’t lay anything on top of it, even gently… when I went to show Jackson his cake the next morning this is what happened as I peeled the foil off:

Bummer! Luckily it was early in the day and I found a nearby store that had a star wars cake that didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Then came party time! Jackson had thought about several themes we could do for his party – Star Wars, Sports, Water games,  and then finally he asked to have a water slide like the one we had at a family reunion last summer. We were so glad that some cousins had this slide and were so nice to let us borrow it! It was awesome! Everyone was so excited about it. The weather, of course, had to be a little cooler and windier than it was supposed to be but all the kids would get in for as long as they could last, get out, warm up, and then get back in! It was a lot of good play time. We had the big water slide, beach balls, squirt guns, sidewalk chalk, our play set, etc for them to just play, play, play! After about an hour we brought out the pizza, cake and ice cream, presents and the pinata. We still had about 15 minutes left at the end so we let them play some more – they all were dying to get back to the slide! As parents came I was not as organized as I had hoped, I had tried to keep picking things up and putting things back together, but towels were everywhere, shoes and clothes were everywhere, people’s bags of candy were everywhere – it was quite a site, but amazingly not one thing got left behind! It was a really easy clean up too – just hose everything off and we were done!

Jackson was in heaven! We had the big water slide, a football pinata, star wars cake, star wars table cloth and star wars plates, and regular old “happy birthday” cups, preschool friends and cousins  – it was everything he wanted. Thanks for all the gifts, phone calls, and cards!  There is something so fun about celebrating your child! Its the best to see their little faces so excited and so happy! I love the excitement of birthdays.

I love Jackson. He is really growing up. He is a good helper. He hates hearing Rachelle cry and tries so hard to help with her and make her happy. Most of the time he listens, responds, and obeys. He LOVES church and school and learning in general. He likes to figure things out and teach himself how to do things – like chess and checkers, video games, legos, football and any sport, etc. The other day he sat at the table and wrote 1 – 100 on paper. I was pretty sure he could count that high, but I wasn’t sure about writing.  He is kind of a picky eater, unless I can keep snacks away from him – then he eats almost anything. I’ve even convinced him that he loves spinach! He loves to do things before he is asked and surprise me with the end result. Many of his friends’ parents from school have told me that their little boys talk about Jackson at home all the time and think he is so fun and his teacher has told me he is happy, makes cute and intelligent comments, and a friend to all in class. One of his favorite things to do lately is smiling with crossed eyes – he thinks he’s pretty funny! He is such a great little guy! Happy Birthday Jackson!

 

 

Happy Birthday to Jackson

Poor Jackson… he’s had pink eye this week, again! Well, this morning he woke up, Micah took him out to breakfast, and after Micah dropped him off and headed out to work he started crying that his ears hurt! It must have been pretty painful – I tried to distract him with making his cake, playing a couple video games, and letting him open presents here and there throughout the morning, but he kept coming back to just wanting to sit with me and get his back scratched. In the last post, there’s a picture of him holding his ears while opening a present. In the other picture he’s sitting on the couch with his blankets and he was mad because I got up to take a picture when he wanted me to be sitting with him (don’t worry I sat down and took good care of him after that). I scheduled a dr’s appt. for him for this afternoon when Micah would be home, and the doctor confirmed that he has a double ear infection! Oh boy! I feel like we’ve been to the doctor about every other day between the kids and I since Rachelle was born… with newborn checks, well checks for the kids, pink eye, ear infections, and the post delivery check ups for me. Lacey has also had a pretty high fever this week. I think the fever broke today, so hopefully tomorrow morning she will be well and we won’t be going to the dr’s office yet again (at least until Tuesday when Jackson has his well check). Thank goodness its so close and they always squeeze us in! The biggest upside to this is that I feel like our doctor finally knows who we are!
Anyway, back to the birthday celebration – Jackson got some clothes and baseball stuff from us and some other fun stuff from grandparents.

He loves the tee/automatic pitcher and is pretty good at it too. We went to the park for a picnic dinner and played some ball.

March is a beautiful time of year here! Then we had a delicious Skor bar cake when we got home – we sang Happy Birthday a couple times and blew out candles several times at Jackson’s request!

Jackson enjoyed several birthday phone calls today and he is so excited to be a big 4 year old. I still think of him as my little boy. I love my Jackson. He is a sweet, loving brother and has such a good heart. He loves to be the big helper. He really, really enjoys primary and preschool and he listens and learns so well in both. It has been so fun to see the ways he’s matured this year. Happy Birthday Jackson!

Growing up!

Wow – 24 days old! I still feel like she is brand new – at the same time, it feels like she’s been apart of our family for forever! We love our little Rachelle. Thank you to everyone who has helped us so much! We are so grateful – my recovery has gone pretty well and I’m sure its because I was able to get a lot of rest the first week or two. It’s been nice to know and feel at ease that Jackson and Lacey have been well taken care of and very happy.  Jackson and Lacey adore Rachelle. Jackson loves to just look at her and say “she’s so cute, Mom.” Lacey just always wants to be next to her or holding her or touching her. She loves to help her sister. She tells me all the time, ” That’s my sisser” and “she my frien.” I hope that sticks – I’m sure they’ll be friends like only sisters can be 🙂

I think Jackson took this picture

Rachelle is a sweet little baby. She sleeps pretty well. Last night was about 11:00ish to 4:15. Not too shabby, some nights are better than others. She is very content most of the time especially if someone is holding her. She’s been a lot more alert the past two weeks – a lot more awake time. I love how she studies our faces now. Jackson loves to get his face close to hers and watch her look at him. He says, “She’s thinking, What in the world? Is that my brother!?!” I love our one on one time together, usually in the evenings after Jackson and Lacey have gone to bed. I love how cuddly and content she is after nursing. I love to watch her drift off to sleep. I love to watch her sleep – there’s something so sweet and tender about a sleeping baby.

Today is Jackson’s b-day! Here’s a few pictures of the birthday boy, and how he’s been spending the day. More details to come on that later – the baby is calling!

Lacey’s “Happy To You!”

Lacey had a fabulous birthday! She woke up early and Micah took her out to breakfast. It sounded like they had a pretty good time. When they came home, Jackson and I sneaked out and picked up some balloons – we brought them back and yelled, “Happy Birthday!!!” when we gave them to her – Jackson had it all planned out. Lacey opened a few presents in the morning and got a little mermaid doll from grandma and a swimsuit from us… and then she wanted to go swimming! So we packed up after lunch and swam at the YMCA. She had a blast! I wish I didn’t forget my camera. We all took a rest when we got home, then had pizza and cake and ice cream for dessert. After baths a few of her favorite people came over with a few more presents to open. We let her take her toys into her room last night at bedtime since she had such a good nap, and she played with them for quite a while before falling asleep.
We love our Lacey-girl! She is a sweet sister and adores her brother and baby. She is full of energy and keeps us laughing – she loves to be funny! I am so grateful to have her in our family!

Happy Birthday To You Lacey Girl!