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Friday, December 31, 2010

A New Year's Photo Sesh







THANK YOU to Allison Vasquez at August Grace Photography for the great pictures!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR YA'LL!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas-y stuff

We had a great Christmas. It was hard not having hubs here, but life goes on and he will be home very soon! Here's some of the good times...

Jax is always being cute :)
New *kid-friendly* Nativity scene
"Shoes"
Hugs for his new baby
Taking a little break from the festivities... could he stand any closer?!
His new piano that he LOVES!
A TRIKE!!!
He only kinda liked it! ;)
I hope each of you had a blessed Christmas... Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Sights of Christmas


Our gingerbread choo-choo

The advent calendar that I had when I was little... I obviously took this picture last week :)

Our big, REAL tree! Before I wrapped a million presents to put underneath

And of course, this little stinker. Always being silly!

I can't believe Christmas is 4 days away! We are heading up to my dad's parent's house for Christmas Eve, then we'll be home for Christmas Day, then heading to the coast to see my mom's side of the family on the 26th. It will be busy, but definitely fun-filled! I can't wait!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Soldier's Christmas


TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

Toddler-ish

Jax is 18-months-old and I am loving this age. Yes, he has a major attitude at times and he is needing to be disciplined more and more. BUT... he also does the cutest/funniest things and he is constantly making me laugh. He is such a goofy boy.


He makes funny faces and runs in circles around the couch. He will grab my hand, take me to the edge of the couch, pull me down on the floor then run away screaming and laughing. He loves being chased! He also loves climbing and he is so daring, it's scary! He has no problem getting up and down the kitchen chairs and the office (rolling :-/ ) chair. He tries to climb the bar stools, the frame of the bed and the fireplace. He is such a daredevil... so much like his daddy!



He loves to say "no", even if he doesn't really mean it. He says a new word almost everyday and I'm amazed when he says something clearly that I didn't even know he could say in the first place. Like "apple"... clear as day... and I didn't even know he could say that! He loves to babble and talk to himself. He will be in the living room by himself, playing with his toys and he will just be talking away. Who knows what he is saying?!


As hard as "terrible two's" can be, this is such a fun age and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!



Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Prayers


Please pray for THIS family. They had twin 20-month-old daughters and one of them died in her sleep last week. I can't even imagine losing my sweet boy, and I know they are going to need some serious love/support/prayer over the next few months. Thanks.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Jax and Elijah


A few months ago, my MIL and I bought matching outfits for Jax and Elijah to wear. We figured that we would take pictures of them before the holidays, then use them for gift-giving to grandparents, etc. A few days ago we finally got around to actually taking those pictures. Or at least attempting them. Needless to say, it's rather hard to get pictures of a squishy 2-month-old and a squirmy 18-month-old TOGETHER. It was no problem to get pictures of them individually, ha! Looks like we will be doing round 2 of pictures sometime in the next week. Take a look at what we got...
(Don't fall, Elijah)

(Squishy hugs)



This is probably the best (cutest) one, but you can't see Jax's face so it's not really frame-worthy

Here's a couple individual shots... just for good measure. Can you guess which kid was more willing to smile for the camera? Ha!



Hopefully better luck next time!

Friday, December 3, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, we are now 3 days into December (Happy 18-months-old, Jax!) and I am so stinkin' excited that Christmas is just 3 weeks away! I have a few small gift cards to buy, but other than that, my shopping is DONE! I think this year has been my most effective/early Christmas shopping year. I suppose having no husband around, plus extra income makes it a little easier than other years. As much as I don't care for deployments, you really can't complain about separation pay! I took advantage of Black Friday deals online, plus I've just been keeping my eye out for other good deals. Most everything I've purchased has been through Amazon... you can't beat great sales+free shipping+not dealing with holiday crowds! I'm very proud of my money-savviness and I think everyone will be pleased with their gifts :)

Last Sunday we took holiday (Christmas card) pictures. I was unsure whether or not to do it this year since it is just Jax and I. But I decided that having those pictures, especially of Jax, was important enough. I hired a girl from our church who has done some other photo sessions with people I know. I got Jax and I all dressed up and we headed to the park. Well, of course it was a day that Jax decided he wanted nothing to do with it. He was all kinds of clingy and moody. Poor kid... I think the cold weather didn't help. We ended up giving up and deciding to do another session inside at a later time. But I am SO thankful that we still managed to get some adorable pictures. I know I'm a little biased, but I sure do have one cute kid!!




Saturday, November 27, 2010

18 months!

We're about a week away from Jax turning 18 months old. WOW. Where did the time go? He's about to be closer to TWO than he is to ONE. It's really true when people say that time flies, because the last 18 months certainly have flown by. I'm happy to say that he is slowly gaining weight and now weighs 23 pounds. Yay! He is also 32 inches tall. I forgot to ask what percentiles those number are in, so maybe I'll try to look it up online and figure it out myself.



I'm amazed at all of his new developments. He is picking up new words every.single.day. Today I asked him what he wanted for lunch and he said "pizza". Ha! He got chicken nuggets instead :) He is always repeating what we say... so I need to be careful not to say things that I don't want repeated! He is also working on his last 3 teeth. They are all so close to coming through and then he'll have all his baby teeth, except for his 2-year molars which are hopefully still a little ways off.


He's really great at following direction... but he's also really great at being stubborn and acting like he can't hear me. Overall though, he's such a great little boy. He is constantly cracking me up! He is ALL boy and he loves to be outside or wrestle or run around yelling and banging things together. I am so blessed to have him as my little man!


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Turkey Day!

We had a great Thanksgiving today! We started the day with cinnamon rolls, bacon, coffee and orange juice. Jax was a great helper!

After breakfast we cleaned the house and worked on cooking a Thanksgiving feast. Jax and I took a break from things to head to Ryan's grandparents house. Jax had a great time playing with this baby. He LOVES babies and I can't wait to give him a sibling. He's going to be such a great big brother!

This is the sisters/cousins with our little ones. From left to right- Ryan's sister Val, his cousin Amanda, his cousin Aly with Madison, and his sister Jenny with Elijah. And of course his wife, me :) with my sweet boy.

The patriarch, Grandpa Del giving a little speech to everyone

We left Ryan's grandparent's house just before they sat down to eat. Unfortunately they had planned to eat about an hour before my family, so Jax and I couldn't do both. We headed back to my parent's house to finish up the cooking and get some food in our bellies! Here's all the "kids" (cousins) on my mom's side. Bottom row, left to right is my brother Ryan, cousins Joey, Jacob, Elena and Emma. Top row, left to right are my cousins Stephanie, Nate and Kevin. Steph and Nate's daughter Willow was taking a nap so she's the only one not in this picture.

My mom and I made lots of food and even tried a few new recipes. It all turned out super yummy!

Of course, the main event... the TURKEY! Doesn't it look devine?!

With all the excitement, Jax didn't get much of a nap today so he was exhausted before we even ate dinner. Elena had a great time playing with and taking care of him and he loved snuggling with her.

He got a second wind a little while later and he had a great time playing with his Uncle Ry!

I am SO thankful for this little guy. He lights up my life!


Monday, November 22, 2010

Thankful

Things I am thankful for this holiday season... in no particular order...

-my health
-my loving husband
-my wonderful son
-my parents and their willingness to let us live with them temporarily
-my in-laws for not being obnoxious or annoying
-my tried-and-true girlfriends
-the beautiful cooler weather
-my husband's ability to provide for us and love us, even from far away
-good memories of old times
-my Mojo doggy
-Toy Story 3 (ha!)
-my gym membership (although I pay for that... but I'm still thankful for it :) )
-the ladies in my Bible Study
-Beth Moore for writing the Bible Study
-Coffee and sweats on a cold day
-My Savior and Lord!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY on Thursday!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

3 Musketeers

As most of you know, Jax has two good friends who were both born in June 2009. Jax is the oldest (by 8 days) born on the 3rd, Max was born on the 11th and Ben was born on the 30th. Max and Ben's mommies and I have been enjoying opportunities to let the boys play together. Last week, I ended up watching both of them for an afternoon. They are really getting to the age where they are starting to play together and they do so well! They were so cute sharing their toys, binkies and juices. I did make sure that they weren't actually swapping any spit. Ha! I didn't get any pictures of all three of them because Ben slept most of the afternoon, then Max left before he woke up. Maybe I'll get some pictures of all 3 next time, but I still got some cute ones of each of them!

Max reading a book all by himself :)


Jax and Ben drinking their matching juice. Ha!

"Here's your binky, Jax"

Ha! Max wasn't actually elbowing Jax... but I sure caught a funny picture!

Handsome Ben!

Ben sharing his lovey with Jax

Cool Dude
I hope we can get these 3 together again soon... they sure do make a cute trio :)