She's 4!!!

I can't believe our cute girl is 4 years old today!! It seems like just yesterday she looked like this...

She has been such a fun girl and we love how she spices up our lives! NEVER a dull moment with this spunky little diva!!

Birthday Celebration Tradition...

Jackson's birthday has been a very special time over the last 7 years. Sometimes it's a happy day, sometimes a more tearful day, but it's always a day that we are able to remember him and talk about him (more than we do most other days). Here are some pictures of the last 5 years' birthday celebrations. What an amazing opportunity our family has to be able to have such a special brother and son!!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

7 years ago today I became a monther for the first time. What an overwhelming, amazing experience and opportunity to be the mother of such a perfect boy. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and what life would be like with him in our home. Happy birthday to my sweeet Angel, Jackson.

My Baby is 5!!!

Wow, time flies! It seems like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital to have Peyton. We were so excited to have him in our family, nervous but excited. As a baby he was pretty hard. He had reflux and was very fussy because of it. As a toddler he was AMAZING compared to all toddlers I've seen! And as a kid, he's pretty dang good aside from the occasional bout of crying. He's sweet to his sister, who bullies him to no end, and he is always saying nice things too me out of the blue. He has such a tender heart (just like his Dad). He LOVES playing with his friends and asks all day when they will be home from school, when they do get home they play until the sun goes down.

We celebrated his birthday today by going to Chuck E Cheese. Dan took the day off work, it was great to have him there. The kids had a great time playing and it was actually pretty clean. I think we'll be going back soon.

We are so thankful to have P in our family, and hope he has had a great birthday!

Birthday Celebration...

For Jackson's birthday every year we visit the cemetery with a bouquet of balloons. The bouquet always has 1 Mylar balloon and then 1 balloon for each person in the family. It's always nice to just sit at the cemetery and visit as a family. We love to sit around and talk about Jackson and tell the kids more about what he was like and talk about what it might be like when we see him again. We each take a regular balloon and let it go up to the sky and say whatever is on our mind. I just had to share that this year P said "I hope you like Batman Jackson" (notice the Mylar balloon is a Batman one). It was so cute because Peyton is so concerned that Jackson might not like Batman when they meet again, he just really wants to play superhero's with his brother! Anyway, it's always a peaceful time for me to be able to enjoy my family, make new memories and celebrate old ones.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Today we are celebrating what would be Jackson's 6th birthday. The day he was born to Dan and I was one of the most amazing days of our life. Those who had a chance to meet and spend time with Jackson could feel his sweet spirit. He was such a great baby and we are so thankful he is in our family. We speak of him often in our home and are excited for our reunion with him. I am so thanful for the chance that I have to be his earthly mother even though it was only for a short time here. Words can't express the feeling of being a mother, the love I feel for my children is beyond description and I am thankful to Jackson for allowing me to feel that for him. I know that I will see him again and we will be able to be together. Happy Birthday Jackson, we love you!

Happy Birthday Bailey!

I can't believe my baby is already 2! She has been so fun to have in our home. She has such a fun, cute personality and I can't imagine life without her! It is so cute when she and Peyton laugh and play together, they really love each other. Bailey is also very strong willed. She is so competitive with her brother and insists on having the same privileges he does (even though she doesn't always win). It has been a very different experience then we had with Peyton when he was her age. She has taught us a lot! Bailey is a Daddy's girl, she asks for him each morning when I get her up, and she is so excited when he gets her up in the morning and when he comes home from work. Lately when I ask her how she got so cute, smart or funny she says "uh, because...Daddy" to every question. She says some of the cutest things, it has been so fun to have a girl, much better than I imagined.

We went to Park City from Friday to Saturday last week to stay at a hotel and celebrate her birthday. We had a great time swimming and hanging out as a family. She loved swimming with her "thloaties" (floaties), at first she was a little scared to let go but by the end of the night she was just bobbing around the pool. We walked around Main street (which felt like a ghost town) and ate dinner at a cute little pizza place. After dinner we headed back to the hotel stopping by the nearby Albertson's for some snacks. Peyton and Bailey slept on the bed together at the hotel, it was so cute to see them as they were getting tired and loopy, they were so silly and giddy. The next day we headed to the outlet mall on our way out of town. We only stopped at the Nike outlet then let the kids play on the playground because our feisty little princess was ready for her nap. It was good to get home early though, so we could clean up the house, do the grocery shopping and prepare for the Mother's day/birthday party on Sunday.

Sunday was fun, we had most of Dan's family over for a BBQ to celebrate Mother's day and May birthdays (Betsy and Bailey). It was fun to get together and Bailey had a great time with her cousins and opening her presents. Her MeeMaw (Dan's mom) gave her a cute Dora trike, she has been on it most of the day today. She also got some books and some clothes. This year when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she would say "pink" so I decided to make her a pink flower cake. It actually turned out pretty good! I was impressed with my skills :)

Anyway, I just wanted to post about all the fun we have had. We love Bailey so much and we will definitely take her bad with her good, because her good is sure worth it!

Happy 30th!!!

I just wanted to wish Dan a Happy 30th Birthday!

Here are a few pictures I dug out.

This first one is of Dan when he was a kid- I think he was 5ish (I don't have any baby pics of him, I really need to get some from his Mom). His siblings tell me he always sported the "just leave it" do, but it looks like mommy must have combed his hair in this one.

Dan's childhood nickname was Tender because he was such a softy. He still is! Even though he looks like a big tough guy he really is a big teddy bear!

These 2 are him in the MTC... this is what they spend their time doing. (he's gonna kill me for posting these)!

This last one is of Dan doing one of his most favorite things... PLAYING BASKETBALL!! He says he really wishes he could play as well "as he used to" but I and many others think he is still pretty dang good (especially for a 30 year old!)

I love you Dan and hope you have a great 30th birthday and many many many more to come (more for my sake than yours because I really can't live without you).