Happy Birthday Jack!

So, it's been over a month since Jack's first birthday. I know, I'm a slacker. Life has been pretty crazy around here and the blog has taken a back seat to my "things to get done" list.

Here's the low down: I had invited everyone and their brother to this party cuz, well, I was excited for an excuse to party. I knew I couldnt' fit everyone in my house, but through a long and unfortunate series of events, that's exactly what had to happen. Thanks to my in-laws, and my friend Jennifer who cleaned the toilet for me, the house was ready to go in just the nick of time, complete with decorations and an extra table for the buffet.

The theme was Jack's Favorite Things. He loves to kick around a soccer ball, so of course I made the cake look like a soccer ball and had soccer decor everywhere. And for lunch, we had meatball sandwiches with all of Jack's favorite side dishes and drinks: cheese, edamame, marshmellows, jello, yogurt, whole milk, water, peas, corn, doritos... you get the picture.

Once everyone arrived the stress desolved and we all were able to relax and laugh with our friends and family. We felt very loved because not a single person complained and I had a few people compliment on the food selection. :-)

Thank you all for such a good time.

This is one picture to give you a glimpse at how tight things were:

After lunch, we stripped Jack down to his diaper and sang happy birthday to him while he mesmorized himself with the candle on his cupcake:

But once the candle was off, it didn't take him much time at all to dig in:

And yes, you're right: that was green and black frosting. But it was easier to clean up than I had anticipated, so we were good.

Then after cake, it was on to presents. Jack got some great loot - thank you so much everyone!!

And he had plenty of help opening his presents:

You hear moms say it all the time, but I can't believe this much time has gone by. I can't believe it's been a year since I gave birth to my little buddy. I can't believe he's walking and starting to communicate and has a beautiful, unique little personality. I can't believe I'm a mom. I can't believe that we have been blessed with a son of our own. He is the light of our lives and the center of our universe.

Pete and I have the coolest kid! We couldn't have asked for more out of our Jack-Jack.

We love you, little bug!!

Saint Patrick's Day

I just have to share this picture.

And this one.

And the back story. Jack was supposed to be born on Monday, March 17th - otherwise known as Saint Patrick's Day. We were waiting for the the hospital to call and tell us it was okay to come in so we decided to go out shopping. I mean, what else do you do to stay occupied, am I right? We headed over to Babies R Us and found the cutest hat and socks and instantly had this great idea for a picture. But that picture never happened. Jack didn't like the idea or something so didn't show up until the day after. It's okay, buddy - you're forgiven. We have these ones now. :-)

A Day At The Park

It was a beautiful day, a rare thing around here at this time of year, so Jennifer and I took the chitlins out to the park. I think everyone in a 10 mile radius around the park had the same idea because it was very, very crowded. Jack refused to play cuz it was close to nap time. But we were able to snatch up a couple of swings and Logan had a ball.

Playing with Grandpa

Here's some pictures of Jack and Grandpa enjoying a lazy Sunday evening.

Jack And The Slide

We have a playset by our house, so we decided to introduce Jack to the slide. He loved it!

Last One About Utah

We really did have so much fun in Utah. Since it was Pete's and my anniversary, we handed Jack over to Nanny for a night and we were able to stay at a really nice hotel in Heber, Utah. We went bowling, ate at a very nice restaurant and then headed back to the hotel. The prospect of getting as much sleep as we wanted was so exciting! We ended up turning in early and waking up late... man, it's been a while since we were able to do that!

When we went to get breakfast, we sat at a table facing a huge window. It was a beautiful morning and this is what we saw outside:

A family of deer! There were around seven or eight that passed through.

And there was a small pond right under the deck and expanding out. The ducks and geese were loving the water temperature. Steam from the warm water was rising up and making the view even that more beautiful.

The fish were quite a sight as well. What a great morning! Thanks, Mom, for allowing us that awesome time. :-)

Another thing we did was go to the open house for the Draper temple. What a magnificent building! This was the reception area where they had set up a gorgeous variety of painting depicting the Saviour and temples. This was my favorite one:

I wish we took a better picture of Jack, he had on a button up shirt, a blazer and a tie. So cute!!

And just to give you an idea of how windy it was, here are pictures of us and of my mom and dad. Aaah! Our hair!!

Funny note: there were houses surrounding the temple and as the bus was pulling around we saw a couple for sale. They were well built houses, probably 2500-3000 sq ft with two and three-car garages. As we passed one for-sale sign, someone exclaimed, "$395,000 dollars! That's crazy!" Pete and I just looked at each other and snickered. If only they knew how much we spent on our 1600 sq ft townhome with no yard....

And the last thing to talk about was how much fun we had with the Taylors. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of us playing Rock Band. It was the kids favorite passtime. That, and wrestling:

Jack also loved, loved, loved playing with Ben.

I can't wait til we can visit again!

Getting Updated

Life has been somewhat... let's say crazy... and I've been way behind in updating my blog. So, as my solution, new posts are going to be coming at you fast. I want to get all our news out so I'll be posting one or two new ones each day until I'm satisfied. :)

Get ready cuz here they come!