We had Christmas with Jon's family on the Thursday before Christmas, since we were heading out of town and so was his aunt.

Just a cute picture from that morning.

Holding the gift I made for Jon's mom.

Just a little hopping before dinner.

Like me growing up... the only one still at the
table when everyone else was done eating.

The girls were very excited to open their gift from us.

They got the same thing they got last year... costumes
that I bought at 90% off clearance after Halloween!

Jake didn't quite get "opening presents" at first.
We had to help him with the first few.

Then he got the hang of it.

He got a fun dinosaur that roars and opens
its mouth when you squeeze the tail.

Aunt Candice got him some super cute dinosaur
pajamas that came with this funny mask.

He loved his Dinosaur Train (tv show) search and find book.

The girls started putting on their costumes right away.

The fortune teller/gypsy costume was actually an
adult one, but I knew it would still work and be super cute.

Opening his stocking.

Jake enjoyed the costumes too.

Posted in: Christmas, Jake, niece, the fam on Monday, January 02, 2012 at at 10:54 AM 0 comments    

We had a very busy first week of summer.

Monday night we went to our niece Caroline's third birthday party. It was Minnie Mouse themed.

Face painting was included!

The birthday girl.

Jake enjoyed his hot dog and doritos.

Sometimes when Jake doesn't feel like napping, he'll reach through the crib rails and pull clothes out of the hamper. This is how I found him Wednesday.
(Usually the white and light blue blanket, the dalmatian, and the monkey are the only things in there with him.)

I guess he was bored Wednesday night too, because this is how he looked when I went in his room after he went to sleep. He's never taken his shirt off before.

Last week was VBS at our church. It was a New York City theme. I was going to take pictures of Jake with some of the scenery, but by the time I picked him up on Friday, everything was already taken down. This was still left out in the hall.

Friday night we went to Jon's parents' house to celebrate Father's Day early. We ate then went to the pool!
Jake was ready to jump in.

Splashing with Pop.

Swimming with Pop and Daddy.

Fat belly.

Splash face.

He really enjoyed the fountains.

This is what he looked like Saturday afternoon after nap.

We had a Sunday School fellowship Saturday evening at one family's pool.
I didn't get any pictures of the actual swimming though.

Jake was a member of The Mowing Brigade.

Then he continued the job by himself.

He bounced a little in the mini-trampoline.

And was very serious about playing with the cars.

And we ended the evening searching for Jon's lens
from his glasses on the bottom of the pool.

As we left the pool party, we noticed Grandma across the
street monitoring Grandpa's mowing technique.

Father's Day!

Jon was swinging Jake back and forth like a clock.
It was hilarious, according to Jake.

Taking Daddy his presents.

One of his presents was a new black polo with white stripes (in the background). He had one already, but it had shrunk WAY small. So I took the old one and sewed it into a pillow for him so he could love it forever. He thought it was really funny.

And Jake wore the bag.

Sunday night was VBS family night.
There was a fire truck there.
It was the greatest day in Jake's life.

He figured out the light was like a mirror and he kept looking at himself in it and laughing.

Posted in: husb, Jake, niece, pool, the fam on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at at 10:36 PM 0 comments    

We celebrated Easter two times this year. Jon's sister is a nurse on the weekends, so we had our family celebration on Friday night so everyone could be there. Friday afternoon we stopped by the bank, and there just happened to be these lovely flower bushes out front.

So I stuck Jake in them.

While people walked by.

Then we headed to Mimi and Pop's house for Easter!

We started out with a delicious dinner.
Then we went outside to get a few cousin pictures.
The girls wore their Easter dresses, but Jake just wore a nice shirt.

Aunt Candice leading the kid train to the perfect photo spot.

Awwww...

And we're ready for the hunt!

Jake found his first egg.

He took a little break mid-hunt for some sliding.

Uncle Wes helped him out with one
that was a little bit out of reach.

On a mission.

Having fun shaking some noisy eggs with Caroline.

Back inside the kids got their baskets and toys.

Perusing the basket.

Checking out the eggs.

Today it was just the three of us... and everyone at church.

In his spiffy duds before church.
He wasn't keen on looking at the camera.

After church we stopped by a park to get some pictures.
(It's the same place I did his 18 month pictures.)

Jake and Daddy.

That red bridge I love.

Yep I'm cool.
With a trashcan in the background.

Yippee! Waterfall!

I decided it would be best to do our at-home egg hunt and such after nap. However I left the eggs in his room during nap, so he just hung out in his room while I put the eggs out after he got up.

The Easter basket... with much thanks to Crayola.

"What is this stuff?"

He LOVED the Elmo book.

Then outside for some egg-huntin'.

Going UP the slide to get one.

This one's fun to shake!

Showing off his loot.

Posted in: Easter, husb, Jake, niece on Sunday, April 24, 2011 at at 8:44 PM 0 comments