Christian's First Birthday!

So, my baby boy is ONE! I can hardly believe it's been a year since he came into the world. Christian has been such a joy and a blessing in our home. What an amazing little guy.

The day started off with the new adventure of facing forward in his carseat! He giggled the whole time we drove around. During naptime, I had decorated and blown up a bunch of balloons. When he got up from his nap, he "discovered" the new decor and the balloons giggled and played with the them for a 1/2 hour!

This evening, we had a little family party for him and he couldn't have been more tickled about all of the attention (and the new big-boy toys)! He loved playing on his new teeter totter with his big sister and his favorite gift of the night was a new basketball hoop that was "just his size"! He picked right up on what to do and just kept dunking them in! We tried to help him "get messy" with his cake, but he, like his sister before him, did not want to get messy. I was so sad. Oh well, the cake was delicious and he DID eat some in the the end :-).

All-in-all, it was a fantastic day and both kids had tons of fun and were extremely happy, despite being very tired! I'm just so grateful that our little family was fortunate enough to have Christian become a part of it.

Peanut...then and now!

Peanut recently celebrated his 2nd birthday on May 17th. For those who don't already know, Peanut has a heart condition called valvular dysplasia. Basically, his heart valves pump liquid into his heart instead of out. It's inoperable and the doctors up in Ames (a great veterinary clinic) didn't think he'd live even one year. However, for those of you who have been around him, you'd never know that anything was wrong! I just wanted to post a few of his pictures--I can't believe how much he's grown....just like one of the kids, eh?

Security DOES have a sense of humor

This shot was taken by the Super Targer security team today. They found Cubby and Emily in the toy section and asked, "Do you have a baby here today?" Cubby said, "yes" (thinking that Christian, who was with me shopping, had had a messy diaper or something). They then gave him this photo and said that it had given them a pretty good laugh :-). We were sure to wave good-bye to them on our way out!

Two Loves With Their Lovies

I had to post these pictures from today. Emily wanted to take pictures of she and Christian with their Lovies, Dolly and Blue Bear. They were so sweet to each other today...even when wrestling! Good for the baby books!

Our Next Olympic Champion!

Emily had her gymnastic's open house this past Saturday. She had been practicing a little dance routine (featuring various gymnastics skills she'd been working on) and we all went to watch. It was so darn cute! She excelled at many things, especially waving to us in the crowd! It was a lot of fun to watch her and see everything she'd learned this last year.

Back In Business!

Cards

I love to give (and receive) cards. Trouble is, I'm not sure what to do with all of the ones I've collected throughout the years. Right now, I've (roughly) organized them by "event" and put them in a shoe box of sorts. Does anyone else keep cards? Does anyone have a better idea for organizing them or making them into keepsakes? I'd love the input as now I'm starting to accumulate them for the kiddos too.

Happy Mother's Day...Grandma Beckie!

I have already done a "shout out" to my mother...and wished her a very Happy Mother's Day! This post is dedicated to the other important mother in our family...Cubby's mother!

Grandma Beckie is such a sweet woman. She works hard and never complains about anything...seriously. It's a hard act to follow! She loves and cares for her family and her testimony of the Gospel above all else and is a great example to all around her. She's extremely bright and I wish she (and Cubby) would take my advice and try out for Jeopardy!!! C'mon, please? Her soft demeanor and patience shaped a rambuncious little boy (from the stories that I hear!) into the caring and loving man that I married.

Happy Mother's Day, to a terrific mother and mother-in-law, and grandma! I love you!

Dad

To live in the hearts of others is not to die

Today it has been fourteen years since my dad passed away. It's an odd anniversary for me since I was fourteen when he died. It's strange that I've now been alive longer since he's been gone than when he was here.

I miss my dad, simple as that. I miss his sense of humor and his laugh. I miss his voice (speaking and singing). I miss him for my children, who I know, would have LOVED to have played with him. The grieving process is a strange thing in that time never really heals the hole left from a loved one's departure. I'm so grateful for eternal families and that one day, my kids will know Grandpa Vic and I can once again get a hug from my dad.

Time to Garden!

Emily and I got to do some gardening today! We had visited Trees, Shrubs, and More yesterday and picked up some flowers for our front walkway. My mom came over and corralled Christian (thanks, Mom!) and Emily and I put on our gardening gloves and got started!

It was so cute to watch her dig and help me plant. Her favorite part came when we were finished and she got to water her flowers.

Has it really been six years???

Happy Anniversary to my Sweetheart!

Thank you for a wonderful six years...

Here's to many, many more!

The way we were....I've always loved your silly side!