Jack's 4th Birthday and Father's Day Weekend 2009!

The progression of a hurricane:

Jack and me at our baby shower about 48 hrs. prior to an early surprise delivery on Father's Day - Sunday, June 19th, 2005.  Our firstborn was 5 lbs. 12.5 oz, 18 inches long, and perfect.  Justin and I were instantly in love and scared to death. :)  Luckily, Jackson was patient with us as we figured out the whole parenting thing one diaper at a time.  (And I don't know about you, but I'm diggin' my no eyebrows and "glowing" (more like flushed) face.  Seriously, friends and family!  Why didn't you tell me to let the eyebrows fill in a little and/or buy me a brow pencil?  LOL!)

1 week old (pre-hospitalization for jaundice.  Yep - being first time parents we didn't realize THIS yellow wasn't normal.)

1 year old and it's clear those beautiful blue eyes were here to stay.

2 years old and finally growing a nice mop of curly/wavy hair.  And loving giraffes.  

3 years old and looking more like a little boy than a toddler.

4 years old and he is a little boy instead of a toddler.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

JACKSON!!!

On Friday, June 19th, my oldest little (stealing term from Justin's cousin :) turned FOUR years old!  When did I suddenly become the mother of a preschooler?  Jackson has grown up so much in the past year - developing an attitude that both entertains and exasperates me, learning new things, and making the transition from toddler to little boy official.  And I've loved (though maybe not necessarily liked) every minute of it.  Oh, but what I wouldn't give for just a few minutes to go back and hold my newborn Jackson again!  I am so proud of who he is becoming (most of the time :) and am grateful that I have a front row seat to his life.  He is going to do amazing things, that little hurricane of mine!

Happy Birthday! 

Love, Daddy, Mommy, Eddie, and Norah 

 

I know this is a birthday/Father's Day entry, but I couldn't resist posting a couple of pictures of our hummingbird.  Look at how well she pushes up now!  She'll be crawling before I know it!

And just look at how much she's filling out! :)  She's about 11 1/2 lbs. now and is starting to develop what I believe to be a 'roll line' on her little thighs.  I love it!  

Jackson's birthday cupcakes.  "It isn't a cupcake without rainbow sprinkles." ~ The Tao of Jackson

Before arriving to our play date at the splash park we stopped at McDonald's to pick up lunch.  Jackson's request, "A hamburger with cheese and mustard and that's it!  That's the way I like it.  And fries.  Please."  He also got his very own little soda (Diet Coke - he is my son, after all!) since it was his birthday.  Sadly, he left his fries unattended for about one minute too long once we arrived at the park and Eddison - being proficient in sniffing out food of any kind - quickly finished what was left.

Jack's new do (for all of five minutes).  I think it's pretty cute and have no idea why he kept flattening his hair with his hand after I spiked it other than at this age if it's not his idea it's a bad idea. :)

And then there's Eddie.  Clearly no amount of cutting is going to hold those curls at bay and I love it! :)

Will, Norah, Eddie, Birthday Boy (with not one, but TWO fingers up his nose), Arwen, Tyler, and Riley.  What fun is a birthday without friends?

You know you want to make them.  I got the recipe from the Picky-Palate and it's definitely a keeper.  I used light cream cheese for the frosting recipe and it still tasted amazing.  

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Eddie approved of the recipe, but wouldn't eat his cupcake until we put a candle in it and sang Happy Birthday to him, too.  Seriously - you can't make this stuff up!  Kids are SO entertaining!  LOL!!!

Make a wish!  Jack's official low-key (yeah right! LOL!) birthday party is next weekend so Aunt Jayne, Uncle Seth, and Oliver can be in attendance.  I'm still desperately searching for a way to make a Transformers birthday cake!  (Ideas welcomed!)

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HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

We kicked off the Father's Day celebrations a day early this year by having friends come over for a 'Day Before Father's Day BBQ Feast'.  (Seriously - any excuse for friends and food :).  On the collaborative menu:  Grilled shrimp tacos and grilled chicken tacos, homemade pineapple salsa, chips and homemade regular salsa, rainbow jello, cilantro lime rice, fresh-fruit salad, garden salad with citrus-basil vinaigrette (yep - basil was fresh from our blossoming garden!), hot-dogs for the kids, and cupcakes.  We all ended up making way too much food and therefore eating way too much food, but it was worth it!  :)  The kids all got to try out the new play-structure Jackson got for his birthday (pictures to come!) and at the end of the evening they were sweaty, sticky, and otherwise clearly happy (albeit tuckered out!) littles. :)  

The best (looking) Daddy in the world!  We had just gotten home from Church and I wanted to snap a picture of Just with the kids before everyone started shedding their church clothes for play clothes.  Unfortunately, we get home around 12:30 p.m. which is just about the time Monster-Eddie emerges and is ready for his nap.  So he was definitely not agreeable to the idea of standing next to Daddy and smiling.  Justin finally managed to get him to sit near him by bribing him with a binky and a watering can.  A watering can, Eddie?  Really? 

For Father's Day the boys and Norah gave Justin a new tie (classic, right? :), and a lawn trimmer.  He also got an afternoon nap (priceless!) and a dinner that exceeded even my expectations.  Maybe I was just really hungry...  On the menu were Justin's favorite foods:  Roast with carrots, onions, and mushrooms; garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, corn, and for dessert - a chocolate chip cheesecake with fresh homemade raspberry sauce.  

There's not a sweeter gift than an afternoon nap with your baby girl!  Unless we're talking literal sweet ... then I'd have to go with:

My first (and certainly not last!) chocolate-chip cheesecake.  Totally baked with love for the perfect husband and father of my children. :)

One amazing Daddy and two amazing daddies-in-training :).  (Oh - and one straight shaft, gas-powered, 4-cylinder lawn trimmer.  I did my research!)

Thank you for being such a great Daddy, Justin.  Jackson and Eddison look up to you more than you know* and Eleanor adores you.  Thank you for assembling Jack's birthday present into the dark hours of night after coming home from a long day at the office.  Thank you for spending all day Friday and much of Saturday continuing to assemble everything in 90+ degree weather (with humidity around 106 degrees) so it would be done in time for all of the kids to play on it Saturday evening.  Thank you for wrestling with the boys every night because Mommy just can't do it right! ;)  I love that you give the boys a bath, help them brush their teeth, read them a book, help them say their prayers, and tuck them into bed almost every night.  I love (sometimes :) that you love our children so much that you can't say no to anything they ask for (even though it makes Mommy the bad-cop most of the time).  You really are the best, babe!  Happy Father's Day!

Love, Jackson, Eddison, Eleanor, and me      

*Case in point:  A few days ago Jack was in the garage 'helping' Justin assemble the initial parts of the play structure.  I could sense Just was in a volatile mood because he had just opened the first box of wood/supplies and it soon became all too clear just how long this project was going to take.  These circumstances are generally accompanied by a lot of grumbling and loud outbursts of frustration.  So, logically, I made myself scarce.  :) When dinner was ready I called the boys in from the garage and we all sat up to say the prayer and eat... when without warning, Jackson - who was trying unsuccessfully to fling things off of his fork - turned to me and said, "Mommy, this pissing me off!"  My jaw hit the table and I just stared at Justin (i.e. the cat who swallowed the canary) who looked like he was waiting to see my reaction before deciding on whether to laugh or get angry.  He quickly got the message with my death glare and we both explained to Jackson (in time-out) that what he'd said was never okay to say, even if Daddy said it sometimes.  We also told him that if he ever heard Daddy say it again than Daddy would need a time-out, too.