2 Yrs

Two years ago tonight i was spending my first night with my sweet little man! He was SO tiny and I just fell in love!

A year later he was already this big (with no teeth but lots of smiles)
He wasnt walking, and saying just a handful of words

And tonight I put this sweet little boy...yes boy not baby to bed...as a 2 yr old and I want to cry!
He has become a spirited, silly, loving, stubborn, helpful little boy and I couldn't love him more! He talks and talks! He is growing and changing every day! He loves cars and trucks, trains and soccer. He is a little stud who hates babysitters and is working on nursrey, loves his mommy and cries whenever daddy has to get off the phone at work! I can only imagine what he will be like next year! My amazing cousin took pictures of him yesterday for his birthday and they turned out FANTASTIC but for some reason this is the only one I can get to load... but seriously how cute is this! There are some more on her blog lifethroughbrislens.blogspot.com

Now of course I my camcorder wasn't working and the battery wouldn't stay in my camera today so I have no pictures of Jaden on his actual Birthday...lame I know, but we have been celebrating him for the last week so I hope these will suffice!

We had a family BBQ with my family last weekend to celebrate dads and Jaden and my mom got Jaden an adorable cars cake and he thinkgs it is just the coolest thing to have everyone sing to him... Here are a few pics

That's my son, as soon as the candles were out...he went for the frosting! In the process though he did manage to singe his eyebrows and eyelashes!

We also had a family birthday dinner at Shawns parent's house where we celebrated both jaden and Nathan's birthdays! We did much better with the candles this time!

My sisters Annie, Sarah, Rachel, and the kiddos came up to visit and we had such a great time! The kids played all day long in the sunshine and played so great with eachother! I love how close in age all our kids are, as of this fall we will have 8 under the age of 4...oh the memories they will make with eachother and the trouble they will cause! I'm so excited!

Libby and Jaden

Jaden got this killer water table from us and Nana for his birthday and all the kids LOVE it!
Here he is with Meagan

Eathing a yummy treat

okay I know this child is not mine but I LOVE this picture of cute Hayla in her sunglasses!


Here is just a fun picture of how Jaden and I spend our lazy days! This child could easily spend HOURS throwing rocks into the creek! Love it!
On Tuesday I decided to head down to see my sisters and instead of going to the pool (because they are lame and don't open until noon) we decided to have a pool party at Nana's. Again...SO much fun with the cousins! We set up the pool, put the slide in and the kids went to town.


My sister Amy bough a slip and slide and I would be lying if I said the kids actually understood how to use it, they still had fun. We ended up just throwing them down...which was a good work out for us and lots of fun for them!


All in all it was just a fun afternoon that I really NEEDED and enjoyed! I love my sisters!

Here is J just playing
That night I ended up taking Jaden to his first movie ever! He did SO good and actually seemed to enjoy it! It was a fun filled day, but one that at the end you some how feel rejuvinated, a perfect day!

Well that ended up being a VERY long post, but that is us the last week or so! We have had a great week and celebrated Jaden often! Life is good and I couldn't love my family more!

Sunshine=Smiles

I am so glad the sun finally came out to play...for a little while!
I love being a mom more than anything in the world and its afternoons like this that I love most!
No where to go...nothing to do....
Just play!

I bought Jaden this cheap little pool awhile ago, and we finally pulled it out today! After searching for about 30 minutes for the attachment to the shop vac to blow if up I gave in and blew it up myself!..almost passed out!

It was worth it though because Jaden had a blast and it wore him out so much he took a 2 hr nap! So did mom! Here are some fun pics!

We also went to a World Cup party this last weekend! It was great! I fully support soccer and the World cup but it was nice to have all the guys in the theater room, all the kids playing in every other room, and a few of us moms chatting it up and when the cheering came loud through the house, we knew to check out the tv for the replay, those are my kind of sporting events!

Jaden and dad sporting their pride!

All smiles after a fun afternoon


and as always the BYU hat!

Okay so this I just had to throw this in here! This is Jaden's new favorite place to watch tv, and yes in case you are wondering that is a candle that he has chosen as his stadium seat!
Love this kid!

I'm trying really hard to be a better blogger! Especially since we are farther away from family and friends! Wish me luck! Maybe if I can keep it up I will get more comments :)

Home Sweet Home!!!

So it has taken a lot longer than we planner but we are FINALLY in Eden and couldn't be happier!
Its amazing to me that in the short amount of time we have been here it already feels like home!
Its so nice to have space for Jaden to run around and room for people to come visit! I love that everything has a place and it actually feel SO much easier to keep a house clean than an apartment because I actually have a place to put things so there is less clutter! The ward here is wonderful and the scenery is amazing! This is the view from our patio!

We feel so blessed to be here! Shawn had his last day at Zions today and will start working for G2 on Thursday! Our lives will be changing quite a bit as this is a much more demanding job than we are used to, but it will be well worth it, especially for him! He is very excited to get started, as he told me this morning before he left for work, this is the day he has been waiting for for the last 10 months! It was worth the wait!
There isn't a whole lot in Eden, but that's one of our favorite things about it! Its very laid back and i find myself feeling so grateful each day for the beautiful scenery around us...Shawn is also excited that the Pineview boat dock is less tan 10 minutes from our front door!

Jaden has been doing especially well with the move! I think one of his favorite things is.....

His big boy bed!!! he has been so excited about it! Whenever anyone has come over he is always so excited to show them his big boy bed! I am so glad we moved him to the bed our first night here it was the perfect time for the transition and he has done great! He hasn't tried to get out of it, he will sit up in the morning and wait for me to come get him while he screams "Let me out, let me out, mommy let me out!" it's quite funny actually! He has fallen out twice in the last week but we have kept a matress under the bed that we pull up next to it when he goes to sleep so he has landed on that and not been too upset, he will cry and I will just go get him and put him back in. its actually been quite a smooth transition. (knock on wood)

Since I havent been working other than swimming lessons a few days a week Jaden and I have had a lot more time just the two of us. Cometime I fins us kind of looking at eachother and thinking...okay what now... :) We always manage to find something fun and do have a lot of fun though and i feel like it has made me a better mom! We go on walks, play at the pool, dig in the dirt (with Jaden its not exactly called gardening) and we seem to spend a few afternoons at the park (I say THE park because there is only ONE in Eden) and occasionally I will drive to hunsville and we will play at the park there (its much bigger). The upside is that he seems to stay longer and enjoy them more seeing as we don't go as much and he doesnt see them everywhere!

It also has been great to have a playroom for Jaden, its down stairs so he doesnt see all of his toys all day long and plays much longer and happier with them when we go down.

Jaden has been VERY into trains the last few months...
(thanks for the outfit nana)

So for an early birthday present we took him to Thomas the Train a few weekends ago and he has a blast!!!! Here are some pictures!

I made the mistake of telling jaden to show me his cheese face when I brush his teeth.... so now when I tell him to say cheese for a picture....this is what i get, the "oh no not again" face.

a real smile

This is my FAVORITE picture and I think it sums up his feelings on the experience.

So that pretty much sums us up!
We love Eden and are so glad for the opportunity to live here and hope we dont have to
leave for a VERY long time!