Saturday, August 29, 2009

New Jersey

The other weekend we went to New Jersey for a family reunion of sorts. My dad's side of the family had not all been together since right after Caroline was born and none of us had seen Kelly or the twins since they were born. We used all those reasons as the perfect excuse to spend a long weekend together!

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and quickly settled in for a fun, busy, crazy weekend .

Of course, Caroline immediately fell in love with Sheeba!

On Friday we went to a place called "Storybook Land" which is amusement park that is centered around faiy ales and is especailly for kids. I went to one in New Hampshire when I was a little girl so it was fun to go back with my kids!


In line for the first ride... little did I know what little thrill-seekers I would have on my hands.


Listening to the "Goldilocks and the three bears"

I have a picture of myself as a child at the zoo drinking from an almost identical water fountain.

We had such a blast at this fun park. Jackson and Caroline loved all the rides. Caroline would smile and laugh the whole time. There was a small roller coaster that Caroline was too small to get on, but Jackson rode again and again... he couldn't get enough. I hope that means that when he's older he'll ride the big ones wiht his mommy!!!

David and Leda arrived late Friday night just in time for family pictures on Saturday. My grandma has been trying to get family pictures taken for 3 years, and we finally did it!!! We were more than pleased with the results.

These are pictures of pictures... you had to pay an arm and a leg for the CD, so sorry they don't look the best!

My beautiful babies

Papa and Grandma with their granchildren... me, David, Ava, Luke & Logan, and their great-grandchildren... Jackson and Caroline. I love the generation gap. Their great-grandchildren are older than their two youngest grandchildren, and their is a 20 year difference between David and Ava! Amazing!


The twins (Luke and Logan) at almost 14 weeks

this time Logan's on the left and Luke on the right. Aren't they precious?!


Papa and Grandma


David and me with Dad

the whole bunch!

On Sunday we went to church and then little miss Caroline had another birthday party. It was so much fun to get to celebrate with both sides of the family even though we don't all live close to each other. Thank you Kelly and Grandma for the her party!!!

Jackson and Ava watching a movie before the party. They were best buddies this trip. They held hands everywhere we went, and Jackson informed quite regularly that Ava was his favorite sister!


My (unhappy to wear that hat) birthday girl!

she's ready!



she didn't need any help figuring it out this time!

Jackson's cheesy face!

She wasn't about to miss a crumb!

Thank you Kelly and Dave for opening up your home to everyone. Dad, I'm so glad you got to come so we could spend some time with you, and a special thanks to Papa and Grandma for making this trip possible for us! We love you all and can't wait to see you again soon, hopefully!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fit for a Princess

We were out of town on Caroline's birthday, the week earlier we a family birthday party for her at Cameron's parent's house.

Everyone showed up, and we had a really great time... especially because we got to eat this...

When Jackson saw it he said, " aaaahhhhh, mom, Caroline will LOVE it!"

Caroline LOVED her HUGE balloon form Papa and Grandma Howard

Kyrah liked the princess cake, too!


With Grandma, while we sing "Happy Birthday"


blowing out the candles on her very own little cake


At first I don't think she realized she could eat it. She liked playing with the frosting but we had to put it in her mouth before she realized she could eat it. That's all it took...




SHe even got some help from Nanny!






My birthday girl!!!


Thank you to everyone who made Caroline's birthday so special. How grateful I am that she has so many people around her who love her! She is one lucky little girl!

Drumroll, please...

My baby girl is...


ONE YEAR OLD!!!


I cannot believe how the last year has flown by. When I think over the last year, my heart is so full. The first time I saw Caroline I thought she was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen, and she has just gotten prettier. How excited I was to have a girl... she has completed our little family. We cannot imagine our home before she came.
She adds so much fun within our walls. She is always smiling and laughing and she loves us as much, if not more than we love her. I think back to the first couple months of her life (when I didn't handle having a baby very well) and I could never have imagined that she would fill my life with so much joy. I look forward to all the years ahead...






How we love our BIG, little girl!!!

Finally, after weeks of walking, I got a video...


Posts of her two (yes, two) birthday parties will be following soon!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

What Else Can I Say...

Except that, Jenifer, you are awesome!

Jenifer took some family pictures for us today, and I am thrilled with the results!

Caroline is almost 1 and I have never had any pictures taken of her and it has been over a year since I have had any pictures taken of Jackson!

Here are some of my favorite...










(I tried cropping this one and it shrunk, but you get the idea)








(this really is not a sad face, she's just talking)




Again, thank you, Jenifer! We love you!