Jack turns 3!

Oh my goodness, I have a 3 year old. Jack's birthday was on Monday, and we sure did celebrate! We had a little combined Finding Nemo themed birthday party for Jack and Zoey. My super talented friend, Ashley (Zoey's mom), made an amazing cake; we played games, opened presents, ate lunch, and enjoyed the cake.

On the morning of his birthday, Jack opened a few of his presents and kept a few wrapped for when Casey got home from school. He had his favorite breakfast, pancakes, and then we went to the mall to play on the playground with friends.

When Casey got home, we opened more presents and had more cupcakes. We took Jack to the $5 store to choose a treat and a toy. He chose gummy bears for his treat, and a little skate board for his toy. We kind of tried to sway his choice of toy to maybe a little car or some kind of ball, but he was pretty adamant about the skate board. So funny :)

Jack is at such a fun stage right now. He can be very difficult at times, but he is so full of energy and says the most hilarious things. He makes me laugh out loud on a daily basis. He would much rather be in Utah playing with his Grandmas than in Philly with me, and he makes sure to tell me that. When I don't do exactly what he wants, he tells me he is mad at me and that he is running away. While I am trying to discipline him, he interrupts me and says he just wants to love on me (give me hugs). Which, I must add, works most of the time. We finally put him in a big boy bed, and he has been a champ. I was really worried about nap time going away when he moved to a bed, but he still takes one everyday. When we got back from the holidays, he decided that his blue teddy bear was his new best friend. He has had this bear since he was born and never paid any attention to it. Well, he won't go anywhere without "Teddy" now. We have to put socks on Teddy so his toes won't get cold, and we have to give Teddy kisses at night. It is really quite funny. Jack loves playing with friends, watching movies, eating mac n' cheese & french fries, playing with play dough, dancing to music (especially LMFAO's 'sexy and you know it'), playing with trains/cars/airplanes/etc., and negotiating (until he finally gives in and says 'ok, ok, ok, ok mom'). I'm not sure I could survive without this little kid; although, some days I would love to give him to someone else :)

Holidays 2011

We had a great holiday break full of lots of fun with family and friends. Some of the highlights were:

- making sugar cookies
- the amazing race with the adams' family
- family parties
- swimming at the kamas rec center
- playing at the heber rec center
- sledding at soldier hollow
- skiing
- bowling
- nightly soaks in the hot tub
- dairy keen milk shakes
- playing play dough with whitli
- visiting with family & friends

  

Halloween

We had a great Halloween with our little cowboy. As you can tell, Jack got a last minute costume, but it turned out pretty cute. He was happy to wear his hat and play with his gun, so I would say it was a success. We were supposed to have a ward Halloween Party on Saturday; however, it snowed for the first time this season, and unfortunately, the party was cancelled. So, some of us got together and had our own little party. We have delicious food and let the kids trick-or-treat around each room. It was fun. Thanks for having us Megan!

On Halloween night, we went trick-or-treating around this great little neighborhood full of townhomes, so the doors were seriously about 20 feet apart. It was pretty cold, but Jack refused to wear his coat. Luckily, it didn't take very much time to fill the buckets full of candy.  

On a side note, a few friends and I ran a half marathon on October 1 in Lancaster. We had a really good time. I think that when you become running buddies, it is a whole different level of friendship ;) Thanks girls!

The latest

It seems like there has been a lot going on lately. So, I have a lot of pictures and not a lot of words below...

We went to the Ringling Brothers Circus in February with some good friends. It was the first time that Casey, Jack or I had ever been to the circus. We had a lot of fun. My favorite part was the elephants.

Here are just a few random pictures I decided to share. Jack loves music, so while Casey studies, Jack will sit on his lap and listen to his music. He also quite enjoys playing games on the I-touch, and it amazes me how young they learn. We gave Jack a haircut recently, and in order to do this we had to sit him in front of the television, watching Nemo, and eating M&M's. The M&M's turned into a hairy mess. Gross.

It was Casey's spring break a couple weeks ago, and we filled the week with fun things to do. We took a trip to Washington DC to attend the temple and see the tourist sights with some of the other first year dental student couples. We stayed only one night, and tried to fit as much in as we could.

We also took a trip to Lancaster, PA, which is Amish Country. We visited Kitchen Kettle Village, Immergut Pretzel Shop (best soft pretzels I have ever tasted!), and the Shady Maple Smorgasbord. The smorgasbord was the biggest restaurant I have ever seen. It wasn't the best food I have ever tasted, but it was definitely an experience. We saw some horse and buggies and several beautiful farms.

I took a day trip to New York with some girls for a temple session, lunch, and wandering in the city. We ate at a delicious pizza place, Lombardi's (I think that is what it was called), which was definitely worth the walk. We wandered through Canal Street and Time Square and got some ice cream. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again.

Casey had a birthday last weekend. We went out to dinner on Friday night for date night. Dave & Tracie and their kids came to visit on Saturday, and we went to Smith's playhouse and played and then to the park for lunch and more playing. Thanks for coming to visit us!

On Sunday, Casey got  to open his presents and we had brownies and ice cream. Jack and I love Casey so much and are so grateful for him. He works so hard and still finds time to spend with us between class and studying. He balances his busy life very well, and we appreciate it. Thank you everyone for the birthday gifts and birthday wishes!