Birthday Boy

The past year.

Micah-

Happy 1st Birthday little guy (on October 8th)... I guess you are not so little anymore. This year has flown by. It has been a blast having a little boy. You love being outside, getting dirty, exploring and trying to figure things out. The other night the four of us were in your and Laekin's room. Daddy was trying to put a bookshelf together and Laekin and I were on the ground reading. You were all about "helping" daddy put the bookshelf together as you took a toy and started hitting it like daddy was doing with the hammer. You were so interested in what daddy was doing and you wanted to help till it was done!

Your personality is coming out more and more each day. You are all over the place now walking, exploring, and trying not to get knocked over as your big sis runs past you. We love that you still love to cuddle with us and you will always give kisses when we ask and even to sis when she asks too! Many times when we are sitting on the floor near you you will come over and just sit in our laps. We love that you are trying to communicate with us... you say "mama" "dada", and your other 2 words sound like "dog" and "out" (which you say when you stand in front of the sliding door).

One of my favorite things about having 2 kiddos is watching your and Laekin's relationship grow. I will never forget the look on her face when she first met you. Even as an infant, you would hear her voice and turn your head towards her. I cherish the pictures we have of the 2 of you together. It is a good reminder that Laekin really does love you (despite some of the things that she has done to you!). But you know how to fight back now. It is pretty funny to watch you when she takes your toys. You go right to attacking! I love to watch you guys. I love that you love being with Laekin... and sometimes get real sad if she leaves the room. I love listening to you and Laekin "talk" to each other at night as you stand up in your crib looking over at her. You are such a joy Micah and you have blessed our lives more than you will ever know. I love you so much and I am honored to be your mommy!

1-2-3

 

Laekin turned 3 on September 10th! It was really fun to celebrate with her since she really understood that it was her birthday! For the first time I got to reminisce with Laekin about the day she was born. We looked at pictures together from her Birth Day as she kept saying "I was a tiny baby". That evening we got Sprinkles cupcakes and she got to open her Princess bike! She was so excited and has loved riding her big girl bike.

A couple days later we had our families down for a pool party and BBQ. My mom made a great cake. Laekin loves everything princess at the moment and she got lots of princess gifts!. She also got her first "pet" from her Auntie. It is a Beta fish that Laekin named "Dora" (we will save her for another post!). It was a great day and we enjoyed celebrating the 3 amazing years that Laekin has been a part of our lives.

 
 
 
I love the look on Micah's face here!
 

 
 

 

Laekin and Grammie

Sum Sum Summertime

We have had a wonderful summer and have definitely enjoyed the outdoors the last couple of months. And I (Jen), though it is September, will refuse to say goodbye to summer... until it is official (September 21st). Back in July and August we went on vacation to Lake Topaz and Lake Tahoe. We spent lots of family time together: the first week with Jen's family and the 2nd week with Jeremy's family. Jen and Micah then flew to Chicago for her good friend's wedding, and since then we have been enjoying our amazing beaches.

Laekin and her buddy Jake tubing together

Hot air balloon at Lake Topaz

Jeremy surfing


Jen surfing

Boat buddies

We went biking in Tahoe

The fam

Hiking up to Angora Lakes in Tahoe

Gretchen's wedding in Chicago!

Good times at the beach

Nana Dot

Can’t believe it has already been 1 year since you passed away. We take some extra time today to honor and remember you. We remember how hard you fought those last few months to live. We miss you, we miss your sense of humor- your wit, your love for your grandkids and great grandkids, your laugh, and your love for life. We love you Nana.

A new tradition

We started what we would like to make a tradition this past 4th of July. We pulled the kiddos out of bed just before 6:30am and headed out for a 5K run. Ladera Ranch hosted the "Freedom Run" so we signed up for the 5K race. Not running very consistently lately, we made the goal of finishing the race under 30 min (don't forget, we had to push the double jogger stroller the whole time, which weighed almost 100 lbs with the kids in it!). Well, we came in at 29:18 meeting our goal! It was a very fun morning and a good start to our 4th of July holiday. We enjoyed the buzz in the atmosphere - lots of people, a pancake breakfast, crowds cheering you on, and good old race day adrenaline. When we were leaving, Laekin was disappointed saying, "I want to go back to the race!" She thoroughly enjoyed the free 5K ride and all the people watching she got to do. I (Jeremy) have already set the goal to cut 5 minutes off our time and run under 25 minutes next year (while pushing the jogger). We'll see!

 
 
 
 

Celebrating 6 years!

Jeremy and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary last week! We decided to go wine tasting in Temecula- something we have never done before. We had a wonderful time spending the day together. We enjoyed wine tasting at Ponte and Wilson Creek wineries. We had very relaxing and peaceful lunch at the Smokehouse at Ponte. Our server went to sit us down right next to the only family that has brought their little baby. I kindly asked if we could move and told our server that we just left our kids for the day and I wanted to make sure that we could have a quiet lunch! Funny. After lunch we headed over to Wilson Creek and enjoyed their signature Almond champagne served in a chocolate shot glass. We brought a blanket with us and tried to take a nap under a tree. We couldn't fall asleep so we just ended up trying to take pictures! We enjoyed our drive back on Ortega Highway, grabbed In-N-Out and ate dinner at a park. It was so nice to have a whole day just to focus fully on each other and be able to be completely present. I sometimes forget what that is like as most of the time our attention is so divided between each other and our kiddos. Thanks hubby for a wonderful day! I continue to look forward to a lifetime together with you. Thanks Grammie and Grandpa for taking great care of Laekin and Micah all day.
 
This is me after 6 generous tastes of wine... I was wishing I had some food in my stomach!