Jake's First Easter Basket

After a long morning at church and easter egg hunting you came home and took a very long nap. Mommy and Daddy rested too...we were pretty tired! When you got up we had a surprise waiting for you!!

We might have gone a little over board with your first easter basket but, I was so excited to buy things to go in it!! 

Your robot bucket is full of cars, fruit snacks and fishy crackers. We got you two trucks for the beach and out side play this summer and some fun socks!! 

Fresh from your nap...with sleepy eyes

This was your first look at the bucket...your smiling and that made mommy and daddy so happy!!

we dumped the cars out and you were pretty excited there were so many!!

"Car!" 

I forgot to mention...there were some bubbles in your basket too! Mommy thought she should show you. You have never seen bubbles like this before!

I think they scared you at first, they were coming straight at your face...good one mom!

Our faces totally crack me up....

It turns out, you like bubbles. I have to keep them hidden around the house other wise I would be blowing bubble 24/7 and everything would be soaked with soap!!

"Truck!" 

You really like cars and trucks. You are all boy...

My happy boy

one big pile of cars!!

Looking up to your daddy!!

This is the smile you give to your daddy. It's slightly different than the smile you give me and I love that!! 

Happy Easter my boy. I am so excited to make you an easter basket each year. Soon your basket will be full of iTunes gift cards and what ever else you give a big kid, haha!!

I love you my boy. You are such a joy to your daddy and I. We love to buy you things, a little too much probably. Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

This is your first Easter egg hunt. We hung out on the grass and taught you all about easter egg hunting. 

At first you were pretty confused about why we were picking up eggs and why someone left them all over the ground.

But you are an obedient child and we were excited about it so you pick up eggs and put them in your basket.

Daddy and Uncle Steve helped you get the hang of it.

I love watching you with your dad, you admire him so much!

You showed me all the eggs you found, I was very proud.

Then I showed you what was in the eggs....CANDY!! you tried to eat a chocolate egg with the foil still on...

I unwrapped it and popped it in your mouth...

You decided egg hunting is awesome if chocolate is in them. This is literally the second piece of candy you have ever had...you like it...a lot!!

I love you my boy...we had a great time!!

you loved dragging around your easter basket...it's pretty cool there is a robot on it...and candy in it so...you hung on pretty tight to it!

You are so cute!!! Let's be honest there is SO much more to Easter than the easter eggs, cute outfits and candy. The whole reason we celebrate Easter is because Jesus was crucified, died and rose from the dead three days later. Easter is a celebration of what Jesus did for us. Not only did he defeat death, prooving he is God but he died to pay for our sins, so we can live for eternity in heaven with Him! He also died so we can have a personal relationship with Him (no more animal sacrifices). He sent the Holy Spirit for us, as a reminder of His return. 

That is a reason to smile my boy. True love demonstrated by Jesus. He loves you more than I ever can and if you accept Him and live for Him you will live with Him forever!!! That is a reason to celebrate!

Family Walk

Today our little family of three took a walk. Daddy and I have been wanting to check out this walking path for some time. It's right down the street, paved and nice looking. Well, today we went. We had a great time. We took your trike and Mommy and Daddy walked. Here are some snapshot of our outing. 

A pretty field

you love trees, so you liked this place a lot!!

It was a very pretty little walk.

This is the path we walked on...for 2 miles!

Daddy and his boy!

You don't look very amused but in your defense you aren't feeling 100%

You discovered you could stand on the foot rests

We stopped for a quick snack of apple cinnamon cheerios!

and saw a giagantic vulture...you thought that was cool...you kept saying "brr...brr"...that's your word for bird.

I thought it was cute how you rested your head while daddy pushed your trike.

You got happier as the time went on. You really did enjoy yourself, I promise.

Pointing to all the pretty grass.

I love that smile...so cute!!

watching the ground pass by, it kept you amused.

This is your very handsome Daddy...he isn't always a willing model but today he let me take his picture. He is a great man Jake, I'm glad you have such a loving and patient man to look up to. He will teach you some great things...listen to what he says, he loves you and he loves the Lord...that's a winning combo!

We had a great time...We are planning to take more walks as a family and maybe throw some bike rides in as well! 

Little Kitchen

Your Daddy bought you a cute little kitchen the other day. This kitchen is about as tall as you and has an oven, microwave and stove. It's pretty small but it took us a good hour to put together! It was in about 52 pieces and we had to cut all the plastic pieces apart. Your daddy and I had a great time putting it together. The next day while we were eating breakfast you looked over and saw your awesome kitchen and didn't want to finish your breakfast, you wanted to get down and play. After you finished your breakfast you got down and played with your kitchen. You love it. You are starting to understand imaginary play, you 'cooked' me bacon and eggs. You are too sweet. Here are some fun pictures of you playing...

Jake and Mommy

One reason I love my iMac....Photo Booth!!! We were messing around with it the other day and I got some pictures of the two of us...because really I could never have enough!

you were in awe that you were on my computer screen!! You kept pointing and looking at me like 'that's crazy!!'

I LOVE YOU!!!

Kisses!!! it looks like I might scare you...oh, well...

sitting with mommy

I got you to smile!! I think you were looking at Ted in his kennel...

I can never get you to sit still for longer than a few minutes. Ahh, the life of a toddler. You have discovered mobility and the freedom it brings and no one is going to take that away from you.

You bring so much joy to my heart!! We are going camping this weekend, I'm so excited for you to experience the outside and dirt and the beach...many pictures will be taken and many memories will be made, I'm sure!! 

I love you

Love, 

Mommy/crazy picture taker!!

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios

You love Apple Cinnamon Cheerios!! Every time I get them out you clap and you make yummy noises after every bite. You are so quick to say please for more! It's very cute...here's some proof!

Video Games

You love your daddy, you imitate what he does, it's obvious that you think he's 'So Cool!'. Every big truck, motorcycle, quad or cool thing you point and say 'Da-Da!' too funny. The other day I was doing dishes and Daddy was playing video games. You walked right over to him and wanted to be picked up. He sat you next to him on the couch and you "played" video games with daddy.

We took the batteries out of a controller and let you have a good time. You would push buttons and make noises. My favorite was when you would hold up the controller and point it at the screen!!! So cute! I love that you love your Daddy! He loves that you want to be with him. It's hard when you prefer me all of the time. I know timed like these make Daddy so happy, so happy to be your Daddy. I'm excited to see you infatuation with your Daddy grow. I'm excited for when you insist on wearing flip flops in winter because Daddy does and when you help him work on his Jeep and fix things around the house. I know you two are going to love doing things together and that makes me teary and warms my heart! Your Daddy is a great example to follow, he is a great man, he loves God, loves me, loves you, loves his family, loves people! He's a good one.

Love,
Mommy/ should learn to play video games with you guys!

Almost an ER trip

A few weeks ago we were down stairs playing with Grandma and Grandpa, while Daddy was at work. You were running around, playing with Ted. You are a great little walker but sometimes you stumble around like an intoxicated man. So, you were playing, Ted walked behind you and accidentally bumped you. This little bump sent you head first into the corner of an ottoman. Now Grandma and Grandpa have been wanting to replace these ottoman for some time, they are deceptively soft. The top part where you put your feet, soft, the bottom, is hard and wooden. This is where you hit your head. The sharp corner met your temple. You screamed and I picked you up to comfort you, as I did, I noticed that your head was instantly bruised and getting really puffy. You barely broke the skin but it sure was puffy. We rushed over to the freezer for some ice. At first I tried to hold a 'booby tube' on it but it wasn't cold enough. We grabbed an ice pack, held you down and pushed it on to your head. I called your Dr. And he said you were fine, I'm still not sure you were. You are fine now and the puffiness went down quickly but it was a nasty bump! The bruise and scab are completely gone now but here is a picture of what your bump looked like after being iced three times...I have to mention that you hated the ice being on your head but the third time, I think it was hurting so bad, you just laid in my arms and let Grandma hold the ice pack on your head, it was very sweet. Oh, heres that picture...

Love, Mommy/always here to kiss your owies!

In my heart

Luke 2:19 "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

I feel like I know how Mary felt in this passage. Yes, she was a part of something much bigger than us, Jake. But, I feel like I know how she felt looking at her child.

The other day, I was holding you before nap time. You gave me your normal hug, of collapsing on my shoulder, which I love. Then you sat up and gently grabbed my face with your hands. You just sat there, holding my face and looking at me. You looked at me with love, admiration and thanks. That moment, broke my heart. You have my heart, it's yours, please be gentle. You mean the world to me, I would do anything for you! But that moment also empowered me. I have such a huge responsibility to you. I want to be the mom you need me to be! Your love is empowering, much the same way your daddy's love for me is.  And much the same way God's love is. Our human love is much less complete than God's love for us but, it is never ending, like my love for you and your daddy.

I love you my boy...more than you will ever know