Farmer Jack turns 1!!!

Today, our baby is 1 year old! I can't believe it! God has blessed us tremendously through Jack this past year. The joy and laughter that he has brought us is - well, sort of like a huge drink of water after being stranded in the desert! It's truly hard to explain... We are so thankful for our precious boys.

I picked a "farm" theme for Jack's party this year - mainly because I found the cutest plates and napkins at a party store. But...the farmer role suits him, don't you think?!! These were pre-party pictures.

He was really looking at something here...not sure what :)

Oh my...no words needed :)

Okay, I had to post this one because - although he was so mad - he looked so cute! Jagger was ticked that I put up his "egg-loo" (aka...the 10 blankets, pillows, etc. that were strategically placed in our bedroom as his pretend igloo/tent). I tried to explain that when people come over to our house (for Jack's party) that we needed to straighten up the house and put up his tent. As you can tell, he was not happy about that! Brat!! :)

My friend, Jana, from school made his cake. One for us and a special little one just for him. She did a wonderful job!!

Okay, an open flame near a 1 year old isn't really smart, but he HAD to "blow" out his candle! Aunt Alaena is holding him.

A little confused on what to do!

Still a bit confused :) Loving the attention, though! I wish I had a great one of him covered in cake and icing....but I don't! Leave it to Jack to not have much to do with his cake! He did start grabbing it, but he didn't really want to eat it. He tried to feed Mommy!

Is it Christmas again?!! MORE NOISE MAKERS...AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack had a wonderful first birthday!! I can only imagine what this next year will have in store for him. There will be lots to learn from his big brother :) He's already catching on to a lot!!

Happy Birthday, Jack!!!

Say Cheese!

I got a new camera this week, and I'm having a blast playing with it. Afton (my 15 yr. old sister) let me take pictures of her. I was totally pretending that I was a big time photographer (although I barely know how to use my camera!) and she was so annoyed! She kept saying, "What do you want me to do??? I look like such a DORK!" Anyway, it was fun, and although I won't share our entire "photo shoot" :), I thought these turned out quite nicely! Afton still thinks she looks like a dork, but that's a 15 year old for you!

A typical little man, huh?! He knows exactly what to do with that remote!

Yes, that's a basket on his head. Well, to him, it was actually some kind of "robot helmet that could turn him into anything he wanted to be." His imagination isn't lacking :)

He's oozing "rotten" in this picture! He got caught going for the trash! And yes, as a matter of fact, that IS a Christmas bib!!! Well, we didn't get out of the house that day, so who cares?!! Oh, I forgot to mention that we've been off of school for 3 days this week and 3 days last week for snow! I will really be put out when I have to work an entire 5-day week! We did work today, but MAN am I glad tomorrow's Friday!!! Ha ha ha

You know you're a mom when...

You know you're a mom when...

Or should I say, you know you're way more concerned with convenience than vanity when...

You actually WANT a VAN!!!! Yes, I have to admit that for the past year, I have been wishing and hoping for a van! I want to be spoiled with doors that magically open for me when I have an armload of little boys or groceries! I want my children to be entertained while we drive. And, ultimately, I want to be able to get them in and out of their car seats without throwing my back out or feeling like I've wrestled a bull in a tiny closet!!!

So...it's official! I am a VAN MOM!!! And I LOVE it!!

In fact, Jagger loves it more than I do. He threw a crying fit to stay in the van and watch his Scooby Doo movie the first night we got it! Jonathan, on the other hand, is still clinging to his youth (although he'll be 35 in a few months) and isn't real keen on the idea...yet! That'll change when we go on a long trip! But...Jonathan emailed me and several friends and family yesterday saying that this was his "new look".

Wow...

Well, he's not the only one giving me grief! Other family and friends had a blast sending me pictures of my "new look". The first one was from my uncle Tommy whose email said "Ashlee taking Jagger and Jack to school!" What makes this picture so awesome is that my mom had a van that looked JUST like this when we were little, and she drove it so long that we ended up calling it the "lawnmower van" because it sounded like one and it would smoke like crazy!!! I'm laughing just thinking about it! Here you go...

Then, my sister Alaena replied to that email with this one! It leaves me speechless!!

The more you look, the more you see! Yes, they're driving from up there :)

Well, mine isn't quite that exciting, but here is a picture of my cool ride - ha ha!

Jagger - dirty face and all - watching Scooby Doo in the van :)