Bri's 5th Birthday!

Brighton Lily turned 5 today! I'm pretty sure that there has never been another child in the history of the world who was more excited about turning five than Bri. She has been sooo excited! It was a great day. She had a party with her buddies at Pump it Up this afternoon. It was wild! It was chaotic! It was bouncy! It was fun! Bri also had a little family party with the Bren/Megh crew and Nina & Papa tonight. She had a super 5th Birthday.

Bri is the best kid. (I'm not biased). She is sweet and sassy and smart and funny and sensitive and silly and beautiful and loving and spiritual and kind and friendly and happy and energetic and analytical and fancy and sparkly and sensational. She loves swimming, dancing, going to school, being a big sister, playing with friends, playing with her daddy, making Jack laugh, being silly, singing more than talking, coloring pictures and giving them away, and playing outside on those rare dry Portland days. She brings so much joy into our home and we are constantly in awe of our amazing little Brighton. Happy Birthday Bri! We love you!

6 Months Old!

How is this guy already six months old??!! Jackson is just the most delightful little person. He loves to laugh, pull hair, suck on his fingers (and toes), play with the remote and Mom's phone, pull off Brighton's glasses, and snuggle. Oh, and he's super cute. Look at that face. What more could you want in a baby? He is getting pretty good at sitting up and has started eating rice cereal. Well, most of it is spit back out, but still. What a big boy! He was a bit on the skinny side, but now has the most kissable chubby cheeks and the most squishable chunky thighs. Oh, how we love this kid!

Brighton is doing great. She loves school, swimming lessons, dance class, and playing with friends. She is the most social little kid! She dresses up every chance she gets, which means we see ten different outfits a day. Between Bri and Jack there is a plethora of laundry to be done at any given time. She is such a good girl and is growing up so fast. Bri loves to be silly and makes us laugh everyday.

Attempted escape from the bumbo!

Bri went on a Valentines Day scavenger hunt to get to her new Valentines Day dress. She loved it. She cut up pieces of paper and we had "scavenger hunts" for the rest of the day.

MMMM, toes!

Jack & Aunt Lex are good buddies. She even babysat for us one night so we could go on an actual date! The first in many months.

Ahh, the famous hair pull. If there is hair is within arms length, Jackson WILL pull it. Brighton is a great sport. It is so fun to watch them together. She loves to try to make him laugh and he loves his big sis.

Cousin buddies. I'm sure they'll be great friends someday. So fun that they are only a few months apart. Right now, Jack enjoys staring, smiling, and grabbing at baby Connor. Aren't they cute?!

Chillaxin in one of his favorite spots. Bri's ladybug beanbag. Perhaps we'll get him a less girlie one of his own someday.

There is just something about Daddy that makes this guy just want to snuggle up and go to sleep. Bri was the same way.

This is such a fun age. Jackson is full of personality and we all have so much fun with him. Part of me just wants to freeze time and keep him just like this. Babies change too fast!

4 months old!

Jackson is four months old! He is the happiest little person in the world. We get lots of smiles and laughs from the little guy every day. He is so much fun. He loves to play, watch his big sister dance around, babble, bathe, and check his cute self out in the mirror. Bri is such a good sister. It has been a big adjustment for her to have a little brother, but she is so helpful and really loves Jack so much. Oh, I love these two cute little people.

Christmas 2010!

Brighton and Don joined forces to make this masterpiece gingerbread house. She was pretty proud of it.

Bren, Megh, Ellie, & Cam came over on Christmas Eve. We had a yummy dinner and decorated cookies for Santa.

Jackson's first Christmas!

Oh the anticipation of a four year old on Christmas morning! Brighton was beyond excited. Such a fun age for Christmas!

No matter how much we tried to veer her in another direction, Brighton's number one Christmas wish was to have her very own Go Go My Walkin' Pup. Wish granted. Santa is so nice.












We had a great Christmas. It was a laid back day and we just enjoyed being with each other. Jackson hung out in his bouncer the whole time we opened presents and was his usual, pleasant self all day. Santa was nice enough to wrap up some of the stuff he already owned for Christmas...for his sister's sake. Brighton was happy to unwrap all of his old stuff for him. She also unwrapped most of her parents' gifts. Bri was thrilled with everything. Even when she unwrapped a pack of socks we got a "thank you so much, these are the most prettiest socks ever!" We went over to Bren & Megh's for a bit and when we got home Bri just stood in the middle of the kitchen and burst into tears. I asked what was wrong and she said that "Christmas is almost over and it won't be Christmas again for a long, long time and I LOVE Christmas." So funny. So Sad. So Brighton. I've never in my life seen someone so excited for Christmas. Love that girl.

This & That

Here are a few things from December... We had fun decorating for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. It was pouring rain when we went to cut down the tree so that was interesting, but we do live in Oregon so rain is part of the deal.We got two trees for the house. We...or really mostly Don, endured the rain to cut down tree one. Tree two came from Home Depot this year. Brighton insisted on putting up most of the ornaments on. She did a great job decorating in her "ballerinatard." It's so fun having a four year old at Christmas time. Talk about Christmas spirit & enthusiasm!

We also blessed Jackson this month. It was a beautiful blessing and we had lots of family here to share Jack's special day. It was fun to have everyone here to dote on Jackson. My dad made best friends with Jack while he was here and we all decided that they are lookalikes. Jackson is the most pleasant, happy little guy and we feel so blessed to have him in our family.

We had a fun, mini Christmas with my parents. Brighton was thrilled with her new ballerina doll & cowgirl outfit. I was thrilled with my new yellow heels. They are to die for and even if I can't quite get into my jeans yet, at least my feet are back to normal. In case you didn't get to see them, I had ginormous Shrek feet & cankles during my pregnancy. So, so pretty.

Bri & Jack also got to see Santa at the ward Christmas party. Check out the Santa suit! I was dying over how cute he looked...Jackson, not Santa.