Raelee turns 3

Happy Birthday Raelee! Raelee turned 3 on March 10th. We had a spaghetti dinner and brownies and ice cream that night. Mom and dad gave her a present and then we celebrated with the rest of the fam on Saturday. The cake was aweful looking. It seems that not much turns out right anymore since having Jackson. Hopefully this isn't a permanant thing! It was supposed to be a purse, but I made the frosting too runny and so it looks wierd. Not digging the red licorice either. But it is my own fault because I didn't even think about it until Saturday morning! BUT, the IMPORTANT thing is that Raelee thought it was great. She had a good time and couldn't care less that their were stripes on her purse, red handles, and runny frosting :) And yes, she dressed herself that day. She wears a dress pretty much every day now...usually over her other clothes. Anyway, we had a great time with everybody and Raelee was very much aware of that the day was all about her. It was a princess theme and she definitely played the part.

I can't believe she is three already! It is strange to think that we moved to Kelso, into our first house when Raelee was Jackson's age. This is the longest we have ever lived anywhere, so it feels a bit strange.

Jackson's Blessing

We blessed Jackson on March 1st. I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but my parents were the only ones there from my family which made me miss my sisters a ton. We had a pretty good turn out from Jared's side which was great. Always good to see them. Thanks to all who participated. Jackson did great, he didn't cry or even fuss so that was good and Jared did a wonderful job.

Leavenworth

A few weekends ago we were so graciously invited on a weekend in Leavenworth, WA with some good friends of ours. I had never heard of Leavenworth, but a weekend away! I am no dummy! I jumped on that offer right away and we had a GREAT time! It turns out that Leavenworth is a charming little German town about 300 miles away, northeast of Seattle. We stayed in a condo and shopped till we dropped, took a sleigh ride, ate well, and stayed up late playing games and again, eating well :) It was so beautiful there. Surrounded by mountains and snow. And the Christmas lights were still up. Jared and I have never done anything like this together so it was a real treat, even if we had to take Jackson with us. We would love to go back some time, during the summer when the flowers are in bloom and we can hike and raft and fish. The shops were AWESOME. We just really enjoyed ourselves on a much needed break! The pictures are from the sleigh ride. I will add more when I get them. My friend took some on her camera that I am waiting for. The sleigh ride was really fun. Our driver was absolutely HILARIOUS. A real wise-guy. So we fit in quite well. Between Jared, the driver, and me we could take our show on the road. Three wise-guys. It was a lot of fun. I only wish I had recorded the whole thing because he was really funny. They owned around 300 acres and built all the buildings/homes themselves using their own timber. I got a picture of the turkeys for Conner. Anyway. 300 miles that were well worth the trip. Thanks Jen and Eric!

2 mos

Here are some new pictures of Jackson. He is smiling now and cooing. I LOVE IT!! But we can never catch it on camera...but I finally got one! I have noticed he is a thumb sucker as well. AHH! I'm always catching him with it in his mouth so I gently replace it with the binky. Want to squash that habit right now!

He has begun the fussy stage, and I will be grateful when that ends. We blessed him last sunday, the 1st. I will get some pictures of that up soon. I have to get them from my father-in-law because he was the only one who remembered a camera! I am so horrible at that! Jared did a great job and Jackson behaved. Lots of Jared's family were there and then my parents came. It really made me miss my sisters! I think a trip to Utah is in the near future to visit two of them. I think sisters have this connection with each other that creates a necessity for sister time every once in a while. I am definitely feeling homesick for them.

Having three children, two of them being toddlers, has been a challenge and a blessing. We have entered a really difficult time with poor Conner. I feel so lost right now because I just have no idea how to help him and we are all going CRAZY. Raelee is finally on board now and has entered the terrible threes. I don't know who ever came up with the term "terrible two's" because it has been my experience that "The Change" always happens at three. Raelee turns three on Tuesday. I am seriously looking forward to September 2010 when Conner can go to Kindergarten :) I may cry, but I think it will be 95% JOY. Ha ha ha. I love him dearly, but he is most certainly a CHALLENGE.