Happy Birthday Jackson

Happy Birthday to our little Bubbas. On his birthday I just wanted to take a minute and say how much I love my little boy. For a long time Mark and I didn't think we would be able to have kids, in fact, the doctor said that it would take a miracle. With this news in hand and three years of 'trying' under our belts we started down the adoption road and what do you know, we found out that we were pregnant with our little miracle.

I never could have imagined how much a baby would change our lives. Everyday things seem so much more fun because it is always a new adventure. Here are a few of my mom favorites.

*Coming into his room when he was just woke up and he is so excited to see me.

*Watching him 'chew' all of his food so thoroughly. (He still doesn't have teeth).

*Playing catch with him.

*Watching him sleep with his bum straight in the air.

*Having him sign 'more' over and over when he loves something.

*His infections giggle.

*Rocking him and snuggling before bed.

*When he closes his eyes and puts his lip under his nose when he doesn't want something.

*His fatness. Especially those cheeks.

*When he hides in my shoulder when he gets shy.

We have had a wonderful first year and I hear it only gets better. Love you Bubbas.

Birthday Party

Jackson's party was supposed to be on Saturday but he had the flu all weekend so we postponed it until last night. As mentioned before we did a sports theme and everyone was encouraged to dress in their favorite sports attire. We had a soccer ball pinata for the kids, his own soccer ball cake, and everyone spoiled him. So fun!

This Year's Winner.

And the prize for best couples costume goes to......you guessed it. We won. We went to an adult Halloween party over the weekend and a midst strong competition we pulled through and took home the grand prize. If you can't tell I am a weightlifter and Mark is the weights. I also won the dance contest but that is a whole different story. Once again, I love Halloween.

Fall

I love this season. Everything about it. The cooler weather, the leaves, birthdays, football, carving pumpkins, and all the Halloween festivities. When I found out that I was pregnant and did the calculations I was thrilled to have our baby join me in the October birthdays. I am so excited for Jackson's big day. We are planning a sports/ball themed bash. Here is the invite.

I also love Halloween, not just because it is my birthday, but I love to get all dressed up. Mark and I have had some winners over the past few years and we have a real nice surprise planned for this year. Here is a glimpse of past years.

Happy fall everyone!

Walking?

Is it really walking if you don't actually use your feet? Jackson has progressed from crawling to 'walking' on his knees. It is a lot slower and looks really uncomfortable but it is his preferred method of travel these days. He still does not show any interest in the traditional form but Mark is still practicing with him daily in the hopes that he will reach this coveted milestone by his birthday. Only 7 more days. They have a lot of work to do.




You can see that despite the extra exertion he hasn't slimmed down a bit. Love the fatness!

Baby Megan

Today Mark's brother Tim and his wife Celeste had their baby girl. She makes the 15th grandchild on the Drake side of the family and we are so excited to have her here. She was born October 8th at 12:26pm and weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz. She is 20 inches long. Isn't she cute.

Alec, Lilly, and Megan.

LOTOJA

This post is out of order but I thought I would back up a bit to September 2007 B.B. (before blogging) and fill you in. This year Mark, my brother Trevor, and my dad rode in the LOTOJA. It is a bike race from Logan to Jackson Hole, a total of 206 miles. Mark and Trev rode as a relay team and my dad did the whole thing (for the 10th time) by himself. They all did really well and finished before dark. Lindsey, Trev's girlfriend Cassie, and I drove support and provided food, water, and most importantly moral support. Mark had only ridden about 250 miles in preparation this summer but finished like a champ. Next year he wants to do the entire race and says that he MIGHT even train. Good job guys!!

Clockwise: The boys at the hotel before the big race. Mark in a sea of spandex. Mark, a lonely man in the mountains. The starting line. Passing of the timing chip.

Also, is was the first time we left Jackson over night. He did well but I think my mom was warn out but was nice to have a weekend away. Thanks Grandma Annie.