Family Pics :)

We had so much fun getting our family pictures done! We went to Wheeler Farm and Holdyn was off and running from the minute he got out of the car. We got to have a family outing and get family pictures done all in one shot :) Holdyn loved chasing the birds, playing in the water, and petting the goats, and watching the roosters fight! He couldn't have been more thrilled to be at the park running around and getting his picture taken. He's a natural in front of the camera :)

We love how the pictures turned out... Thanks Julie!

Elmo Extravaganza!!!

+

+

=
One Happy 2 Year Old!!

Holdyn's 2nd birthday party was so much fun! It was nice to be able to sit back and relax. His 1st bday party was a little chaotic and I realized pretty quickly that the most important thing is that Holdyn has fun and that we have our loved ones and friends around to celebrate our little man! So many people came to party with us and it made us realize how many people love Holdyn! So many of our friends have fallen in love with Holdyn and it's pretty hilarious to watch a bunch of tattooed, beer drinking guys show up to a 2 year old birthday party :) Thank you to all of you who partied with us! We appreciate our friends and family taking the time to help us celebrate this little boy who is our entire world! We love you!!

Holdyn loved his bouncy house and we went to the park early just so he would have time to bounce all by himself :) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Sahleen!

Thank you to Grandma Monty for supplying all of the Elmo decorations! We were able to make it so fun for Holdyn and he loved every last detail!

Holdyn wasn't very interested in opening presents. He wanted to bounce, swing, slide, and run around! So I'm sorry to those of you whose present was not opened at the park. We eventually got them all opened by 10:00 Sunday night! Thanks everyone!

Holdyn wasn't very interested in eating cake either! He had a few bites and then he was "All done!" Thanks Grandma Banks for the cutest Elmo cake ever!

Bubbles are Holdyn's favorite thing. He cannot get enough! He got an Elmo Bubble Blower from Grandma and Grandpa Monty and he carries that thing EVERYWHERE!

On Sunday, Holdyn's actual birthday, we woke up bright and early and went off to the zoo! Grandma and Grandpa Banks came, as well as Maddy, Jordan, Grace, BreAnne, Grandma Sahleen, and Bryce and his 2 daughters.

It was so much fun to have a group of kids for Holdyn to run around with. He's usually just stuck with boring mom and dad :) Holdyn loved the animals, but I think his favorite part was the carousel...

Penguin dance!

After a LONG nap, we headed to Chili's with Grace and BreAnne to have a special birthday dinner...

Holdyn was such a good boy considering his late nights and busy days. He is my angel and I couldn't ask for a better little boy! Happy Birthday 2 year old!!

24 Months (i.e. I HAVE A 2 YEAR OLD!)

6/28/2007...

Holdyn -

I have had such mixed emotions about you turning 2. On one hand, I am so excited to see you grow and learn new things. You are soooo smart and it's such a thrill everytime you learn something new. Sometimes I can't believe you are as smart as you are. Some of the things that come out of your mouth stop me in my tracks! But then there's that part of me that misses you being so tiny and cuddley. You've always been an easy baby, so I can't say that it's harder now, but it was definately easier to cuddle you! Now you tell me "No, no, nooo!" when I try to love you when you don't want to be loved! I guess I can't complain... you are constantly giving me kisses and hugs. But I'm sure it will never be enough for your mama :) You are turning into a little boy and you only have a few baby features left. Everyday you act older and older, more independant, and so much smarter! You love to be outside and it makes me wonder if you have some sort of special connection to nature. You have always loved being outside, even from the beginning. If you were fussy, all we had to do was walk outside and you would immediately stop crying. So we try to be outside as much as possible :) You love to hang out with daddy and his friends. Just this last week I came home to you and Uncle Carter and one of daddy's friends, all with your shirts off hanging out in the backyard. It was so funny so see you standing there acting like one of the big boys! Here are some of the things you are doing now:

You LOVE Littlest Pet Shops. You play with Grace and Madison's Pet Shops anytime you can and you get so excited about it!

Everytime we drive past Grandma Sahleen's house, you say "I wanna go to Gammas!!" It is so funny to me that you know where she lives. You're only 2!

You ask to see the goats by Grandma Sahleen's house everytime we pass them. If they are not outside, you tell me they are "na-night!"

We are working on your ABCs and you can get to H with no problem. Then you mumble your way to the end throwing in the correct letters here and there!

You know all the words to Amazing Grace, Twinkle Twinkle, The Peacock "Cock Cock" Song, and Rock A Bye Baby.

You still let me cuddle you while we read stories and sing before bed. After stories, I tell you to turn off the lamp and you tell me, "I will kiss you!!!" And then you kiss me a million times! Then I rock you and kiss you and lova you right before you go down for bed. It's my favorite time of the day :)

You love doing Itsy Bitsy spider.

Everynight before bed, you climb under your crib and get all your binkys you dropped the night before. Then you put them in a box and we rock with them. It's too funny!

You and daddy have invented a million different kinds of hugs but you give Monster and Dolphin hugs the most.

I guess I say "Oh my gosh" a lot because anytime I say "Oh my..." you finish my sentence by saying "Goshhhh!"

You are the best remedy for a bad day, a sick day, or an ornery mood. I love your personality. You are by far one of the coolest people I know. You are always cool and calm, no matter where you are. I love everything about you. There is still not one thing I would change about you. I love you little 2 year old.

MJ

Those of you who know me well had to know this was coming :) I pretty much ADORED Michael Jackson. It was a dream of mine to see him in concert one day. I really thought I would get to have that experience. But now, I will just have to reminisce about all of my MJ memories…

• The first time I watched Thriller was in my Great Grandma's living room and I had nightmares about it!
• When I was 8ish, I would turn up the Dangerous CD in the basement and dance & sing my heart out. I have such fond memories of the goose bumps and emotions I would get listening to him, even at a very young age.
• I thought “Liberian Girl” was “Librarian Girl” for so long! This may explain why I loved to read so much :)
• I remember LOVING the Black and White video. I watched it again this weekend and was laughing at the special effects. Remember when the morphing faces at the end was like, the coolest thing anyone had ever seen?! We’ve come a long way :)
• "Speechless" brings me to tears every time I hear it. It reminds me of my 2 boys :)
• Anytime anyone even mentions meeting Michael Jackson or going to his concert, I lose all sense of control! I turn into a 13 year old girl and flip my lid. I have no control over it and I'm sure it annoys Cory to no end. MJ is my Jonas Brother... times a trillion!
  

It is definitely a weird feeling to be this sad about someone I have never even met. I grew up with Michael Jackson. I danced, sang, cried, and laughed with him. He inspired me, entertained me, and gives me goose bumps every time I hear one of his songs. There has never been a time in my life that there wasn't a Michael Jackson. And now there is. It makes me so sad that I'll never get to hear a new song sung by him or run out to buy his new CD. It's a part of my life that is gone forever. Alright... now it's time to get a grip! I'm off to blast MJ songs and dance around the house with my little boy so he will know who the true King of Pop is :)

Daddy's Day!

I LOVE DADDY!!

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for being such an amazing dad. Here are all the things I love about you...

I love flying the kite with you.
I love to take showers with you.

I love you for always being around.

I love that you play with me constantly

I love giving you Monster & Dolphin hugs.

I love when you throw me into the Love Sac.

I love going off the jumps and ramps with you.

I love playing with our mini skateboards and ramps.
I love that you don't baby me and you make me tough.

I love tickling, chasing, jumping, yelling and wrestling with you.
I love that you get me french fries when mommy won't let me have them.

I love that I get to have 2 whole days of just daddy and me time every week.

I love you for teaching me to mow the lawn, water the lawn, skateboard, & many more things.

I love that you take me to do fun things like go to the river, see the goats, & go to the pet store.

I love doing all of the things we do together that mommy doesn't know about :)

I Love You,

-Your Little Buddy

Dear Husband,

Thank you for being the best dad I know. Thank you for helping me so much with Holdyn. I cannot say it enough. You are always willing to do your part and take care of him just as much as I do. I am so proud of you and love telling people all about what an amazing father you are. I know Holdyn is safe and well cared for when he is with you and that is worth more than words can explain. I don't worry when Holdyn is with you because I know you are taking great care of him and keeping him very entertained. I love watching you play with him and how much joy he brings you. I can see how much you love him every time you two are around each other. I love watching the joy you bring Holdyn as well. He ADORES you. On top of all of that, I come home to a clean house all of the time. You really are Super Dad! I love you so so so so so much :)

Friends

I have had the same basic group of best friends for 8 years. Other friends have left my life and others have come into my life, but these 4 girls have always been there. We sometimes go awhile without speaking to each other because life gets busy and distracting. But as soon as we're in the same room with each other, it's like we're right back in high school. I love these girls. I have been lucky enough this past month to see them more than usual and I can tell a difference in how I feel after I've been with them. Spending time with them is good for my soul.

Jamie is the friend I can talk to about anything and everything. She's the only one who is a mommy so far. She just had baby Brody and I am more than thrilled for her. It is an indescribable feeling to see someone you love go through this amazing experience for the first time. Desi is the friend who gives me the very best advice. She makes me feel so much better about things. When I am down on myself, she knows exactly what to say to make me realize I'm a pretty strong woman. She completely cares about the advice she's giving me, she's not just saying words so hurry the conversation. She can somehow help me look at things in a way I've never seen them. I always walk away from our conversations with a sense of clarity.

Nessa is the friend I can relate to domestically! Although she is not married nor does she have kids, she is like me in the sense that marriage and children are the most important things in life. So we relate really well to each other. Plus, she wants to be a sex therapist so you can imagine the fun conversations we have!
And last but not least, Kristen... who can make sitting in my basement fun by having the idea to decorate our wine glasses! She always thinks of fun things to do and seriously makes me feel like a kid again. She is so adventurous, always travelling to different countries and doing fun things. And she's a flight attendant so I get to hear funny flying stories. I get such a kick out of her stories :) She's met Prince Charles and many other celebrities, rode camels, ate dinner 160 feet in the air in Dubai, travelled to too many countries to list, but is still that down to earth girl from high school. I got to spend all weekend with her and although I didn't feel great, she made it so fun :)

One of my favorite things about these girls is how great they are with Holdyn. They love him so much. He calls Jamie "Aunt Jamie," and talks about her baby all of the time. He is so excited to meet Brody! Some of these friends can't wait to have babies and some of them don't want babies at all, but they are all so good with Holdyn and love to play with him. They don't mind hanging out with me and my loud kid!

I love how different all my friends are. Although we all have similar things that tie us together, we are all EXTREMELY different. They each bring something unique into my life. It takes effort to remain friends for this long and I appreciate every one of my friends for taking that time. You are all so important to me and I can't wait to be 80 and laying by the pool with my portal friends raft racing :)