Birthdays 2013

Jacob and I have birthdays less than weeks apart, so there is a lot of celebrating going on in this house for a few weeks.  We are really good at stretching out fun events and we know how to have a good time.  So I'll quickly recap a few highlights from #35 and #32.  (And no - those aren't hashtags.)

Jacob is the.best.husband.ever.  I know that everyone feels that way about their spouse.  And I'll let you go ahead and think it.  But Jacob and I, we're a good match.  I'm so thankful for him.  And I think he's pretty awesome.

He gets the 'best gift ever' award for my birthday this year. I was completely blown away by how thoughtful and creative he was and how he made me feel loved and cared for.

The night started out with drinks at Metropole,  which lead to him revealing the surprise that we were going to be staying at the 21c Hotel that night.  In all honesty, I was a bit panicked.  I didn't pack!  I didn't have a clean pair of underwear, or clothes to wear home in the morning, let alone a toothbrush. Well, surprise #2 was discovered when we went upstairs to see the room and there was a drawer full of everything I needed.  He went out and purchased new clothes, bras, and shoes, and packed everything else that I needed for the next day.  Amazing. And everything fit.  Even the bras.  Because he was clever enough to go to Nordstrom and have them look up my account and he got my size and favorite style.  Serious points here, folks.

We enjoyed dinner at Sotto and a champagne toast at the rooftop bar at Metropole.  The next morning he woke me up with the final surprise:  I was going to have a massage, manicure, and pedicure at the salon upstairs.  Score!

The weekend was relaxing, refreshing, and so much fun. The date night was perfect and I am so thankful for a husband who chooses to be so thoughtful and creative.

those donuts are amazing.  amazing.

For Jacob's birthday we actually headed back to Sotto with his family.  Dinner was just as wonderful, but I didn't get any pictures that night.  I did manage to snap a few pictures of his annual chicken and dumplings dinner at our house. Jacob's mom spends a whole day preparing for this wonderful dinner that holds a lot of history for the family.  She passed down the recipe this year and the kids jumped in on the cooking:

One year pictures and stats

I completely forgot to post Audrey's final monthly picture!  It was hard to capture a picture this time around.  We tried on two different days and Jack helped out a lot.  He even tried with my phone while I was using the real camera.

Here are her stats:

length: 72.2cm (2' 4")
weight: 18lb 5oz
head circumference:  46cm

Everything above basically just means that she's really tiny!

Nana also treated us again to pictures by the wonderful Leah Robbins.  Here's a link to some of her favorites.  I love that she captured all of Audrey's faces!

Help from Jack

Trying to Escape

Happy 12 months, Audrey!

Audrey is one!

Audrey is one now!  It's amazing to me that just a year ago we were bringing this little one home from the hospital:

What a difference a year makes!

I think that Audrey is starting to turn a corner.  We've had a lot fewer days like these recently:

And many more of these:

She found a cookie at Kroger....

Maybe it's because she can finally get around on her own:

If you spend any time with her, you'll notice that she loves to sit with her feet up.  On the counter, on her toys, on her stroller, on the steps... anywhere.  She likes to prop up and get comfortable.  

Sweet Audrey Peanut, we love you!  We're so thankful that you've come into our lives.  You keep me humble, little one.  And you keep us smiling.  Your precious smile and bright eyes light up a room. You're a gift, for sure.

Here are a few more shots of her and her fun smiles:

And let's not forget about her birthday celebrations:

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

We've had a great morning celebrating Audrey!  I'll post her 12 month picture and some updates, but for now I'll just show you some of what we've been up to today.

The four of us went to Sugar n Spice for an early breakfast.  We've taken Jack for his first two birthdays, so we had to keep up with the tradition:

She preferred the eggs

and the orange was delicious

Look at all of those rubber duckies! 

After breakfast, Jack and I took Audrey to the zoo:

You can always find Audrey's feet propped up 

A mouthful of chocolate cookie

The birthday flag found its way over here today!

Thrilled for her first gift!

Jack is two

I can't believe that Jack is two already!  How did those two years go by so quickly?

Jack continues to be a sweet, kind boy that loves his family, trains, cars, dancing, and music.

Here are a few things to remember about Jack as a new two year old:

• He made it to his 2nd birthday with only 4 teeth.  Right after his birthday his 5th and 6th popped through.  
• He is a master at hiding.  He will sit and hide in one spot while we try to find him.  We play this game in the car a lot.  He covers his face and hides, and he'll stay that way for a few minutes before he jumps out and says, boo!
• While he is a great walker, he still hasn't mastered the stairs. He crawls up and down still, and even crawls over cracks in the sidewalk or small ramps or steps into doorways.  
• He's still an excellent sleeper.  Even with company at the house, or in the middle of playing with toys, if you tell him it's bedtime he stops what he's doing and heads upstairs.  You've got to love that!
• Jack loves to listen and look for fire trucks and ambulances.  If he thinks he hears a siren he puts his finger up to his ear and yells, "ambi toe truck"  (ambulance fire truck)
• He continues to love Awa (Audrey) and shows his love by sitting on her, giving her kisses, and telling her hi as he runs past her.  
• He loves playing with trains and cars and is quickly learning the names of all of the Thomas trains.  
• Jack loves his buddies at church and knows his friends by name.  He really enjoys the Toddler 1 classroom at church and has no problem leaving us behind when he walks into the classroom.  

Since Jack loves trains so much, Jacob, Christy, and I took him to Entertrainment Junction a few days before his birthday.  We decided to leave Audrey with Nana that morning so that we could give him all of our attention.  The trains were fun to look at, but I think his favorite part was playing with the train table. 

That night we had a party with our families.  Jack had a great time with everyone that came to celebrate, but he really enjoyed his cousin Emma and her friends.  They were so kind to play with him and he soaked up all of the attention. 

When I asked him what he wanted to do for his party, he kept repeating, "Happy Hat".  I don't know where he learned about a party hat, but we made sure to have them there.

 Here are a few shots from his party:

Jacob built this train table for Jack and he LOVES it!

Audrey in her Happy Hat

The cake... a labor of love