Birthday Boy

Last week was Jeter's birthday. He is 3 years old now! I can't hardly believe it. He has been so much fun and such a handful, but we wouldn't want it any other way. He gets into mischief, does naughty things all the time, but is so sweet, hilarious, and lovable. We can't even hardly get mad at the kid because he makes us laugh when we're supposed to be mad. He has the sweetest smile and he really does make everything better when he apologizes. Some of the things he loves and we want to remember about him right now:

He loves playing outside
He likes to get dirty now :)
He says he's super fast like Dash (boy on Incredibles)
He wants to go everywhere with his Daddy
He loves pretending to go to work, school, and the beach
He loves to ride his bike
Loves playing with friends (which include a range of 3-14 year olds)
Loves to come crawl in bed with Mommy and Daddy during the night
He loves monster trucks, all kinds of games, and all sports
Loves playing tag
Loves motorcycles
Favorite food is steak
Loves meats
Loves going to parks
Always has to have a snack before bed
Loves his naps (he tells us he's really tired and that he needs a nap)
Loves to draw, color, paint, and do his homework(draw in his notebook)
When he doesn't want to do something that we ask, he says, "I don't understand, I'm just a little boy."
Plays rough with everything, including his little sister.
He has a "big dance" that he does just for Mommy and Jerzi.

A look back:

Newborn

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!
He was so excited to open some of his presents. He got a new powertools workshop so he can "work".

When we lived in New York for a month, Jeter got to ride one of these while we were there and he fell in love with it. But what he actually wanted was a battery powered motorcycle-and thought he was getting one for his b-day. Well, no such luck, so we hoped this would take his mind off of the motorcycle. We thought our plan worked as he opened up all his presents. He was happy and loving life. Then after Had went to work, Jete said to me, "Mommy is that all of my presents?" I said yes and he said, "No, what about my motorcycle?" Oh i felt so bad and felt like crying. But he actually does love his little car and goes to all sorts of make believe places, and takes Jerzi for rides in it all the time. And now, no mention of the motorcycle. :)

We had a picnic at a park with some of his friends and had cake and ice cream.

This is usually the response i get whenever i ask him to look at the camera, or to say cheese, and that's why i don't have any good pictures of him.
Jeter wanted a monster truck cake for his birthday this year. He loves monster trucks right now and loves to watch them on TV. Since i never really watch them and had no clue what a monster truck course looked like, Had came up with a plan of how he wanted me to make the cake. So in case you can't tell, that's a monster truck course with Jete's favorite monster truck Gravedigger, and Maximum Destruction on it, getting ready to race.

Jete was so excited about his cake (along with a couple of his friends) and thought that it was a real course, so we let him and his friends drive the course and smash the cars and go over the jumps. It was so fun making this day special for him. We love to see him so happy and excited over such simple things. Happy Birthday Jeter-boy! We love you!!!

Seattle in May

Ignore the fact that it's now July and I'm posting about May. We just got back a couple weeks ago from our 2 month long excursion from one end of the country to the other, and I've gotten things unpacked, we've settled into our old routines, and pics downloaded to the computer now.

For the month of May we went out to Seattle (Lake Forest Park), Washington and stayed with Hadley's Aunt Jill and Uncle Mike and their family while Had did an externship there. We couldn't have asked for nicer hosts than them. They were great and it was fun getting to spend time with them and getting to know them better. I just want to write about some of the things we did and how we spent our month for journaling purposes, so feel free to ignore all the writing.

Had spent most of the days working, so me and the kids spent most of the days with Jill and Addy, while their boys were at school. We played outside when it wasn't raining and this is one thing that was love at first sight for Jeter. He rode this thing just about everyday. And when he didn't get to ride it because it had rained the whole day, he would tell me at the end of the day, "Oh no Mommy, I gotta go ride the motorcycle. I haven't even rode it today!" He loved it and made a little race track for himself. Then he would beg us to come race him. We would run beside him. Fun times. It was a pretty fast little bugger too, it has a turbo button and it can haul going down their hill. (He now wants one for his birthday and they don't make these anymore.)

We also got to be there while their boy Jake got baptized. It was cool to get to be to such a special event for him, especially since we miss all sorts of things like that living away from family. Had's grandma and grandpa were able to come to it as well, so we got to see even more family.

This family that we stayed with is a very sporty, active family. On the weekends, all three of their kids had baseball games, and we went from one kid's game to another. It gave us a glimpse of what our life will most likely be like in the near future. I loved it! I was bad at taking pictures but i did get one when we were leaving the baseball field. Both kids were happy as can be!

There's a lake right by their house with a trail that goes all around it. I went running on it a few times and we took the kids out for a walk around it one night. Mike and Jill took us out on their boat one day too. It was so beautiful. I could get used to living next to a lake real easy.

Our sweet little girl, found her tongue this month.

Daddy and Jerzi playing while Jete plays on the toys

Of course on our walk back home it started to rain.

A few other things we did that i don't have pictures for, but are still noteworthy....

-drove to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to watch Kenzie, Had's little sister, play in her state softball tournament.
-stayed in a house on the lake in Coeur d'Alene with Had's family
-got to see his Mom and Dad and and their families
-got to go running/work out at Jill's gym (thanks again Jill for the VIP pass)
-see the Washington Huskies campus where Mike coaches
-eat at a great little Mexican restaurant, Todo Mexico
-play baseball and basketball with the kids
-beat Had and Jake in a 2 on 2 game of basketball
-watched Biggest Loser, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the NBA playoffs with their fam (with a big thanks to their DVR)
-helped Mike and Jill move from one house to another (we weren't too much help though. Had was gone all day, and I had two little munchkins to try and keep out of the way.)

It was a good month and we just want to say thanks again Mike and Jill for letting us come crash your place for a month so we didn't have to be apart for the whole month. You guys were a huge blessing to us!