A Little Place Called Pentwater

We are so lucky to have Mimi and Grandpa who are so lucky to have Kyle and Sue who are so lucky to have a cottage in Pentwater, Michigan. It is the cutest little town along Lake Michigan about halfway (maybe? I could be very wrong) up the east side of the lake. They built the cottage a few years ago and it is a very relaxing place to spend a few days. We loved it. Thanks for inviting us Mimi and Grandpa!

On our first full day there we went to lunch at a dairy. The smell of Jackson's diapers fit in well there. We enjoyed our delicious sandwiches, a bottomless cup of milk, and spending some quality time with the cows.

Grandpa and JJ testing out the tractor

We stopped at the cutest little bakery along the road for some caramel apple pie and rhubarb pie.The lighting made for some good pictures. :) Love my little buddy.Isn't it the cutest?

When we got home JJ spent some time in the swing with Mimi. This kid loves to swing!Then we played on the trampoline. He LOVED it! See?Then Mommy's bottom got wet as she got off the trampoline! We brought lots of extra clothes though.

Before bath time I decided to see how he would like the sandbox. He doesn't like to have dirty hands so I was interested in how he would do. He was very serious in there but he seemed to enjoy him self. The bath water was DIRTY at then end of day 1!On our second full day there we went to the market in town (Grandpa stayed home with JJ so he could nap (which really meant scream for two hours and then finally fall asleep right before we were supposed to leave for lunch). I woke him up after an hour and we headed to a fish house that is amazing. You pick your fish and they fry it there for you. We took in to a park across the street and had a nice picnic. JJ enjoyed his fried whitefish.

After a delicious fish lunch we went to the beach. The water was COLD but we had a great time! That's our group in the top right. JJ's headed over to make friends with some neighbors. ;)After some not very good nights of sleep, I was ready to get him to his own bed by our last day. Could we please take JJ's entire nursury to Pentwater next time???

Thanks Kyle and Sue for a great few days. The hospitality was amazing, as always!

Birthday Party

I was really excited that Jackson't first birthday happened to fall on a Saturday. I was so fun to celebrate on his actual birthday with our family and friends. Both sets of grandparents as well as Uncle Mike were able to make the trip. They all arrived on Friday, we had some nice chats and a yummy dinner at Luigi's and then I forced them all to help me prepare the party. :)

Really, I don't know what I would have done without them. I thought that I had done a lot to prepare, which I had, but there was still so much to do that couldn't be done early. It was really fun to decorate though! I had to promise Bryan that I wouldn't do this for every birthday.

I ordered the banner and labels for the picture pots from a site on etsy. They were perfect! I picked up 15 helium balloons on Friday and it took me no fewer than 15 minutes to try and shove them all in the back of our Rav 4. It was comical...to everyone but me. They are hard to see but along the mantel were pictures of Jackson from every month.

I had to figure out a way to use all the wooden numbers I had painted for his calendar pictures so they ended up as centerpieces. I made the tissue pom poms to hang from the light as a little something extra.

This was our sweets table. Jackson's smash cake was the big cupcake in the middle. Thanks for the pan Aunt Monica! Then there were pretzel sticks and cupcakes for the party guests.

I don't have any pictures of his cake eating yet. They are on Mimi and Grandpa's camera. I'll post those, as well as some other decoration pictures, when I get them.

This picture of Jackson was taken at 11:30. His party started at 11:00. Silly boy was going to nap right through it! I always love it when babies sleep with their bum in the air and I have never seen Jackson do it. This is how I found him that day though. It must have been his gift to me for being his momma for a whole year!

We are so lucky to have so many friends in this same stage of life. Actually, what's really amazing is that didn't know any of the people in this picture a year ago. I met them all, just the moms and babies, at Cradle Talk. We have become great friends! We had one busy living room!

After Jackson ate his cake, Nana gave him a quick bath.

Then we opened presents! Thanks for all the toys, clothes, and books!

These are a few of the babies. This is Tommy, Jackson, Macy, and Molly!And this is what parents look like when they are trying to get their babies to pose for a picture. :)

He loves walking with his new toys! Family picture with our one year old.

It was a great day! We are so blessed to have Jackson in our lives as well as such great family and friends! May the next year be as awesome as the last.

One Year Old!!!!

Two things are stumping me right now. One, how have three weeks passed since I last posted and two, HOW IS MY BABY ONE YEAR OLD???

Oh my goodness. Here is is final calendar photoshoot. Thank goodness! These were getting harder and harder. I am planning on continuing the montly updates though because it's a great way to record everything he's doing and it changes so much at this age.




Jackson, at twelve months you are:

• 21 pounds and 1 ounce. That's in the 25th percentile.


• 30.3 inches tall. That's the 65th perfectile.


• still stuffing a lot of brains in your head. It is a little under 19 inches in circumference. That's the 82nd percentile.


• calling everything "Dada." When we ask you to say Mama you say Dada again or just stick out your tongue and blow a raspberry.


• eating a lot of table foods. Your favorite is still yogurt and mommy still has a hard time getting you to eat vegetables unless they are pureed.


• cruising along everywhere as long as you don't have to let go.


• not a risk taker. Mommy tries to get you to take a few steps but even if you only have to travel a very small distance, you still drop down to crawl.


• loving the pool. You like to swim in the big pool the best. It is a zero entry pool so that's your favorite place. You make a lot of friends there because you crawl straight towards all the women sitting in their chairs in the water.


• not liking to get your face wet. You still have a hard time going under water and you open your mouth every time. You are starting to hate bath time too and try to climb out as soon as we get your hair wet.


• becoming a bit more hesitant when someone other than Mommy or Daddy holds you. You get a little scared look on your face but you usually don't cry.


• very pleasant in the church nursery. All the volunteers get so excited when you come in. Mommy likes to see what you are doing when we come and get you. You are usually playing on the floor with a toy all by yourself.


• watching Mommy use sign language but are not using any yourself. You usually just laugh at Mommy.


• FINALLY not getting any bottles during the night! Mommy thought you would take a long time to stop waking up for the early morning bottle but it only took three nights. Your normal night is from 6:45 until 6:30 the next morning. That's good news because Momma needs her sleep!


• getting long hair that is starting to curl at the ends. It's so sweet. Mommy and Daddy debate about how long your hair should be. We kind of like it long. It's your signature look because most babies don't have so much hair.


• not working on any new teeth. You still have 8! Or nine, depending on how you count your front tooth. You, silly boy, grew TWO teeth where only one should be. Don't worry though! Mommy and Daddy are saving money for your braces some day. :)

We love you little man!