Happy Birthday, E-Gogg!

Phil and I have been calling Emmett "E-Dogg" for a while now. I have no idea why - it just came out of one of us one day and has stuck. Jackson has picked up on it now and, since he has trouble with the "d" sound at the beginning of words sometimes, he calls him "E-Gogg" instead of "E-Dogg". He also calls ducks "gucks". We love it. :)

Anyway, Emmett turned one last Thursday!! Since we were still in FL and leaving the next day, we didn't throw a big birthday bash or anything. We just had a quiet little celebration with family at my sister's house. We ordered the cakes from our favorite really yummy bakery in town. A big chocolate one for the grown-ups and a little vanilla one for Emmett to tear into. Both were SO GOOD!

The birthday boy had a really fun day. He got to play with a balloon...

... and play in the sandbox with cousin Cameron...

... and sit outside in a grown-up chair...

... and go for a wagon ride with cousin Cameron...

... and sit on the kitchen counter while smoking a cigar... (just kidding, of course - but it kind of looks like it, doesn't it?)...

... and, finally, have his first taste of cake! He liked it more than Jackson did, but didn't eat very much of it. He mostly ate frosting...

He loved when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He looked around at everyone and was smiling like crazy!

We actually got some decent family photos that night. Probably because we had five other people there to make faces at the boys to get them to smile and look in the direction of the camera!

Emmett loved this card from my grandma, Mimi. He played with it for about 10 minutes!

And just so Jackson isn't totally ignored in this post, here's two pics of him opening his "un-birthday" present from Aunt Becky. He actually opened most of Emmett's presents, too, but was very happy that this one was just for him.

This is what I got when I said, "Hold up your present and say cheese for Mommy!"

Rough Night?

Ahhh... much better!

I have a post in the works about Emmett's first birthday and another with some fun pictures from the rest of our time in FL. Unfortunately, I am seriously lacking in the motivation department since we got home. My bedroom and bathroom look like a bomb went off and I still have one suitcase yet to be unpacked. We're all fighting pretty bad colds right now (Jackson and Phil seem to be on the mend, but I feel like death today), so until I can get my act together, please enjoy this cute little video...

Beach Day

We took the boys to St. Augustine beach last Thursday. Jackson hasn't been to a beach since he was about 8 months old and Emmett has never been. And after living in high desert/woodsy Oregon for two years I was craving some beach time! We had a great time, but it was a weird weather day for the beach. It was partly cloudy, and when the sun went behind the clouds it was fah-reezing! Then the sun would come back out again and it would be nice and warm. The water temp was 59 degrees, and J wouldn't go anywhere near it. He absolutely loved playing in the sand, though.


Emmett loved the sand, too. We could not get him to stop eating it. Yes, eating it. Must have been the texture.


If you look closely at that picture above, you can see his sandy face!


My Aunt Becky and Uncle Greg and cousins Graham and Gretchen were able to meet us there. It was so much fun hanging out with them! We laugh a lot together. :)


Jackson really loves his Aunt Becky...


And so do I! Look how hard the wind was blowing! And it was a wet, beachy wind so I had the beginnings of an Afro.



Afterwards, we all went to dinner at a yummy restaurant by the water in St. Augustine. We're still not sure where Phil was when this picture was taken!


Thanks for the fun day, Greg, Becky, Graham, & Gretchen!! We love you all!

Our Easter

We had a really wonderful Easter Sunday. It was so great to be able to share it with our family here in Florida. We were blessed to spend the day with two of my aunts and uncles, six of my cousins, my grandparents, and my two sisters, brother-in-law, and nephew. We all went to church that morning and then met at my parents' house to visit, hunt for eggs, lounge by the pool, and eat a yummy ham dinner. Here are some photos from the day...

Here's our somewhat-rumpled little family after church. Emmett survived the nursery by himself, but Jackson wasn't having any of that. He sat on our laps during the service. We told him that if he stayed with us he had to sit very still and be very quiet, and he actually listened and did pretty well. I guess he was willing to do anything to stay out of that dreaded toddler room at church!


This was the best "whole family" shot that we got. Notice how my dad is the only one who changed out of his Easter clothes before we took the picture! He looks a little Christmas-y.


Here's Becky and I about to enjoy our Cadbury eggs after 40 days of no sweets... (well, except for one or two times when I made a dessert to serve to other people and had to try a very small bite to make sure it tasted okay). :)


My mom found this bunny that sings "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" and dances and hops around. Emmett loved it.


Phil took a little snooze in the shade at one point and Jackson crawled up on the chair next to him to hang out for a little bit. He loves his Daddy.


My nephew, Cameron, got this motorcycle as a present earlier in the week and all of the kiddos just love it! The adults, however, are getting a little tired of the music it plays. We hear it almost non-stop!


When everyone woke up from afternoon naps, my mom and dad "hid" some eggs around the yard and Cameron and Jackson had a ball "finding" them. Here's Jackson making sure his basket is empty before he starts...


The eggs weren't really hidden at all, just placed all over the yard. The boys had a blast picking them all up, though.


And, even more so, eating the M&Ms that were inside.


In the evening (which was just perfect - the weather was absolutely gorgeous that day), the kiddos took turns riding on Popeye's "tractor". We like to humor my dad and call it a tractor, but it's really just a riding lawnmower. :) First it was Cameron's turn...


And then Emmett's turn...


Then our family's newest member, my cousin's son Weston's turn...


Then it was my Uncle Jim's turn. We all had a good laugh when he hopped on!


You may have noticed that Jackson never took a turn on the tractor. He would have nothing of it, even after all of the other kids went! He's our timid little boy... likes to watch from a distance and do things in his own time. :)

Emmett finished off the day with a ride in Cameron's wagon, which he absolutely loves!


Hope your Easter was joyous, too! We are having such a wonderful time here in Florida. More posts and pictures to come soon!